Latest news with #naturaldisaster
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
20 states sue DHS, FEMA for cuts to disaster mitigation program
A group of 20 states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday seeking to block what they say was an illegal termination of a program that provided federal funding for natural disaster mitigation projects. "By unilaterally shutting down FEMA's flagship pre-disaster mitigation program, Defendants have acted unlawfully and violated core separation of power principles," the lawsuit alleges, arguing that the executive branch doesn't have the authority to shut down the program funded by Congress. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, targets Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Richardson for their role in shutting down FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, also known as BRIC, program earlier this year. The lawsuit argues the power to make such a decision falls to Congress. Before it was halted in April, the BRIC program helped fund local infrastructure projects like stormwater control systems and relocating or elevating buildings in flood-prone areas. "Projects that have been in development for years, and in which communities have invested millions of dollars for planning, permitting, and environmental review are now threatened," the lawsuit states. "And in the meantime, Americans across the country face a higher risk of harm from natural disasters." A CBS News investigation last month revealed that the recent BRIC funding cuts have disproportionately affected counties that supported Mr. Trump in the 2024 election. Two-thirds of the counties losing funding voted for Mr. Trump. The elimination of the BRIC program will especially deprive vulnerable communities across the Southeast, the CBS News data analysis found. The lawsuit calls the impact of the BRIC program's shutdown "devastating" and says it will force communities across the country to delay, scale back or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects because of their inability to access their already-approved federal dollars. Alongside the lawsuit, the states also filed a request for a preliminary injunction asking the court to temporarily block the federal government from reallocating FEMA funds designated for disaster preparedness, arguing states will suffer irreversible damage if the funds are spent before the court rules. In an April press release announcing the cuts, which has since been removed from the FEMA website, the disaster response agency said the BRIC program was "wasteful" and had become more concerned with "political agendas than helping Americans recover from natural disasters." The multibillion-dollar BRIC program was established in 2018 under the first Trump administration. FEMA and DHS did not immediately return a request for comment about the lawsuit. The states suing are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Most have Democratic state leadership and have filed other lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions. North Carolina was ravaged by mudslides and flash flooding last fall after Hurricane Helene made landfall in late September. The lawsuit comes as FEMA in recent weeks has faced scrutiny about its response to floods in Texas that killed more than 130 people, including at least 37 children. It also comes just days after heavy rains and flooding inundated communities in states ranging from New York and New Jersey to New Mexico. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
20 states sue DHS, FEMA for cuts to disaster mitigation program
A group of 20 states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday seeking to block what they say was an illegal termination of a program that provided federal funding for natural disaster mitigation projects. "By unilaterally shutting down FEMA's flagship pre-disaster mitigation program, Defendants have acted unlawfully and violated core separation of power principles," the lawsuit alleges, arguing that the executive branch doesn't have the authority to shut down the program funded by Congress. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, targets Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Richardson for their role in shutting down FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, also known as BRIC, program earlier this year. The lawsuit argues the power to make such a decision falls to Congress. Before it was halted in April, the BRIC program helped fund local infrastructure projects like stormwater control systems and relocating or elevating buildings in flood-prone areas. "Projects that have been in development for years, and in which communities have invested millions of dollars for planning, permitting, and environmental review are now threatened," the lawsuit states. "And in the meantime, Americans across the country face a higher risk of harm from natural disasters." A CBS News investigation last month revealed that the recent BRIC funding cuts have disproportionately affected counties that supported Mr. Trump in the 2024 election. Two-thirds of the counties losing funding voted for Mr. Trump. The elimination of the BRIC program will especially deprive vulnerable communities across the Southeast, the CBS News data analysis found. The lawsuit calls the impact of the BRIC program's shutdown "devastating" and says it will force communities across the country to delay, scale back or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects because of their inability to access their already-approved federal dollars. Alongside the lawsuit, the states also filed a request for a preliminary injunction asking the court to temporarily block the federal government from reallocating FEMA funds designated for disaster preparedness, arguing states will suffer irreversible damage if the funds are spent before the court rules. In an April press release announcing the cuts, which has since been removed from the FEMA website, the disaster response agency said the BRIC program was "wasteful" and had become more concerned with "political agendas than helping Americans recover from natural disasters." The multibillion-dollar BRIC program was established in 2018 under the first Trump administration. FEMA and DHS did not immediately return a request for comment about the lawsuit. The states suing are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Most have Democratic state leadership and have filed other lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions. North Carolina was ravaged by mudslides and flash flooding last fall after Hurricane Helene made landfall in late September. The lawsuit comes as FEMA in recent weeks has faced scrutiny about its response to floods in Texas that killed more than 130 people, including at least 37 children. It also comes just days after heavy rains and flooding inundated communities in states ranging from New York and New Jersey to New Mexico.
