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☆ ‘Frankly ridiculous’: FEMA administrator slams Trump for boosting false Helene recovery claims
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-06 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2024. Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Deanne Criswell on Sunday criticized former President Donald Trump for spreading false information about how the Biden administration allocated disaster relief funding for Hurricane Helene recovery. "It's frankly ridiculous and just plain false," Criswell said in an interview on ABC's "This Week." On FEMA's "Rumor Response" webpage, the agency specifically addressed the claim that FEMA disaster relief funding "was diverted to support international efforts or border related issues." The Department of Homeland Security and White House have issued their own statements fact-checking and condemning the false claims.

Persons: Deanne Criswell, Donald Trump, Biden, Helene, Criswell, Trump, Elon Musk, Kamala Harris Organizations: U.S . Federal Emergency Management Agency, White, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Sunday, FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, SpaceX Locations: Washington , U.S

Albertson Bryan, adding that it will provide equitable educational opportunities for students on St. John. Whistling Cay has a guardhouse that colonial-era officials used to scan waters for slaves escaping from St. John to the nearby island of Tortola. St. John was part of the Danish West Indies, where slavery ended in 1848. Meanwhile, Tortola is part of the British Virgin Islands, which abolished slavery in 1834. Currently, public high school students living on St. John have to take a ferry to the neighboring island of St. Thomas.

Persons: John, ”, Albertson Bryan, Thomas . Organizations: JUAN, U.S . Virgin, U.S . National, Service, St, Danish, British Virgin Islands, U.S . Federal Emergency Management Agency Locations: Puerto Rico, U.S, St, Whistling, Tortola, Danish West Indies, British Virgin

☆ The climate crisis has a price — and it's $391 million a day
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Al Zulkifli | AFP | Getty ImagesDamage from the global climate crisis has amounted to $391 million per day over the past two decades, a report showed. "We find that US$143 billion per year of the costs of extreme events is attributable to climatic change. The research, however, notes that there is an underestimation of the true costs of climate change due to the difficulty of measuring indirect losses. They called for an increase in adaptation policies to minimize these climate-change attributed costs, such as the building of flood protection or improving early warning signal systems heralding extreme weather events. "The planet is far off track from meeting its climate goals," the WMO said in a September report, adding that rising global temperatures have been accompanied by more extreme weather.

Persons: Al Zulkifli, —, Nargis, Fedja Grulovic, Spyros Bakalis, Yuki Iwamura Organizations: AFP, Getty, Nature Communications, International Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies, Reuters, U.S . Federal Emergency Management Agency, World Meteorological Organization, WMO, Afp Locations: Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Myanmar, Europe, Russia, Somalia, Prevalje, Slovenia, Pournari, Magoula, Athens, Maui, Lahaina , Hawaii

☆ Fact Check-FEMA official Erik Hooks was not arrested after Maui fires
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Real Raw News website published an article on Aug. 22 with the headline: “Military Arrests FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks” (ghostarchive.org/archive/tvDZT). One example of the headline shared online had over 1.6 million views on TikTok at the time of writing (ghostarchive.org/archive/l11wt). A FEMA spokesperson said in an email that there is “obviously no truth” to the claims. Reuters has previously addressed claims by Real Raw News about arrests of high-profile officials and politicians (here), (here). The claim that FEMA official Erik Hooks was arrested stems from a website that describes itself as satirical.

Persons: Erik Hooks, Erik Hooks ”, Hooks, “, Joe Biden, Read Organizations: U.S . Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, U.S, Real Raw, Reuters, Department of Defense, Real Raw News Locations: Maui, TikTok

☆ Biden to reassure Maui's Lahaina residents they will control rebuilding after devastating wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden step off Air Force One upon arrival at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Reno, Nevada on August 18, 2023. The wildfires incinerated the town of Lahaina on Aug. 8, destroying 2,200 homes and businesses and leaving hundreds unaccounted for. Biden has faced criticism from Republicans for not speaking publicly about the tragedy until five days after it occurred. Criswell said she was in communication in the days that followed the wildfires, helping Biden understand the magnitude of the situation and what resources were needed. — Biden on Friday authorized additional federal support for Hawaii, the White House said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Deanne Criswell, Criswell, Biden, —, — Biden Organizations: Air Force, Tahoe, . Federal Emergency Management Agency Locations: Reno, Reno , Nevada, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

A sign at the site of the destroyed Pioneer Hotel and Pioneer Theater is seen after wildfires driven by high winds burned across most of the town in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S. August 10, 2023. The wildfires incinerated the town of Lahaina on Aug. 8, destroying 2,200 homes and businesses and leaving hundreds unaccounted for. Biden has faced criticism from Republicans for not speaking publicly about the tragedy until five days after it occurred. Criswell said she was in communication in the days that followed the wildfires, helping Biden understand the magnitude of the situation and what resources were needed. Some will be too traumatized to attend when their schools in Lahaina reopen while some parents will opt to move rather than rebuild.

