Natural Disasters

Florida Politics reports: FEMA has approved more federal assistance to help the Central Florida counties of Brevard, Orange and Osceola recover from Hurricane Ian. The move allows the counties to receive federal reimbursements for more facets of the recovery. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the decision Monday evening. In total, FEMA has approved direct individual assistance for residents in Charlotte, Collier, …

Florida Politics reports: According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), the owner of Duque Roofing, Terence Duque, was arrested last Friday for contracting without a Florida license, which is a felony crime. CCSO said that Duque had read the Governor’s State of Emergency order regarding contractors, and that he understood it to mean that contractors from out of state …

Axios reports: Hurricane Ian likely caused between $53 to $74 billion in insured losses from Florida to the Carolinas, with a “best estimate” of $67 billion, according to new data released today from modeling firm RMS. These preliminary damage totals would make Hurricane Ian the costliest storm in Florida history and second nationally to Hurricane Katrina when adjusted for inflation. …

The Associated Press reports: Even before Ian, Florida’s home insurance market was dealing with billions of dollars in losses from a string of natural disasters, rampant litigation and increasing fraud. The difficult environment has put many insurers out of business and caused others to raise their prices or tighten their restrictions, making it harder for Floridians to obtain insurance. The …

CNN reports: The devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian likely caused more than $50 billion in damages — and also dinged overall US economic output, economists say. Initial damages from the deadly storm are estimated to be in the range of $45 billion to $55 billion in Florida and at least several billion dollars in South Carolina, according to Laura Ratz, …

The New York Post reports: John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s Pizza who was forced to step down as CEO after uttering a racial slur during a conference call, was slammed on Tuesday for telling a cable news channel that he had “lost a home” in Florida as a result of Hurricane Ian. Schnatter, whose net worth was pegged …

First, some backstory via the Orlando Sentinel: Democratic state House candidate Allie Braswell is criticizing his Republican opponent Carolina Amesty for living and registering to vote in a Windermere home owned by a nonprofit religious organization, Central Christian University, where Amesty is vice president. “How can you represent me if you’re not facing the same responsibilities that I have, paying …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis, during an exclusive interview with the right-of-center Florida’s Voice website, was asked if there would be any “accountability in the media” for reporting that the storm had been forecast to strike the Tampa Bay area. “Quite frankly, you have national regime media that wanted to see Tampa, because they thought that would be worse …

Know Your Meme reports: As the US mourns the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde and grows increasingly angry at the local police officers who reportedly failed to help the kids inside despite their calls to 911, commentators have frustrated political opponents by floating solutions to help avoid school shootings in the future, such as homeschooling kids and remodeling …

The BBC reports: A massive volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered tsunami waves has smothered the Pacific islands in ash, cut power and severed communications. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the tsunami had wreaked “significant damage”, washing boats ashore and battering beachside shops. Locals say Tonga looks “like a moonscape” after being coated in a layer of volcanic …

Reuters reports: Tsunami-hit Tonga remained largely uncontactable on Sunday with telephone and internet links severed, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families on the Pacific islands as casualty reports had yet to come through. An underwater volcano off Tonga erupted on Saturday, triggering warnings of 1.2-metre tsunami waves and evacuation orders on the shores of Tonga as …

The BBC reports: Tsunami waves caused by a giant underwater volcanic eruption have hit the Pacific country of Tonga. Social media footage showed water washing through a church and several homes, and witnesses said ash was falling over the capital, Nuku’alofa. A tsunami warning sent residents scrambling to higher ground. The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano was heard …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas has added 36 more deaths to the official death toll from the February snow and ice storm, bringing the total to 246 in what was one of the worst natural disasters in the state’s history. The Department of State Health Services disclosed the new total in a report on the storm that was released Friday …

The Independent reports: Customers rushed to evacuate a Costco retail store and a Chuck E Cheese restaurant in Superior, Colorado, on Thursday after a wildfire started spreading rapidly across the area due to gusty winds. Thousands of people in Colorado have been evacuated as hundreds of homes were destroyed by wildfires that tore through parts of the state. A video …

The Denver Post reports: A wind-whipped grassfire roared east from Boulder Thursday afternoon, destroying at least 500 homes, closing major highways and causing the evacuation of more than 30,000 people in two towns, including hospital patients. The Marshall fire, which officials said likely was sparked by downed power lines in the winds that reached gusts of more than 100 mph, …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: President Joe Biden is planning to come to the Bluegrass State in the aftermath of the devastating tornadoes that ripped through the commonwealth over the weekend. Biden is planning to travel to Fort Campbell on Wednesday for a storm briefing and will also visit Mayfield and Dawson Springs, two of the towns hit hardest by Friday’s …

Louisville’s CBS News affiliate reports: The tornadoes left massive devastation in at least eight Kentucky counties, and the death toll now stands at 64, but there are still 105 unaccounted for. The search and rescue process continues, but getting through what can best be described as a “mountain of debris” is no small feat. The governor believes the total death …

The Associated Press reports: Rescuers in an increasingly bleak search picked through the tornado-splintered ruins of Kentucky homes and businesses Sunday, including a candle factory that was bustling with night-shift employees when it was flattened, as the governor warned that the state’s death toll from the outbreak could top 100. Workers sought refuge in what was supposed to be the …

Raw Story reports: Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky dashed off a letter to President Joe Biden today pleading for expeditious federal relief aid to victims of a deadly 200-mile tornado that struck his state Friday. In 2017, Paul was one of just 17 senators to oppose an emergency $15.3 billion federal relief bill for victims of Hurricane Harvey. In 2013, …

Louisville’s NBC News affiliate reports: Gov. Andy Beshear told WLKY during a live interview that at least 50 people were likely killed in western Kentucky after a long and significant tornado ripped through the area overnight. “This is going to be some of the worst tornado damage that we’ve seen in a long time,” Beshear said early Saturday. “This is …