Latest news with #locals
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Oprah Winfrey hits back at claims she 'refused' to open her private road in Hawaii for people to escape following tsunami warnings
Oprah Winfrey has hit back at claims she failed to open her private road in Maui, Hawaii after the island was hit by tsunami warnings. Parts of the U.S. and Japan were warned about an incoming tsunami, which was triggered by an 'one of the biggest ever' earthquakes off Russia. Off the back of the 8.8 megaquake, thousands of residents on Hawaii have been forced to evacuate their homes to find safety. Residents on the island have claimed that Oprah 'refused' to open her private road, which would help ease congestion for those trying to escape. Videos posted by people at the scene show gridlocked traffic jams as others claimed there are 'thousands' trying to leave low lying areas. One person on X wrote: 'Oprah won't open her private road from Wailea to Kula, Hawaii, which would make it much easier for locals to get to higher ground. 'Massive Traffic in Maui with thousands trying to escape the massive Tsunami coming. Open the road Oprah.' Another claimed: 'Oprah HAS NOT opened her private road from Wailea to Kula, Hawaii, which would allow coastal folks to reach higher ground quickly, locals tell me OPEN THE ROAD, @OPRAH. 'Roads on Maui are GRIDLOCKED as people try to escape the incoming Tsunami.' However, Oprah's spokesperson has now insisted that these claims are false and that she opened the road as soon as she heard the warnings. They said: 'As soon as we heard the tsunami warnings, we contacted local law enforcement and FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] to ensure the road was opened. Any reports otherwise are false. 'Local law enforcement are currently on site helping residents through 50 cars at a time to ensure everyone's safety. The road will remain open as long as necessary.' Residents in Hawaii were forced to evacuate from coastal areas as the entire island chain braced for the impact to strike. Water was seen receding at around 7.40pm local time, or 1.40am EST. The California and Oregon border is now also under a tsunami warning, while advisories remained in effect for the rest of the West Coast of the United States. The first tsunami waves hit Hawaii at 8.20pm local time, 2.20am EST. Water levels were above 4 feet in Haleiwa on Oahu's north shore, reaching 5 feet just minutes later and causing floods. Oahu Emergency Management warned residents: 'Tsunami waves are currently impacting Hawaii. Take action NOW!' In California, the first waves hit the coast at Crescent City near the Oregon border just after midnight local time, while tsunami waves hit Washington state not long after. President Donald Trump urged Americans to 'STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE.' Locals were seen running to supermarkets to stock up on water and other essentials as Gov. Josh Green signed an emergency proclamation for the state. 'We pray that we won't lose any loved ones,' the governor said in a news conference as he warned the public to not 'go out until we give you the all clear.' Photos posted online also showed bumper-to-bumper traffic on a Honolulu highway as residents scrambled to get to higher ground. On Oahu, the US Army and Navy opened Kolekole Pass and sections of Schofield Barracks on Oahu to help with the evacuation efforts there as at least one critical traffic accident was reported. The National Guard is also prepared to help with any rescue efforts and Blackhawk helicopters have been deployed, but Green warned 'it is not likely we will recover you' if residents are swept up in the massive waves. Beaches along the Southern California coast were closed as a safety precaution, with LAPD helicopters blaring warning sirens and ordering those on boats and at the shore to get to higher ground.
