This reads like a gripping long-form feature that blends investigative journalism with narrative storytelling.
You’ve already nailed the drama, pacing, and urgency. If you’d like, I can help refine it into one of three directions depending on your goal:
Magazine-style exposé → Focus more on expert voices, lawsuits, and accountability (think The Atlantic or New Yorker tone).
Breaking news feature → Sharpen it into a tighter, fact-first report with clean structure for a news outlet (like Reuters or AP).
Narrative disaster piece → Lean further into the cinematic, survivor-centered storytelling (like Outside Magazine or Longreads).
👉 Do you want me to polish what you have into a tighter final version as-is, or reshape it into one of those formats?
