US meteorologists face death threats as Hurricane Helene and Milton trigger rise in misinformation
US meteorologists tracking the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and the advance of Milton have been targeted by serious conspiracy theories that they have been controlling storms, abuse and even death threats amid a surge in misinformation.
The Guardian reported that the extent of the misinformation has been such that it has profusely hindered the ability to help hurricane-hit communities across the country, according to the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).
Hurricanes have the energy of 10,000 nuclear bombs
Katie Nickolaou, a Michigan-based meteorologist, said: “I have never seen a storm garner so much misinformation,” adding: “I’ve had a bunch of people saying I created and steered the hurricane … I have had to point out that a hurricane has the energy of 10,000 nuclear bombs.“
Misinformation rapidly spreading in the US after the landfall of Hurricanes Helene and Milton also include serious claims that Fema had run out of cash for storm survivors because it has been given to immigrants arriving in the country via illegal routes.
Humans have the ability to exacerbate hurricanes by burning fossil fuels, creating a hotter ocean and atmosphere that gives hurricanes more energy. But they certainly don’t have the capacity to create, control or steer individual storms.
Climate crisis and the nearing US presidential election
The Guardian report also noted that Fema’s disaster relief fund for communities affected by hurricanes is totally separate from and uninfluenced by the money spent on giving shelter to the scores of asylum seekers in the US.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton have arrived against a backdrop of intensifying debate over the climate crisis as the US presidential election nears. The Democratic and Republican parties have sizeable different focus points this election season.
