In July 2024, the Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) tracker identified 14 countries where militaries deployed in response to climate hazards, including Italy, Liberia, North Macedonia, the Philippines, the United States, and elsewhere. The tracker documented 26 incidents in total, with deployments responding to hurricanes and typhoons, drought, flooding, and wildfires.
In early July, intense winds, rainfall, and flooding from Hurricane Beryl devastated parts of the Caribbean, the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Texas Gulf Coast, prompting deployments from 4 militaries. Initially forming on June 28 and rapidly intensifying to become a Category 5 hurricane on July 2, Hurricane Beryl was the earliest ever Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic. In response to the destruction in the Caribbean, the Jamaica Defense Force was activated, and the United Kingdom deployed the HMS Trent to the Cayman Islands to provide emergency supplies and support relief efforts. In Mexico, more than 8,000 personnel from the Army, Air Force, Navy, and National Guard assisted with evacuations and rescue operations. In the United States, troops and helicopters from the Texas National Guard supported disaster response efforts after the hurricane made landfall as a Category 1 storm on July 8, and the Vermont National Guard helped evacuate dozens of people after the tail end of the storm caused major flooding around Barre, VT. According to NOAA, the unprecedented hurricane was fueled by exceptionally warm ocean temperatures, which will likely contribute to an especially strong hurricane season this year.
In late July, Typhoon Gaemi, also known as Typhoon Carina, affected millions in the Philippines, Taiwan, and China, triggering landslides, inundating communities, and inflicting widespread damage. Taiwan's Coast Guard rescued dozens of sailors along its southern coast after the typhoon sank a cargo ship and grounded eight other freighters on July 25. Typhoon Gaemi also interrupted Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military exercise, prompting the cancellation of air force drills, but naval exercises continued. Moreover, the extreme storm conditions caused an oil tanker carrying 1.4 million liters (nearly 400,000 gallons) of industrial fuel to capsize off the coast of Manila on July 25. Oil has been leaking from the tanker, creating an oil slick of around 8 miles across the bay and illustrating the danger of cascading environmental and supply chain risks as climate change intensifies extreme weather events. The Philippine Coast Guard deployed to rescue the crew and has been working to siphon the oil from the vessel to prevent an environmental disaster in the region.
Elsewhere, armed forces around the world responded to severe wildfires. On July 24, the Canadian Armed Forces deployed to Alberta to assist with evacuations and conduct firefighting operations against a wildfire that has destroyed about a third of the Municipality of Jasper, Alberta and become the largest wildfire recorded in Jasper National Park in the last 100 years. In the Balkans, armed forces in Albania, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia battled wildfires fueled by heatwave temperatures, and North Macedonia has also requested additional assistance from the EU as the fires cross into Greece. Meanwhile, the California National Guard was activated in response to several wildfires across the state, including the Park Fire, California's fifth-largest wildfire at more than 386,000 acres. Two helicopters from the Nevada Army National Guard and four C-130 aircraft, one each from the California, Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming Air National Guards, have been deployed to California to assist with the state's wildland firefighting operations. In addition, the National Guard in Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, and Washington fought wildfires throughout the month in their own states.
To see the full MiRCH tracker with new updates for July, click here.
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