Category Archives: Hurricanes

Florida rocked by home insurance crisis: ‘I may have to sell up and move’

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Soaring hurricane-cover premiums are bad news for the state’s homeowners – and Ron DeSantis is accused of dragging his feet

Households in Florida, the third most populous state in the US, have been grappling for some time with a property insurance crisis that is making home ownership unaffordable for many. After at least six insurers went insolvent in Florida last year, Farmers on Tuesday became the latest to pull out of the Florida market, saying in a statement that the decision was based on risk exposure in the hurricane-prone state.

Climate change is threatening the very existence of some parts of Florida. And the costs are already being felt by Floridians. At the end of 2022, average annual property insurance premiums had already risen to more than $4,200 in Florida – three times the national average.

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Tropical Storm Bret forecast to strengthen into hurricane

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Storm approaching eastern Caribbean Leeward and Windward Islands in aggressive weather pattern early in the season

Tropical Storm Bret is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the eastern Caribbean’s Leeward and Windward islands, with meteorologists noting that the weather pattern is unusually early and aggressive for the Atlantic cyclone season that formally began on 1 June.

It is only the second hurricane to form in the tropical Atlantic in June since record keeping began, according to forecasters. The previous June hurricane was the 1933 Trinidad hurricane.

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Weather tracker: Finland experiences coldest June on record

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Despite 24-hour sun, Lapland dips to -7.7C. Elsewhere, the Atlantic hurricane season begins

Thursday 1 June saw potentially the lowest June temperature on record in Finland. A weather station in Lapland, Enontekiö Kilpisjärvi Saana, reached -7.7C. This may not seem that cold for northern Finland, where winter temperatures reach as low as -51.5C, but the last time Lapland saw a minimum temperature of -7C in June was on 3 June 1962.

In addition, at this time of year Lapland experiences midnight sun where it is constantly light and the sun does not set. This unseasonal cold was possible in the first month of summer due to a large area of high pressure to the west of Finland, blocking the usual westerly/south-westerly flow of weather systems across the Atlantic and North Sea.

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Hurricane Nicole brings rain and wind to Florida then weakens to tropical storm

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Storm is forecast to head into Georgia and the Carolinas later Thursday and Friday, dumping heavy rain across the region

A weakening Tropical Storm Nicole doused large areas of Florida with heavy rain on Thursday, after battering the east coast overnight as a rare November hurricane.

The late-season cyclone made landfall close to Vero Beach at about 3am, delivering 75mph winds and a damaging storm surge that collapsed buildings and swept away roads as far north as Daytona Beach.

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Tropical Storm Nicole expected to hit Florida as rare late-season hurricane

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Nicole expected to strengthen and make landfall on Thursday as state of emergency is declared in 34 counties

A rare late-season hurricane is expected to hit Florida, after the Sunshine state dealt with the impact of Hurricane Ian a month ago.

Tropical Storm Nicole is expected to make landfall in eastern Florida this week. As the storm continues to strengthen, it is expected to make landfall as a category 1 hurricane on Thursday morning, reported CNN citing the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

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Two November hurricanes pose rare threat at end of 2022 Atlantic season

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Hurricane Lisa, which has battered Belize, formed at same time as Martin, now over Atlantic, for only third time since records began

Two November hurricanes have simultaneously formed in the Atlantic Ocean for only the third time since records began.

Hurricanes Lisa and Martin have brought an unusual amount of activity for this time of year, when hurricane season is usually nearly over. A third system in the Caribbean is also developing, reports the Washington Post.

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Two dead after Hurricane Roslyn hits Mexico Pacific coast

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Roslyn hit land as category 3 hurricane before weakening as it headed inland

Two people died on Sunday from destruction caused by tropical storm Roslyn after it made landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast as a powerful hurricane before weakening farther inland, authorities said.

A 74-year-old man was killed in the town of Mexcaltitan de Santiago Ixcuintla when a beam fell on his head, Nayarit state’s ministry of security and citizen protection said. A 39-year-old woman died when a fence collapsed in the state’s Rosamorada district.

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Hurricane Julia: Nicaragua braces amid flash flood and mudslide warnings

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Nicaraguan soldiers assist evacuations as up to 38cm of rain forecast across Central America after tropical storm strengthened into hurricane

Hurricane Julia swept by just south of Colombia’s San Andres island on Saturday evening soon after strengthening from a tropical storm, as Nicaraguans rushed to prepare for the storm’s arrival on their coast overnight.

After gaining power throughout the day, Julia’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 120km/h (75mph) by Saturday evening, the US National Hurricane Center said.

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Son saves mother trapped in flooded home after Hurricane Ian

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Johnny Lauder swam through half-mile of flood waters in Naples, Florida, to pull his mother, a double amputee, out of her home

Every time flood waters inundate a community, forecasters admonish their viewers not to swim through them because of countless perils potentially hidden under the surface – but Johnny Lauder ignored those warnings after Hurricane Ian’s storm surge trapped his mother, a double amputee, inside her Florida home.

Lauder swam through a half-mile of neck-deep, rapidly moving, debris-filled flood waters that swamped his 84-year-old mother’s neighborhood in Naples to pull her out of the home that she couldn’t flee from ahead of Ian.

