![]() This means tourists must increasingly grapple with difficult decisions about whether and when to visit affected areas-and how to do so in a way that helps rather than hurts. They told me they were desperate.Īs global warming accelerates, climate-driven disasters are becoming more commonplace. On trips to Nepal shortly after the 2015 earthquake and to Sri Lanka following the 2019 Easter bombings, I met people who, over and over, told me of their struggles after tourists disappeared virtually overnight. I was living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, and I frequently travel for my journalism work and for pleasure, including to places that have recently experienced disasters. Many have been less fortunate, and I have seen firsthand the devastation that can ensue when the tourism industry is pulled out from under a place that depends on it. Lugo was lucky to find other work until tourists started returning. More importantly, though, “it kind of gave me a little sense of normality.” “It was pretty awesome, because I got to do what I like to do,” Lugo says. They spent several days with Lugo and saw 116 species. Lugo launched into action, visiting favorite spots to check how the birds were faring, and reported back with encouraging news: “Yes, we’ve got all the endemics.” The sisters, meanwhile, contacted hotels-which despite still relying on generators for power were booked almost solid by cleanup workers-and managed to secure a room. Birding was starting to feel like a calling from a past life when he received a message that gave him hope: Two sisters from Brooklyn wanted to move forward with a January trip they’d planned months earlier. ![]() Immediately, all seven groups who were booked with Lugo canceled.Īs weeks turned into months, Lugo picked up work in construction. ![]() ![]() ![]() The Category 4 storm-the fourth costliest on record to hit the United States-caused more than 70,000 landslides, flattened homes, and plunged much of the island into nearly a year of blackouts. Professional bird guide Gabriel Lugo was looking forward to another busy season of tours when Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. ![]()
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