Condé Nast Traveler
15 hours ago
- Condé Nast Traveler
Wildfires Continue to Burn At the Grand Canyon—Here's What to Know
Flames licking burnt-orange cliff edges; plumes of smoke blotting out the sun. These are the scenes currently meeting visitors at one of America's most-treasured natural wonders, the Grand Canyon, where two wildfires have burned out of control since July 10. As of July 16, the Dragon Bravo and White Sage fires continue to burn close to the Grand Canyon's North Rim, forcing the evacuation of the area and causing the destruction of more than 80 buildings, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge. If you have upcoming plans to visit the Grand Canyon National Park, here's what to know. What caused the Grand Canyon fires? Lightning ignited both the Dragon Bravo Fire (on July 4) and the White Sage Fire (on July 9) in northeastern Arizona's Coconino County. Together, the two fires have burned more than 60,000 acres of land, according to the Bureau of Land Management's wildfire tracking website. After an early and fierce start to the season, 2025 is shaping up to be a severe wildfire year in the United States—as of July 15, 37,878 wildfires have burned approximately 2.57 million acres. Metereologists warned that hotter, drier conditions would escalate the risk of wildfires, leading some, including Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, to question why the federal government opted to treat the Dragon Bravo Fire as a controlled burn during what Hobbs called 'the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer.' What is the status of the Grand Canyon's North Rim? With both fires continuing to spread, the Grand Canyon's North Rim will be closed for the rest of the 2025 season, which runs from May 15 to October 15 each year. Travelers will have to wait until spring 2026 to access visitor services and trails, including the inner canyon North and South Kaibab trails, as well as the Bright Angel Trail below Havasupai Gardens and the Rim-to-Rim trail that leads hikers 21 miles from the North to South Rim. Bright Angel Campground and Phantom Ranch, both located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, around 9 miles from the South Rim and 14 miles from the North Rim, are also closed for the season. As no injuries or deaths have been reported so far, the most significant loss to date has been that of the Grand Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark located at the North Rim's Bright Angel Point. Constructed with native Kaibab limestone and ponderosa pine logs in 1927—then rebuilt after a fire in 1936—the lodge was the last of the early 20th-century National Park lodges to remain intact. After it was reported to have been destroyed on July 13, Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego said: 'Arizona lost more than a historic lodge, it lost a piece of our state history.' A statement from Aramark, the concessionaire responsible for the Grand Canyon Lodge, detailed that 'guests with upcoming reservations will hear from us soon.' Which parts of the Grand Canyon are unaffected? While the North Rim attracts relatively fewer visitors (drawing just over 81,000 out of a total of almost five million Grand Canyon National Park visitors last year), the South Rim stays open year-round and is consistently busy. Fortunately, then, the South Rim has been largely unaffected. AAt the time of writing, Xanterra's entire collection of Grand Canyon National Park Lodges, including the El Tovar Hotel and the Bright Angel, Kachina, Thunderbird and Maswik lodges, remain open—and have ample availability in July and August, and limited openings in September and October. The South Rim Visitor Center also remains open and ranger activities continue as planned.
Daily Mail
18 hours ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The sleeping giant set to wipe out thousands of Americans... with power of NINETY nuclear bombs
As the US continues to deal with a summer full of devastating flash floods, scientists warn that something even worse could soon wash out vulnerable American communities. Flooded subway tunnels in New York City and deadly overflowing rivers in the Texas Hill Country were powerful examples of how destructive water can quickly become during extreme weather events.
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Huge wildfires near famous Grand Canyon
A historical lodge in the Grand Canyon in America has been destroyed by a wildfires have swept across tens of thousands of acres on the north side of the US nature reserve over the past two weeks. They've been called the Dragon Bravo Fire and White Sage Fire by the Arizonian authorities, who are still working to contain one has been hurt by either blaze, but tens of thousands of residents and tourists have had to evacuate the surrounding areas. What are wildfires? Wildfires are fires that burn across natural landscapes like woods and need three things to start and spread:Fuel, such as trees or plants.A spark, like a flash of lightning or something manmade like a as high winds can make them spread and hot weather makes things burn more easily. What's happened in the Grand Canyon? The Dragon Bravo Fire began on 4 July and was caused by a lightning strike, according to authorities. The Wild Sage Fire, meanwhile, was reported on 9 July after a was the Dragon Bravo Fire that burned the lodge, and it has reportedly destroyed between 50 and 80 other buildings in the area with strong winds fuelling the blaze."As stewards of some of our country's most beloved national treasures, we are devastated by the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge," Aramark, the company that operated the lodge, said in a statement."We are grateful that all of our employees and guests have been safely evacuated," the statement added. The governor of Arizona, who is a Democrat, criticised the way the federal government, run by the Republican Party, has handled the called for an investigation into why it was decided to be a controlled burn as opposed to being put a spokesperson for the US Interior Department (which is responsible for America's natural landscapes) said the allegation that the fire was mismanaged "is not at all accurate", and they take threats of wildfires very seriously.
