DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ I'm an EPA worker who's responded to more than 100 toxic spills and chemical fires, and I'll never forget one that got my adrenaline going
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Kelly worked on disasters like the BP oil spill and lead drinking-water crisis in Flint, Michigan. I'm one of the 220 emergency responders that the EPA has across the country who's on call when there's a major oil spill or chemical fire, like after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. There are also smaller events, like fires at oil refineries and paper mills and hazardous waste left behind by mines. EPA on-scene coordinators sample air, water, and buildings for toxic chemicals to determine public-health risks. Brian KellyThe EPA issues an enforcement order to the companies responsible for a spill or fire to take over the cleanup.

☆ Factbox: Turkey earthquake and some of the worst natural disasters of this century
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HAITI 2010 EARTHQUAKEA 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Jan. 13, 2010, devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince and killed about 316,000 people. CHINA QUAKEA 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit China's Sichuan province on May 12, 2008, killing about 87,600 people. PAKISTAN QUAKEA 7.6 magnitude quake that struck northeast of Islamabad on Oct. 8, 2005, killed at least 73,000 people. JAPAN QUAKE/TSUNAMIA 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Japan’s northeast on March 11, 2011, killing about 15,690 people. HAITI 2021 QUAKEA 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti on Aug. 14, 2021, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying or damaging about 13,000 homes.

☆ Communities struggling with banking access give banks on wheels a spin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Banks on wheels are an attempt to repair the gaps within the U.S. banking landscape, which disproportionately impact Black and Hispanic communities. Banks on wheels aim to offer at least a partial solution to the increasingly deserted banking landscapes in minority communities. BankonBuffalo's mobile branch is an attempt to bridge those access gaps. Bank deserts are any areas where there are no bank branches within 10 miles of its center, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The borough currently has 123 bank branches, according to a national bank branch location database, down from 144 in 2018.

Biden repeatedly tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) last year to manage rising gasoline prices and disruptions to supply caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. McMorris Rodgers now chairs the House Energy & Commerce Committee, after Republicans took over the chamber this month from Democrats. "This bill would significantly weaken this critical energy security tool, resulting in more oil supply shortages in times of crisis and higher gasoline prices for Americans," Granholm said in the letter to the House energy panel, first seen by Reuters. Rodgers said in an email the committee was still reviewing the letter, but that the bill would have "absolutely no effect" on the department's emergency authorities regarding the oil reserve. The White House has criticized the legislation, calling it "backwards" and an attempt by House Republicans to help oil companies make more profits.

8 p.m. Slurp up H-town’s cultural melting potThe city is known for its sprawl, which can be admittedly annoying. That is, until you exit the freeway and discover a completely new world like Chinatown, in Houston’s southwest. There, you can visit Crawfish and Noodles , the chef Trong Nguyen’s hot spot specializing in Viet-Cajun food , a cuisine that’s become a local staple. Houston has the largest Vietnamese-American population outside of California, many of whom migrated from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Here, unlike traditional Louisiana crawfish boils, the bugs are seasoned after they're taken out of the water: lemongrass, ginger and fish sauce meet cayenne, paprika and black pepper in a pool of garlic and butter.

Biden repeatedly tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) last year to manage rising gasoline prices and supply disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The sales shrunk the SPR to about 380 million barrels, the lowest level since 1984, raising concerns about energy security. McMorris Rodgers now chairs the House Energy & Commerce Committee after Republicans took over the chamber earlier this month from Democrats. "This bill would significantly weaken this critical energy security tool, resulting in more oil supply shortages in times of crisis and higher gasoline prices for Americans," Granholm said in the letter to the House energy panel, which was first seen by Reuters. The White House has criticized the legislation, calling it "backwards" and an attempt by House Republicans to help oil companies make more profits.

