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Tag: Hurricanes

  • Hurricane Hilary prompts historic tropical storm warning for California as Southwest braces for dangerous rain, flooding | CNN

    Hurricane Hilary prompts historic tropical storm warning for California as Southwest braces for dangerous rain, flooding | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Residents in the Southwest are bracing for heavy rains and potentially catastrophic flooding as Hurricane Hilary is expected to pummel the region as a rare tropical storm beginning Sunday and lasting into next week.

    Hilary remains a Category 4 hurricane as it marches toward the coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula with sustained winds of 130 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Its core is expected to pass close to the peninsula Saturday night and then weaken into a tropical storm as it crosses into the US and Southern California.

    The threat has triggered California’s first ever tropical storm warning extending from the state’s southern border to just north of Los Angeles.

    The Southwest is forecast to see heavy rainfall through early next week – with the most intense conditions on Sunday and Monday – as Hilary advances. The deluges could bring more than a year’s worth of rain to parts of California, Nevada and Arizona.

    Parts of Southern California and Nevada could see 3 to 6 inches of rain and as many as 10 inches in some places, the center said. Elsewhere, amounts of 1 to 3 inches are forecast.

    While Hilary’s core will pack a powerful punch, the NHC warned that strong winds and rain will begin far in advance of its arrival.

    “Preparations for the impacts of flooding from rainfall should be completed as soon as possible, as heavy rain will increase ahead of the center on Saturday,” the hurricane center said.

    In anticipation of the storm, officials across the region have begun to prepare for perilous road conditions, downed power infrastructure and dangerous flood conditions.

    Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo announced Friday that 100 state National Guard troops will be deployed to southern Nevada, which may see significant flooding.

    President Joe Biden said in a Friday news conference that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has preemptively positioned personnel and supplies to respond in Southern California or other parts of the region, if needed.

    If Hilary makes landfall in California as a tropical storm, it would be the first such storm to do so in the state in nearly 84 years, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    Parts of Southern California face a high risk for excessive rainfall – also the first Level 4 of 4 threat to be issued for the area. This level of risk is exceptionally rare. From 2010 to 2020, high risks were issued on fewer than 4% of days per year on average, but were responsible for 83% of all flood-related damage and 39% of all flood-related deaths, research from the Weather Prediction Center shows.

    Due to the significant threat, the state has prepared water rescue teams, California National Guard personnel and flood fighting equipment ahead of Hilary’s arrival, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Friday.

    Highway maintenance crews will also be staffed around-the-clock in order to aid in roadway safety, the governor’s office said.

    Electricity utility Southern California Edison – which serves more than 15 million people in the region – said Thursday that Hilary is on track to impact much of its service area. The company said it is preparing to respond to outages but urged residents to gather supplies including flashlights, external battery chargers and ice chests.

    As the homeless community is particularly at risk for flooding dangers, officials in both Los Angeles and San Diego say they are performing outreach and offering temporary shelter. The LA County Sheriff’s Department said it is also mapping out at-risk encampments and making aerial announcements about the storm.

    “We hope that the storm does not cause any damage, and more importantly there is no loss of life,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a Friday news conference. “But we will prepare for a worst-case scenario, not only to assist people here in our county, but if we are not impacted or affected, we will become a resource to other neighboring counties as needed.”

    San Diego has also spent the last several days cleaning storm drains, clearing streets and readying equipment, Mayor Todd Gloria said Friday.

    The storm threat also prompted Major League Baseball to overhaul its weekend schedule in the region, moving Sunday games hosted by the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres to instead be split doubleheaders on Saturday.

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  • CSUF Marine Geologist: Tropical Storms Like Hurricane Hilary Could Significantly Change Southern California’s Coast

    CSUF Marine Geologist: Tropical Storms Like Hurricane Hilary Could Significantly Change Southern California’s Coast

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    Newswise — Experts anticipate that more than a year’s worth of rain could fall within a couple of days in some areas of Southern California this weekend. The National Hurricane Center on Friday issued the first-ever Tropical Storm Watch for Southern California. The region hasn’t experienced a tropical storm since 1939.

    Joe Carlin, associate professor of geological sciences, notes that it is important to think of Hurricane Hilary as an isolated random event or possibly the start of a new trend. However, researchers won’t know the answer to that for many years.

    What researchers do know is that these types of storms can create significant changes along the coast, which can be problematic for areas that have coastal development.

    Carlin said: “In the case of Hilary, this could cause large waves that will move sand around — erode sand from one area and deposit sand somewhere else — erode cliffs and damage coastal structures. These storms may also cause a storm surge, which is flooding from the ocean that can inundate coastal areas inland from the beaches.

    “The storm could bring heavy rains to the area which, in addition to flooding inland areas, could transport significant amounts of sand to the coast where it will be deposited, changing the coastline.

    “In terms of episodic events, these create abrupt and significant changes to coastal areas and coastal processes. The stronger the event, like a tropical storm or hurricane, the faster and greater coastal change occurs.

    “We cannot say that the storm Hilary on its own is related to climate change as this is a singular weather event and climate is the long-term average of weather. However, if we were to see multiple tropical storms or hurricanes over the next several years and decades, that may be related to climate change.”

    About Cal State Fullerton: The largest university in the CSU and the only campus in Orange County, Cal State Fullerton offers 110 degree programs and Division 1 athletics. Recognized as a national model for supporting student success, CSUF excels with innovative, high-impact educational practices, including faculty-student collaborative research, study abroad and competitive internships. Our vibrant and diverse campus is a primary driver of workforce and economic development in the region. CSUF is a top public university known for its success in supporting first-generation and underrepresented students, and preparing all students to become leaders in the global marketplace. Our It Takes a Titan campaign, a five-year $250 million comprehensive fundraising initiative, prioritizes investments in academic innovation, student empowerment, campus transformation and community enrichment. Visit fullerton.edu.

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    California State University, Fullerton

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  • Hurricane Hilary expected to strengthen to Category 4 before weakening, dumping rain over California and Southwest US this weekend | CNN

    Hurricane Hilary expected to strengthen to Category 4 before weakening, dumping rain over California and Southwest US this weekend | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Hurricane Hilary is expected to intensify into a lashing Category 4 storm as it nears Mexico’s Baja Peninsula on Friday and then weaken over the weekend, bringing rain and flooding to parts of the Southwest US.

    Hilary was churning about 430 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Thursday night with sustained winds of near 125 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in an overnight advisory.

    The storm strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane Thursday evening and is likely to build into a powerful Category 4 on Friday, the advisory said. It is then expected to begin weakening as it continues north on Saturday.

    Hilary’s center is on track to approach the Baja Peninsula on Friday and over the weekend, prompting Mexican officials to issue a hurricane watch and tropical storm watches and warnings for parts of Baja California Sur, the hurricane center said.

    There remains a wide range of outcomes for the heaviest rain and strongest winds in the US as the storm moves north over the next couple of days along Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Small deviations in the hurricane’s track could change the forecast for the most intense rain and wind.

    The storm is expected to substantially weaken before reaching Southern California and parts of the Southwest but there’s an increasing chance the regions will be significantly impacted by heavy rain and flooding.

    Heavy rainfall is expected to begin impacting the Southwest on Friday and through early next week, with the most intense downpours likely on Sunday and Monday, according to forecasters.

    Southern swaths of California and Nevada could see 3 to 5 inches of rain with isolated amounts of up to 10 inches. Smaller amounts of 1 to 3 inches are expected across central parts of those states as well as across western Arizona and southwest Utah.

    If Hilary makes landfall in California as a tropical storm, it will be a rare occurrence – the first such storm there in nearly 84 years and would be only the third tropical storm or stronger to do so on record, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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  • These factors are making it hard to combat the deadly Maui wildfires | CNN

    These factors are making it hard to combat the deadly Maui wildfires | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The wind-whipped fires in Maui spread swiftly and created a deadly tinderbox, overwhelming residents and local officials in one of the nation’s deadliest wildfires.

    “It’s very strange to hear about severe wildfires in Hawaii – a wet, tropical island – but strange events are becoming more common with climate change,” Jennifer Marlon, a research scientist and lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment, told CNN.

    Fueled by a combination of strong winds and dry conditions – and complicated by the island’s geography – the fires have killed at least 36 people.

    “For those of us who’ve been working on this problem, it just makes us feel sick,” said Clay Trauernicht, an assistant specialist who studies tropical fire at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

    Maui’s wildfire appears to be one of the deadliest in modern US history. The fire already ranks as the second deadliest in the past 100 years, trailing California’s Camp fire, which killed 85 people in November 2018, according to CalFire.

    Trauernicht said it was by far the deadliest wildfire in Hawaii’s history.

    These are some factors making it difficult to combat the fires that have plunged a state known for its stunning natural beauty into an unprecedented crisis:

    Drought worsened in Hawaii over the past week, leading to fire spread, according to the US Drought Monitor released Thursday. Severe level drought conditions in Maui County ticked up to 16% from 5% last week, while statewide moderate drought levels jumped to 14% from 6%.

