Storms Cause Devastation Across South and Midwest
From March 14 through the weekend, a powerful storm system swept across the South and Midwest, resulting in 42 fatalities across Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Alabama, and Mississippi. Two of the deceased were children in North Carolina. The storm spawned numerous tornadoes, hail, and hurricane-force winds exceeding 80 MPH, while also exacerbating wildfires in Oklahoma that injured over 100 people. Hundreds of thousands of households were left without electricity as the system caused widespread devastation.
In response, President Trump activated the National Guard in Arkansas and shared on X: “We are closely monitoring the severe tornadoes and storms that have struck multiple states across the South and Midwest — 36 innocent lives have been lost, and countless others have been devastated.”
The storm shifted to the Northeast by Sunday, March 16, causing power outages affecting nearly 500,000 people. Pennsylvania was particularly hard-hit, with over 165,000 residents left without electricity by Sunday night.
Once again, we are faced with another example of the growing frequency of natural disasters. The criminal responsibility lies with the bourgeois state, which, due to its reactive nature, fails to prioritize comprehensive planning. Instead, it only responds after the damage has been done, when families are already surrounded by the wreckage of their homes or mourning lost lives. It is telling that from March 7 to March 13, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) monitored the development of the storm system, yet all levels of government shifted the burden of responsibility onto the people.
The devastation caused by this storm coincides with massive cuts to the public sector under the Trump administration. Hundreds of layoffs have occurred at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which includes staff from the National Weather Service (NWS). The NWS is responsible for issuing forecasts and severe weather alerts nationwide, providing data for scientists and meteorologists. So far, approximately 1,300 employees have either resigned or been laid off. The Trump administration plans to cut an additional 1,000 workers, resulting in a total reduction of 20% to NOAA.
The state, as the “collective capitalist”, is seeking the utilization of less labor force to cut costs and shift money to more profitable outlets. It is the practice of the state’s cost-benefit logic which develops an anti-people budget - a budget, which under the current administration, will face the chainsaw in cuts to non-defense spending by $13 billion dollars and increase defense spending by $6 billion.
The cost of war means the cost of lives. The loss of these lives is on the hands of both the Democrats and Republicans who are complicit in these cuts.
Capitalist development is the source of our changing climate, both the disasters it brings and the bourgeois state’s lack of preparation for them. The motive is profit, the lives of people and the protection of the environment are an afterthought.