Climate change is affecting the work place

Flooding has been a common issue among many Michiganders because of the heavy storms the state has been experiencing. Climate change has affected the way people even view storms.

Alex McLenon at his desk at the WDET office on Oct. 13, 2021. McLenon’s desk had to get the carpet underneath removed as it was ruined by flooding.

According to Melissa Denchak, reporter for Natural Resources Defence Council more flooding has been happening in the Midwest lately. She also said how the country has become 4% wetter and has heavy precipitation that is increasing to 50% more thans ever. So, rains are becoming 50% heavier within this century.

All the flooding has affected people’s homes and businesses' buildings. WDET 101.9, Detroit’s NPR station had to pause their in person work hours to allow for construction to take place. This building had water leaking in from the sides and the ceiling. Many employees were upset with the tragedy.

Russ McNamara, a broadcast journalist at WDET on Oct. 13, 2021 as he works at his desk. His desk sits on top of packing paper due to the carpet being ripped out because the flood ruined it.

Alex McLenon, is an Oakland University Alumni and has been adjusting to his life after college. He experienced a lot of things throughout his college years, he started as an intern at WDET in 2018 and became the senior intern in 2019. He started working as a reporter for WDET in the fall of 2019.

The street view of WDET in Detroit on Oct. 13, 2021. Alex McLenon and other employees were excited to return to work before the flooding happened.

With just getting started at his new job, he was looking forward to the things he would do in his new role with the company.

When COVID-19 hit, McLenon and other staff members had moved virtually and were waiting for the day they could come back into the office.

A fan linked to a vent in the main newsroom of WDET on Oct. 13, 2021. The fan is working to dry out the main area of the building after floods ruin the infrastructure.

Once the company was allowed to come back into the office, after a month their building was hit by the big storms that happened in Michigan. These storms flooded their building and caused all the staff members to go back to being remote until the building could be fixed.

The carpet was ruined in sports, desks were soaked in water and the ceilings were leaking everywhere. McLenon went back to working from home,

“There’s an entire wall where everyone’s desks were ruined and the news room has been a construction zone with the carpet getting replaced in different areas,” McLenon said. “There’s an entire door blocked off for a fan right now.”

Staff members of WDET on Oct. 13, 2021 on their weekly in person meeting while construction continues in other parts of the building. They are working hard around the inconveniences the storms has caused them.

Storms have become more frequent and severe because of the rising sea levels caused by climate change. According to Tianyi Sun and Ilissa Ocko, both Climate Scientists, the evaporation of bodies of water is happening at a faster pace. This means there is more water in the clouds causing heavier rainfall.

The main lobby of WDET on Oct. 13, 2021 where the receptionist waits st her computer. This is one of the only areas within the building without water damage.

“It makes sense that climate change and all the storms we have been experiencing are linked,” McLenon said. “A lot of places have flooded because of this, and WDET was unfortunate enough to be one of those places.”

Another fan working on drying out parts of the WDET radio station’s office on Oct. 13, 2021. Climate change has caused an increase in storms within the Midwest.

With big storms and category 5 hurricanes being more common nowadays, climate change has been having a domino effect on people’s lives. The warmer the water temperature is the more heat energy there is too. This allows for more hurricanes and tropical cyclones to be developed, this is all a rippling effect of climate change.

A part of dry wall chipping off in the WDET office on Oct. 13, 2021. There are many infrastructure issues within the studio now due to the multiple floods the building went through.

McLenon and his team are now returning to the office once a week to still make time for construction to happen. His desk was one of the places that got affected by the floods. With the carpet underneath being ruined, he works on top of packing paper for now.

Climate change has been affecting people’s lives in many ways, but now it’s more than just a rise in temperature. There are more hurricanes and storms coming and it’s only going to get worse.