Guguwar Harvey: Ambaliyar Ruwa ta Sama, Ruwan Ƙasa

"Daga ina ku ke?"

"Houston, Texas."

“Ya Ubangijina. Na tuba. Yaya danginku?”

“Mai kyau. Lafiya lau ya kare lafiya.”

A matsayina na ɗan ƙasar Houston wanda ya kira Houston gida duk tsawon rayuwata (gajerun) rayuwata, Na rayu ta Allison, Rita, Katrina, Ike, kuma yanzu Harvey. Daga gidanmu da ke yammacin Houston, ba mu saba da ambaliyar ruwa ba. Gabaɗaya, unguwarmu tana ambaliya sau ɗaya a shekara kusan kwana ɗaya, galibi tana faruwa a lokacin bazara.

Wani makwabcinsa ya yi kwale-kwale cikin nishadi yayin ambaliya ta Ranar Haraji a wajen gidanmu ranar 18 ga Afrilu, 2016.

Amma duk da haka, babu wanda ya hango guguwar Harvey ta yi karfi kamar yadda ta yi. Mafi yawan barnar da Harvey ya bari a Texas bai kasance game da ainihin guguwar ba, da kuma ruwan sama kamar da bakin kwarya da ya zo da ita. Wannan guguwar mai tafiyar hawainiya ta dade a kan Houston na tsawon kwanaki da yawa, tana zubar da ruwa mai yawa na tsawon lokaci. Sakamakon ruwan sama ya mamaye birni na hudu mafi girma a Amurka da kuma jahohin da ke makwabtaka da kasar da jimillar galan tiriliyan 33 na ruwa.¹ Daga ƙarshe, yawancin waɗannan ruwayen sun sami hanyar komawa inda suka fito, teku.² Duk da haka, sun ɗauke da gurɓatattun abubuwa masu yawa, waɗanda suka haɗa da sinadarai daga matatun da aka ambaliya, ƙwayoyin cuta masu guba, da tarkace da aka bari a kan tituna.³

A cewar hukumar kula da yanayi ta kasa, gefen garina ya samu ruwan sama tsakanin inci 30 zuwa 40. ¹⁰

Dausayin gabar tekun Tekun Fasha sun kasance layin farko na kariya daga hana guguwa, amma mun sanya su, da kanmu, cikin haɗari lokacin da muka kasa kare su.⁴ Misali, za mu iya kasa yin nasara wajen kare wadannan dausayi na gabar teku, a maimakon haka mu bar su a ruguza su a kokarin samar da hanyoyin samar da cibiyoyi da ka iya ganin sun fi samun riba fiye da barin wuraren dausayi don kare kariya daga wani hadari na gaba. Hakazalika, lafiyayyen wuraren dausayin bakin teku suma suna tace ruwa da ke gudana daga ƙasa, yana rage cutar da teku.

Ruwa na sama yana gudana zuwa cikin Gulf of Mexico. ¹¹

Tsarin tsaron bakin teku na iya cutar da wasu abubuwan muhalli masu lahani, kamar ruwan sama mai daɗi daga guguwar Harvey. Ruwan sama yana gudana daga kogin Houston zuwa cikin Tekun Mexico, kamar yadda kashi biyu bisa uku na ruwan Amurka ke yi.⁵ Har yanzu, ruwan da Harvey ya zubar har yanzu bai cika cika da ruwan gishirin Tekun Fasha ba.⁶ Abin farin ciki, duk da ƙarancin kimar salinity da aka rubuta a cikin Tekun Fasha sakamakon wannan “ƙaramar ruwa,” ba a sami wani rubutaccen bayani game da ɗimbin yawa-mutuwa tare da murjani reefs ba, musamman godiya ga alkiblar da waɗannan ruwayen ke gudana daga waɗannan yanayin. An sami ɗan taƙaitaccen bayanan abubuwan da za a iya samun sabbin guba a yankunan da ke kusa da gaɓar teku da wuraren dausayi, waɗanda aka bari a baya yayin da ambaliyar ruwa ta gangaro zuwa Tekun Fasha.

