The incinerated town of Lahaina has barely begun to recover. Policymakers have scrambled to ease inflexible laws and regulations but rebuilding would be happening much more quickly if that had happened before the fires.
The island’s Emergency Management Agency reported that the sirens are for tsunamis and are not a part of the agency’s standard wildfire response protocol. Instead, a variety of emergency notifications were used to alert residents of the danger.
Fast-moving wildfires have torn through the historic Hawaiian city of 12,000 and have damaged or destroyed approximately 270 structures. So far, more than 11,000 people have been flown off the island since the fires began earlier this week.
Gov. Laura Kelly appointed Col. Erik Smith to head the state law enforcement department, which has been a consistent source of troubles for years, including allegations of domestic violence, sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination.
Volunteer Florida reported that $32.5 million of the money was awarded in grants to groups such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Another $4 million was set aside for a small-business recovery program.
The agency inadvertently started a wildfire last year that burned more than 60 square miles after a prescribed burn went wrong. It was the third prescribed burn that went awry last year.
The $3.8 billion flood-control project recently had to activate many of its overflow pipes and a sluice gate to manage the quickly gaining waters. As storms become more severe due to climate change, they will continue to outmatch the region’s infrastructure.
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake off of the coast triggered a tsunami warning that created confusion, traffic jams and evacuations despite the alert later being canceled. Some worry the inefficient system could erode public trust.
Most of our infrastructure has been designed to withstand rainfall projections that are hopelessly obsolete. Every part of the country at risk of flooding needs urgent and significant upgrades.
Six of the state agency’s regional units, including the North Bay area, are testing new video technology that will utilize AI to speed response to fires and other natural disasters as they happen.
An elite group of wildland firefighters trained to parachute out of planes and into remote areas to fight blazes, in hopes of quickly stopping fires at their source and preventing further damage.
Some worry that the state’s new “sprawl bill” could negatively impact affordable housing, conservation efforts and hurricane evacuation routes by requiring citizens to pay for legal challenges against local governments and developers.
According to the air monitoring website IQAir, the city had the worst air quality out of 95 cities worldwide on Tuesday, June 27. Alerts were issued for parts of the Great Lakes, Lower Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed a law establishing a new state emergency alert system called Athena Alert. Here’s a breakdown of the differences between an Athena Alert, Amber Alert, Clear Alert and more.
Seacliff State Beach near Santa Cruz suffered more than $100 million in damage alone after storms battered its pier in January. The state endured 31 atmospheric rivers this winter, making it one of the coldest and wettest in recorded history.
A portion of Interstate 95 collapsed in Philadelphia after a gasoline tanker caught fire. Officials have promised a rapid response that “cuts through the red tape.”
Most Read