    Dried-out land and vegetation can provide fuel for wildfires, which then can swiftly turn deadly if strong winds help fan the flames toward communities.

    “It’s more a fuels problem than a climate problem – which means that it’s a problem we can tackle,” Trauernicht said in a phone interview.

    “There are tangible actions that we could be taking that would reduce the risk of something like this happening in the future,” he added, referring to measures such as the creation of fuelbreaks to reduce fire-prone vegetation and support for agricultural land use.

    “It’s a priority when the fires are burning. But at that point, it’s too late.”

    While scientists try to fully understand how the climate crisis will affect Hawaii, they have said drought will get worse as global temperatures rise: Warmer temperatures increase the amount of water the atmosphere can absorb – which then dries out the landscape.

    Drought conditions are becoming more extreme and common in Hawaii and other Pacific Islands, according to the Fourth US National Climate Assessment, released in 2018. Rainfall has generally been decreasing in Hawaii over time, with the number of consecutive dry days increasing, scientists noted in the report.

    And the climate crisis has caused droughts that previously may have occurred only once every decade to now happen 70% more frequently, global scientists reported in 2021.

    “Combining abundant fuels with heat, drought, and strong wind gusts is a perfect recipe for out-of-control fires,” Marlon said by email.

    “But this is what climate change is doing – it’s super-charging extreme weather. This is yet another example of what human-caused climate change increasingly looks like.”

    Evacuation orders in parts of Hawaii as wildfires grow

    Hurricane Dora, a fast-moving and powerful Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140 mph, isn’t helping matters.

    As the storm roared south of Hawaii, a strong high-pressure system stayed in place to the north, with the two forces combining to produce “very strong and damaging winds,” according to the National Weather Service.

    “These strong winds coupled with low humidity levels are producing dangerous fire weather conditions” through Wednesday afternoon, the weather service said.

    The high winds, ongoing drought conditions and dry relative humidity are “ingredients to spark those fires and to fan the flames,” CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said.

    “The problem is that this wind – similar to, let’s say, Santa Ana winds in Southern California – is that it dries out and it warms up as it (travels down) the mountains, and it creates these very dry, timber-like conditions,” he said.

    Hurricane Lane in 2018 was also associated with large fires on Maui and Oahu, noted Abby Frazier, a climatologist and geographer at Clark University in Massachusetts.

    “Wildfire is a bigger issue in Hawaii than many people may realize,” Frazier said via email from Hawaii, where she has been working on a research project in Oahu.

    “During the wet season, fuels are built up and then dry out over the dry season,” she added. “When you combine these dry fuels with the high winds and low humidity we have right now from Hurricane Dora, we have extremely dangerous fire weather.”

    Another compounding factor is El Niño, Frazier said. The climate pattern originates in the Pacific Ocean along the equator and impacts weather all over the world.

    “This means higher than usual hurricane activity in the central Pacific this summer,” she wrote.

    “While we tend to see wetter conditions during El Nino summers (which builds up fire fuels), Hawaii should expect drought conditions likely this winter, which will dry out the fuels and usually leads to an earlier start to our fire season for next year.”

    van dam hawaii vpx

    A hurricane is fueling wildfires in Hawaii. Meteorologist explains how

    Nonnative species now cover nearly a quarter of Hawaii’s total land area, and invasive grasses and shrubs become highly flammable in the dry season, Trauernicht said.

    Hawaii also has lost large plantations and ranches, with fire-prone grasses overtaking fallow lands, he said.

    “When plantations were active, firefighters would show up on scene … people would be there opening the gates, all the roads were maintained, there was water infrastructure and equipment. And they would have support from the people working on these plantations,” Trauernicht said.

    “As that has changed, and land use has changed. It’s all on the firefighters right now.”

    Hawaii also has suffered from dramatic shifts in rainfall patterns.

    The area burned each year in Hawaii is now about 1% of the state’s total land area – comparable to and often exceeding the 12 Western states on the mainland where fires are most common, according to Trauernicht and the Pacific Fire Exchange.

    The geography of Hawaii – an island chain in the Pacific – and limited firefighting resources also complicate efforts.

    Personnel at the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife are primarily natural resource managers, foresters, biologists and technicians – not full-time wildland firefighters, according to the agency website.

    “West Maui is kind of a perfect example – one highway through the whole place,” Trauernicht told CNN. “Our resources are limited to what’s on island. The resources … are going to be spread thin.”

    Fewer than 300 firefighting personnel responded to the state’s second-largest fire, on the Big Island in 2021, Trauernicht said.

    “If you compare that to the mainland, there would have been probably a couple of thousand firefighters,” he said.

    “That gives you a sense of the kind of … limitations that we have here. This fire right now, I guarantee it, anyone who’s available to respond is responding. We don’t really have the ability to definitely bring in resources from other states. That’s not happening.”

    By Thursday, meanwhile, the wildfires had killed at least 36 people on the island, compared to six deaths reported just a day earlier.

    “I think this is going to be far worse than anything we’ve ever seen, unfortunately,” Trauernicht said.

    Despite warnings it seems many were taken by surprise.

    “The National Weather Service issued a kind of heads up. We had a few days lead time about the weather conditions,” Trauernicht said.

    “We anticipated the high winds and dry conditions. But managing fuels at the scale in which we need to, those are actions that need to be taken at minimum months in advance of these fires and these conditions.”

    Longer-term planning and prevention efforts are needed to fight the growth of invasive grasses and shrubs, Trauernicht said.

    “This is something that we’ve been saying for decades,” he said. “We can create landscapes that are far less likely to burn, far less sensitive to these fluctuations in climate or in weather that create such dangerous conditions.

    “We sort of owe it to these guys that are fighting this thing right now.”

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  • At least 6 dead as Maui wildfires overwhelm hospitals, sever 911 services and force people to flee into the ocean | CNN

    At least 6 dead as Maui wildfires overwhelm hospitals, sever 911 services and force people to flee into the ocean | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    At least six people have died as a result of the fires that are continuing to ravage parts of Maui, the island’s mayor, Richard Bissen Jr., said at a Wednesday morning news conference.

    “I’m sad to report that just before coming on this, it was confirmed we’ve had six fatalities,” he said. “We are still in a search and rescue mode.” He did not offer further details about the deaths.

    More than a dozen people had to be rescued from the ocean, among them two young children, officials in Maui County said.

    Several people are also unaccounted for, Bissen added.

    “As a result of three fires that have occurred that are continuing here on our island we have had 13 evacuations from different neighborhoods and towns, we’ve had 16 road closures, we’ve opened five shelters,” Bissen said, noting more than 2,000 people were staying at shelters.

    “We’ve had many dwellings – businesses, structures – that have been burned, many of them to the ground,” the mayor said, adding most were in the western town of Lahaina.

    Bissen said helicopters that could not safely fly a day earlier due to high winds were in the sky Wednesday and using water drops to help suppress the flames. It will be impossible to estimate the extent of the damage until the blazes are put out, he added.

    The flames have torched hundreds of acres and are still not contained.

    “Local people have lost everything,” said James Kunane Tokioka, the state’s business, economic development and tourism director, at the news conference. “They’ve lost their house, they’ve lost their animals and it’s devastating.”

    Video footage shot by Air Maui Helicopter Tours over parts of the Lahaina area shows entire blocks were decimated by the flames, with little but ruins and ashes left, and everything still engulfed in a thick, hazy smoke.

    “We were not prepared for what we saw. It was heartbreaking, it looked like an area that had been bombed in the war,” Richie Olsten, the director of operations for the tour agency, told CNN’s Jake Tapper Wednesday. “It’s just destroyed.”

    “In my 52 years of flying on Maui, I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” Olsten added.

    Hawaii’s governor, who was on a personal trip this week, said he was rushing back to the state Wednesday.

    The true scope of devastation on the idyllic Hawaiian island remains unknown.

    That’s because the infernos have knocked out cell service, hindered emergency communications and trapped residents and tourists on the island, which is home to about 117,000.

    The wildfires – fueled in part by Hurricane Dora churning some 800 miles away – have cut off 911 service and other communications in many parts of Maui.

    “911 is down. Cell service is down. Phone service is down,” Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told CNN on Wednesday.

    “Our hospital system on Maui, they are overburdened with burn patients, people suffering from inhalation,” she said. “The reality is that we need to fly people out of Maui to give them burn support because Maui hospital cannot do extensive burn treatment.”

    The disaster also has wiped out power to more than 12,000 homes and businesses in Maui, according to PowerOutage.us.

    Tourists are being discouraged from going to Maui, Luke told reporters Wednesday.

    “Today we signed another emergency proclamation which will discourage tourists from going to Maui,” she said. “Even as of this morning, planes were landing on Maui with tourists. This is not a safe place to be.”

    In certain parts of the island, there are shelters that are overrun, Luke added: “We have resources that are being taxed.”

