Postcards: After Helene, one Asheville church finds a way to step up
In less than four months, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church has doled out more than $US3.5 million in rent support to hundreds of people who have walked through its doors. YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports…
Trump mulls scrapping FEMA, pledges disaster help to North Carolina, California
Los Angeles, US Reuters US President Donald Trump on Friday floated shuttering the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a trip to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, where he pledged government support and sparred with Democratic officials. Fresh from assuming office on Monday, Trump’s visit showcased a desire to show up early in the […]
Los Angeles races to contain wildfires as severe winds return, 24 killed
Updated: 1:15pm (AEDT) Los Angeles, US Reuters Firefighters raced to contain the frontiers of two Los Angeles wildfires that burned for the sixth straight day on Sunday, taking advantage of a brief respite in hazardous conditions before high winds were expected to fan the flames anew. At least 24 people have died in what California […]
Florida counts cost of Hurricane Milton amid political storm
Fort Pierce/St Petersburg, Florida, US Reuters Florida on Friday was clearing downed trees and power lines and mopping up flooded neighbourhoods after Hurricane Milton roared through leaving at least 16 people dead. While Milton did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared in Florida, one of many states hit by Hurricane Helene […]
Hurricane Milton leaves at least 10 dead, millions without power in Florida
Fort Pierce/St Petersburg, Florida, US Reuters Hurricane Milton plowed into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after cutting a destructive path across Florida that spawned tornados, killed at least 10 people and left millions without power, but the storm did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared. Governor Ron DeSantis said the state […]
Hurricane Milton leaves trail of destruction in march across Florida
Updated: 10.15pm (AEDT) St Petersburg, Florida, US Reuters Hurricane Milton marched across Florida on Thursday after making landfall on the state’s west coast hours earlier, whipping up deadly tornadoes, destroying homes and knocking out power to nearly two million customers. The storm made landfall around 8:30pm EDT on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane with […]
Storm Beryl kills three in Texas, knocks out power
Reuters Tropical Storm Beryl brought howling winds and torrential rain to south-east Texas on Monday, killing at least three people, flooding highways, closing oil ports, canceling more than 1,000 flights and knocking out power to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses. Beryl, the season’s earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, weakened from a hurricane […]
Updated: Maui officials defend decision not to sound sirens during wildfire
Updated: 12:30pm Lahaina, Hawaii, US Reuters Maui’s emergency management chief on Wednesday defended his agency’s decision against sounding sirens during last week’s deadly wildfire amid questions about whether doing so might have saved lives. Herman Andaya, administrator of the Maui County Emergency Management Agency, said sirens in Hawaii are used to alert people to tsunamis. […]
Maui search is 25 per cent complete as death toll from wildfires grows to 99
Kahului, Hawaii Reuters Search teams with cadaver dogs have combed through 25 per cent of the Lahaina disaster zone from the Maui wildfires, discovering the remains of a 99th victim on Monday, but perhaps hundreds more people were unaccounted for nearly a week after the disaster. Fueled by winds gusting up to 128 kph, an […]
Maui wildfires deadliest in a century as death toll hits 89
Kahului, Hawaii Reuters The death toll from the Maui wildfires reached 89 on Saturday, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century – and the total is likely to rise in coming days as search teams with cadaver dogs continue sifting through the ruins of Lahaina. The scale of the damage came […]