JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
IT IS INTERESTING THAT THIS HURRICANE WAS OVER THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND. WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS THE AGE OF GRACE WILL BE LIKE BIRTH PANGS OF LABOR. MORE INTENSE AS THE AGE OF GRACE GETS GREATER AND GREATER SIN JUDGEMENT AGAINST IT.
MATTHEW 24:8
New Living Translation-But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
Global effort to aid devastated Bahamas gears up in Dorian's wake-[Reuters]-September 5, 2019-By Nick Brown
(Updates with latest NHC advisory)-NASSAU, Bahamas, Sept 5 (Reuters) - An international relief effort to bring humanitarian aid to stunned residents of the Bahamas gathered pace on Thursday as Hurricane Dorian churned northward off the coast of South Carolina, threatening storm surges and flooding.Aerial video of the worst-hit Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas showed widespread devastation, with the harbor, shops, workplaces, a hospital and airport landing strips damaged or decimated, frustrating rescue efforts.The United Nations estimated more than 76,000 people were in need of humanitarian relief after the most damaging storm ever to hit the island nation.The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said it bought 8 metric tonnes of ready-to-eat meals and was organizing an airlift from Panama of storage units, generators and prefab offices for two logistics hubs, as well as satellite equipment for emergency responders.The U.N. agency has allocated $5.4 million to a three-month emergency operation to support 39,000 people, said Hervé Verhoosel, senior WFP spokesperson."In a first phase, WFP will focus on the immediate procurement and distribution of up to 85 MT of ready-to-eat meals for the most affected communities," Verhoosel said.Dorian was rated a Category 5 hurricane when it killed at least 20 people in the Bahamas. Authorities expect that number to rise, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said at a news briefing, as retreating floodwaters revealed the scope of destruction.One of the storm survivors on the Abaco Islands, Ramond King, said he watched as swirling winds ripped the roof off his house, then churned to a neighbor's home to pluck the entire structure into the sky."'This can't be real, this can't be real'," King recalled thinking. "Nothing is here, nothing at all. Everything is gone, just bodies."Total insured and uninsured losses in the Bahamas amounted to $7 billion, including buildings and business interruptions, according to a preliminary estimate by Karen Clark & Co, a consultancy that provides catastrophic modeling and risk management services.With telephones down in many areas, residents posted lists of missing loved ones on social media. One Facebook post by media outlet Our News Bahamas had 2,500 comments, mainly listing lost family members.Dorian killed one person in Puerto Rico before hovering over the Bahamas for two days with torrential rains and fierce winds that whipped up 12- to 18-foot (3.7- to 5.5-meter) storm surges.POSSIBLE RECORD SURGE-The hurricane was barreling north-northeast just off the southeastern U.S. coast on Thursday, moving at about 7 miles per hour (11 kph), with maximum sustained winds fluctuating between 110 and 115 mph (175-185 kph), between a Category 2 and Category 3 storm on the five-point Saffir-Simpson wind scale.The storm was about 50 miles (80 km) east-southeast of flood-prone Charleston, South Carolina, at 11:30 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said."Whether it makes landfall or not, you still have the core winds right around the center," NHC Director Ken Graham said from the agency's headquarters in Miami."So wherever those make it on shore, you can still have some significant hurricane force winds."More than 2.2 million people in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina had been ordered to evacuate, although Florida avoided a direct hit.The forecast called for the storm to move northeast along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a popular coastal vacation spot, by Friday afternoon and then out to sea. The NHC also added a tropical storm warning for coastal Virginia, including the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area.Parts of the Carolinas would get 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) of rain, with some areas topping out at 10-15 inches (25 to 38 cm). Storm surge was forecast at 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.4 meters) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.More than 239,000 homes and businesses in the U.S. Southeast were without power, according to local electric companies.RELIEF EFFORTS-A flight from the U.S. Agency for International Development landed in the Bahamas early on Thursday with enough relief supplies to help 31,500 people, bringing hygiene kits, water containers and buckets, plastic sheeting and chain saws.Also arriving was a disaster assistance response team (DART) plane that included a fire and rescue team from Fairfax County, Virginia, to help the authorities search for survivors, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance said on Twitter.A British Royal Navy vessel was providing assistance, and Jamaica was sending a 150-member military contingent to help secure Abaco and Grand Bahama, officials said.Volunteers also ferried supplies to the islands in a flotilla of small boats.As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.(Reporting by Nick Brown in Nassau, Bahamas, additional reporting by Nick Carey in Charleston, South Carolina, Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Rebekah Ward in Mexico City, Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico and Rich McKay in Atlanta, writing by Scott Malone and Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Cynthia Osterman)