    Hawaii isn’t the only US state grappling with devastating wildfires – a trend some experts had predicted for this season. Parts of Texas are under a critical fire risk Wednesday, a day after a brush fire engulfed an apartment building in the Austin area.

    But the crisis unfolding in Maui is extraordinary, Hawaii’s lieutenant governor said.

    “We never anticipated in this state that a hurricane which did not make impact on our islands, will cause this type of wildfires,” Luke told reporters at Wednesday’s news conference. “Wildfires that wiped out communities, wildfires that wiped out businesses, wildfires that destroyed homes.”

    Alan Dickar just learned one of his rental properties went up in flames when he saw Lahaina, an economic hub, get swallowed by wildfire.

    “Front Street exploded in flame,” Dickar told CNN Wednesday.

    Dickar, who has lived in the area for 24 years, said there was little time to flee.

    “I grabbed some people I saw on the street who didn’t seem to have a good plan. And I had told them, ‘Get your stuff, get in my truck,’” he said.

    “And there’s only one road that leads out of Lahaina, so obviously it was backed up,” Dickar said. “I dropped everybody else off and then I went to a place in another part of Maui that’s far away. And as soon as I got there, that whole area had to evacuate because of a totally different fire. … Just as I arrived, that whole area got evacuated.”

    Dickar eventually fled to a remote part of Maui. “I figured that was enough, and I’m safe here at least from a fire evacuation because it’s a rainforest,” he said.

    Clint Hansen took drone video Tuesday night that showed wildfires spreading just north of Kihei.

    Clint Hansen shot this footage of catastrophic blazes on the island of Maui.

    “Lahaina has been devastated,” Hansen told CNN. “People jumping in the ocean to escape the flames, being rescued by the Coast Guard. All boat owners are being asked to rescue people. It’s apocalyptic.”

    Live Updates: Wildfires burn in Maui, prompting rescues in Lahaina

    And it’s not clear where the disaster will head next.

    Maui fire officials warned that erratic wind, challenging terrain, steep slopes and dropping humidity, plus the direction and the location of the fire conditions make it difficult to predict path and speed of a wildfire, according to Maui County officials.

    “The fire can be a mile or more from your house, but in a minute or two, it can be at your house,” Maui County Fire Assistant Chief Jeff Giesea said. “Burning airborne materials can light fires a great distance away from the main body of fire.”

    State officials are working with hotels and a local airline to try to evacuate tourists to another island, Luke said. But severed communications have hindered efforts.

    “Resorts and visitors and commercial districts have lost communication due to downed cell towers and landlines that only work within very local areas. “As a result, 911 service is currently down,” said Mahina Martin, chief communications officer from Maui Emergency Management Agency.

    Maui County officials have not been able to communicate with many people on the west side – including those in the Lahaina area, Luke said.

    Satellite phones have been the only reliable way to get in touch with some areas, including hotels, the lieutenant governor said.

    The Kahului Airport was sheltering about 1,800 travelers from “canceled flights and flight arrivals,” the Hawaii Department of Transportation posted on social media.

    Members of a Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources wildland firefighting crew battle a fire Tuesday in Kula, Hawaii.

    Members of the Hawaii National Guard are assisting with the calamity in Maui – with more on the way.

    “Hawaii National Guardsmen have been activated and are currently on Maui assisting Maui Police Department at traffic control points,” Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, Hawaii’s adjutant general, posted on Facebook.

    The overnight deployment was hastened by the dynamic fire conditions, Hara wrote, adding more National Guard personnel would arrive in the counties of Maui and Hawaii later Wednesday.

    Dora, a powerful Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 mph, was about 795 miles southwest of Honolulu as of Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

    Smoke rises from a wildfire Tuesday in Lahaina, on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

    As Dora travels south of the islands, a strong high-pressure system remains in place to the north. The area of high pressure in combination with Dora is producing “very strong and damaging winds,” the National Weather Service said.

    Winds as high as 60 mph are expected through the overnight in Hawaii, then will begin to diminish through the day on Wednesday.

    “These strong winds coupled with low humidity levels are producing dangerous fire weather conditions that will last through Wednesday afternoon,” the weather service said.

    By Wednesday afternoon, the area of high pressure, as well as Dora, will both drift westward, allowing the winds to subside.

    Two brushfires were burning Tuesday on the Big Island, officials said in a news release, one in the North Kohala District and the other in the South Kohala District. Some residents were under mandatory evacuation orders as power outages were impacting communications, the release said.

    Plumes of smoke billow Tuesday from a fire in Lahaina, Maui County.

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  • DeSantis faces new leadership test as Hurricane Idalia barrels toward Florida | CNN Politics

    DeSantis faces new leadership test as Hurricane Idalia barrels toward Florida | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    With the eyes of the country on Hurricane Idalia as it spins toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential ambitions are also under the spotlight as he puts his campaign on hold to manage the crisis at home.

    DeSantis flew back to Tallahassee from Iowa on Saturday night and has since appeared regularly on Florida televisions with updates on Idalia’s path and state efforts to prepare for the approaching storm. From behind a lectern with the state seal, the Republican governor has matter-of-factly shared logistics and warnings.

    The coming days will present a range of tests for DeSantis to navigate during a critical juncture in his governorship and White House bid. His stewardship of the hurricane response and recovery efforts will be closely scrutinized by his political opponents and Republican voters, watching whether he can lead through difficult moments, comfort the aggrieved and learn from the lessons of past storms.

    It is not clear when DeSantis will return to the campaign trail. In a text message to supporters, his campaign said it would go dark for a few days, adding: “Before we sign off, can we ask you to chip in any amount you can to support our end-of-month fundraising push?”

    For his part, DeSantis said he will be in Florida for as long as necessary.

    “You do what you need to do,” DeSantis said Tuesday. “So that’s what we’re doing. It’s going to be no different than what we did during Hurricane Ian [last year]. I’m hoping that this storm is not as catastrophic as Hurricane Ian was, but we’re gonna do what we need to do because it’s just something that’s important.”

    While no Florida executive would publicly suggest a hurricane is an opportunity to showcase leadership chops, past storms have certainly tested governors and forged their legacies. DeSantis’ predecessor, Republican Rick Scott, dealt with Hurricane Michael just weeks before the 2018 election, when he was running for US Senate against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson. Scott leaned into managing the crisis with gusto and ultimately won his race in a recount.

    Perhaps no one did more to solidify their standing among Floridians during such disasters as former GOP Gov. Jeb Bush, whose handling of eight hurricanes during a deadly two-year stretch of tropical weather is still remembered by those who experienced the devastation. One of those hurricanes, Katrina, forever altered perceptions of the presidency of Bush’s older brother, George W. Bush, showcasing how storms can also plunge an executive into crisis.

    Those past Florida governors, though, were not running for president. Rarely have incumbent state executives faced a disaster of Idalia’s potential magnitude in the throes of a White House bid.

    The most notable recent exception is Republican Chris Christie, who as New Jersey governor in 2016 returned to his home state to manage a blizzard amid criticism for putting the presidential race ahead of his elected duties. At the time, Christie was campaigning in New Hampshire, which was just weeks away from holding the first-in-the-nation primary. Christie is once again running for the GOP nomination.

    “I don’t think any presidential candidate wants to be taken off the campaign trail. But you can’t ignore your day job,” said Alex Conant, a senior adviser to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign. “Insufficient responses to storms have ended political careers. Every governor takes the threat of a hurricane seriously because if the response is mishandled, not only are lives at stake, but there’s political fallout.”

    In the past 24 hours, DeSantis’ team has signaled it would not shy away from showcasing the governor’s storm response to Republican voters. His aides have shared posts on social media of people praising DeSantis’ activity so far, with his office press secretary writing on X, “Find you a leader that shows up like @GovRonDeSantis.” In a memo sent Tuesday, DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo wrote that DeSantis is “now at the helm of Florida’s hurricane response and is working with local officials across the state to do everything necessary to ensure Florida is fully prepared.”

    “This is the strong leadership in times of crisis that Americans can expect from a President DeSantis,” Romeo added.

    Just as he did last year, when Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida amid his race for reelection, DeSantis has vowed to put partisan politics aside for the time being. Though a regular critic of President Joe Biden – including over the Democrat’s response to the Maui wildfires – DeSantis said he has spoken with the president and expects the two administrations to work in concert toward Florida’s recovery.

    “There’s time and a place to have political season, but then there’s a time and a place to say that this is something that’s life-threatening. This is something that could potentially cost somebody their life, it could cost them their livelihood, and we have responsibility as Americans to come together,” DeSantis said Monday.

    (Coming off the devastation in Hawaii, Biden is facing a separate range of questions about his administration’s response to yet another natural catastrophe.)

    DeSantis’ departure from the campaign trail comes just days after the first GOP presidential debate at a moment when his team believes voters are starting to tune into the race. He is trailing Donald Trump in GOP primary polling but is aggressively challenging the former president in early nominating states.