The United States experienced 18 extreme weather events last year that each caused at least $1 billion in damages, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Weather and climate disasters across the country resulted in more than $165 billion in damages in 2022, making it the third-costliest year on record, NOAA officials said. Despite a slow start to last year's hurricane season, three storms resulted in at least $1 billion in damages: Hurricane Fiona, Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole. Hurricane Ian, which slammed into southwestern Florida in late September and caused widespread destruction, resulted in nearly $113 billion in damages, the report found. NOAA’s findings offer a glimpse of the major toll that extreme weather events are already having and the country’s vulnerability to climate disasters in the future.

☆ Couples are proposing to each other by writing 'marry me' on Ukrainian artillery shells to be fired at Russians
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A US supporter of Ukraine proposed to his girlfriend with a message on a Ukrainian artillery shell. They used a Ukrainian service that offers customized notes on munitions in exchange for a donation. "When we first started dating, I made an offhand comment one night," 38-year-old Emily Knight told Insider. A few months later that's more or less what her partner David did, using a then-burgeoning Ukrainian service known as SignMyRocket that the couple had been browsing. Her mother, who was ready to foot the bill for a white wedding, has been told to send the equivalent cash to Ukraine, Emily said.

☆ Hurricane Ian was the costliest disaster and the second-largest insured loss on record after Hurricane Katrina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Remains of destroyed restaurants, shops and other businesses are seen almost one month after Hurricane Ian landfall in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, U.S., October 26, 2022. REUTERS/Marco BelloHurricane Ian, a category 4 Atlantic hurricane that struck Florida and South Carolina earlier this year, was the costliest catastrophe and the second-largest insured loss on record after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to a new report from reinsurer Swiss Re. Ian caused between $50 billion and 65 billion in insured damages after it made landfall in western Florida in late September with extreme winds and torrential rain. Insurance losses from catastrophes were also high, with estimated damages of $115 billion, higher than the 10-year average of $81 billion, the report said. Insured losses from extreme weather events have been rising as climate change triggers more frequent and destructive hurricanes, floods and wildfires, the reinsurance firm said.

☆ How Hurricane Sandy transformed the Jersey Shore into 'a playground for the rich'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Jersey Shore residents battled through a patchwork of programs to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. Even 10 years after Hurricane Sandy, Barbara is still reminded daily of the mental and financial toll it took on her. Courtesy of BarbaraThe bureaucratic red tape around flood insurance and rebuild programs linked to Hurricane Sandy deepened the divide between the haves and have-nots of the Jersey Shore. Milliman, an actuarial company that works with FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program, found that about 47% of coastal dwellers had flood insurance, The Inquirer reported. "After Sandy, there was a lot more money coming in," Mery, who has built Jersey Shore homes for 15 years, told Insider.

☆ Kanye West’s antisemitism did what his anti-Blackness did not. And some people have a problem with that
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —On the surface, the case of Kanye West seems pretty cut and dry. But the million-dollar question is why this didn’t happen a long time ago, given West’s history of making anti-Black statements. Journalist Ernest Owens recently tweeted, “FACT: Before Kanye West was ‘the face of Anti-Semitism,’ he was one of the hip-hop faces of misogynoir, anti-Blackness, Trumpism, and slavery-denial.”FACT: Before Kanye West was "the face of Anti-Semitism," he was one of the hip-hop faces of misogynoir, anti-Blackness, Trumpism, and slavery-denial. “Shame.”Author and Washington Post Magazine contributing writer Damon Young told CNN the situation is a more nuanced discussion than it sometimes appears to be on social media. “The reason we never really completely shut Kanye down is because we are hanging on to this essence of what he used to be,” Baptist told CNN.

☆ Her Home Destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, She Found Her ‘Zen’ 150 Miles Away
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Seth Schwartz | Photographs Jacqueline Marque For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After a grueling two decades of personal hardships and natural disasters, Renee Brown finally found a peaceful haven for her small family. Now on a large, old estate she bought 150 miles from her native New Orleans, she is expanding her business developing natural products and reconnecting with her family’s history. Ms. Brown, 43, started by adding to the large and varied garden left by the previous owner. A portion of her 2 acres is filled with trees, including more than a dozen citrus, plus olive, peach, pear, cherry, kumquat, papaya and guava. She also planted eggplant, tomatoes, beans and herbs, and her favorite flowers—orchids.

