Trillions of dollars needed to avoid ‘climate apartheid’ but this is less than cost of inaction
The world’s readiness for the inevitable effects of the climate crisis is “gravely insufficient”, according to a report from global leaders.
This lack of preparedness will result in poverty, water shortages and levels of migration soaring, with an “irrefutable toll on human life”, the report warns.
Continue reading...Firefighters fear significant property losses, with scores of blazes still burning in Queensland and NSW
• Mass evacuations as bushfires threaten more homes – live updates
Hundreds of people are holed up in evacuation centres on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as crews wait to see how many homes have been lost to a ferocious fire, while firefighters in New South Wales are still battling out-of-control fires near the border.
There are fears of significant property losses, with a destructive blaze still burning out of control at Peregian Beach and Peregian Breeze Estate, south of Noosa.
Continue reading...Crew said people without visas must disembark ferry to Florida because of CBP’s ‘last-minute call’ that they would not be admitted
More than a hundred Bahamian citizens desperate to escape the devastation of Hurricane Dorian were ordered off a ferry to Florida, sparking a dispute between US immigration officials and the operator of the vessel.
Related: Search for survivors of Hurricane Dorian continues in Bahamas
Continue reading...One of the strongest typhoons to hit the Japanese capital in recent years made landfall just east of Tokyo on Monday, bringing record-breaking winds, stinging rain and sending some rivers close to the top of their banks. About 5,000 people in Chiba and nearby Kanagawa prefecture were ordered to evacuate and more than 100 flights were cancelled and scores of train lines were closed.
Continue reading...The government of the Bahamas has sent 900 police and military personnel to the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama hardest hit by Hurricane Dorian, while taking action to stave off any profiteering by private sector rescue missions amid signs of chaos in some of the aid operations.
The destruction caused by the hurricane was still unfolding as a humanitarian and environmental disaster a week after it landed in the northern reaches of the Bahamas as a category 5 tempest.
Continue reading...Rescuers battle to reach devastated communities as cruise ships arrive with supplies and volunteers
Rescue teams are still struggling to reach some flood-hit Bahamian communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian as top officials said the death toll had risen to 43, while it is feared hundreds, perhaps thousands, remain missing.
Government agencies and charities continued to bring desperately needed relief efforts to the Bahamas, including cruise ships loaded with supplies and volunteers.
Continue reading...The Bahamian health minister has said the public will need to prepare for ‘unimaginable information about the death toll’ as it continues to rise after Hurricane Dorian brought 185mph winds to the Caribbean nation. The UN ordered eight tons of ready-to-eat meals, and crews have begun clearing streets and setting up aid distribution centres. The storm, which has now weakened, is moving slowly north along the eastern US seaboard
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We’re logging off here, but our reporters in the Bahamas and North Carolina will continue our Dorian coverage this weekend. Here’s a wrap up of everything that happened today:
Fears are growing that damage to a major oil storage terminal on the shore of Grand Bahama Island could cause oil to leak into the ocean, potentially damaging reefs and wildlife off the coast.
Absolutely CATASTROPHIC #oilspill in #GrandBahama from #HurricaneDorian at the #Statoil / @Equinor facility. Teams need to be here TODAY to a) prevent a fire from starting (oil across the highway where people are trying to help) b) stop any/all spillage to ocean and c) clean up pic.twitter.com/8u3e2BDYdY
Continue reading...Lashing rain, 185mph winds – the ferocious storm has left 43 dead and hundreds missing. Oliver Laughland reports from the rubble of Grand Bahama
As Erica Roberts clung to a tall mango tree, the winds and sea water churned up by Hurricane Dorian pounding her face, a single thought ran through her head: “I will not die like this.”
Related: 'I thought no one was coming to rescue us': Abaco Islanders flee Dorian's destruction
Continue reading...Residents inhaling smoke from peat and trees burned hundreds of miles away
An increase in Indonesian forest fires – the sharpest rise since 2015 – has infuriated neighbouring Malaysia, where residents are inhaling smoke from peat and trees burned hundreds of miles away.
More than 14 megatonnes of carbon dioxide were discharged from the blazes on 5 September, more than triple the average on this day over the previous 15 years, according to satellite data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
Continue reading...After hammering the Bahamas and leaving at least 30 dead, Hurricane Dorian began raking the south-east US seaboard, with the eye hitting the North Carolina coast on Thursday evening.
The threat to the US remains real but in the Bahamas the storm has left such terrible devastation that the authorities were still struggling to get aid to stricken areas and the death toll is expected to rise, perhaps steeply.
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Sarah St George, chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, told the Guardian that the “force and size” of Dorian took everyone by surprise, a situation made worse by the hurricane stalling over the archipelago.