    The Florida governor is also staving off a field of GOP contenders, who must now also balance sensitivities around Hurricane Idalia with their attempts to overcome DeSantis in the polls.

    “DeSantis is going to get a breather in terms of attacks,” said Todd Belt, director of the political management program at George Washington University and author of “The Post-Heroic Presidency.”

    “This is similar to what we see in the rally-around-the-flag phenomena,” Belt said. “When there’s something that affects the country more generally, the other party ceases attacks on the incumbent party. It helps in the polls, at least temporarily. It would look really bad for other Republicans to criticize DeSantis during this time, and the question is how long will they wait? It’s worth noting that Florida is an extremely important electoral state.”

    Storm response has already become part of DeSantis’ pitch to voters. On the campaign trail, he has often shared the story of the swift reopening of two bridges destroyed by Hurricane Ian as evidence of his executive management. DeSantis has also asserted that he could send his “Florida people” to the southern border to build a wall.

    “Come on, Joe (Biden),” he said earlier this year. “Let us get it done. We’ll do it.”

    But Ian also generated some negative attention for DeSantis. Images of the governor wearing white rain boots and campaign gear as he surveyed storm-ravaged regions provided fodder for his political detractors and were spread widely on social media by Democrats and Trump supporters.

    DeSantis was also forced to defend the late local evacuation orders last year that left many coastal residents in Lee County unprepared for Ian’s deadly turn, despite the persistent threat of cataclysmic storm surge.

    Though DeSantis said this week that the state has not changed its evacuation protocols, he and state officials have emphasized that Idalia could bring dangerous storm surge all along Florida’s west coast, even outside the projected path of the storm. This year, he has spent time warning residents who are outside the forecasted “cone” – or the probable track of the center of the storm.

    Idalia is forecast to make landfall near Florida’s Big Bend area as a Category 3 hurricane or stronger, potentially bringing record storm surge to a part of the state’s west coast that has not experienced a storm of this magnitude in more than 150 years.

    While the storm is perhaps an opportunity for DeSantis to show strength in mobilizing his administration to respond to a storm, the expected devastation also has the potential to challenge DeSantis’ limitations as a consoler in chief, a role Biden has embraced during national tragedies.

    DeSantis’ capacity for compassion has already come under fire this week following his rushed response to Saturday’s killing of three Black people by a White gunman in Jacksonville. His office on Saturday shared a video statement from DeSantis that seemed hastily shot in front of white vinyl siding in Iowa, during which he called the racially targeted attack “totally unacceptable.” The next day he attended a vigil for the victims where he called the shooter a “major league scumbag.”

    The tone of his remarks and his appearance at the vigil drew criticism from those who wanted DeSantis to acknowledge efforts by his administration to alter how Florida students learn about race and the lived experience of Black Americans.

    “A white man in his early twenties specifically went to kill BLACK PEOPLE,” Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon, who represents Jacksonville and was photographed next to DeSantis at the vigil wearing a “Stand with Black Women” shirt, posted on X. “The governor of our state of Florida has created an environment ripe for this.”

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  • Why cell phone service is down in Maui — and when it could be restored | CNN Business

    Why cell phone service is down in Maui — and when it could be restored | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Thousands of people in Maui are without cell service as the wildfires continue to rage out of control on the island, preventing people from calling emergency services or updating loved ones about their status. It could take days or even weeks to get the networks back up and running.

    “911 is down. Cell service is down. Phone service is down,” Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told CNN on Wednesday morning.

    Although strong winds can sometimes threaten cell towers, most are strong enough to handle the worst that even a Category 5 hurricane can bring. Fire, however, complicates the issue.

    “When the fires get too close to cell sites, they will obviously burn equipment, antennas, and feedlines,” said Glenn O’Donnell, VP of research at market research firm Forrester. “In extreme cases, they will also weaken the towers, leading some to collapse. The smoke and flames can also attenuate signals because of the particulate density in the air.”

    If a tower collapses, cell networks could take months to restore. But if carriers are able and prepared to do restorations with mobile backup units, it could bring limited service back within hours, O’Donnell said. Wireless carriers often bring in COWs (Cells On Wheels), COLTs (Cells On Light Trucks), and GOaTs (Generators on Trailers) in emergencies to provide backup service when cell towers go down.

    Power outages are also a threat to cell phone towers. The Maui disaster has already wiped out power to at least 14,000 homes and businesses in the area, according to PowerOutage.us. Many towers have backup power generators, but they have limited capacity to keep towers running.

    Cell towers have back-up technology built in, but this is typically done through optical fiber cables or microwave (wireless) links, according to Dimitris Mavrakis, senior researcher at ABI Research. However, if something extraordinary happens, such as interaction with rampant fires, these links may experience “catastrophic failures and leave cells without a connection to the rest of the world.”

    And, in an emergency, a spike in call volume can overload the system – even if people are able to get reception.

    “Even cells that have a good service may experience outages due to the sheer volume of communication happening at once,” Mavrakis said. “Everyone in these areas may be trying to contact relatives or the authorities at once, saturating the network and causing an outage. This is easier to correct though and network operators may put in place additional measures to render them operational quickly.”

    A T-Mobile spokesperson said the company is monitoring the situation and assessing the fire’s impact on its equipment in the area.

    “When conditions are safe, our Emergency Management Team will deploy portable, agile satellite and microwave solutions that will restore service in impacted areas,” the spokesperson said. “We also have portable generators ready to deploy to sites affected by commercial power loss, and our Emergency Response Team is working with FEMA and the state of Hawaii to support firefighters and other first responders, organizations and communities.”

    An AT&T spokesperson told CNN it is also assessing the’ impact to its wireless network and “will continue to coordinate closely with local utility companies on restoration progress.” The company is waiving talk, text and data overage charges during this time.

    Verizon did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

    Satellite networks, however, continue to operate regardless of what’s happening on the ground. This means satellite phones, which often feature large antennas, can help provide voice, SMS, and data services anywhere on Earth, even without cell service.

    Satellite phones have been popularized over the years by hikers, emergency responders and intrepid travelers, but they are are expensive and are not mainstream products. However, some newer smartphone models – including the latest model iPhone 14 and some phones built by Motorola and Huawei – offer built-in satellite connectivity, which allows the sending of SOS messages via satellites.

    For example, Apple’s free Emergency SOS via satellite service, which launched last year, allows iPhone users to contact dedicated dispatchers in emergency situations via satellites. When a user attempts to call 911 and is unable to get on a cell network, they will be automatically redirected to the service’s dispatchers where they can answer a questionnaire with short multiple choice questions to share information quickly. The dispatchers also receive their coordinates, medical ID and emergency contact information.

    Apple told CNN the feature is reserved for connections to emergency services and does not allow users to contact friends and family. For anyone who has access to a Wi-Fi connection while wearing an Apple Watch, the Walkie-Talkie feature could also be used to send messages or make calls. However, Wi-Fi networks can also fail when optical fiber networks are disrupted.

    Although it’s unclear how long cell phone service could be down in affected regions, companies have been able to bring connectivity to disaster regions in the past. In 2017, Google worked with AT&T and T-Mobile to deploy its Project Loon balloons to deliver Internet to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

    Hawaii’s Red Cross recently tweeted that people can call 1-800-RED-CROSS to see if their loved ones are at a local shelter.

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  • Portable hotspots arrive in Maui to bring internet to residents and tourists | CNN Business

    Portable hotspots arrive in Maui to bring internet to residents and tourists | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Portable mobile hotspots have arrived in Maui to help bring internet service to the thousands of people who may have been unable to call for help since the wildfires started to rage out of control on the island.

    Verizon told CNN on Thursday its teams are currently deploying the first batch of satellite-based mobile hotspots at evacuation sites in areas of greatest need, particularly the west side of the island, west of Maalaea, Lahaina and Northern Kapalua.

    Verizon’s larger equipment, which is being barged over from Honolulu, is expected to arrive later in the day. This includes COLTs (Cells on Light Trucks) — a mobile site on wheels that connects to a carrier’s service via a satellite link — and a specialized satellite trailer used to provide service to a cell site that has a damaged fiber connection.

    “Our team is closely monitoring the situation on the ground and our network performance,” a Verizon spokesperson told CNN. “Verizon engineers on the island are working to restore service in impacted areas as quickly and safely as possible.”

    The company said it is working closely with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the Maui County Emergency Operations Center to prioritize its network recovery.

    Other carriers continue to mobilize their efforts, too. An AT&T spokesperson said it is working with local public safety officials to deploy SatCOLTs (Satellite Cells on Light Trucks), drones with cell support and other solutions across the island, as equipment comes in from neighboring islands.

    Meanwhile, a T-Mobile spokesperson said its cell sites are “holding up well during the fires” but commercial power outages may be disrupting the service for some customers. “As soon as conditions allow, our priority is to deploy teams with portable generators that will bring temporary power back to our sites,” the spokesperson said.

    The Maui disaster has already wiped out power to at least 14,000 homes and businesses in the area, according to PowerOutage.us. Many cell towers have backup power generators but they have limited capacity to keep towers running.