☆ Flesh-eating bacteria: What to know about Vibrio vulnificus, and how to avoid it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Vibrio vulnificus causes an estimated 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths in the United States every year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vibrio vulnificus is one of the bacteria that can cause what’s commonly known as a flesh-eating infection. Vibrio vulnificus infection is the leading cause of death related to eating seafood in the United States. With skin infections, a doctor will first take samples from the infected area to determine if Vibrio vulnificus is what’s causing the problem. Up to 50% of Vibrio vulnificus infections don’t respond to certain antibiotics anymore, studies show.

A contractor works on a crude oil pipeline at the U.S. Department of Energy's Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, in 2016. There are now about 400 million barrels of crude oil left in the SPR. Since its establishment, only three presidents other than Biden have directed the sale of oil from the petroleum reserve, while exchanges have been more common. Barack Obama directed the release of 30 million barrels in 2011 to offset supply disruptions caused by Libya’s civil war; in 2005, George W. Bush released 11 million barrels to help refiners hurt by Hurricane Katrina; and in 1991, George H.W. Bush released 17 million barrels in response to the Gulf War.

I no longer miss the “old” Kanye West, now known as Ye. I’m tired of hearing about the new Ye, and I wish we could stop talking about him altogether. Days before that, he appeared with far-right pundit Candace Owens flaunting “White Lives Matter” T-shirts during Paris Fashion Week. This includes to stopping asking for the “old Kanye” back. Chop up the soul Kanye, set on his goals Kanye.” At first, I sang the lyrics with hope that the “old Kanye” who once had such a hopeful swagger would return, that he would get past his ego and be born again as the creative powerhouse whose every move we followed with anticipation instead of dread.

Organizers with Stop TxDOT I-45 said expanding in the area would hurt the predominantly Black and Latino communities along the stretch. Kendra London joined Stop TxDOT I-45 three years ago when she learned of the state’s plans to expand the highway. Stop TxDOT I-45 and Allendale Strong are two of more than 70 groups across the country that comprise the Freeway Fighters Network, a coalition of groups advocating for the dismantling of harmful highways and urging city leaders not to expand highways or build new ones. “We hadn’t actually stopped building new highways that still harm communities, predominantly communities of color. “We should be thinking about long-term repair,” Hood said, highlighting the Black communities affected by the highway.

☆ Renowned pianist Fats Domino has New Orleans street renamed in his honor
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans street where one of the founders of rock ‘n’ roll spent most of his life is being renamed in his honor. A community-wide Second line and Musical Celebration begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at the longtime home of Antoine “Fats” Domino on Caffin Avenue, which will now be known as Antoine “Fats” Domino Avenue. Led by the Stooges Brass Band, the second line will proceed down the renamed street to Oliver Bush Park, where musical tributes to Domino will occur. Saturday’s free celebration will feature performances by Kermit Ruffin, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, Al “Little Fats” Jackson and Domino’s grandson, Antoine Domino Jr.Rev. Storm surge flood waters poured into the Lower 9th Ward, knocking many homes off their foundations.

☆ Tens of thousands likely jobless after Hurricane Ian, economists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Martha C. White For Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Although the damage is still being tallied, early estimates indicate that Ian could be the most costly hurricane to make landfall in Florida. In the short term, a spike in jobless claims is almost inevitable, economists say: “Hurricane Harvey in Texas prompted a rise of about 50,000 in August of 2017,” noted Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics. A view of the destroyed road between Florida's Matlacha and Pine Island after Hurricane Ian. “Katrina was a much more damaging storm, and impacted Louisiana, which is much less affluent than Florida,” Zandi said. A powerboat lies atop a pile of debris two days after the passage of Hurricane Ian, in Fort Myers, Florida.

