U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump interact with an attendee during a picnic with military families to mark Independence Day, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis
Ho hum…another hot summer day in North Carolina that ended in torrential rain and catastrophic flooding.
That was the cap to this past holiday weekend in central North Carolina. An early season tropical storm/depression that seemed initially like no particular big deal suddenly exploded to dump as much as 10 inches of rain in some areas, causing the Eno River to experience a record rise of more than 22 feet in four hours – a rise that beat even the catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Fran in 1996 – and massive damage ensued.
Dozens of people had to be rescued, and scores of homes and businesses were damaged. Many major roads and highways were closed, damaged or both. At least one person died.
And, of course, the disastrous flooding here was just small potatoes compared to the horror that occurred in the Texas hill country just days before. At last count, the death toll there from a spate of summer thunderstorms had already surpassed 100, with many people still missing.
Meanwhile, this year’s Atlantic hurricane season has only just begun and, as the people of western North Carolina who saw their region devastated last fall by Hurricane Helene are painfully aware, won’t ramp up to full song until mid-August through late September.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this year’s season promises to be another active one, with a range of 13 to 19 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), 6-10 hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3-5 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher).
So, what gives? Tropical weather and flooding rains have always been fact of life in the eastern half of the United States. Are we just having a run of bad luck?
Unfortunately, the answer to the latter question is almost assuredly a loud and clear “no.”
While it’s true that there’s nothing new about bad weather, as scientists have been telling us for decades, the frequency and severity of modern storms is being greatly worsened by climate change.
As reporter Raymond Zhong of the New York Times reported on July 5:
“Colossal bursts of rain like the ones that caused the deadly flooding in Texas are becoming more frequent and intense around the globe as the burning of fossil fuels heats the planet, scientists say.
Warm air holds more moisture than cool air, and as temperatures rise, storms can produce bigger downpours. When met on the ground with outdated infrastructure or inadequate warning systems, the results can be catastrophic.”
At the same time, quite perversely, climate-change-driven drought and desertification continue to spread in other parts of the planet. The situation is especially acute in parts of Africa where they are contributing to widespread hunger and mass migration.
And tragically, these are situations that are only going to get worse and soon – especially if the planet’s rapidly growing human population continues to do little-to-nothing to curb its fossil fuel addiction, while simultaneously developing more and more open land with housing and other infrastructure in which speed and short-term profits trump sustainability.
In other words, this past weekend’s weather in our state was yet another wake-up call to the terrifying fact that we are in the midst of a global emergency that cries out for an urgent, all-hands-on-deck response from government, private industry, academia, and average people. While complete healing of the planet would take centuries, we can still minimize the damage in the decades to come by acting with speed, determination, urgency and creativity.
Quite amazingly and inexcusably, however, this is not the path our leaders are following. To the contrary, the Trump administration – abetted by Republicans in Congress and state legislatures like North Carolina’s – are doing the precise opposite of what is so urgently necessary.
As AP reported, the massive mega-bill signed into law by Trump last Friday “supports mining, drilling and production of the oil, coal and gas that are largely driving Earth’s warming and the increasingly deadly and costly extreme weather that comes with it,” while at the same time slashing “tax credits for clean technologies including wind and solar energy.”
Meanwhile, the bill’s answer to the migration crisis – a phenomenon fueled in part by climate change – is to ramp up the creation of a “show us your papers” police state that conjures up some of the worst imagery from authoritarian regimes Americans once considered the enemies of freedom.
And here in North Carolina, it’s expected that Republican legislative leaders will seek later this month to override Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of a bill that would roll back the state’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and spur the construction of more fossil fuel-fired power plants.
All in all, it’s a remarkable and maddening state of affairs. At a time of urgent environmental and human crises, our elected leaders have adopted a policy of not just fiddling while Rome burns and floods, but of conducting an entire symphony orchestra of delusional actions designed to expedite and worsen the destruction.
And the need for all Americans to rise up and demand an immediate reversal of this disastrous malfeasance could not be more urgent.
NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com.