Latest news with #USFederalEmergencyManagementAgency
Bloomberg
18-04-2025
- Climate
- Bloomberg
The Death Toll From Extreme Weather Is Becoming Clearer
In 2020, in the wake of Australia's Black Summer bushfires, Paddy Manning wrote Body Count: How Climate Change is Killing Us (Simon & Schuster, 2020). He spoke with the families and friends of victims of extreme weather events and told the human stories behind the statistics. In this Next Chapter, Manning looks at why the death toll attributed to climate change continues to be systemically underreported as well as the consequences of that disconnect. From wildfires to tornados, heat waves to hurricanes, there seems barely time to process the last climate disaster before the next one is upon us. The World Meteorological Organization estimates there were 151 unprecedented extreme weather events last year alone. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency responded to a major weather-related disaster on average every four days in 2024.
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Trump takes egg (and stock prices), the data on disasters and a meandering cyclone
Hello and welcome to another edition of The Crunch! In this week's newsletter we have charts on … the stock market under Trump, how inflation has raised prices on different grocery items, mapping the Myanmar earthquake, the meandering path of a tropical cyclone and a look at 'music DNA'. Boffins at the US Federal Emergency Management Agency spent years creating an extreme weather risk index down to the county level. Only a month or so after launch, the Trump administration deleted it. But our Guardian US colleagues have recreated the index, using projections on worsening storms, wildfires and floods. The solid red area near Los Angeles looks particularly troubling. 1. More disaster maps Thousands were killed by the earthquake that struck Myanmar and hundreds remain missing. Reuters have mapped the 7.7-magnitude quake that struck the region on Friday. The piece also includes some great visuals on how earthquakes occur and the history of earthquakes in the region. 2. What could we buy for one nuclear sub? Last week's budget measures paper was the 'skinniest' in 20 years – because of the imminent election, but also the result of an ongoing trend. The centrepiece of the budget was a surprise tax cut. But, coming in at just over $17bn, it wouldn't even buy you half a nuclear submarine*. With questions mounting over the Aukus nuclear submarine program, we took a look through the budget papers to see what one nuclear sub would buy us. *An important caveat is that we don't know what the final cost will be for the Aukus nuclear subs for almost another two decades. We took the estimated figure when the deal was announced and divided it by the potential number of submarines: eight. The spending obviously includes lots of non-materiel things like training and research programs. 3. The unpredictable path to the deep north For days before Cyclone Alfred made landfall, the forecast path and intensity of the weather system were in flux. This meant an anxious wait for communities up and down the Queensland coast, and made it harder to prepare. The visual stories team at the Sydney Morning Herald mapped the cyclone's unpredictable path. Something else I learned from this story – at least 20 cyclones have come within a few hundred kilometres of south-east Queensland since records began. Sign up to The Crunch Our data journalists showcase the most important charts and dataviz from the Guardian and around the web, free every fortnight after newsletter promotion 4. The cost of US inflation in 10 items Eggs have become so expensive in the US that millions have reportedly stopped buying them entirely. But the spiralling cost of food isn't a recent phenomenon. Egg prices have risen by more than 310% in the US over the past 20 years, even as the federal minimum wage has largely stagnated since 2009. This beautiful illustration piece by our colleague Mona Chalabi shows the rising cost of 10 different items. We've only screenshotted a small section of the beautiful graphic but you can click through for the rest. 5. A viral chart about the stock market under Trump A chart showing the decline of US companies' stock prices under the terms of various presidents went viral several weeks ago, showing up on BlueSky, Reddit and Twitter (I refuse to call it X). Here's how it looked in the Economist's Graphic Detail series ($): The earliest version of the chart format I could find was by Owen Winter from the Economist, who has been updating the chart since at least 4 March. His latest predates the 'liberation day' tariffs announcement though – the plunge continues. A Reuters' visual explainer on how tariffs aren't all the same Guardian US on the global chaos from Trump's tariffs A timeline of key tariff announcements How Trump's tariffs will hit Australia, in four charts ($) Perennial Crunch favourites The Pudding are back with another banger about bangers. This time its a deep dive into the 'DNA' of music – a visual (and auditory) look at how ideas and themes repeat and can be traced back through history. Enjoying The Crunch? If you like what you see and think you might know someone else who would enjoy it, please forward this email or send them a link to the signup page.
Russia Today
11-02-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
US agency spent millions to house illegals in luxury hotels
Elon Musk has accused the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of unlawfully spending $59 million on luxury hotel accommodations for undocumented migrants. He called for the funds to be recovered immediately, insisting that the money should have been allocated for disaster relief instead. Musk, now one of US President Donald Trump's key advisors and head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), attacked FEMA on X on Monday for allegedly misusing millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to house illegal migrants in high-end hotels in New York City. 'The DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants,' he wrote. 'That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!' Musk, who as the head of DOGE has taken the lead on seeking ways for the federal government to cut costs and reduce the workforce, called the expenditure a 'gross insubordination' defying a presidential executive order and said the money would be clawed back. The billionaire provided no evidence to support his claim, and it was unclear where the $59 million figure came from. READ MORE: Trump readies overhaul of US emergency agency Meanwhile, New York City officials stated that the funds it received for migrant care were appropriated by Congress and allocated to the city by FEMA last year. Cameron Hamilton, the agency's acting administrator, reposted Musk's comments and said the payments had been suspended as of Sunday. 'I want to thank the DOGE team for making me aware of this,' Hamilton posted. 'Effective yesterday these payments have all been suspended from FEMA. Personnel will be held accountable.' FEMA Spokeswoman Liz Garcia told ABC News the city hasn't been informed of any funding pause, adding that reimbursements from the federal government had continued through last week. The matter will be addressed directly with federal officials, she said. Trump has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with FEMA, even suggesting scrapping it during a recent trip to disaster areas in North Carolina and California. Upon assuming office in January, he signed an executive order establishing a review council to evaluate the agency, citing concerns over its response to recent disasters. Despite committing nearly $30 billion in disaster aid annually for the past three years, FEMA has left vulnerable Americans without the support they need in critical times, according to Trump. FEMA, established in 1979, is responsible for coordinating the federal government's response to natural and man-made disasters. The agency has faced criticism over the years for its handling of various emergencies, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Maria in 2017.