    “911 is down. Cell service is down. Phone service is down,” Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told CNN on Wednesday morning.

    Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T said they are waiving call, text and data overage charges for Maui residents during this time.

    Although strong winds can sometimes threaten cell towers, most are strong enough to handle the worst that even a Category 5 hurricane can bring. Fire, however, complicates the issue.

    “When the fires get too close to cell sites, they will obviously burn equipment, antennas, and feedlines,” said Glenn O’Donnell, VP of research at market research firm Forrester. “In extreme cases, they will also weaken the towers, leading some to collapse. The smoke and flames can also attenuate [reduce the strength of] signals because of the particulate density in the air.”

    If a tower collapses, cell networks could take months to be restored. But if carriers are able and prepared to do restorations with mobile backup units, it could bring limited service back within hours, O’Donnell said. Wireless carriers often bring in COWs (Cells On Wheels), COLTs and GOaTs (Generator on a Trailer) in emergencies to provide backup service when cell towers go down.

    Cell towers have backup technology built in, but this is typically done through optical fiber cables or microwave (wireless) links, according to Dimitris Mavrakis, senior researcher at ABI Research. However, if something extraordinary happens, such as interaction with rampant fires, these links may experience “catastrophic failures and leave cells without a connection to the rest of the world.”

    And, in an emergency, a spike in call volume can overload the system — if people are able to get reception.

    “Even cells that have a good service may experience outages due to the sheer volume of communication happening at once,” Mavrakis said. “Everyone in these areas may be trying to contact relatives or the authorities at once, saturating the network and causing an outage. This is easier to correct, though, and network operators may put in place additional measures to render them operational quickly.”

    Although it’s unclear how long cell phone service could be down in affected regions, companies have been able to bring connectivity to disaster regions in the past. In 2017, Google worked with AT&T and T-Mobile to deploy its Project Loon balloons to deliver internet service to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

    Project Loon has since shut down.

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  • Typhoon Doksuri kills at least five as Philippines battles floods and landslides | CNN

    Typhoon Doksuri kills at least five as Philippines battles floods and landslides | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A powerful typhoon brought widespread flooding and landslides to the Philippines on Wednesday, killing at least five people, authorities in the country said.

    Typhoon Doksuri, known as Egay in the Philippines, has caused flooding across five regions and more than a dozen rain-induced landslides, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

    One victim was killed in the central region of Calabarzon and four died in the mountainous Cordillera region, another two people were injured elsewhere in the country, the agency said.

    The storm made landfall at 3:10 a.m. local time (3:10 p.m. ET) near remote northern Fuga Island, said Pagasa, the Philippine weather bureau.

    Though it has weakened from super typhoon strength, Doksuri arrived with winds of about 220 kilometers per hour (140 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center – equivalent to a category 4 Atlantic hurricane.

    Pagasa warned that violent and life-threatening conditions were expected in some areas of Luzon, the Philippines’ largest and most populous island, as torrential rains rains swept the country.

    The typhoon unleashed up to 16 inches (0.4 meters) of rain, with the potential to reach 20 inches (0.5 meters) from its 680-kilometer (420-mile) rainband, Pasgasa said.

    Authorities also warned of tidal surges up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet).

    Local governments on Tuesday began evacuating some people living in the storm’s path in anticipation of winds reaching 200 kph (124 mph).

    The governor of Cagayan province, which suspended schools and closed offices, said more than 12,000 people were evacuated from coastal and mountain towns by Tuesday evening.

    “It’s a powerful typhoon and we want to take as many preemptive measures as possible,” Gov. Cagayan Manuel Mamba told CNN.

    Officials also canceled at least a dozen domestic flights from Wednesday through Friday.

    Strong winds knock down a tree in Cagayan province in the Philippines on July 25, 2023.

    The typhoon is expected to weaken as it heads northwest – though Taiwan and China are bracing for potentially heavy rainfall and strong winds.

    The typhoon prompted Taiwan to cancel some of its annual military drills Tuesday as it faced the prospect of what could be the strongest storm to hit the self-governing island in four years.

    The typhoon’s outer bands are beginning to impact eastern Taiwan, according to the island’s Central Weather Bureau. It is expected to continue to weaken to the equivalent of a category 1 Atlantic hurricane as it tracks northwest, potentially making a second landfall in the next two days on China’s southern coastline.

    China’s National Meteorological Center raised its typhoon emergency warning to the highest level on Wednesday as Doksuri is projected to land by Friday along the southeast coast where Fujian and Guangdong provinces meet.

    Chinese authorities have told fishing boats to return to port immediately and warned farmers to take preventive measures to avoid flooding of crops.

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  • Storms turning streets into rivers, trapping drivers and forcing rescues across the Northeast evoke memories of Hurricane Irene | CNN

    Storms turning streets into rivers, trapping drivers and forcing rescues across the Northeast evoke memories of Hurricane Irene | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Multiple rounds of intense rainstorms have turned streets into gushing rivers, trapped drivers and forced water rescues and evacuations across the Northeast – and it’s bringing back memories of Hurricane Irene in deluged Vermont as the flood threat continues Tuesday.

    Over 4 million people are under flood alerts across the Northeast on Tuesday, including parts of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

    Slow moving showers with intense rainfall rates are expected to further inundate streets with rain in parts of northern Vermont and far northeast New York – two states that suffered severe flooding Monday. The flooding left at least one person dead in New York’s Orange County.

    A high risk of excessive rainfall covers much of Vermont, “highlighting the potential for catastrophic flooding that has not been seen in this part of the country since 2011,” the National Weather Service said.

    “We have not seen rainfall like this since Irene, and in some places, it will surpass even that,” Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said Monday. Vermont is under a state of emergency due to the dangerous flooding that forced dozens of rescues and evacuations Monday.

    Two areas in the state, Weston and South Londonderry, were left inaccessible due to flooding, and search and rescue teams were working to regain access and perform welfare checks Monday, Vermont’s Urban Search and Rescue team coordinator Mike Cannon told reporters.

    Vermont State Rep. Kelly Pajala said she woke up Monday morning to flood water already at the front step of her Londonderry apartment. She and her son packed up their two cats and evacuated to higher ground.

    “For people that were here during Irene, it feels like a very similar experience,” she said. Hurricane Irene brought destructive flooding to the state in 2011, leaving whole communities under water and damaging major infrastructure.

    Numerous rivers across Vermont have been rising amid the downpours, with some swelling higher than levels reached during Hurricane Irene. The Winooski River at Montpelier had risen nearly 14 feet Monday and passed major flood stage as the water continued to climb, threatening further flooding.

    With water in downtown Montpelier running from knee to waist deep, residents stranded in their homes and businesses and roads closed, Montpelier City Manager William Fraser told CNN the situation is looking much worse than it did in the 2011 flooding.

    Nearly a dozen different areas across Vermont, from the Connecticut River in the south to the Missisquoi River in the north, were expected to see moderate or major flooding before rivers begin dropping later Tuesday.

    Two dams in Vermont, the Ball Mountain Dam and the Townshend Dam, are expected to overflow their spillways early Tuesday morning and “release unprecedented quantities of water,” the US Army Corps of Engineers warned Monday night.

    Warning of “severe flooding,” the agency urged residents in threatened low-lying areas of nearby Vermont and New Hampshire communities to evacuate.

    In New York, where six counties are similarly under a state of emergency, a 35-year-old woman died after being swept away by floodwater as she tried to evacuate her Orange County home Sunday. The flooding has caused “easily tens of millions of dollars in damage,” county Executive Steve Neuhaus said Monday.

    Some areas in New York were hammered with more than 8 inches of rain within a 24-hour period.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state will very likely meet the threshold of $37 million in statewide damages and become eligible to receive funding from FEMA.

    “You can see highways, roads and bridges that are still unpassable, homes that have been destroyed. We still have people without power and as we talked about earlier, one woman actually lost her life, so it is still treacherous in many of these regions,” Hochul said.

    Main Street in Highland Falls, New York is seen Monday.

    Seven-day rainfall totals across much of the Northeast are already at 300-500% of normal levels, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

    Widespread rainfall of 2 to 4 inches have fallen across the Northeast from eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey into Vermont and New Hampshire. Isolated rainfall totals higher than half a foot have been seen in several states.

    In Vermont, the storms battered Mount Holly Heights with a whopping 8.66 inches of rain and Tyson with 8.40 inches.

    Meanwhile, Stormville, New York, received 8.61 inches while West Point – where drivers had to swim out of their cars Sunday – got 8.12 inches.

    Rainfall in West Point totaled more than 7.5 inches in a six-hour period Sunday afternoon, according to preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That’s a 1-in-1,000 year rainfall event for the area, according to a CNN analysis of NOAA’s historical rainfall frequency data.

    Elsewhere, South Kent, Connecticut, got 6.80 inches, and West Lawn, Pennsylvania got 6.69 inches.