Persons: Deanne Criswell, Joe Biden, Criswell, Biden, Jonathan Allen, Brendan O'Brien, David Morgan, Mary Milliken, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Pioneer, Hawai'i Department of Land, Natural Resources, REUTERS Acquire, . Federal Emergency Management Agency, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, Kihei, Chicago, Washington

☆ Fact Check-‘Catastrophic Contagion’ video is fictional and does not support claims about pandemic preparedness exercises
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Baseless claims that pandemic preparedness exercises are proof that disease outbreaks are “planned” by authorities have been a recurring narrative since the coronavirus pandemic broke out. These fictional scenarios go beyond infectious diseases, as such exercises also exist for natural disasters or nuclear events, for example. These rules, that are binding for WHO members, set out countries’ obligations when handling public health events and emergencies that could potentially cross borders (here) (here). Otherwise, we will be unprepared for the next infectious disease event. Experts told Reuters that preparedness exercises like “Catastrophic Contagion” have been a part of pandemic preparedness for at least the last two decades.

☆ Hurricane Ian strengthens as millions urged to evacuate Florida Gulf Coast
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Brad Brooks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

By late Tuesday night, tropical storm-force winds generated by Ian extended through the Florida Keys island chain to the southernmost shores of the state's Gulf Coast, the NHC said. U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Deanne Criswell said she worried that too few Florida residents were taking the threat seriously. 1/6 A hurricane evacuation route sign is displayed as Hurricane Ian spins toward the state carrying high winds, torrential rains and a powerful storm surge, in Punta Gorda, Florida, U.S. September 27, 2022. If Ian strikes the Tampa area, it would be the first hurricane to make landfall there since the 1921 Tarpon Springs storm. But officials said Hurricane Ian had proven too much, knocking out power even in far eastern Cuba, which was largely unaffected by the storm.

Increasing wind pushes waves towards the south shore before the arrival of Hurricane Fiona in Bermuda September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Nicola MuirheadHAMILTON, Bermuda, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Hurricane Fiona threatened the Atlantic island of Bermuda on Friday, passing west of the British territory on its northward trek toward Nova Scotia while packing the potential to become one of the most severe storms in Canada's history. That made it a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, meaning it was capable of producing catastrophic damage. Fiona is shaping up to be the most powerful storm to reach Canada since Dorian made landfall to the west of Halifax in September 2019, the government's Environment Canada website said. Like Dorian, Fiona could ease to a post-tropical storm, but Dorian still carried Category 2 intensity, with sustained winds of 96 mph (155 kph).

People collect spring water from a mountain next to a highway in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Cayey, Puerto Rico September 21, 2022. REUTERS/Ricardo ArduengoHAMILTON, Bermuda, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Bermudians boarded up windows and stocked up on groceries and flashlight batteries as Hurricane Fiona drew nearer on Thursday after causing several deaths and leaving many people sweltering without power in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. "It could still jog east and hit Bermuda," said Eric Blake, acting branch chief for the hurricane center in Miami. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has so far attributed four deaths to the storm in Puerto Rico. read moreAn estimated 1 million homes and businesses remained without power in Puerto Rico on Thursday morning after Fiona hit on Sunday, causing an island-wide power outage for its roughly 3.3 million people.

☆ Hurricane Fiona heads to Bermuda, up to eight dead in Puerto Rico
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Ivelisse Rivera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A woman removes rubble from her destroyed house in the rural zone of Cuey, in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, in El Seibo, Dominican Republic, September 20, 2022. REUTERS/Ricardo RojasSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Hurricane Fiona strengthened to a powerful Category 4 storm on Wednesday as it headed toward Bermuda after carving a destructive path through the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where most were without power and up to eight people may have died. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has so far attributed four deaths to the storm in Puerto Rico. An estimated 1.2 million homes and businesses remained without power in Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning, according to Poweroutages.com. U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a public health emergency for Puerto Rico on Tuesday night, freeing up federal funds and equipment to assist the island.

☆ Hurricane Fiona heads to Bermuda, up to 8 dead in Puerto Rico
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

People walk on a street affected by the passing of Hurricane Fiona in Penuelas, Puerto Rico September 19, 2022. After making landfall in Puerto Rico on Sunday, Fiona caused devastating flooding and landslides on the island. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has so far attributed four deaths to the storm in Puerto Rico. For many Puerto Rico residents, the memory of Hurricane Maria in 2017 is still fresh. "Bermuda residents are very well practiced in preparing for storms," she said.

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