Disaster
Preparation helping recovery after third Florida hurricane in 66 days
From The Center Square
More than 12,000 miles of state roads are cleared, nearly 2,000 areas on bridges have been inspected and 1,600 people and 140 pets have been rescued following Hurricane Milton’s hit in Florida.
Reports say 16 people have died from the storm, the third to hit Florida this year. Teams have made more than 1,000 water rescues.
Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Steinhatchee on Aug. 5, Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach on Sept. 26, and Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key on Wednesday night.
“Please exercise caution,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis from St. Petersburg on Friday, where more than 18 inches of rain in 24 hours qualified as a 1-in-1,000 years flood.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie and Maj. Gen. John D. Haas, adjutant general of Florida, were alongside the governor as they updated efforts after Milton.
The storm’s damage and the estimated three dozen tornadoes in St. Lucie County led to several deaths due to the destructive force of high winds and significant flash flooding.
“What we’re seeing now are fatalities that are preventable,” DeSantis said, saying fatalities are happening due to interaction with downed power lines and water. “We are in the position where everything is stabilized, and you need to make the proper decisions and just know that there are still some hazards out there.”
The governor stressed the importance of staying out of the flood waters, the safety of using ladders, and the proper operation of generators, adding that they should not be used inside.
Damage from the three hurricanes in 66 days is well into the billions of dollars.
About 2.2 million homes and businesses were still without power across the state Friday afternoon.
DeSantis said the storm weakened enough before landfall to minimize the worst-case storm surge, saying that doesn’t mean there is not a lot of damage, but they have an abundance of resources because of preparation.
He said removing debris from Helene before Milton made landfall also mitigated some of the damages.
In a separate press release, the governor said they are working with FEMA to incentivize more trucks for 24/7 cleanup across the state so Floridians can get through the debris.
Several airports and schools across the state reopened Friday.
The state has volunteer organizations on standby and can be reached by those in the affected areas through 833-Get-Hope to connect them to the needed resources, either food or debris cleanup.
Shirleen Guerra
Reporter
Disaster
FEMA’s response to the hurricanes of 2024 – Inadequate, corrupt, and politically charged
The news from Hurricane Helene and Milton just gets more bizarre and shows the truly punitive nature of the Biden/Harris administration.
The Daily Wire Reports:
A FEMA supervisor told workers in a message to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid, internal messages viewed by The Daily Wire reveal. The supervisor, Marn’i Washington, relayed this message both verbally and in a group chat used by the relief team, multiple government employees told The Daily Wire.
The government employees told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were skipped from the end of October and into November due to the guidance, meaning they were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance. Images shared with The Daily Wire show that houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote in the government system messages such as: “Trump sign no entry per leadership.”
It is unclear whether the same guidance was issued elsewhere in the country. The employees were part of a Department of Homeland Security surge capacity force team, meaning they volunteered from other DHS agencies to help an understaffed FEMA as it dealt with a second major hurricane in a span of just a few weeks.
The employee said it felt wrong to discriminate against Trump supporters when they were at their “most vulnerable.”
“I volunteered to help disaster victims, not discriminate against them,” the employee said. “It didn’t matter if people were black, white, Hispanic, for Trump, for Harris. Everyone deserves the same amount of help.”
The guidance came as the Biden administration was criticized over its sluggish response to Hurricane Helene in rural areas across the country. In Roan Mountain, Tennessee, for example, locals told The Daily Wire it took nearly two weeks for FEMA to show up. The town is located in Carter County, which voted 81% for Trump on Tuesday.
Supposedly, after this news story made the alternative media rounds, including the Daily Wire, – this “supervisor” was fired. About then, Fox and other conservative media ran with the story.
In other FEMA related news, the New York Post reports that:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to answer nearly half of the calls for aid and assistance it recently received during Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a report released this week shows.
During a recent week, FEMA’s call centers were so overwhelmed, almost half of all callers never connected with a federal working, according to data released this week.
And it took federal agents on average more than an hour to actually pick up those calls that were answered.
The damning report comes as the Harris-Biden administration has been slammed by conservatives for its response to disaster relief after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed into Florida, North Carolina and other southern states.
One man seeking help after his North Carolina home was flooded called FEMA and got a recording that said he was 675th in line.
A Google news search shows that there has been almost no mention about Hurricane Helene since October 7th. It is as if it never happened on Google News and MSM. A search on Hurricane Helene documents that the top articles are about
- NASA hurricane surveillance,
- pecan farmers in Georgia, and
- deforestation caused by Helene.
Note the lack of news about the destruction, FEMA’s response, or the communities affected.
Adding the words North Carolina to Hurricane Helene doesn’t pull up any articles on the plight of those suffering, the recovery, or information on FEMA’s response. Instead, there are news stories on deforestation (again), opoids, and a local NC article on bad drinking water (an article that does not even mention FEMA or the hurricane response).
By all appearances, there is a governmental blackout regarding their disastrous response and criticisms about that response. Of interest, previous news stories between Oct 1-7, almost all center around “fact-checks’ that try to blunt the criticisms about FEMA, including Trump’s.
The vast media blackout on FEMA’s lack of an organized response in North Carolina is truly a blackeye on America and mainstream media.
