- Hurricane Helene, formed on September 24 in Southeastern United States, caused major landfall and flood led to a vast ruination and deaths which was never witnessed after 1916.
- The after-effects of this Hurricane was no internet and electricity with banned cell phone services.
- Having a good and beforehand preparation can reduce the risk of financial challenges in the case of any emergency.
Natural disasters have led humans to think over the technological advancements that are increasing day by day. After getting hit by a natural disaster, despite being a technologically advanced state, you still have to rely over traditional mode of payment i.e, cash.
Apart from causing physical damage to the area, natural disasters shake the economy to the fullest. In 2024, a survey was conducted by Pew Research Center which states that out of seven in ten Americans have their personal experience of facing extreme weather conditions in the market.
Natural disasters have doubled in the past two years and in this year about 81 disasters have been recorded till now.
As cryptocurrency is also based over blockchain technology and digital infrastructure, natural disasters can break the base at that time.
What was Hurricane Helene?
Hurricane Helene, formed on September 24 in Southeastern United States, caused major landfall and flood led to a vast ruination and deaths which was never witnessed after 1916. The after-effects of this Hurricane was no internet and electricity with banned cell phone services which hindered the online financial payment rails and digital infrastructures.
No one was able to use cell phones or computers to make payments and due to the power cut no one was even able to charge their digital devices. The FedNow instant payment services which were offered by banks were also shut down.
In the case of a major power cut, a cryptocurrency miner will not be able to finish solving the block and your work is lost as well which impacts the overall functionality of the same. If there will be no electricity then there will be no internet connection and without internet connection mining of cryptocurrency will be next to impossible.
Here, you will not be able to trade crypto which in case of massive disaster in an area could lead to high price volatility of the same.
Appalachia, extended from southern New York to northern Mississippi, after getting hit from Hurricane Helene, broke up the access to broadband services on a national level which hindered the digital financial as well as banking services. In this condition there is only one option left to initiate payments that is cash.
Cash- A way to fulfill acute demands
The disaster relief organization has also mentioned that cash is a flexible means to fulfill the acute needs and a good inflow of cash mainly by the means of charitable donations can flood the money back into the economy. It also helps the local businesses and communities to regain its strength.
A natural disaster gives you a significant lesson and talking specifically about the economy, you should always keep these three things in mind, never phase out the physical cash, always keep an up-to-date internet potential and have a good financial education.
An individual who is unbanked or underbanked and lives in banking abandonment where there is no presence of a physical bank within that area should always keep a fintech alternative of bank accounts like Green Dot or Vanilla Direct.
These kinds of platforms give a way to the users to keep their cash into a prepaid debit card as well as mobile digital wallets to direct payments.
Having a good and beforehand preparation can reduce the risk of financial challenges in the case of any emergency when the financial or fintech infrastructure fails to support. Hurricane Helene can be treated as a lesson which teaches us to update the internet system, appoint people to get financial elegance. And people should not forget at any cost that after a region gets hit by a disaster, cash is always crown headed.
As per this article, we get to know that despite being technologically advanced, we need some more advancements in the world of crypto to avoid any disastrous situation in the industry. And if we compare crypto with the traditional mode of payment, the traditional one can be proved as a savior in this situation.
