<[link removed]> Tropical Storms Gather as Higher Ground is Awarded $500,000 to Support Resilience Anthropocene Alliance - October 5, 2020 Higher Ground leader, Hilton Kelley of Community In-Power and Development Association, has been helping the victims of Hurricane Laura in Texas. As Tropical Storm Delta forms in the Gulf of Mexico, weary coastal residents once again begin preparations. They lift furniture and appliances off lower floors, collect sandbags and make evacuation plans. Other residents, already displaced by Hurricanes Laura and Sally, watch from afar, fearful that their former neighbors will suffer the same fate as themselves. Delta is the 25th named tropical storm this year, three shy of the record. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s <[link removed]> has just awarded Anthropocene Alliance <[link removed]> $495,000 to help communities impacted by flooding. The grant, called the “Wells Fargo Resilient Communities Program” allows Aa to help six of our most vulnerable Higher Ground <[link removed]> communities develop green infrastructure programs to help protect them from the worst impacts of flooding. Higher Ground is the largest network of flood survivors in the U.S., with 54 groups from 20 states plus Puerto Rico. The following six communities will each receive $70,000: East Biloxi, MS, led by Gordon Jackson of Biloxi NAACP <[link removed]> . Until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Biloxi was the third-largest in the state. After Katrina, it became the fifth, losing about 5,000 in population. Predominantly Black East Biloxi was the worst damaged, and because of its location and poor infrastructure, the area most threatened by future storms. De Soto, MO, led by Susan Liley of Citizens Committee for Flood Relief <[link removed]> . A small mid-western city about 45 miles south of St. Louis, De Soto has been struck by repeated flash flooding from the nearby Joachim Creek. Hundreds of homes have been affected and three people killed. Port Arthur, TX, led by Hilton Kelley of Community In-Power and Development Association <[link removed]> . Port Arthur, a well-known, majority Black city, was the birthplace of Janis Joplin. It is also home to the nation’s largest oil refinery and many chemical and plastics factories. Flooding there is frequently toxic. New Orleans, LA, led by Beth Butler of A Community Voice <[link removed]> . New Orleans is America’s great and diverse city of music, cuisine and Mardi Gras. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was catastrophic, inundating some eighty percent of the Big Easy. While protective measures have been taken since then, much of the city is below sea-level and the land subsiding. Palm Bay, FL, led by Camille Hadley of Little Growers Inc. On the Atlantic coast, Palm Bay is a diverse city of 100,000 with a big tourist industry. It was badly affected by Hurricane Irma, which flooded streets and destroyed homes. The city is also impacted by rising sea levels due to climate change and overland flooding. Miami, OK, led by Rebecca Jim of LEAD Agency. Miami is capital of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, after which the city is named. It is also home of the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, Peoria Tribe of Indians and Shawnee Tribe. The town has flooded more than two dozen times since the 1990s, and is imperiled by runoff from a notorious Superfund Site. According to Aa Executive Director Harriet Festing, the grants will allow these six communities to improve resilience by developing bioswales, rain gardens and other nature-based defenses against flooding. They have collaborated with pro bono scientists and engineers to help identify flood risks and the best practical solutions, so they are ready to get digging and planting. Flooding in De Soto, Missouri, 2016. Susan Liley from De Soto writes: “Thanks so much to the NFWF! We are excited to begin the work of making our community more flood resilient.” Beth Butler from New Orleans wrote us that she was “humbled to be a part of an historic program for mitigating climate change supported by Aa and the NFWF.” Aa is humbled to be working with her and so many other brilliant, community leaders! Together, we’ll resist the storms that face us and challenge the continued release of greenhouse gases that make them worse. View original post <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> Anthropocene Alliance, 105 NE Bay Ave, Micanopy, United States <[link removed]> Unsubscribe <[link removed]>