South Carolina scrambles ahead of Dorian's storm surge-[Reuters]-September 4, 2019-By Nick Carey
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - A large digital screen alongside a major highway running into Charleston, South Carolina, issued a stark warning to residents on Wednesday: 'HURRICANE DORIAN, LEAVE NOW."A large number of people had already heeded that warning, as could be seen at busy gasoline stations on the city's outskirts.At one, drivers lined up calmly for snacks and fuel ahead of a journey inland."We've seen many worse storms than Dorian over the years, but we figured we wouldn't take any chances, so we're going to stay with family away from the coast," said George Wilson, 42, as he waited to buy candy and chocolate for his children.But while tens of thousands of residents had decided to evacuate, many others in Charleston were choosing to ride out the storm.Dorian has devastated parts of the Bahamas and killed at least seven people, where the scope of the destruction was still coming into focus on Wednesday.The storm's wind speeds dropped on Tuesday to make it a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale. It maintained that level on Wednesday, but forecasters warned it was still dangerous.South Carolina officials said they were expecting storm surges of 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 metres) and wind gusts of 90 miles per hour (145 kph) on Thursday, and told people to evacuate the coast as Dorian drew closer.Business owners and residents were busy boarding up shops on Wednesday in Charleston's historic district, but said they were used to doing so as hurricanes have become such a regular occurrence here."This has pretty much become an annual ritual for us," said Micah Elliott, co-founder of Charleston Built, who has boarded up about 15 homes and businesses for clients.Elliot was helping Kevin Leprince, 48, a local artist, board up his art gallery in the historic district. Leprince said his gallery should be safe from the storm surge, but he was worried that flooding from the expected heavy rain could damage his artwork.Closer to the waterfront, Mark Huske was placing sandbags along the windows of an architect's office. Huske said that if the storm surge hit as expected, it would flood the office."It's going to get very messy down here," he said. "I honestly don't know why anyone would buy a house down here. It's pretty much guaranteed to flood."'SEEN MUCH BIGGER THAN THIS' A crowd of tourists and local residents strolled along the Charleston waterfront, unfazed by the intermittent rain, taking photographs and cheering dolphins that surfaced in the Ashley River.Danny Davis and his wife, Octavia, stood under a large umbrella enjoying the view on the waterfront and said that other than buying extra water and supplies, they had made few major preparations for Dorian."We've seen much bigger than this. Dorian is going to be nothing special," Danny Davis said.Charleston has suffered damage from a number of storms over the years, including flooding from Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and a major battering from Hurricane Hugo in 1989.The owners of Ink & Ivy, a bar in the historic district, decided to stay open throughout Dorian. The bar was busy on Wednesday afternoon and bartender Gregory Wilder, 41, said he expected a good crowd for the evening."We're going to stay here and party no matter what happens," he said. "Unless the power goes out."Charleston city spokesman Jack O'Toole said the city now faced "a triple threat, from wind, the storm surge and flooding.""It may be too late for people to evacuate," O'Toole said. "So our message to residents now is to batten down the hatches and be prepared for the worst."(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Bahamas staggers from Dorian's devastation, U.S. coast fears storm surge-[Reuters]-September 4, 2019-By Nick Brown
(Adds U.S. National Hurricane Center says Dorian could strengthen again, updates throughout; changes byline, dateline, previous MARSH HARBOUR, Bahamas)-NASSAU, Bahamas, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Survivors of Hurricane Dorian on Wednesday picked through the wreckage of homes ripped open by fierce winds, struggled to fuel generators and queued for food after one of the most powerful Caribbean storms on record devastated parts of the Bahamas.The most damaging storm to strike the island nation, Dorian killed at least 20 people, the Miami Herald reported, citing Bahamas Health Minister Duane Sands. But the toll was certain to rise as the scope of the destruction - and the humanitarian crisis was still coming into focus - with aerial video of the Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas showing wide devastation.Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, said in a conference call with reporters that he expected the death toll to rise significantly.In the United States, South Carolina was preparing for a record storm surge and major flooding with the potential for over a foot of rain in places when Dorian hits the coast on Thursday or Friday.Dozens of people in the Bahamas took to Facebook to search for missing loved ones, and aid agencies estimated that tens of thousands of people out of the Bahamas population of 400,000 would need food and other support."We are in the midst of one of the greatest national crises in our country's history," Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told a news conference. "We can expect more deaths to be recorded. This is just preliminary information."LaQuez Williams, pastor at Jubilee Cathedral in Grand Bahama, who opened the church as a shelter for about 150 people, said he saw people on their rooftops seeking refuge."They were calling for help, but you could not go out to reach," Williams said. "It was very difficult because you felt helpless."Aerial video of Great Abaco Island showed miles of flooded neighborhoods littered with upturned boats and shipping containers scattered like toys. Many buildings had walls or roofs partly ripped off.A Reuters photographer surveying the damage on Grand Bahama island said many hangers at Freeport airport and several aircraft appeared to be severely damaged.DORIAN COULD STRENGTHEN-Dorian rampaged through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded, killing one person in Puerto Rico, before hovering over the Bahamas for two days with torrential rains and fierce winds that whipped up 12-18 foot storm surges in places.Dorian was about 150 miles (240 kms) south of Charleston at 5 p.m. EST, packing winds of 110 mph, making it a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its 5 p.m. (2100 GMT) advisory.But it could strengthen again to a Category 4 in the next 24 hours "because it is hovering over warm waters, a key ingredient in hurricane intensity, NHC meteorologist Lance Wood said.The NHC issued a storm surge warning that covered the whole length of the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina and extending to Hampton Roads in Virginia.The NHC warned that Dorian would move near or over the coast of South or North Carolina on Thursday or Friday. More than 2.2 million people in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have been ordered to evacuate.Florida avoided a direct hit from Dorian."We certainly got lucky in Florida, and now if we could get lucky in Georgia, in North Carolina, in South Carolina," President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.Trump said the United States was sending supplies to the Bahamas, including materials that had been originally intended for Dorian victims in Florida.BAHAMAS BATTERED-With many telephones down on Abaco and Grand Bahama islands, residents posted lists of missing loved ones on social media sites.A single Facebook post by media outlet Our News Bahamas seeking the names of missing people had 2,000 comments listing lost family members since it went live on Tuesday, although some of the comments were also about loved ones being found.Janith Mullings, 66, from Freeport, Grand Bahama, said she had been through hurricanes all her life but had never seen anything like Dorian."We’ve never had hurricanes in none of our islands that have experienced the ocean rising like it did. The ocean was something no one could prepare for," she said.A massive relief effort was under way with volunteers ferrying supplies to the islands in a flotilla of small boats.As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said."It's heartbreaking ...," said Caroline Turnquest, director general of Bahamas Red Cross. "We know from what we've been seeing and hearing, that this one will require the help of all the persons."Food may be required for 14,500 people in the Abaco Islands and for 45,700 people in Grand Bahama, the U.N. World Food Programme said.The State Department said it did not believe any U.S. citizens who were in the Bahamas, a popular tourist destination, during the storm were killed.U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection personnel have airlifted 61 people from the northern Bahamas to the capital Nassau over two days, the U.S. Embassy said. (Reporting by Dante Carrer in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, and Nick Brown in Nassau, Bahamas, additional reporting by Zachary Fagenson in Jacksonville, Florida, Gabriella Borter in Titusville, Florida, Peter Szekely, Jonathan Allen and Matthew Lavietes in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta, Writing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Cynthia Osterman and Grant McCool)
Historic hurricane Dorian growing, lurching toward USA; Bahamas devastated-[USA TODAY]-John Bacon and Janine Zeitlin-September 4, 2019
MIAMI – Hurricane Dorian technically diminished to Category 2 status Tuesday as it slowly turned to the northwest, but the historic and violent storm was growing in size as it moved away from the Bahamas and grazed the Florida coast. The latest forecasts put the hurricane farther off Florida’s east coast than previous projections. Still, forecasters said, some coastal areas from Florida to North Carolina could see 4 to 10 inches of rain in coming days. Or worse.