Latest news with #EmergencyManagement
CBC
a day ago
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfires have forced 4,500 Albertans from home as of Sunday: AEMA
Social Sharing Several thousand Albertans are evacuated from their homes due to out-of-control wildfires, according to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA). As of 1 p.m. MT Sunday, 52 total wildfires are burning throughout the province, about half of which are deemed out of control, according to the Alberta Wildfire dashboard. Fires triggered eight evacuation orders combined for various communities, according to the Alberta government's website. According to a spokesperson for AEMA, which leads and oversees all emergency and disaster response, there were 4,500 wildfire evacuees provincewide as of Sunday morning. Multiple evacuation advisories have also been issued due to wildfires, warning people they have to be prepared to evacuate within a few hours' notice. Smoke causing poor air quality in northern Alberta Wildfire smoke triggered the national weather agency to issue air quality warning for northeastern Alberta Sunday morning. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued air quality statements for many northern parts of the province. But people living in the northeast quadrant, from the Wood Buffalo region south to the St. Paul area, are at an elevated risk. Multiple out-of-control wildfires are burning in that stretch of Alberta, including the group that makes up the Red Earth East complex and a large fire southeast of Conklin, a hamlet within the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo that's about 280 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. The complex forced the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 to issue an evacuation order for people living in Red Earth Creek, a hamlet about 350 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. The ECCC warnings state smoke is causing "very poor" air quality and reduced visibility. It's possible some places may see conditions improved, but heavy smoke is expected through the weekend. The ECCC air quality health index, which measures how safe the air is to breathe, predicts high to very high risk air in northeastern Alberta communities, like Fort McMurray, through Sunday, but it is expected to improve Monday. In Cold Lake, however, a city about 240 kilometres northeast of Edmonton near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, the air quality is forecast to carry a high risk through Monday at least, the index suggests. The agency's warnings say people should limit their time outdoors, including rescheduling our cancelling sports and other events. It also says people should be wary of smoke inhalation symptoms, such as headaches, irritation in the eyes, nose or throat, and wheezing and chest pains.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Will a Category 5 hurricane make landfall in Florida in 2025? History says that's unlikely
Starting today, June 1 and for the next 182 days (until Nov. 30), Southwest Floridians will paying more attention to the weather forecast, especially with what is happening in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf. It's called Hurricane Season. In recent years, because of the number of hurricanes Southwest Florida has had to deal with and the damage caused by those storms, including historic Hurricane Ian in September 2022, it might feel like we must have been hit by a Category 5 hurricane during this run. You could argue the back-to-back hurricanes we had last year (2024) − Helene and Milton − combined added up to a Cat 5, but that's not how it works. More: Hurricane season is almost here. When should I build my hurricane kit, what should I put in it? Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 26, 2024, with winds of 140 mph. Just 13 days later, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane. It struck near Siesta Key Oct. 9, 2024. The storm was accompanied by sustained winds of 120 mph. Turn back the clock a couple of years to Sept. 28, 2022 and we had Hurricane Ian, which caused catastrophic to Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and other coastal locations in Southwest Florida. It sure felt and looked like a Category 5 hit here. But officially, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm. It was initially a Category 5 storm before weakening to a Category 4 just before landfall at Cayo Costa. Ian had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. There were more than 140 deaths attributed to Ian. It is possible, but not probable based on past history. Could it happen? Sure. But since records have been kept, it has never happened here, even though with Ian it was right on the edge of being added to the short list. Since the 1900, three Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall in Florida: The 'Labor Day Hurricane' of 1935 The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane is considered the strongest storm ever recorded to make landfall in the U.S., smashing into the Florida Keys on Sept. 2, 1935, with winds of 185 mph. It killed an estimated 409 people. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 On Aug. 24, 1992, Andrew made landfall in South Miami-Dade County with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph. Although 23 deaths were directly attributed to the storm, according to NOAA, "Hurricane Andrew destroyed more than 50,000 homes and caused an estimated $26 billion in damage, making it at the time the most expensive natural disaster in United States history." And the most recent, Hurricane Michael in 2018 Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018, as a Category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 161 mph. According to the National Weather Service: "Wind and storm surge caused catastrophic damage, particularly in the Panama City Beach and Mexico Beach areas. Eight direct fatalities were reported: seven in Florida and one in Georgia. In addition, 43 indirect deaths were attributed to the storm." More: When does hurricane season start in Florida? What to document for insurance now There's only be one. Hurricane Camille in 1969. Camille had sustained winds of more than 170 mph when it hit Mississippi on Aug. 17, 1969. More than 250 people were killed, many in Virginia due to massive flooding the storm brought to that state. Camille tracked north-northwest across the Gulf of Mexico, becoming a Category 5 the day before making landfall. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: How many Category 5 hurricanes hit Florida?