“Grand Bahama is not in good shape at all because 70% of it was under water,” St George said. “On the north side of the island the water was coming up to the second floor of their houses. My assistant Tammy was on the roof of her house for 30 hours hanging on to a coconut tree with her 8-year-old daughter Ariana. Her grandmother lost her grip and slipped off the roof and drowned. There was no way of getting to them. They’ve lost everything.”
In the president’s continuing battle against his own incorrect statement that Alabama was under threat from Hurricane Dorian, which has left at least 23 people dead, he has just now been tweeting what he claims is evidence he knew what he was talking about.
It is not.
Just as I said, Alabama was originally projected to be hit. The Fake News denies it! pic.twitter.com/elJ7ROfm2p
I was with you all the way Alabama. The Fake News Media was not! https://t.co/gO5pwahaj9
Over the weekend, projections for #HurricaneDorian have continually skewed further north and east, leaving Alabama outside the anticipated path. While we are thankful for that, we remain #AlwaysReady to help our sister states. #OneTeamOneFight #OneGuard pic.twitter.com/7TbFKpd2Zh
Continue reading...Hurricane Dorian destroyed most property on the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, forcing residents to leave everything behind
Kathlyn Russell collapsed on the concrete, tears streaming, as she embraced the daughter she feared she would never see again.
Related: Hurricane Dorian: 'generational devastation' in Bahamas, says PM
Continue reading...Donald Trump has caused uproar on social media after displaying a map of Hurricane Dorian's path featuring an extra loop drawn in Sharpie extending it to Alabama – in an apparent attempt to validate previous baseless claims the state could be affected.
Over the weekend, as Dorian struck the Bahamas, the president issued a torrent of tweets. One mistakenly warned that Alabama would also be impacted.
Just 20 minutes later, the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama, tweeted: "Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian. We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east.”
Continue reading...Officials expect the number of dead will continue to rise as large parts of some islands remain inaccessible to rescue crews
The official death toll of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas has risen to 20 people with officials certain the number will continue to rise, the prime minister, Hubert Minnis, announced as he declared a “historic tragedy” on the archipelago.
At a press conference late on Wednesday the prime minister also warned of reports of looting on the Abaco Islands, a northern band of islands in the Bahamas hardest hit by Dorian, which pummelled the area as a slow moving category 5 hurricane over the weekend.
Continue reading...The International Space Station captured striking images of Hurricane Dorian on Wednesday as it churned towards the United States, after causing major damage to the Bahamas. Dorian was moving along Florida’s north-eastern coast at 9mph Wednesday afternoon. Forecasters said it had maximum sustained winds of 105mph (169kph) and was centred about 180 miles (290 kilometres) south of Charleston, South Carolina
Continue reading...To the annals of American political scandal, we must now add Sharpiegate.
Related: Floridians still divided over climate crisis as Dorian rages
Continue reading...The monster storm is expected to bring intense rainfall and flooding after causing devastation in the Bahamas
A handy guide from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on dealing with the storm:
If you're sheltering from #Dorian & the power goes out:
Unplug appliances & electronics to avoid damage from electrical surges
❄ Keep the refrigerator & freezer closed so food lasts longer
⚠ Only use generators outside, away from windows
Tips: https://t.co/xGiYRfN5oB pic.twitter.com/fFbx1CeF3o
Approximately 396,000 residents are under mandatory evacuation orders, according to North Carolina’s joint information center spokeswoman Laura Leonard.
On Monday Henry McMaster, the governor of South Carolina, ordered 830,000 to leave areas likely to be effected by the storm. Charleston was among the mandatory evacuation zones, along with parts of counties to the north.
Continue reading...Aerial footage taken on Wednesday shows utter devastation in Marsh Harbour, one of the first places in the Bahamas ravaged by Hurricane Dorian. The video recorded over the Bahamas' Great Abaco Island showed mile upon mile of flooded neighbourhoods, pulverised buildings, upturned boats and shipping containers scattered like toys. Many buildings that had not been flattened had walls or roofs partly ripped away. “We are in the midst of a historic tragedy,” said the Bahamian prime minister, Hubert Minnis. “The devastation is unprecedented and extensive.”
Continue reading...Video shows the scale of catastrophe as the storm continues to move away from the Bahamas and towards Florida
Kari Paul logging off for the evening. Please stay tuned tomorrow for more updates as Dorian reaches the US coast and the picture of effects on the Bahamas become clearer.
Here are the latest updates from this afternoon:
The death toll for Hurricane Dorian climbed to seven, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said on Tuesday night, according to CNN. The death toll, which was at five earlier in the day, has been expected to climb as survivors of the natural disaster face ongoing food and medicine shortages.
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