    A man carries belongings through floodwaters from a home in Bridgewater, Vermont, on Monday.

    Betsy Hart called 911 when the floodwaters suddenly started rising fast Monday at the basement of her Chester property in Windsor County, Vermont.

    “Water was rising quickly after being pretty tame most of the morning,” Hart told CNN’s Miguel Marquez. “All of a sudden it was in the house.”

    Hart said she’s never experienced flooding like what she saw Monday. “It was too close for comfort,” she said.

    “With Hurricane Irene, the water was raging like this but it never really got to the house,” she said, standing on a road near her home as water rushed nearby.

    Flood water could be seen gushing between homes in Chester, where some structures were visibly damaged and trucks were wheels-deep in water.

    Don Hancock, dripping in water from head to toe, told CNN he has only lived in his Chester house for less than a year and watched floodwater enter the basement and garage of his new home.

    “I was a firefighter in New York. I’ve been there many of times to help people out but I’ve never lived this side of it,” Hancock said.

    Now, he’s just waiting for the water in his neighborhood to recede. “Once the water goes down we go day by day, clean it up and move on. What can we do?” Hancock said.

    Windham and Windsor counties have been the hardest hit by the flooding, according to Cannon, from the state’s Urban Search and Rescue Program.

    Officials have made 50 rescues across Vermont, including using boats to help people trapped in their homes or in cars that were swept away in fast-moving waters.

    The state of California is also deploying urban search and rescue personnel to assist emergency response efforts as Vermont grapples with flooding, according to a Monday tweet from the Office of the Governor of California.

    Crews from Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut are on their way to assist as well.

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  • Experts predict ‘average’ Atlantic hurricane season, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be strong storms

    Experts predict ‘average’ Atlantic hurricane season, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be strong storms

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    Newswise — The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was among the most damaging and deadly in modern history, but that isn’t necessarily an indicator for 2023. According to Virginia Tech meteorologist Stephanie Zick most seasonal forecasts are predicting a near average season, which goes from June 1 to November 30.

    NOAA’s outlook predicts a 40% chance of a near-normal season, with numbers similar to last year. While the total number of named storms may be “average” this season, Zick expects to see a higher than average number of storms going through rapid intensification – similar to Hurricane Ian from 2022 – due to the above average sea surface temperatures. “There is a developing El Niño, which generally leads to above average wind shear that hinders hurricane development and there are above average sea surface temperatures, and generally supports more hurricane development,” Zick explained.

    She stressed that people who live in coastal areas should make preparations now – before a storm hits. “At the coast, the threat is usually the greatest due to higher winds and storm surge flooding,” Zick explained. “Before a storm makes landfall, there is also a higher risk of dangerous surf and rip currents.” 

    Flooding from the rain is possible near the coast, but also inland as the storm moves. “In the past ten years, flooding has caused the most fatalities in landfalling tropical systems,” Zick said.

    Tornadoes are possible, both near the coast and inland. “The hazards associated with tropical storms can occur hundreds of miles aways from the storm center,” Zick said. “Residents in coastal and inland locations need to stay tuned to local weather information before and during these events to be prepared and take action if and when necessary.”

    Zick stressed that during hurricane season, context is important. “A weather app can tell you there is a 100 percent chance of rain, but it won’t tell you about the flooding threat or what to do when there is a simultaneous threat of tornadoes and flooding.”

    “Trusted sources can provide valuable information that you will need to keep your family and property safe,” she said. “I recommend that you have a trusted local weather source, such as a local broadcast meteorologist who you watch on TV or follow on Twitter.”

    Zick said it’s important that no matter where you live, you know your risks, have an emergency plan and put together an emergency kit.

    The National Weather Service has further information about emergency kits, emergency plans, and other hurricane safety measures: https://www.weather.gov/safety/hurricane-plan. 

    About Zick

    Stephanie Zick is an assistant professor of geography in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. Her research areas include tropical meteorology, tropical cyclones, precipitation, numerical weather prediction, and model forecast verification.

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  • Expert available to discuss new report that puts globe on course for breaching benchmark high temperature

    Expert available to discuss new report that puts globe on course for breaching benchmark high temperature

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    Newswise — A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shows that the world’s average temperature could breach a record 1.5 Celsius of warming compared to pre-Industrial Revolution levels.

    News reports call the WMO announcement a critical warning of an average world temperature limit in the face of climate. Researchers indicate the threshold could be broken as early as 2027. A caveat: The breach will likely be only temporary. Nonetheless, as temperatures rise, ice in Antarctica and other places melts, setting up all but certain rises in sea levels. The problem will be further complicated by sinking coastal lands such as Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.

    Virginia Tech geophysicist and environmental security expert Manoochehr Shirzaei studies climate change and uses publicly available satellite imagery to build maps of millions of instances of rising sea levels and coastal land subsidence.

    “Sea level rise and land subsidence increase the hazards associated with hurricanes, storm surges, shoreline erosion, and inundation of low-lying coastal areas where the high density of population and assets amplifies the regions exposure to hazards.” He explains that land subsidence can also affect coastal structures’ integrity and increase the likelihood of failure.

    Shirzaei says the solution varies from place to place based on the individual situation. It may involve upgrading protection facilities (i.e. dams), raising lands, maintaining and restoring nature-based protection (i.e. wetlands), controlling subsidence, improving flood resiliency, selective relocation of important infrastructure, or installing flood warning systems. 

    About Shirzaei

    Manoochehr Shirzaei is an associate professor and geophysicist in the Department of Geosciences, part of the Virginia Tech College of Science. Director of the Earth Observation Lab at Virginia Tech, Shirzaei’s research recently has focused on promoting environmental security through quantifying the impact of the human system and climate change on the availability of water and energy resources in the U.S. He is an affiliated member of the Virginia Tech Global Change Center. Shirzaei has been quoted in WIRED, WHRO NPR Norfolk, Coastal News Today, Smart Water Magazine and others.

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  • Bangladesh and Myanmar brace for the worst as Cyclone Mocha intensifies | CNN

    Bangladesh and Myanmar brace for the worst as Cyclone Mocha intensifies | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Aid agencies in Bangladesh and Myanmar say they are bracing for disaster and have launched a massive emergency plan as a powerful cyclone barrels toward millions of vulnerable people.

    Since forming in the Bay of Bengal early Thursday, tropical Cyclone Mocha has intensified to a the equivalent of a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, with sustained winds of 259 kilometers per hour (161 mph) and gusts of up to 315 kph (195 mph).

    The storm is moving north at 20 kph (12 mph), according to the latest update from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center on Sunday.

    Mocha is expected to make landfall Sunday afternoon local time (early Sunday morning ET), likely across Rakhine State in Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, host to the world’s largest refugee camp.

    Outer bands are already impacting Myanmar and Bangladesh bringing rain and strong winds to the region. Conditions are expected to deteriorate further leading up to landfall, which brings the threats of flooding and landslides.

    Disaster response teams and more than 3,000 local volunteers who have been trained in disaster preparedness and first aid have been put on standby in the camps, and a national cyclone early warning system is in place, according to Sanjeev Kafley, Head of Delegation of the IFRC Bangladesh Delegation.

    Kafley said there are 7,500 emergency shelter kits, 4,000 hygiene kits and 2,000 water containers ready to be distributed.

    In addition, mobile health teams and dozens of ambulances are ready to respond to refugees and Bangladeshis in need, with specially trained teams on stand by to help the elderly, children and the disabled, Arjun Jain, UN Principal Coordinator for the Rohingya Refugee Response in Bangladesh, told CNN.

    “We expect this cyclone to have a more severe impact than any other natural disaster they have faced in the past five years,” said Jain. “At this stage, we just don’t know where the cyclone will make landfall and with what intensity. So we are hoping for the best but are preparing for the worst.”

    Evacuations of people in low-lying areas or those with serious medical conditions had begun, he said.

    In Myanmar, residents in coastal areas of Rakhine state and Ayeyarwady region have started to evacuate and seek shelter at schools and monasteries.

    Hundreds of Red Cross volunteers are on standby and the agency is relocating vulnerable people and raising awareness of the storm in villages and townships, the IFRC’s Kafley said.

    The last storm to make landfall with a similar strength was Tropical Cyclone Giri back in October 2010. It made landfall as a high-end Category 4 equivalent storm with maximum winds of 250 kph (155 mph).

    Giri caused over 150 fatalities and roughly 70% of the city of Kyaukphyu was destroyed. According to the United Nations, roughly 15,000 homes were destroyed in Rakhine state during the storm.

    About 1 million members of the stateless Rohingya community, who fled persecution in nearby Myanmar during a military crackdown in 2017, are living in the sprawling and overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar.

    Most live in bamboo and tarpaulin shelters perched on hilly slopes that are vulnerable to strong winds, rain, and landslides.

    Jain said the shelters can only withstand wind speeds of 40 kph (24 mph) and he expects winds from Cyclone Mocha to exceed that.