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
At least 151 killed in Nigerian flash flooding
May 31 (UPI) -- Torrential rains over two days caused flash flooding that killed at least 151 people in Mokwa, Nigeria. The death toll is expected to climb in the city that has a population of more than 416,000 and is located 235 miles west of the Nigerian capital of Abuja, the BBC reported Saturday. The flash flooding was Friday. The Niger State Emergency Management Agency initially reported 115 deaths but revised the number to 151 and expects to find more deceased victimsas the flood waters recede. Floodwaters swept the bodies of many victims into the Niger River that flows below the city on Thursday and Friday. More than 500 homes and 3,000 people were impacted by the flash flooding that caught local officials by surprise. Many families lost multiple members. A total of 11 people were reported as rescued and taken to local hospitals for treatment. Localized flooding was expected before the storm, but the severity overwhelmed the city. "We had to knock on some doors, but before people could escape, the flood had already caught up," shop owner Umar Jamil told The New York Times. "We have seen many bodies floating in the river, but we couldn't help," he said. It had been 60 years since a flood of such magnitude struck the city, Mokwa leader Muhammad Shaba Aliyu told the BBC. The city is located along the northern bank of the Niger River, and the floodwaters caused a local bridge to collapse into the river. The bridge's collapse left many motorists stranded as the flash flooding worsened. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu ordered all available emergency and security personnel to "intensify ongoing search and rescue operations" in Mokwa, the BBC reported. Torrential rains began falling Wednesday and continued through Thursday, leading to Friday's deadly flash flooding. The flooding occurred near the start of Nigeria's rainy season, which lasts from April through October.
Sky News
3 days ago
- Climate
- Sky News
Nigeria floods: At least 110 dead as heavy flooding submerges thousands of houses
At least 111 people have died and others are still missing after heavy flooding in Nigeria, an emergency official said. Authorities initially said 21 people had died but this figure has today risen significantly. Media reports quoting local government officials said a dam collapse has worsened the situation. Ibrahim Hussaini, head of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said some 3,000 houses were underwater in two communities. Videos posted on social media show floodwater sweeping through neighbourhoods, with rooftops barely visible above the brown currents. One clip shows a tanker floating through a town. The chairman of the Mokwa local government area suggested poor infrastructure has worsened the impact of the flooding. Jibril Muregi has appealed to the government to start "long overdue" construction of waterways in the area under a climate resilience project. In a similar occurrence last September, torrential rains and a dam collapse in Nigeria's northeastern Maiduguri caused severe flooding, leaving at least 30 people dead and displacing millions. Nigeria is prone to flooding during the rainy season, which began in April - and flooding is becoming more common and extreme as the climate warms. Hotter air is thirstier and can hold more moisture - about 7% more for every 1C warmer - meaning it unleashes heavier flooding when it rains. Violent rain, which killed hundreds of people in Nigeria during 2022, was made at least 80 times more likely and 20% more intense by climate change, analysis by World Weather Attribution found.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
It looks like an average truck accident but horror crash takes a crazy turn
A truck in Washington rolled over near the Canadian border, but the average looking accident turned chaotic after millions of bees escaped from the cargo. A commercial semi-truck carrying around 70,000 pounds of honey bee hives overturned in rural Whatcom County at round 4am on Friday. Photos of the accident show the trucks cargo load overturned onto the road, blocking both lanes. The hive cargo came off the truck at around 9am, releasing roughly 250 million bees into the air, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office. Video footage captured at the site of the accident showed the mass amounts of bees swarming over the truck and within the air. Efforts to save the swarm of bees ensued, as more than two dozen volunteered on scene to assist in re-setting the box hives and allow the bees to re-hive. 'The plan is to allow the bees to re-hive and find their queen bee,' the sheriff's office said. 'The goal is to save as many bees as possible.' At around 10.30am, deputies turned the scene over to WCSO Division of Emergency Management who were assisted by several Master Beekeepers, the sheriff's office said. Weidkamp Road, where the truck overturned, remained closed throughout Friday as the process of letting the bees re-hive occurred. According to WCSO Patrol, the roadway is set to be closed between 24 and 48 hours. While the sheriff's office said 'there is no general health risk to the public,' it warned travelers and locals to stay clear of the area between Loomis Trail Road and W. Badger, Berthusen Park. Most of the bees are expected to have re-hived by Saturday morning.