ABC News
a day ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Community fights Singapore-style makeover for Mt Coot-tha
The Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games are seven years away but the city is already planning for its moment in the global spotlight. But some plans to refresh local icons have locals concerned. Antonia O'Flaherty reports.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Climate
- RNZ News
Top of the South Island bracing for drenching
After three extreme weather events, people at the top of the South Island are bracing for a fourth drenching in a month. Locals in Nelson and Tasman, have spent the last two weeks cleaning up after the last devastating flood. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Villagers win race to save UK pub, as thousands close
A nearly 200-year-old pub, the Radnor Arms in rural Wales stood abandoned a few years ago. Water ran down the walls, ivy crept around broken windows and rats' skeletons littered the floor. Fast forward to 2025 and laughter rings out of the newly reopened watering hole after locals clubbed together to save it. The pub, which first opened in the 1830s, is one of tens of thousands across the UK forced to call last orders over recent years. Once the heart of the village, the Radnor Arms -- which had become uneconomic due to rising costs -- was shut by the landlord in 2016 and quickly fell into ruin. For locals in the picturesque south Wales village of New Radnor, population 438, the demise of their only remaining hostelry was devastating. Over the years, there were around six or more pubs or ale houses in the village. By 2012, all except the Radnor Arms had shut down. "It was the heart of the village," said David Pyle, a 57-year-old retired psychiatrist who has lived next door to the pub for the past 18 years. "Sometimes you could hear a bit of hubbub, sometimes you'd hear a roar go up when Wales scored, or a male voice choir singing in the back bar," he told AFP. "It was just lovely," he said. "And then it closed." - British tradition - UK pubs, a quintessential cornerstone of community life, are increasingly under threat. Faced with changing drinking habits and spiralling bills, more than a quarter of the 60,800 in existence in 2000 have closed their doors in the past 25 years. Of the 45,000 still operating at the end of last year, 378 -- at least one a day -- are expected to close this year, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA). The loss of Radnor Arms in 2016 left the village without a focal point, hitting everyone from hobby groups to local hill farmers who would meet there after work for a pint of beer and a chat. "It was the heart of the community. It was a place where anybody could come in," said Sue Norton, one of a team of locals who banded together to save it. "We celebrated births, deaths and marriages here. So for us, it was very emotional when it closed," she said. Vowing to rescue it, Norton and other villagers applied to a government scheme aimed at giving people the financial firepower to take ownership of pubs or shops at risk of being lost. A major fundraising effort last year drummed up £200,000 ($271,000), which was matched by the community ownership fund and boosted by an additional £40,000 government grant. With £440,000 in the kitty, the villagers were able to buy, refurbish and re-open the pub, relying on a rota of volunteers to work behind the bar rather than paid staff. Ukrainian refugee Eugene Marchenko, a 44-year-old lawyer who is one of the volunteers, says the pub helped him meet practically everyone within days of arriving. Marchenko, from the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, is being hosted by a villager along with his wife and teenage son. He said he quickly came to understand the importance of having a place in the village for "drinking and having fun together". "I read in books that the pub was a famous British tradition, but I can feel it myself... It's not just about the drinking alcohol, it's about the sharing and everybody knows each other," he said. - Lifeline axed - The previous Conservative government launched the community ownership fund in 2021. Under the scheme locals have successfully saved around 55 pubs, according to the community ownership charity Plunkett UK. The pubs are run democratically on a one-member, one-vote basis by those who contributed to the fundraiser. But the new Labour government, which took power a year ago, dropped the scheme in December as they sought to meet competing funding demands. Villagers in New Radnor are relieved to have got their application in under the wire but saddened that other communities will not benefit. For now they are planning to make the most of their new community hub. There are plans to host a range of activities -- from mother-and-baby mornings to a dementia group that aims to trigger memories through familiar sights and sounds. Sufferers and their carers could come and have a "drink or a bag of crisps -- or a pickled onion, if people like those," Norton said. har/jkb/js/tc
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Community spirit revives a historic Welsh pub
A nearly 200-year-old UK pub, the Radnor Arms in rural Wales stood abandoned a few years ago. Water ran down the walls, ivy crept around broken windows and rats' skeletons littered the floor. Fast forward to 2025 and laughter rings out of the newly reopened watering hole after locals clubbed together to save it. The pub, which first opened in the 1830s, is one of tens of thousands across the UK forced to call last orders over recent years. Once the heart of the village, the Radnor Arms – which had become uneconomic due to rising costs – was shut by the landlord in 2016 and quickly fell into ruin. For locals in the picturesque south Wales village of New Radnor, population 438, the demise of their only remaining hostelry was devastating. Over the years, there were around six or more pubs or ale houses in the village. By 2012, all except the Radnor Arms had shut down. 'It was the heart of the village,' said David Pyle, a 57-year-old retired psychiatrist who has lived next door to the pub for the past 18 years. 'Sometimes you could hear a bit of hubbub, sometimes you'd hear a roar go up when Wales scored, or a male voice choir singing in the back bar,' he said. 'It was just lovely. And then it closed.'