By all appearances, the deep state is both protecting its own reputation and that of the Harris campaign. They wanted nothing out there that would reflect poorly on the Biden/Harris administration before the election. Mainstream media compliance and cooperation with the Federal government to hide their incompetence and corruption before this election and over the last decade may be the biggest story of this generation.
The video below is probably the most accurate synopsis of what the situation in NC looks like right now:
Of course, this video was found on X and TikTok- no such news stories on MSM!
North Carolina Department of Transportation has been mentioned as doing amazing work.
And course, Ron DeSantis has been amazing
In combing through X, it is clear that there is a lot of false information out there about the hurricanes this year. Just as has always been the case – gossip and rumors abound during and after a crisis.
By using common sense, and due diligence, people figure it out. By getting all sides of a story, the good, the bad, the false, and the exaggerated – people figure it out and filter reality as it pertains to their view of the world. We don’t all have the same beliefs or worldview.
This is the nature of individuals, communities, and groups – just as it has always been. “Fake news” is nothing new.
Censoring anything not approved by the government is evil. Particularly when DHS (FEMA) has been corrupted, poorly managed, and involved in hate crimes – such as discriminating against Trump supporters. Their malfeasance is palpable. That is the road paved to a totalitarian society.
“The real story here is that the Biden-Harris administration has spurned the interests of the American people since day one, pushing for hundreds of millions of FEMA dollars every year, specifically for illegal immigrants,” Chairman Green said. “Last year, House Republicans eliminated this spending in the FY24 DHS appropriations bill, only for the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House to fight to add it back to the omnibus spending bill.
“This is an issue of priorities, and the Biden-Harris administration’s
-House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN)
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Alberta
Preparation, swift response define wildfire season
Aerial view of wildfires near Fox Lake and Garden River in July.
Alberta concludes its 2024 wildfire season with renewed resilience, as vigilance and swift action helped keep communities safe and ready for the future.
Through effective investments, including a historic $155-million wildfire base budget, Alberta’s government ensured the province was prepared to respond throughout the 2024 wildfire season. In anticipation of the wildfire season, Alberta’s government recruited 100 additional wildland firefighters and an additional 40 contract wildland firefighters – in addition to securing more airtankers, heavy equipment, and helicopters equipped with night vision technology. As a result of this preparation, front-line crews were able to respond quickly and fight fires around the clock, containing 85 per cent of wildfires within 24 hours of detection.
“While the 2024 wildfire season was challenging, our coordinated efforts and the resilience of Albertans have been crucial in mitigating the impact. We will continue to adapt and strengthen our wildfire management strategies to protect our communities and natural resources.”
“This wildfire season has tested our resolve, especially in areas like Fox Lake and Jasper. The coordinated efforts of our firefighters and support teams were instrumental in protecting our communities. We will build on this experience to continue to improve response strategies and initiate new strategies to ensure the safety of all Albertans.”
The 2024 wildfire season began earlier than usual, with 64 carryover wildfires stemming from a mild winter and extremely dry conditions. In response to this elevated danger, Alberta’s government activated an early start to the wildfire season on February 20, 2024, implementing a fire ban and fire permit system to prevent additional human-caused wildfires.
Despite significant challenges, including large wildfires near Jasper that led to evacuations and the tragic loss of an Alberta wildland firefighter, as well as the loss of homes and businesses in the community, Alberta Wildfire demonstrated remarkable coordination, offering immediate aid and resources to Parks Canada, including support personnel, firefighters, aircraft and equipment.
While supporting the Jasper response led by Parks Canada, Alberta Wildfire crews continued to tackle substantial wildfires throughout the province, deploying personnel, aircraft and equipment to combat wildfires and assist impacted communities. Throughout the season, residents of Garden River, John D’Or Prairie, Fox Lake in the Little Red River Cree Nation, and the Chipewyan Cree Nation were also evacuated. Additionally, an area near Peace River and four neighborhoods in Fort McMurray faced short-term evacuations due to wildfires.
“In the wake of the heartbreaking loss from the Jasper wildfire, we are reminded of the strength found in collaboration – with each other and among all orders of government. We are reminded also of the compelling need to invest together in training, preparation, mitigation and adaptation, ensuring that we not only respond effectively, but that we also build a more resilient future.”
“The 2024 wildfire season underscored the importance of early planning and preparation. Investments in people, resources and new technology proved invaluable in our response efforts.”
During the 2024 wildfire season, Alberta Wildfire responded to more than 1,210 wildfires in the Forest Protection Area, exceeding last year’s record-breaking total. While the number of fires in 2024 exceeded the total number of fires in 2023, wildfires this season burned less than a third of the area compared with 2023, underscoring the effectiveness of Alberta’s preparation and investments.
Although Oct. 31 marks the end of Alberta’s wildfire season, Alberta Wildfire remains vigilant and ready to respond to any potential wildfires across the province.
Quick Facts
- Alberta Wildfire responded to more than 1,210 wildfires this year with more than 705,000 hectares burned.
- In 2023, there were 1,080 wildfires and more than 2.2 million hectares burned.
- Alberta Wildfire had almost 1,900 firefighters, contractors and support staff working on Alberta’s provincial response.
- Alberta Wildfire also received assistance from other agencies with more than 1,300 firefighters and support staff arriving from around the world to assist.
- While most wildfires were caused by people, we had 410 lightning-caused wildfires in July, the highest number in 20-years.
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