    “Low lying areas of the camps are likely to flood rapidly, destroying shelters, facilities such as learning centers, as well as infrastructure such as bridges that have been constructed with bamboo,” he said.

    The cyclone adds to an already disastrous year for the Rohingya, and without more funds from the international community, Jain said they won’t have enough to rebuild.

    “They faced a 17% cut in their food rations earlier this year due to funding cuts and we expect a further cut in their rations in the coming months. 16,000 refugees lost their home in a devastating fire in March. And now they must deal with the cyclone. Unfortunately, we don’t even have the funds to help refugees rebuild their homes and facilities if the devastation is severe,” he said.

    There are also concerns for 30,000 Rohingya refugees housed on an isolated and flood-prone island facility in the Bay of Bengal, called Bhasan Char. The UN refugee agency said volunteers and medical teams are on standby and cyclone shelters and food provisions are available for those living on the island.

    In Myanmar, about 6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Rakhine state and across the northwest, with 1.2 million displaced, according to the UN humanitarian agency.

    The past few decades have seen an increase in the strength of tropical cyclones affecting countries in parts of Asia and recent research predicts they could have double the destructive power in the region by the end of the century.

    While scientists are still trying to understand ways climate change is affecting cyclones, a slew of research has linked human-caused global warming to more potent and destructive cyclones.

    Tropical cyclones (also known as hurricanes, typhoons and tropical storms depending on ocean basin and intensity), feed off ocean heat. They need temperatures of at least around 27 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit Fahrenheit) to form, and the warmer the ocean, the more moisture they can take up.

    The waters in the Bay of Bengal are currently around 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit Fahrenheit), about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than average for May.

    As the climate crisis pushes up the temperatures of oceans – which absorb around 90% of the world’s excess heat – it provides ideal conditions for cyclones to gain strength.

    Warmer oceans also increase the chances of cyclones rapidly intensifying, according to recent research.

    Climate-change fueled sea-level rise adds to the risks, worsening storm surges from tropical cyclones and allowing them to travel further inland.

    Bangladesh and Myanmar are particularly threatened because they are low-lying, as well as being home to some of the world’s poorest people.

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  • Immigration experts on Title 42, analysis of immigration policies, and other migrant news in the Immigration Channel

    Immigration experts on Title 42, analysis of immigration policies, and other migrant news in the Immigration Channel

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    Title 42, the United States pandemic rule that had been used to immediately deport hundreds of thousands of migrants who crossed the border illegally over the last three years, has expired. Those migrants will have the opportunity to apply for asylum. President Biden’s new rules to replace Title 42 are facing legal challenges. The US Homeland Security Department announced a rule to make it extremely difficult for anyone who travels through another country, like Mexico, to qualify for asylum. Border crossings have already risen sharply, as many migrants attempted to cross before the measure expired on Thursday night. Some have said they worry about tighter controls and uncertainty ahead. Immigration is once again a major focus of the media as we examine the humanitarian, political, and public health issues migrants must face. 

    Below are some of the latest headlines in the Immigration channel on Newswise.

    Expert Commentary

    Experts Available on Ending of Title 42

    George Washington University Experts on End of Title 42

    ‘No one wins when immigrants cannot readily access healthcare’

    URI professor discusses worsening child labor in the United States

    Biden ‘between a rock and a hard place’ on immigration

    University of Notre Dame Expert Available to Comment on House Bill Regarding Immigration Legislation, Border Safety and Security Act

    American University Experts Available to Discuss President Biden’s Visit to U.S.-Mexico Border

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  • Cyclone Mocha is strengthening in the Bay of Bengal and heading toward the world’s largest refugee camp | CNN

    Cyclone Mocha is strengthening in the Bay of Bengal and heading toward the world’s largest refugee camp | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A tropical cyclone is strengthening in the Bay of Bengal and is on course to hit western Myanmar and Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, where around 1 million people live in flimsy shelters in what many consider to be the world’s largest refugee camp.

    Cyclone Mocha is the first to form in the Bay this year and is expected to strengthen further before making landfall on Sunday, likely in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, near the border with Bangladesh.

    According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Mocha strengthened Friday into the equivalent of a category 1 Atlantic hurricane and is moving north at 11 kilometers per hour (7 miles per hour).

    The storm’s winds could peak at 220 kph (137 mph) – equivalent to a category 4 Atlantic hurricane – just before making landfall on Sunday morning, the agency said.

    India’s Meteorological Department said Friday Mocha had intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm and warned fishermen and trawlers against sailing far into the Bay over the coming days.

    The agency forecast a storm surge of up to 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) was likely to inundate low-lying coastal areas in the path of the cyclone at the time of landfall.

    In Bangladesh, that includes Cox’s Bazar, home to members of the stateless Rohingya community who fled persecution in nearby Myanmar during a military crackdown in 2017. Many live in bamboo and tarpaulin shelters perched on hilly slopes that are vulnerable to strong winds, rain, and landslides.

    There are also concerns for hundreds of Rohingya refugees housed on an isolated and flood-prone island facility in the Bay of Bengal, called Bhasan Char.

    Ahead of Mocha’s expected landfall, aid agencies are ramping up their emergency preparedness and response with local and refugee communities.

    Cyclone Mocha is expected to make landfall on Sunday.

    The UN refugee agency in Bangladesh said in a tweet that “emergency preparations in the camps and on Bhasan Char are underway” in coordination with the government and local aid agencies.

    “In preparation of cyclones, hundreds of Rohingya refugee volunteers have been trained on identifying risks, informing their communities, evacuating people when needed and responding after disaster strikes,” the UNHCR said in a tweet.

    In neighboring Myanmar, residents in coastal areas of Rakhine state and Ayeyarwady region have started to evacuate their homes and seek shelter ahead of the cyclone’s expected landfall, according to local independent media Myanmar Now.

    The ruling Myanmar junta has issued cyclone warnings and claimed to be taking precautionary measures such as readying disaster management committees to respond to a potential disaster, according to state media Global New Light of Myanmar.

    The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said widespread flooding, landslides and high wind gusts are expected around the area of landfall and across Myanmar’s interior.

    The last named tropical cyclone to make landfall in Myanmar was Maarutha in April, 2017. Though Maarutha was the equivalent of a tropical storm at landfall, with maximum winds of 92 kph (58 mph), it brought heavy rains and damaged nearly 100 homes.

    In October 2010, Tropical Cyclone Giri was the last storm to make landfall with hurricane-force winds. It made landfall as a high-end Category 4 equivalent storm with maximum winds of 250 kph (155 mph).

    Giri caused over 150 fatalities and roughly 70% of the city of Kyaukphyu, in Rakhine state, was destroyed. According to the United Nations, roughly 15,000 homes were destroyed in the state during the storm.

    The worst natural disaster to hit Myanmar was Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, killing 140,000 people, severely affecting 2.4 million and leaving 800,000 displaced, aid agencies said.

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  • Cyclone Ilsa sets a new wind record as it smashes into Australia’s western coast | CNN

    Cyclone Ilsa sets a new wind record as it smashes into Australia’s western coast | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Cyclone Ilsa smashed into a remote stretch of coast in Western Australia around midnight Thursday local time with wind speeds that broke previous records set more than 10 years ago in the same place.

    After brewing off the coast for days, Cyclone Ilsa made landfall between De Grey and Pardoo Roadhouse as a category 5 storm, according to Australian Bureau of Meteorology – the equivalent of a category 4 Atlantic hurricane.

    The cyclone has since weakened and is moving southeast across the state, bringing heavy rain and sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (74 miles per hour).

    Just before it hit the mainland, Ilsa sped over Bedout Island, a tiny uninhabited island, where its sustained wind speeds reached 218 kph (135 mph) over a 10-minute period.

    “Cyclone George was the previous record holder with 194 kph back in 2007 at the very same location!” the BOM tweeted. Overnight, wind gusts on the island, which is a breeding ground for seabirds, reached as high as 288 kph (179 mph).

    It’s not yet clear what damage the cyclone has inflicted on Western Australia, though the winds had the potential to cause significant damage to trees, buildings, power lines and other infrastructure.

    Officials were planning to survey the damage from the air when it was safe enough to fly helicopters over the area.

    The cyclone appears to have missed the main population centers, including the town of Port Hedland, an important hub for the mining industry and home to about 16,000 people, mostly mine workers. The main Aboriginal community in the area also relatively unscathed, according to early reports.

    “There will there certainly will be damage up along the coastal areas where the crossing occurred, but largely the populated areas did escape the brunt of eye as it crossed the coast,” said Peter Sutton, from the Western Australia department of fire and emergency services.

    Early Friday, reports emerged of “great damage” at Pardoo Roadhouse, a popular destination for travelers on the highway along the coast.

    Authorities had warned residents to tie down anything that might take flight in strong winds – caravans, trampolines, trailers and any loose objects.

    “Winds of this strength are extremely dangerous. Not only can they bring down trees, power lines, and damage roofs and houses, but they can also lift large loose objects from your yard – boats, trailers or caravans – and loft them into the air,” BOM’s senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury warned.

