• Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • History
    • General Synod
    • Leadership and Ministry
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • What We Believe
    • What We Believe
    • Worship Ways
    • Daily Devotional
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Office of the General Minister & President
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • News
  • Church Finder
  • Donate Now
  • Search
UCC Logo United Church of Christ
  • Church Finder
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Frontline Faith Portal
  • Donate Now
  • Search
  • Who We Are
    • Column
      • About
        • Mission
        • Constitution and Bylaws
        • History
          • UCC Archives
        • UCC Brand Guidelines
        • General Synod
          • Past General Synods
        • Abuse Prevention
    • Column
      • Structure
        • Conferences
    • Column
      • Team
        • Elected Officers
        • Staff
        • United Church of Christ Board of Directors
          • Board Minutes
    • Column
      • Career Opportunities
      • Annual Reports
  • What We Believe
    • Column
      • Worship
        • Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ – La Declaración de Fe de la Iglesia Unida de Cristo
        • Worship Ways
        • Daily Devotional
        • Sermon Seeds
  • What We Do
    • Column
      • Office of the General Minister & President
        • 3 Great Loves
        • Human Resources
          • Employee Relations Resources
        • Center for Analytics, Research & Development and Data (CARDD)
          • General CARDD FAQs
          • About The Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD)
          • Authorized Minister Opt Out
          • Access UCC
          • Archived Reports
          • Assessment Resources
          • Information Policies and Requests
          • Faith Communities Today (FACT) Survey
          • MissionInsite
          • Statistics and Reports
          • Vital Signs and Statistics Blog
          • Data Hub FAQs
          • Data Hub
          • Yearbook and Directory
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Justice
          • Faith Forming Publications & The Pilgrim Press
          • Faithful Action Ministries
            • Environmental Justice Ministries
            • Economic Justice
            • Racial Justice
          • Health Ministries of the UCC
            • Disabilities and Mental Health Justice
            • Encuentros Latinx
            • UCC HIV & AIDS Network-UCAN
            • LGBTQ Ministries
            • Our Whole Lives
            • Overdose and Drug Use Ministries
            • Scouting
            • Wellness Ministries
          • Washington DC Office
            • Justice and Peace Action Network
            • Our Faith Our Vote 2020
            • Justice Training Resources
            • Action Center
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Local Church
          • Faith INFO
            • Weekly Seeds
            • Youth & Young Adults
          • Worship Resources
            • Worship Ways
            • Sermon Seeds
            • Music and Liturgical Arts
          • Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA)
            • History, Polity, and Theology
            • Search & Call
            • Ministerial Profiles
            • Ministry Opportunities
            • Manual on Ministry
    • Column
      • Wider Church Ministries
        • Global Ministries
        • Global H.O.P.E.
          • Volunteer Engagement
          • Refugee and Migration Ministries
          • Disaster Ministries
          • Recovering Hope
        • Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
  • News
    • Column
      • News
        • United Church of Christ News
    • Column
      • Columns
        • Witness for Justice
        • Into the Mystic
        • Getting to the Root of It
        • The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog
        • UCC Roots
    • Column
      • Upcoming Events
      • Changes & Deaths
  • Giving
    • Column
      • Donate Now
      • Ways to Give
        • Our Church’s Wider Mission
          • Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support
          • One Great Hour of Sharing
          • Strengthen the Church
          • Neighbors in Need
          • Christmas Fund
          • 5 for 5
        • Disaster Relief
    • Column
      • Ways We Give
        • Scholarships & Grants

  • Home
  • News
  • Column
  • The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog
  • Unnatural Disasters: The Truth about Hurricanes and Typhoons

Unnatural Disasters: The Truth about Hurricanes and Typhoons

by Berndt, Brooks | published on Sep 17, 2018

Natural disasters reveal a lot about what is “unnatural” in our world. A headline story for today’s New York Times tells us that more than 40 gold miners in the Philippines have been killed in a landslide caused by Typhoon Mangkhut. The story provokes innumerable questions about the how and the why of this devastating event, but it is clearly evident that risk and vulnerability amid disaster are frequently not accidental occurrences. As the Rev. William Barber II wrote before Hurricane Florence struck, storms such as these “expose the inequities in our society that are perpetuated by extreme policies.”

In many instances, the unnatural consequences of a disaster are not fully known until after it has disappeared from the headlines. In Wilmington, North Carolina, for instance, a breach in coal ash containment will require further monitoring and testing before more definitive assessments can be made of the spill’s toxic impact.

Yet, there is much we do know, and this can inform how we act now. We do know that unnatural causes have super-charged hurricanes to more destructive levels. Tarika Powell from the Sightline Institute has written about how we can frame and talk about this in everyday conversations with others. We do know as well that UCC Disaster Relief Ministries is prepared to respond to both Typhoon Mangkhut and Hurricane Florence with an eye toward long-term recovery needs. Learn more about what you can do to support these efforts:

Typhoon Mangkhut Response

Hurricane Florence Response

Categories: Column The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog

Related News

Into the Mystic

A Piece of Work

Listen to the podcast https://soundcloud.com/theucc/a-piece-of-work Read the...

Read More
Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

Possibilities

Policy Advocate for Domestic Issues Last year I wrote my Witness for Justice column as the...

Read More
The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog

Earth Day Movie Screenings

Movie screenings can be a great way to raise awareness and energy around environmental issues....

Read More
  • Column
    • Local Church and Conference Resource Directory
    • Mission
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • Column
    • Contact
    • News
    • Store
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Subscribe on YouTube

Donate Now


UCC Crest
© United Church of Christ 2021. Privacy Policy.
Crafted by Cornershop Creative