“This looks and smells like human trafficking,” said Ariadna Phillips, a New York community organizer with South Bronx Mutual Aid. On Tuesday, DeSantis said at a news conference that three of four people arrested last week for "ransacking" communities following Hurricane Ian were illegal immigrants who should be immediately deported. Remembering "horror stories" of immigrants not being paid for work or being deported following previous natural disasters, Phillips rushed to Queens. "Promises are often not kept to these workers," said Saket Soni, executive director of Resilience Workforce, a New Orleans group that advocates for and monitors migrant workers following natural disasters. In the days following Ian, Resilience Workforce deployed staff members to Florida to observe work conditions on the ground.

Rosa Rivera, 31, and her partner, Guillermo Cuero, faced a difficult choice when it came to protecting their 8-month-old baby, 9-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son. Rosa Rivera said her son had asked her, “Mama, are we going to die?”Jennifer Rosa Rivera, her partner and their three children at a wedding a few days before Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida. Courtesy Rosa RiveraThe family lost nearly all of its possessions, including two cars that were submerged up to their windows. For many families, life in Florida was an escape from other climate disasters or extreme violence and poverty. “He lost absolutely everything,” Rosa Rivera said.

Many of the most destructive and potentially deadly impacts of a hurricane — including storm surge, flooding and rainfall — are not accounted for in a storm's category number. "Hurricane Ian is a very large, slow-moving hurricane. "There have been several alternative scales proposed over the years and none have gained enough attention or traction by the National Hurricane Center," Collins said. "It is important to have such evidence before even proposing to the National Hurricane Center that this should be considered as a replacement." Kantha said the National Hurricane Center acts conservatively and carefully with changes, particularly those with legal implications.

☆ Explainer: How hurricanes cause dangerous, destructive storm surges
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Storm surges are often the most deadly and destructive phenomenon to accompany a hurricane. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWHAT IS A STORM SURGE? WHY ARE STORM SURGES SO DESTRUCTIVE AND DANGEROUS? Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused storm surges of over 25 feet in New Orleans. The NHC says many of the 1,500 people killed lost their lives, directly or indirectly, to the storm surges.

☆ All eyes are on DeSantis' relationship with Biden as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida. Here's how the previous 3 presidents worked (or didn't) with governors on disaster relief efforts.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Isabella Zavarise | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Governors usually work directly with the White House during disasters, relying on the government for federal resources. Here's a look at how the last three presidents handled disaster relief efforts and how Biden could address this crisis with DeSantis. However, on Tuesday evening, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted that Biden and DeSantis had spoken to discuss steps the federal government is taking to help Florida. Here's how the last three presidents worked with governors in their disaster relief efforts. Biden declared a state of emergency as the storm approached, ordering federal assistance to supplement disaster response efforts.

☆ Factbox: The worst hurricanes in Florida's history as Ian takes aim
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

As Florida braces for Hurricane Ian, here are the five of the most deadly and destructive hurricanes to hit the state in recent years, listed in chronological order. While Hurricane Katrina in 2005 traveled across the southern tip of Florida, most of the deaths and destruction it caused were in New Orleans. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterExcluding Katrina, Hurricane Irma was the costliest in Florida history, with total U.S. damage from the storm estimated at $50 billion. Andrew ranked as the most expensive storm in U.S. history until Hurricane Katrina raged through New Orleans in 2005. It left 6.5 million customers without power in the state and caused an estimated $50 billion in property damage, making it one of the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history.

Tens of thousands of people are scrambling for homeowners insurance in Louisiana at the peak of hurricane season after recent storms drove their carriers out of business. Massive claims from those storms drove large national insurance companies to scale back their coverage and remaining companies to jack up rates. The strategy seemed to work: Rates eventually stabilized, although Louisiana remained one of the most expensive states for homeowners insurance. That pushed the small insurance companies to their financial limits and squeezed reinsurers, who raised their rates. The state insurer’s rolls, which totaled 34,500 in August 2020, ballooned to about 110,000 last week.

Search resuls for: "HURRICANE KATRINA"

25 mentions found