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Hurricane Orlene strikes Mexico’s Pacific coast with 80mph winds

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Nearby ports are closed and emergency shelters open as 10in of rain and dangerous surf are expected

Hurricane Orlene has made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast near the tourist town of Mazatlán, with winds of more than 80mph (130km/h).

Electrical cables swayed and sent off showers of sparks in the town of El Rosario, about 40 miles (65km) south of Mazatlán, close to where the hurricane hit.

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More than 700 rescues in Florida as ‘historic storm’ heads towards South Carolina – as it happened

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In a press conference, Ron DeSantis said food, water and other supplies are being distributed to those who did not evacuate

26 states have provided support to Florida amid the damages that Hurricane Ian has left across the state.

“It’s going to be put to use,” DeSantis said on Thursday morning.

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Hurricane Ian: ‘catastrophic’ damage in Florida as trapped residents are rescued

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Biden says storm could ‘be deadliest in state’s history’ as authorities express fears of a growing death toll

The “catastrophic” scale of damage wreaked by Hurricane Ian’s 150mph deadly rampage across Florida gradually became clearer on Thursday as emergency crews rescued trapped residents from flooded homes, and authorities expressed fears of a growing death toll.

Search and rescue crews conducted hundreds of missions in areas of south-west Florida that were submerged by a storm surge of up to 18ft after one of the most powerful storms ever to strike the US swept ashore on Wednesday.

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Hurricane Ian latest updates: one million Florida residents lose power as storm rips through state

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Charlotte and Lee counties hardest hit after storm makes landfall along the south-western coast with winds close to 150mph

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has laid out the predicted path of Hurricane Ian as it is expected to hit land this afternoon.

Hurricane preparations have been underway at the Big Cat Rescue, the animal sanctuary in Tampa featured on Netflix’s Tiger King TV series.

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Hurricane Ian: more than 2m without power as Florida hit with ‘catastrophic’ wind and rain

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‘Major, major’ storm, estimated to be 140 miles wide, sweeps inland after causing huge flooding on coast, with millions of residents in its path

Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever to strike the US mainland, has battered south-west Florida with high winds, rain and storm surges as it weakened and moved inland.

More than 2m homes and businesses were left without power as the storm swept ashore in south-west Florida on Wednesday afternoon, bringing “catastrophic” 150mph (240km/h) winds and a deadly storm surge of up to 18ft. Hours later, the storm – estimated to be about 140 miles (225km) wide – was downgraded from a category 4 to a category 1 storm as it moved slowly north-east, causing major flooding.

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Hurricane Ian: Cuba left without power as intensifying storm heads to Florida

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Electricity grid collapses in Cuba after hurricane passes through, as 2.5 million people in Florida ordered to evacuate

Cuba’s electricity grid has collapsed, leaving the entire country without power in the wake of Hurricane Ian, as residents in Florida braced for the arrival of what is expected to be a catastrophic Category 4 storm.

The western end of Cuba was hit by violent winds and flooding on Tuesday, affecting infrastructure, state-run media reported, while some of the country’s most important tobacco farms were devastated.

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Hurricane Ian hits Cuba and expected to intensify before reaching Florida

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Thousands evacuated in Pinar del Río, as Floridians are warned storm may strengthen to category 4

Hurricane Ian has torn into western Cuba with nothing to stop it from intensifying into a catastrophic category 4 hurricane before its expected landfall in Florida on Wednesday.

Tampa and St Petersburg in Florida could get their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921.

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Houses washed away after storm Fiona as Canada sends in military for cleanup

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Troops to remove trees and restore transport links after Fiona caused severe damage including torn-off roofs and flooding

Canadian troops are being sent to assist the recovery from the devastation of storm Fiona, which swept away houses, stripped off roofs and knocked out power across the country’s Atlantic provinces.

After surging north from the Caribbean as a hurricane, Fiona came ashore before dawn on Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone, battering Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec with hurricane-strength winds, heavy rains and huge waves.

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Storm Fiona ravages Canada’s east coast causing ‘terrifying’ destruction

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Post-tropical cyclone reaches Gulf of St Lawrence after racing through Nova Scotia forcing evacuations

Powerful storm Fiona ripped into eastern Canada on Saturday with hurricane-force winds, forcing evacuations, knocking down trees and powerlines, and reducing many homes on the coast to “just a pile of rubble in the ocean”.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the centre of the storm, downgraded to post-tropical cyclone Fiona, had reached the Gulf of St Lawrence after racing through Nova Scotia.

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Florida prepares for hurricane as tropical storm Ian grows over Caribbean

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Cayman Islands and Jamaica brace while Florida governor declares emergency, with storm headed to state by midweek

Florida residents on Saturday were bracing for a heavy tropical storm system that weather experts warn could become a major hurricane.

Ian – upgraded to a hurricane from a tropical storm Sunday – was poised to intensify steadily after forming on Friday over the southern Caribbean. The storm could cross over into parts of Cuba before heading to Florida by the middle of next week, according to forecasts.

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Post-tropical cyclone Fiona hits eastern Canada with hurricane-force winds

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Storm surges and heavy rainfall expected before weather event gradually weakens this weekend, say meteorologists

A powerful storm has hit eastern Canada with hurricane-force winds nearly a week after devastating parts of the Caribbean.

The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said the centre of Fiona, which transformed from a hurricane into a post-tropical cyclone late on Friday was crossing eastern Nova Scotia, bringing high winds and heavy rains.

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