This month’s hot steamy new disaster: What you can do to save Hawaii and the lives Volcano Kilauea has obliterated!
Please. Past precedence from every natural disaster, like, ever has taught us the government will do very little more than send their “thoughts and prayers”.
Image borrowed from CNN.com
To start on a lighter note, the USGS (United States Geological Survey) and TIME Magazine, have recently warned Hawaii residents to refrain from roasting marshmallows with the volcano’s toxic lava. At least some local Hawaiians are keeping their hopes up and are in good spirit.
Although some may find humor in this horrific situation, it’s depravity and destruction are blatantly visible. The Volcano named Kilauea in Hawaii has been erupting non-stop since 1983. It has not been a crisis until an earthquake struck Hawaii causing multiple fissures to emerge, waking the volcano. As of right now, May 30th, 2018 the eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea has now consumed many building structures and more than 70 houses. Leaving hundreds of the residents residing in these homes without shelter, and forcing evacuation of thousands more, the eruption of Kilauea has been massive and is continuing to destroy more and more.
(https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/29/us/hawaii-kilauea-homes-destroyed/index.html)
With produce, real estate, and basically all general facets of life being relatively more expensive living in beautiful Hawaii, many of those affected, evacuated, and soon to be evacuated are experiencing severe panic. Just imagine. Try to put yourselves in the shoes (or probably sandals) of those affected by the eruption. Losing everything. Your livelihood, everything you’ve worked your whole life for, the house you’ve worked tirelessly to pay for and finally buy. The roof over your head that protects you and your family. You’ve already found a home here and have been in a groove of working and living here for years, maybe generations. You don’t know anything else, BUT this home, this area. Your clothes, electronics, cars, beautiful gardens, novelty collections, artwork, everything. Gone. Up in a cloud of smoke, swallowed by Kilauea.
Hawaiians are a strong people, and an even stronger community. Those farther from the disaster are doing what they can shelter, donate to, and feed the evacuated. This is all nice, however it is not nearly enough. Those affected must turn to legal, governmental help from those in power.
Ironically, from an insurance-based perspective, some (previous) home-owners’, whose houses have been annihilated by Kilauea, best hope is to pray that the lava’s heat set the house on fire so that they may claim “fire insurance” to their insurance company to receive the most help. Even then, this is not much. Many mortgage and insurance companies are offering different types of suspensions on rent, late fees, and mortgage payments. Seeing how scientists are claiming that it is literally impossible to predict how long the lava spewing and flowing may last, this may not be enough. These companies and several banks in Hawaii have also offered different types of short-term and long-term goals in attempt to aid those affected, as well. Although all of this is considered “relief aid”, this money will definitely be owed later on down the road. Despite all of this, the people of Hawaii are definitely still in need of help.
(http://rismedia.com/2018/05/21/hawaii-volcano-victims-can-get-relief-mortgage-payments/)
With Hawaii obviously being an isolate island right smack in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it is difficult to provide direct assistance and land-transported resources. Many non-profit organizations have stepped up to aid the beautiful tourist destination. Organizations such as “Hawaii First”, “Hawaii Community Foundation”, “The Salvation Army”, “Hope Services Hawaii” and “American Red Cross” are accepting wired donations to those who wish to help out. The “American Red Cross” is notorious for being ironically unhelpful in these disaster situations, so it may in in your best interest to donate to Hawaii specific non-profits. To have possibly the most direct impact in helping the people of Hawaii out, there have been many GoFundMe pages (easily found by a simple Google search) set up by families themselves affected, and by other people and organizations wanting to help.
As backwards as it sounds, many natural disasters such as this one, brings capitalistic opportunities along with it. Even though people are losing their homes and their everything, volcano tours are still a thing and perhaps even making even more money than ever. People are still paying top dollar to witness this “attraction”. It is basically a laugh in the face of all that have lost and mourned over their destroyed homes. Imagine losing your home, and other people, unaffected, are paying the money that they can afford to throw away to useless activities to sit there and watch the very monstrosity that has left you homeless.
It is difficult to imagine the amount evil in one’s heart that it would take to even consider trying to profit off of this unfortunate situation and the misery of the people of Hawaii. But to those affected, please be careful. Avoid calls from people posing to be mortgage loaners asking for fees upfront for money and loans. Although this is a natural disaster that is currently happening and on-going, and has only started in May, the residents of Hawaii must not relax and rely solely on the government for aid and assistance. In states of emergencies like these, it is hard for those affected and others not in power to keep a clear head and mind to what is going on around them. Those in power, the government, are aware of this. There may not be many evident signs of this now, but those in higher power will always look to profit off of those in peril. The initial shock of the situation is blinding, and the government acts while we are blinded. To those affected, please do all you can to persevere and keep the Hawaiian culture and community unified and alive. Do not let any outside enterprises or companies attempt to take over the island and its economy following the end of the disaster. Do not let the shock blind you from the opportunity that will arise because of this terrible situation. People in power can and will attempt to take advantage of Hawaii and its peoples, similar to the happenings immediately post Katrina, post Soviet Russia, and post Tusnami Sri Lanka.
In cases like Hurricane Katrina, it was all too obvious the abandonment faced by those struck by the hurricane. Even the American Red Cross stopped locals trying to aid them in efforts to boost their own profits. It was found that it was mostly the locals that were expressing actual human capacity and that it was the government and those in power who did not at all care for the people displaced, but only for their money and the money of those willing to donate and help. Like Katrina, perhaps not to the same extent, it is possible to see how this disastrous event could have been better prepared for.
Again, to those affected, please find help from actual, wholesome non-profit organizations, most of which are probably Hawaii specific. If not yet set up already, create a GoFundMe account and spread it across all platforms of accessible social media to your friends, family, and to those with a heart, willing to help out.