Sediments daga Hurricane Harvey.¹²

Gabaɗaya, Houston ta fuskanci irin wannan mummunar ambaliya saboda an gina birnin a kan tudu mai tudu. A tsawon lokaci, fadada birane da rashin ka'idojin yanki na kara kara mana hadarin ambaliya kamar yadda lallausan titin kankara ke maye gurbin ciyayi ba tare da la'akari da illar bazuwar birane ba.⁷ Misali, wanda ke da nisan mil daga Addicks da Barker Reservoirs, unguwarmu ta ci karo da irin wannan tsawanin ambaliya domin ruwan ya tsaya cak. Domin tabbatar da cewa birnin Houston bai yi ambaliya ba, da gangan jami'ai suka zabi sakin kofofin da ke kula da tafki, lamarin da ya kai ga ambaliyar gidajen da a baya ba a yi tsammanin za su yi ambaliya ba a yammacin Houston.⁸ Kayayyakin kayan kwalliya irin su kwalta da siminti suna zubar da ruwa maimakon sha, don haka ruwan ya taru a kan tituna kuma daga baya ya sami hanyar shiga Tekun Mexico.

(Ranar 4) Motar makwabta, daya daga cikin miliyan daya da ambaliyar ruwa ta mamaye a cikin birni. ¹³

A halin da ake ciki, mun shafe sama da mako guda muna jinkiri a gidanmu. Masu gadin bakin teku da masu aikin sa-kai suna yawan yin taho-mu-gama da tambayar ko muna bukatar ceto ko tanadi yayin zamanmu a ciki. Wasu maƙwabta sun fita zuwa filayensu na gaba kuma suka rataye fararen tufafi a jikin bishiyarsu a matsayin wata alama da suke son a ceto su. Lokacin da ruwan ya ragu a rana ta goma na wannan aukuwar ambaliya ta shekara 1,000⁹ kuma daga karshe mun sami damar tafiya waje ba tare da ratsa ruwa ba, barnar da aka yi ta ban mamaki. Warin danyen najasa ya taso ko'ina kuma tarkace sun cika dandali. Matattun kifi suna kwance a kan titunan siminti kuma motocin da aka yi watsi da su sun yi layi a kan titin.

(Ranar ta 5) Mun yi amfani da sanda don mu nuna yadda ruwa ya tashi.

Washegari bayan mun sami ƴancin yin yawo a waje, ni da iyalina an shirya mu tashi zuwa Minnesota don Sabon Makon Student a Kwalejin Carleton. Yayin da muka haura dubunnan taku a sararin sama, na kasa yin tunanin yadda muka kasance daya daga cikin masu sa'a. Gidanmu ya bushe kuma ba a jefa rayuwarmu cikin haɗari ba. Duk da haka, ban san yadda za mu yi sa'a ba a lokacin da jami'an birni na gaba suka yanke shawarar cewa ya fi sauƙi a yi ambaliya a unguwarmu fiye da yin aikin sake gina mu.

Wani abu da ya manne da ni shi ne sa’ad da mahaifina ɗan shekara sittin ya ce mini, “To, na yi farin ciki ba zan ƙara ganin irin wannan abu a rayuwata ba.”

Ga abin da na amsa, "Ban sani ba, Baba."

"Kana tunanin haka?"

"Nasan haka."

(Ranar 6) Ni da mahaifina muka bi ta cikin ruwa don mu isa gidan mai da ke bakin titi. Mun nemi hawan jirgin ruwa zuwa gida kuma na kama wannan kyakkyawan kyakkyawan gani.

Andrew Farias memba ne na ajin 2021 a Kwalejin Carleton, wanda ya kammala horon horo a Washington, DC

¹https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/30/harvey-has-unloaded-24-5-trillion-gallons-of-water-on-texas-and-louisiana/?utm_term=.7513293a929b
²https://www.popsci.com/where-does-flood-water-go#page-5
³http://www.galvbay.org/news/how-has-harvey-impacted-water-quality/
⁴https://oceanfdn.org/blog/coastal-ecosystems-are-our-first-line-defense-against-hurricanes
⁵https://www.dallasnews.com/news/harvey/2017/09/07/hurricane-harveys-floodwaters-harm-coral-reefs-gulf-mexico
⁶http://stormwater.wef.org/2017/12/gulf-mexico-researchers-examine-effects-hurricane-harvey-floodwaters/
⁷https://qz.com/1064364/hurricane-harvey-houstons-flooding-made-worse-by-unchecked-urban-development-and-wetland-destruction/
⁸https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2017/10/16/barker-addicks-reservoirs-release-west-houston-memorial-energy-corridor-hurricane-harvey
⁹https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/31/harvey-is-a-1000-year-flood-event-unprecedented-in-scale/?utm_term=.d3639e421c3a#comments
¹⁰ https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-storm-harvey-forecast-texas-louisiana-arkansas
¹¹ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/29/houston-area-impacted-hurricane-harvey-visual-guide
¹² https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=90866