    As the storm approached on Thursday, coastal areas were put under a red alert, meaning people needed to stay in place and shelter within buildings, well away from windows and doors.

    Evacuation centers were opened for people brought in from remote communities at risk of being pummeled by the winds and cut off by debris and flooding. The area is home to the state’s largest Aboriginal community, as well as cattle stations, mining sites and tourist operators.

    Strong winds were felt along the coastline hours ahead of Ilsa’s predicted landfall, as emergency services implored people to lock up anything that might take flight.

    Cyclone Ilsa is also expected to dump heavy rain on the region – as much as 200 to 300 millimeters, according to BOM – and vast areas of the state are under flood watch.

    “Riverine flooding may significantly impact roads and access routes, with many paths becoming muddy or even inaccessible over the coming days,” Bradbury said.

    The strongest storm ever to hit any part of Australia was Cyclone Monica, which arrived in 2006 with sustained winds around 290 kph (180 mph), as it swept across the eastern and northern parts of Australia.

    That cyclone missed highly populated areas but brought down trees and caused severe damage to vegetation along with a storm surge up to six meters high.

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  • Cyclone Ilsa rapidly intensifies as it approaches landfall in Western Australia | CNN

    Cyclone Ilsa rapidly intensifies as it approaches landfall in Western Australia | CNN

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    Brisbane, Australia
    CNN
     — 

    A massive cyclone swirling off Australia’s western coast will likely make landfall as a category 5 storm – the strongest on the national scale – according to the country’s official forecaster.

    The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) expects Cyclone Ilsa to cross the Pilbara coast of Western Australia Thursday evening or Friday morning local time, between Port Hedland and Wallal Downs, lashing the region with wind gusts in excess of 285 kilometers per hour (177 miles per hour).

    Strong winds are already being felt in coastal areas, hours ahead of Ilsa’s predicted landfall, and emergency services are imploring people to lock up anything that might take flight.

    “Winds of this strength are extremely dangerous. Not only can they bring down trees, power lines, and damage roofs and houses, but they can also lift large loose objects from your yard – boats, trailers or caravans – and loft them into the air,” said BOM’s senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury.

    Australia uses a five-tier system to categorize cyclones, a different system to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center which earlier clocked Ilsa’s winds at 215 kph (134 mph), making it the equivalent of a category 4 Atlantic hurricane.

    The region is sparsely populated, and the largest town near the storm’s eye is Port Hedland, home to around 16,000 people. Aboriginal communities, cattle stations, mining sites and tourist operators are dotted around the area.

    Cyclone Ilsa is also expected to dump heavy rain on the region – as much as 200 to 300 millimeters, according to BOM – and vast areas of the state are under flood watch.

    “Riverine flooding may significantly impact roads and access routes, with many paths becoming muddy or even inaccessible over the coming days,” Bradbury said.

    The strongest storm ever to hit any part of Australia was Cyclone Monica, which arrived in 2006 with sustained winds around 290 kph (180 mph), as it swept across the eastern and northern parts of Australia.

    That cyclone missed highly populated areas but brought down trees and caused severe damage to vegetation along with a storm surge up to six meters high.

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  • CBS Weekend News, March 25, 2023

    CBS Weekend News, March 25, 2023

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    CBS Weekend News, March 25, 2023 – CBS News


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    More than two dozen dead after tornadoes sweep across South; Pioneering Los Angeles hotel has been fighting for women’s rights for nearly a century

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  • More than two dozen dead after tornadoes sweep across South

    More than two dozen dead after tornadoes sweep across South

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    More than two dozen dead after tornadoes sweep across South – CBS News


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    More than two dozen people have been killed in Mississippi and Alabama after powerful tornadoes swept through parts of the South, flattening homes and destroying cars in the process. President Biden pledged the federal government will do everything it can to help. Omar Villafranca reports.

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  • DeSantis needles Trump as he breaks silence on hush money case | CNN Politics

    DeSantis needles Trump as he breaks silence on hush money case | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Breaking his silence on Donald Trump’s legal troubles, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday criticized the Manhattan district attorney who is pursuing charges against the former president and vowed his office would not be involved if the matter trickles into Trump’s adopted home state.

    But DeSantis, a rising rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, stopped well short of offering support for the former president and instead seemed to poke fun at the situation Trump has found himself in as he attempts a political comeback and a third campaign for the White House. A grand jury is in the final stages of determining whether Trump should face charges over an alleged payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels related to a supposed affair.

    “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,” DeSantis said as laughter broke out at a news conference in Panama City, Florida. “I just, I can’t speak to that.”

    DeSantis added: “I’ve got real issues to deal with here in the state of Florida.”

    The dismissive quips traveled quickly across the state to Mar-a-Lago, where Trump has decamped while he awaits for word on the New York grand jury’s findings. His allies immediately started attacking DeSantis across social media, suggesting he would face a political price for failing to recognize Republicans are rallying around Trump amid his mounting legal threats.

    Trump responded in a statement posted to his social media site, Truth Social, leveling a series of personal attacks against DeSantis.

    “Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser, and better known, when he’s unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are ‘underage’ (or possibly a man!). I’m sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!” Trump wrote.

    As part of the post Trump also shared a photo that suggested DeSantis had behaved inappropriately with teenage girls while teaching history in Georgia in his early 20s, an image the former president previously shared on social media to go after the Florida governor.

    The episode Monday was illustrative of the increasingly fraught rivalry between two of the GOP’s biggest stars as they battle for party supremacy — one made more awkward by their proximity inside the Sunshine State. Trump has suggested his arrest is forthcoming, and if he is in Florida at that moment, it could require a coordinated effort by police in DeSantis’ state.

    DeSantis said he is not aware of any arrangements with local law enforcement regarding Trump, and he said he had “no interest in getting involved in some type of manufactured circus.”

    The delayed remarks by DeSantis stand in stark contrast to the forceful defense he offered on Trump’s behalf last August when federal authorities seized documents from the former president’s Palm Beach estate. Just hours after the raid, DeSantis on Twitter called the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago “another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves.”

    But there was no such tweet this time from DeSantis, who had remained quiet for days amid reports that a New York grand jury was interviewing witnesses and has largely avoided discussing Trump at all amid escalating attacks from the former president and his allies. DeSantis instead last week held events focused on relief for Hurricane Ian victims and the pandemic. He posted a picture from the World Baseball Classic picture standing next to the Miami Marlins mascot.

    Over the weekend, as other Republicans criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, for pursuing charges in a case that dates back to the 2016 election, Trump allies engaged in a coordinated pressure campaign to get DeSantis to speak out in defense of the former president.

    “Thank you, Vice President @Mike_Pence and @VivekGRamaswamy, for pointing out how Radical Left Democrats are trying to divide our Country in the name of Partisan Politics,” Trump campaigdn adviser Jason Miller wrote on Twitter. “Radio silence from Gov. @RonDeSantisFL and Amb. @NikkiHaley.”

    Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., wrote in a tweet on Sunday: “Pay attention to which Republicans spoke out against this corrupt BS immediately and who sat on their hands and waited to see which way the wind was blowing.”

    MAGA, Inc sent several emails tracking which Republicans had commented on the potential criminal charges and hitting DeSantis for “remaining silent.” Trump allies acknowledged that this was a concerted effort to force DeSantis to weigh in on the matter, believing that he would have to offer support to Trump.

    When DeSantis finally weighed in Monday, it came during an unrelated press conference about central bank digital currencies, a recent area of concern among some conservatives but hardly the topic of the day, given the revelations about Trump’s legal case. He didn’t address Trump’s legal situation until asked by an individual from the Florida Standard, a conservative website friendly to DeSantis.

    DeSantis echoed other criticism of Bragg, accusing the Democrat of seeking charges against Trump for political reasons. He compared Bragg to the local state attorney in Tampa, Andrew Warren, who DeSantis controversially removed from office last year over his politics, and linked them both to George Soros, the Hungarian-born billionaire and progressive donor often at the center of conservative conspiracies.

    “If you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many, many years ago to try to use something about porn star hush money payments, you know, that’s an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office, and I think that that’s fundamentally wrong,” DeSantis said.

    But DeSantis also seemed to downplay Bragg’s pursuit of Trump as a lesser concern compared to issues related to crime in the city.

    “That’s bad, but the real victims are ordinary New Yorkers, ordinary Americans in all these different jurisdictions that they get victimized every day because of the reckless political agenda that the Soros DAs bring to their job,” he said. “They ignore crime and they empower criminals.”

    Haley weighed in later Monday, saying a prosecution of Trump would be “for political points.” The former South Carolina governor, who announced her White House campaign last month, told Fox News’ Bret Baier, “And I think what we know is that when you get into political prosecutions like this, it’s more about revenge than it is about justice.”

    “I think the country would be better off talking about things that the American public cares about than to sit there and have to deal with some revenge by some political people in New York,” added Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations under Trump.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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