rjzimmerman:

We have thousands of displaced people in Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties in California as a consequence of the recent (and still burning) wildfires. This story tells us that Hurricane Florence, which pounded the Carolinas in early September, continues to displace residents from their apartments and houses, this time due to mold. We are creating a different type of climate refugee here in the US, whether we want to admit it or not, which are people displaced from their homes due to flooding, hurricanes and wildfires, either because the home is now uninhabitable (i.e., mold or structurally unsound) or destroyed.

Excerpt from this Think Progress article:

Some 700 tenants of the Market North affordable housing apartment complex in Wilmington, North Carolina were given one week’s notice to leave their homes after black mold was discovered in the wake of Hurricane Florence. Residents were able to push the deadline back one more week, but the entire complex was vacated by October 22.

A second wave of displaced people are finding themselves newly homeless, months after Florence hit the state. Beginning at the end of September, at least six apartment complexes in New Hanover County have issued notices to the majority, or all, of their residents to vacate. Long after the floodwaters receded, thousands of people have had to pack their bags and leave.

With much of the temporary housing — rental apartments, Airbnb, or hotels — already full from the initial impact of Florence, finding a new place to stay in Wilmington is a challenge. Some may stay with family while others will be forced to to look further away for a place to live.

Thousands told to vacate North Carolina apartments in second wave of people displaced by Florence