By Looking through the blown-out windows of my living room, I see my neighbor’s eight-person tent. Their house is gone, and this is how we’re living in Freeport, Texas after Hurricane Beryl, thanks to government failures, ERCOT, and a lesser-known industry that is far more a villain than a victim of hurricanes: insurance companies.
The root cause of these destructive storms is our society’s reliance on fossil fuels. A week before Beryl hit, I was in New York City with 200 other Gulf Coast leaders to try and convince Wall Street to stop investing in or collecting premiums from the fossil fuel industry. Insurance, in particular, is downright offensive as they predicted the very climate chaos we are living in. Now, after years of paying for my home insurance, my insurance says I may not be paid out for the damage caused by Beryl. Meanwhile, a methane export facility in my community, Freeport LNG, insurance certificate expired in October and they’re all but certain to get coverage.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, we quickly organized countless neighbors to provide shelter, food, and support for those who needed it the most. Weeks later we are still in recovery, bringing people food and setting up tarps to cover the holes in roofs and windows. I’ve always taken pride in our community’s resilience, our unity, and our willingness to support one another. But after Hurricane Beryl ravaged our town it’s clear that our resilience and mutual aid efforts, while crucial, are merely a bandage on a gaping wound as insurance companies abandon us.
We need systemic change that loves people as much as the people of Freeport love each other. The extreme weather events battering our coast are not mere anomalies; they are a direct consequence of our warming planet. We need policies that alleviate the conditions driving these extreme weather events and, when disaster hits, ensure our communities are protected and prepared. In New York, our communities talked about our survival to companies like Citibank, Chubb, and AIG because they fund and insure fossil fuels in our communities. We shared our stories of the damage these projects have on our health, air, and water. We urged them to be part of the solution by ending their support for polluting projects and accelerating the transition to renewable energy. In a cruel irony, some of us trying to protect our communities were arrested while those enabling the death and destruction continued business as usual in their offices above.
Then Hurricane Beryl hit. We now live in the danger we warned these companies of during our trip to their offices. For example, Freeport LNG has a history of explosions and is regularly offline and inoperable because of a lack of regulation and poor equipment. During Hurricane Beryl, Freeport LNG released more than 4 tons of propane, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and other pollutants. Recovering from a hurricane is no joke, made all the worse when this gas plant pollutes our air. Why are Liberty Mutual, AIG, Chubb, and over 10 other companies continuing to insure this project?
The short-sightedness and hypocrisy of insurers is on full display. Corporations continue to underwrite methane/LNG expansion, which supercharged the conditions for storms like Hurricane Beryl, leading them to lose more money through payouts, passing on costs to families who pick up the tab of their irresponsible business – if they get coverage at all.
The fight is about protecting our homes, our families, and our future. Hurricane Beryl was a wake-up call, but it mustn’t be our fate. Later is too late. It’s time for governments and corporations to not just listen, but follow the lead of communities being impacted by their decision. With determination and collective action, we can emerge stronger.
About Manning Rollerson
Manning Rollerson is a Freeport resident, deacon and grandfather of 27. Manning grew up in the now displaced East End community and he has continued to fight for justice for what happened to his home. He is the founder of the Freeport Haven project, a non profit focused on housing, mutual aid and environmental justice.
