🌪️ Hurricanes Destroy More Than Homes — They Destroy Food and Futures Too 🌱🍍
When hurricanes hit, the media often shows dramatic footage of wind, rain, and collapsed buildings. But what many don’t see — and what people often forget — is what happens after the storm passes.
Yes, roofs are torn off, roads are flooded, and electricity may be down for days or weeks. But for many communities, especially in regions like Southern Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero) and Central America, the real devastation lasts for months — even years.
🍌 Fruit Trees Take Time — and Hurricanes Take Them Away
A friend from Guadalajara recently tried to be positive, saying "It'll be over in two days." But the truth is, it’s not over when the winds die down.
- Papaya, mango, pineapple, banana — these are not crops you replant next week and harvest next month.
- After a hurricane tears down a mango tree, it can take a full year or more before it bears fruit again — and that’s if the tree survives.
- New seedlings? Even longer.
For families and communities that rely on these fruit trees for food, trade, and survival, the destruction isn't temporary — it’s life-altering.
🛠️ After the Storm: No Job, No Food, No Choice
People must:
- Clean up their homes and streets
- Rebuild what was lost
- Hope aid arrives (and often it doesn't)
- Try to feed their families in the meantime
But if their job was farming or tourism tied to now-damaged beaches, both income and food disappear.
🧳 Why People Migrate — It's Not Always by Choice
This is why hurricanes are climate migration events. Not because people want to leave — but because they can't stay. With their food sources gone, homes wrecked, and no jobs in sight, many are forced to migrate north or to bigger cities just to survive.
Let’s talk more about this.
Let’s see the full picture — not just the storm, but the aftermath.
Let’s recognize that the people most affected often have no safety net, and yet show incredible strength in rebuilding.
And let’s remember that real recovery isn’t measured in days or weeks, but in seasons — and harvests.
