More than 85 significant wildfires are burning across the west, where a record 2.5m acres have been destroyed in the latest batch of blazes. At least seven people have died and the dense plumes of smoke have turned skies red and amber
Continue reading...Category Archives: Natural Disasters
Pyrotechnic device at gender-reveal party causes California wildfire – video
A fire in California that has burned more than 7,000 acres was caused by a 'pyrotechnic device used at a gender reveal party', according to the the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Almost 12,500 firefighters are battling 22 major fires across the state, according to Cal Fire
Continue reading...‘Devastation everywhere’: Louisiana city wakes up to storm’s aftermath
Lake Charles felt the full force of Hurricane Laura and now residents who rode out the disaster are picking up the pieces
Classie Ballou lives on the fifth floor of Chateau du Lac, an eight-story retirement home in the Louisiana city of Lake Charles. “I made it through Rita,” he said from a park bench in the rubble of downtown as he reflected on the fury of Hurricane Laura that had just roared through his home town. “Honestly, I thought it wasn’t going to be that bad.”
He shook his head. “If I were doing it over, I would leave.”
Continue reading...U.S. needs a different role in Yemen
In other parts of the globe, like the Republic of Yemen, lethal forces are stalking victims whom Americans cannot always picture in complicated political scenarios we may not quickly grasp. So the average American blinks, and in that blink opportunists make deals with undemocratic, unprincipled bullies.
Study: Houston Needs $2B More in Federal Funds to Fix Harvey Housing Damage
An estimated 130,000 Houstonians affected by Harvey were overlooked in the city's original housing needs assessment, according to the Houston Housing and Community Development Department. To fix the previously neglected damage, the city needs an extra $2 billion in federal resources, the agency said in an Oct. 5 report.
Michael lays bare Panhandle’s weaker building codes
Unlike in South Florida, homes in the state's Panhandle did not have tighter building codes until just 11 years ago; it was once argued that acres of forests would provide the region with a natural barrier against the savage winds of a hurricane. When many of the homes on the Panhandle were built, the state had a patchwork of codes from which some buildings here were exempt.
Michael’s destruction reveals region’s weaker building codes
Unlike in South Florida, homes in the state's Panhandle did not have tighter building codes It was once argued that the trees would help save Florida's Panhandle from the fury of a hurricane, as the acres of forests in the region would provide a natural barrier to savage winds that accompany the deadly storms. It's part of the reason that tighter building codes - mandatory in places such as South Florida - were not put in place for most of this region until just 11 years ago.
Ap Fact Check: Trumpa s tall tale on a recorda judges, income
With midterm elections three weeks away, he is claiming a "record" 84 judges confirmed to the federal bench and suggests he will fill 50 percent of the seats in the judiciary. It's not a record, and he's nowhere close to half.
Ap Fact Check: Trump on hurricane and political winds Source: Ap
Hurricane Michael has shown that President Donald Trump can't always be counted on to give accurate information to the public when a natural disaster unfolds. Trump wrongly stated that the hurricane moved across land with blazing speed, which stopped a terrible situation from becoming even worse because the storm didn't linger.
The Latest: 2 more deaths from Michael in North Carolina
North Carolina authorities say a car smashed into a tree felled by Hurricane Michael, killing two people and bringing the total death toll from the storm to 13. McDowell County Emergency Management Director William Kehle says the accident happened about 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Marion, located in mountainous McDowell County. State emergency management spokesman Keith Acree said the 64-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘Apocalyptic:’ One town demolished by Michael
Hit head-on by Hurricane Michael, numerous homes in this resort town of about 1,190 people were shattered or ripped from their foundations. Boats were tossed like toys.
The Latest: Scott, Nelson postpone Senate debate on CNN
U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long says he expects the death toll from Hurricane Michael to climb because teams haven't gotten to the hardest-hit areas in Florida. Long said Friday that he's worried people didn't evacuate along Mexico Beach or from other devastated locations and may not have survived.
Hurricane Michael: Towns in Florida Panhandle ‘devastated like a war zone’
Entire oceanfront communities in the Florida Panhandle were virtually obliterated, an Air Force base suffered "catastrophic" damage and at least six people were killed by Hurricane Michael , a sucker-punch of a storm that intensified suddenly and now ranks as one of the four most powerful hurricanes ever to strike the United States. "This one just looks like a bomb dropped," said Clyde Cain, who is with the Louisiana Cajun Navy, a group of volunteer search-and-rescue teams that went to Florida to help in Michael's wake, just as they did last month during Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas.
‘Apocalyptic:’ One Florida town demolished by Michael
Mishelle McPherson looks for her friend in the rubble of her home, since she knows she stayed behind in the home during Hurricane Michael, in Mexico Beach, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. Mishelle McPherson looks for her friend in the rubble of her home, since she knows she stayed behind in the home during Hurricane Michael, in Mexico Beach, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018.
Mexico Beach is a wiped outa by Hurricane Michael as other Florida cities are smashed
What used to be a gorgeous beachfront city now looks like an apocalyptic mess after Hurricane Michael shredded Mexico Beach, Florida. "Mexico Beach was wiped out," said Brock Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Famous for staying open during natural disasters, Waffle House closes 21 restaurants
Hurricane Michael is so bad , Waffle House closed 21 restaurants in storm's path for the foreseeable future. "We close the restaurants when there is a mandatory evacuation or when conditions determine that it is not safe," Pat Warner, Waffle House's director of public relations and external affairs, said in an email.
What’s happening: Hurricane Michael hits Florida, Georgia
Hurricane Michael is one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S., and the proof is strewn across miles of Florida's coastline: Roofs and awnings peeled from buildings, pieces of homes scattered amid snapped trees and downed power lines, chunks of beaches washed away. After landfall in Florida, Michael's strong winds and heavy rains thrashed Georgia and headed toward the Carolinas, including areas that got a soaking last month from Hurricane Florence.
The Latest: Michael lashes Florida coast as Cat 4 hurricane
Officials with FEMA and NOAA briefed reporters on the latest threats from Hurricane Michael and urged citizens to heed local warnings ahead of landfall.
Monstrous’ Hurricane Michael heads towards Florida
A fast and furious Hurricane Michael sped towards Florida on Tuesday night with 120mph winds and a potential storm surge of 13 feet, giving tens of thousands of people little time to get out or board up. Drawing energy from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the storm strengthened rapidly into a potentially devastating Category 3. It was forecast to blow ashore around midday on Wednesday near Panama City Beach, along a lightly populated stretch of fishing villages and white-sand beaches.
Standing Rock Sioux forming volunteer firefighter program
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has a wildfire team on the 3,600-square-mile reservation, but the tribe has never had a fire station nor a group of people trained to fight structure fires. ``If we have a fire, the house just burns to the ground,'' tribal Emergency Manager Elliott Ward told The Bismarck Tribune.