Latest news with #disasterResponse
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
As Trump cuts FEMA, Florida says it will take care of residents
On the eve of hurricane season, Florida's top disaster official promised Floridians that they will see no changes to the state's hurricane response despite the turmoil at FEMA over staff cuts and proposed slashes to state disaster aid. Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management, said it's not about money. Even if FEMA cuts the amount of cash it pays out to a state after a disaster, he stressed that state leaders 'have never, ever made decisions based on whether we're going to get reimbursed by the federal government.' 'You go out to protect life, safety. You go out to stabilize scenes. You go out to protect the environment. That is what we have been doing for decades inside Florida,' he said. 'That's what we're going to continue to do for the coming decades ahead.' READ MORE: Florida says it's ready for hurricane season, with or without FEMA's help Florida was smacked with two devastating storms last year, and forecasters say the upcoming hurricane season, which starts June 1, is set to be another active season. Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, raising global temperatures that in turn lead to stronger, wetter and more deadly hurricanes. At a press conference Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Guthrie said the state was fully prepared for the season — even if FEMA might not be. The agency is down more than 2,000 employees and a dozen senior leaders this year, as President Donald Trump pushes his new vision for the beleaguered agency. Part of that change involves shifting more responsibility — and costs — for disaster cleanup to the states. Already, FEMA has begun to act on that mission. Last week, the agency denied North Carolina's request to keep covering the entire tab for Hurricane Helene recovery. Instead, FEMA will continue helping with 75% of the costs, the bare minimum required. And yet, Guthrie said, Florida is prepared to accept the president's new vision for the agency, with the federal government still picking up the tab. It's unclear if Florida's annual budget includes more cash for storm recovery, as the legislature and governor have not yet agreed on one. Gov. Ron DeSantis asked Guthrie, as a member of the federal FEMA review council, to push FEMA to shift more of its state assistance to block grants that states like Florida can spend directly. Guthrie said the state is even considering preparing for the 'challenge' of directly giving cash to survivors after a disaster, a FEMA program known as individual assistance. 'We are already having these conversations about if the federal government allows us to run an individual assistance program, we're ready to get that done,' he said. 'We believe we can do it just as fast, if not faster than the federal government.'
Washington Post
2 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Swiss president pledges aid for Alpine villagers left homeless after glacier collapse
GENEVA — Switzerland's president on Friday said evacuees from an Alpine village whose homes and businesses were destroyed by a landslide caused by a glacier collapse were 'not alone,' and the government was calculating ways to help. Karin Keller-Sutter spoke after a helicopter flight to see for herself the damage to the village of Blatten that was largely destroyed on Wednesday as an estimated 10 millions of tons of mud, ice and rock thundered down from the Birch glacier overhead.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
At least 88 people dead after floods submerge market town in Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 88 people have been confirmed dead after floods submerged Mokwa, a market town in Nigeria's Niger State, on Thursday, an official said. Husseini Isah, head of the operations office in Minna, capital of Niger State, said that many more are still at risk, with rescue efforts underway on Friday. Earlier reports said at least 20 died.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
CTV National News: Canada seeking wildfire aid from international community
Watch States of emergencies in two prairie provinces over wildfires has prompted Canada to request assistance from international partners. Abigail Bimman has more.
Sky News
3 days ago
- Climate
- Sky News
'I lost everything': Residents in shock after landslide buries Swiss village
Residents have told of their devastation after a landslide destroyed the vast majority of a village in Switzerland. Around 90% of the picturesque village of Blatten was engulfed in ice, mud and rock on Wednesday after a large chunk of the Birch Glacier above the village broke off, causing the landslide. Its 300 residents had already been evacuated after part of the mountain behind the glacier began to crumble. Rescue teams and search dogs continued to scour the area on Thursday for a missing 64-year-old man after an initial drone scan found nothing. As people try to recover, experts also warned of the risks of flooding, with vast mounds of debris, almost 2km across, blocking the River Lonza, causing a huge lake to swell. "I don't want to talk just now. I lost everything yesterday. I hope you understand," said one middle-aged woman from Blatten, as she sat alone in front of a church in the neighbouring village of Wiler. A nearby road, which once crossed the valley, now ends abruptly in a mass of mud that had swallowed her village. Martin Henzen, another Blatten resident, said he was still struggling to process what happened. "Most are calm, but they're obviously affected," he said. While preparations had been made, it was "not for this scenario", Mr Henzen said, referring to the scale of destruction. 'Enormous plug' Residents are not out of the woods yet, with some warning of the danger posed by the blocked river. "The water from the River Lonza cannot flow down the valley because there is an enormous plug," Raphael Mayoraz, a geologist, told Swiss broadcaster SRF, saying floods in downstream villages were possible. Up to one million cubic metres of water are accumulating daily due to the debris damming the river, Christian Huggel, a professor of environment and climate at the University of Zurich, said. Asked how he felt about the future, Jonas Jeitziner, a local official from neighbouring Wiler, said: "Right now, the shock is so profound that one can't think about it yet." The incident has reignited concerns about the impact of rising temperatures on Alpine permafrost, which has long frozen gravel and boulders in place. For years, the Birch Glacier has been creeping down the mountain, pressured by shifting debris near the summit.
