Most expensive storm cost $100bn while deadliest floods killed 1,700 and displaced 7 million, report finds
The 10 most expensive storms, floods and droughts in 2022 each cost at least $3bn (£2.5bn) in a “devastating” year on the frontline of the climate crisis, a report shows.
Christian Aid has highlighted the worst climate-related disasters of the year asmore intense storms, heavy downpours and droughts are driven by rising global temperatures as a result of human activity.
Continue reading...Army veteran Steven Pringle turned his life around with bike shop where he fixed bikes, sold new ones and gave many away
A Michigan army veteran who turned his life around with a bike shop died in a crash while delivering free bikes to children in Florida affected by Hurricane Ian, his family said.
Steven Pringle, 57, was killed in Punta Gorda, Florida, on 23 November, a few weeks after a profile in the Detroit Free Press described how his passion for fixing bikes had touched many people in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Continue reading...Executive order makes voting easier in Florida’s Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties but not in Democratic Orange county
Governor Ron DeSantis has made voting easier in certain Florida counties battered by Hurricane Ian – but only Republican-leaning ones.
DeSantis signed an executive order on Thursday that eases voting rules for about 1 million voters in Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties, all areas that Hurricane Ian hit hard and that all reliably vote Republican.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...As Puerto Rico prepares for Joe Biden’s visit this afternoon, a grassroots collective known as Queremos Sol (we want sun) has published an open letter (in Spanish) in the La Perla online daily urging the president to not waste federal taxpayer dollars on rebuilding the storm vulnerable fossil fuel dependent grid.
“As you know, the absence of electricity after Hurricane Maria caused thousands of deaths. Now, two weeks after Hurricane Fiona, several deaths related to the lack of electricity have been documented. To a large extent, these deaths could have been prevented.
Continue reading...Fema administrator says people should ‘make informed decisions’ about rebuilding in areas hit by natural disasters
US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Deanne Criswell asked Americans on Sunday “to make informed decisions” about rebuilding in vulnerable areas hit by natural disasters intensified by climate change.
“People need to understand what their potential risk my be whether it’s along the coast, inland along a riverbed or in tornado alley,” Criswell told CNN’s Face the Nation. “People need to make informed decisions about what their risk is and if they choose to rebuild there they do so in a way that’s going to reduce their threat.”
Continue reading...Twenty-seven reported dead in Florida and four in North Carolina as residents try to rebuild from one of most powerful recent storms
As Hurricane Ian upended the lives of millions along the south-eastern United States, authorities sifting through the wreckage in Florida and the Carolinas were reporting a few dozen deaths as of Saturday, and the states’ residents were early in the stages of rebuilding from one of the strongest, most expensive hurricanes in recent American history.
The storm had worked its way north after slamming into Florida and slowly weakening, gathering some of its strength back from the warm Atlantic Ocean waters before hitting South Carolina on Friday. It made its second US landfall in Georgetown, 60 miles north of Charleston, destroying parts of four popular piers, including two in Myrtle Beach.
Continue reading...The Florida governor, having spent millions on migrant stunt, now passes the hat for disaster relief
Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, has become a familiar, and to some a reassuring, face on numerous television channels through the traumatic aftermath of Hurricane Ian’s rampage through the state.
But the near-constant presence of the Republican, who in less chaotic times limits his on-screen appearances largely to the Fox News faithful, is not sitting comfortably with others, nor are his appeals for public contributions for hurricane relief while he is using taxpayers’ money for “political stunts”.
Continue reading...After the storm knocked out power and destroyed property, people scramble for shelter, funds and news of the missing
For Connie Irvin, 82, and her partner, Cheryl Lange, the cost of Hurricane Ian’s devastating tear across Florida was clear. “Our entire community is wiped out,” said Irvin.
The pair lost their mobile home on Sanibel Island off the state’s west coast and are now homeless, staying in a motel inland about 35 miles away near Naples, Florida, that currently has no electricity.
Continue reading...Twenty-one people dead with toll expected to rise after mega-storm carves wide path of devastation and moves north
The coast of South Carolina was hit on Friday with a direct strike from Hurricane Ian, the deadly mega-storm that carved a wide path of destruction on its earlier rampage through Florida.
The eye of the hurricane crossed over land at Georgetown, between Myrtle Beach and the historic city of Charleston, after strengthening overnight in the Atlantic.
Continue reading...Lee and Charlotte counties in Florida have around 15% of their power restored, governor Ron DeSantis said at a news briefing on Friday morning.
“There is going to be some that require rebuilds,” DeSantis said, adding that the utilities in those counties plan to carry out the restoration process as soon as possible.
“Ian is moving toward the north near 14 mph (22 km/h). Ian is forecast to move more quickly toward the north today followed by a turn toward the north-northwest by tonight,” the advisory said.
“On the forecast track, the center of Ian will reach the coast of South Carolina today, and then move farther inland across eastern South Carolina and central North Carolina tonight and Saturday,” it added.
Continue reading...Man films fish ‘flopping around’ in neighbour’s garden but experts are split over identification
Photos and videos of sharks and other marine life swimming in suburban floodwaters make for popular hoaxes during heavy storms. But a mobile phone video filmed during Hurricane Ian’s assault on south-west Florida isn’t just another fishy story.
The video, which showed a large, dark fish with distinct dorsal fins thrashing around an inundated Fort Myers back yard, racked up more than 12m views on Twitter within a day, as users responded with disbelief and comparisons to the “Sharknado” film series.
Continue reading...As Hurricane Ian hits the Americas, Noru has been ripping through the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand
Hurricane Ian has been in the headlines but it is not the only storm that has been causing havoc in the past week.
On Tuesday, Typhoon Noru struck south of the city of Da Nang in Vietnam, heading westwards to Thailand. Initially a tropical storm, Noru originated in the Philippine Sea on 23 September, propagating westwards while gathering moisture and strengthening.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Search and rescue effort under way after vessel sank in Stock Island, in the Florida Keys, hours before hurricane made landfall
Eighteen people are missing after a boat carrying Cuban migrants sank off Florida due to Hurricane Ian, further underlining the human cost of the storm.
US border patrol said on Wednesday that it responded to a migrant landing in Stock Island, in the lower Florida Keys, Reuters said.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...‘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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