Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning
Hurricane Helene became an ominous warning about America’s lack of preparedness.
In this documentary, FRONTLINE and NPR draw on a decade of reporting on disasters and their aftermath to examine how and why the US is more vulnerable than ever to climate change-related storms.
Laura Sullivan goes on the ground in North Carolina in the days after the 2024 storm and speaks with survivors who describe the devastation, fear and shock they experienced at seeing entire communities washed away.
Sullivan revisits Houston, Texas, where thousands of homes remain in an area that already flooded during Harvey in 2017. Sullivan also returns to Staten Island, where, according to a former FEMA director, the billion dollar rebuilding process may not have been enough to prevent mass destruction should another Superstorm Sandy hit.
“The federal government spends more than $50 billion a year to help communities recover, including properties that have flooded repeatedly in what seems like an endless cycle of destruction and rebuilding,” says Sullivan. “Our new joint investigation examines the forces fueling this cycle, whether places that have rebuilt after devastating floods are any safer today, and how this process is now playing out in North Carolina.”
Finally, “Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning” looks at how, as climate change-related storms become more frequent and severe in the US, there are concerns that incremental attempts to mitigate against future flooding across the country aren’t going to be enough.
Watch more videos related to Hurricane Helene at www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/hurricane-helenes-deadly-warning.
