As the 25th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, environmental justice leaders, activists, and experts are taking a closer look at how climate change is reshaping American cities and deepening racial and economic inequities.
This week, Black and working-class neighborhoods on the South, West, and Southwest sides of Chicago were hit hardest when torrential rains flooded basements, damaged schools, and overwhelmed fragile infrastructure. The rapid rainfall overwhelmed the city’s aging sewer system, transforming streets into ponds and leaving vehicles stranded beneath viaducts.
The city logged more than 6,000 calls to 311 for water damage as residents in long-neglected neighborhoods worked to salvage belongings. Touring the devastation, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the flooding disproportionately struck working-class communities of color, citing aging sewers and climate change as key factors before requesting relief from county, state, and federal governments. During a Tuesday news conference he said, “We don’t want people to panic every time it rains…