“We still have hurricane warnings up because it’s just too close to call,” said Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Any little wiggle, wobble and it could get really close to the coast.”Tuesday afternoon, tropical-storm-force winds were slamming portions of the east coast of Florida, the hurricane center said.In the Bahamas, at least five people have died and thousands of homes are in ruins, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said. The U.S. Coast Guard was assisting in rescue operations, he said. Relief and rapid assessment teams were standing by and will be deployed as soon as possible, Minnis added."There are many difficult days, weeks and months ahead of us as a people and as a country," he said.The center of the storm, which had stalled overnight, was picking up speed Tuesday and pulling away from the battered islands at about 6 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.The storm lingered over the Bahamas after making landfall three times Sunday, triggering severe flooding as parts of the country face the prospects of up to 30 inches of rain. Wind speeds lessened slightly but still roared at 110 mph, with higher gusts. A storm surge of up to 15 feet was swamping neighborhoods."The headline for this Dorian advisory is NOT that the wind speed has slightly decreased," the hurricane center tweeted. "The combined wind, surge, and floods hazards are the same or even worse since the hurricane has become larger."Dorian was a Category 5 monster driving sustained winds of 185 mph when it slammed into the Bahamas on Sunday. As the storm stalled, the Bahamas Press reported that the death toll was far higher than the government's reports.The media outlet published video of floodwaters at the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport that forced patients to evacuate. Bahamians desperate for rescue called into radio shows asking for help.Brandisha Adderley, 29, said her home in Spring City, in the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, was destroyed. Adderley, who lives with her 2-year-old daughter and her grandmother, said the family went to the home of a neighbor and huddled in the one room that was not ruined by the storm."Thank God for our defense force" that rescued the group and took them to a shelter, she said. "There is no food, no water. There is no way out of our community. Everything is wet and destroyed."The hurricane center said Dorian, 105 miles east of Vero Beach, Florida, was expected to head northwest or north-northwest later today and tonight. A turn toward the north is forecast by Wednesday evening, followed by a turn toward the north-northeast Thursday morning.Millions of people living along the coast from Florida to North Carolina faced evacuation orders. A few heavy downpours associated with Dorian were rolling onto Florida's east coast Tuesday."Dangerous conditions at the beaches with high surf and rip currents," the National Weather Service in Melbourne tweeted. "Don't attempt to enter the water."The hurricane will move "dangerously close" to the Florida east coast late Tuesday through Wednesday evening and "very near" the Georgia and South Carolina coasts Wednesday night and Thursday, the Hurricane Center said. It will loom near or over the North Carolina coast late Thursday.Airlines wary of Dorian's impact canceled more than 1,600 Tuesday flights to, within and from the United States as of 8:30 a.m., according to flight tracking service FlightAware. That is on top of nearly 1,500 on Labor Day. Hurricane and storm surge warnings and watches were in effect along much of the East Coast. Amy Brauner, executive director of the Eastern South Carolina Chapter of the American Red Cross, stressed the need for coastal residents to have a plan and be prepared to execute it on short notice."This storm can turn on a dime," she said. "We want to make sure everybody's safe."In Georgia, coastal residents in Chatham County were evacuating inland. Savannah Mayor Eddie DeLoach said residents were uncertain how soon to leave because the storm was moving so slowly.“Everybody’s asking ‘Well, do I really need to go?’” DeLoach said. “If you see it bearing down on you, you have more of an urgency and people have more of a tendency to get in line and make it happen.”Chatham County Commission Chairman Albert Scott said Tuesday that if residents' streets flooded during Hurricane Matthew in 2016, they could "pretty much expect they are going to flood during Dorian. You are encouraged to leave."In South Carolina, Charleston residents said Tuesday that they were taking other cues beyond the state evacuation order."I feel like it's too early," says Lexi Tempe, who lives in downtown Charleston and was filling sandbags at Grace Bridge Street near the harbor, one of several sandbag depots the city was offering.Johnny Smith, who lives in downtown Charleston in a housing complex off Coming Street, remembered last year and how Hurricane Florence had no impact.But like a lot of lifelong city residents, the 52-year-old is a veteran of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the most violent storm to strike South Carolina in modern history. At the time, Smith lived in housing at the site of the aquarium, right along the waterfront."We don't play with hurricanes," Smith said. "When the tide is high, we get flooded out."Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Fernand formed Tuesday afternoon in the Gulf of Mexico, about 160 miles east of La Pesca, Mexico. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for portions of the gulf coast of Mexico. The storm should make landfall in Mexico by Wednesday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Jordan Culver, Dawn Gilbertson and Doyle Rice, USA TODAY; Mark H. Bickel, Fort Myers News-Press; Eric Connor, Conor Hughes and Carol Motsinger, The Greenville (S.C.) News.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Dorian update: Storm eases to Category 2 status.
Floridians hope Dorian's economic impact will be temporary-[Associated Press]-September 3, 2019
Hurricane Dorian is losing strength as it churns closer to the Florida coast, and that's bringing some cautious relief to the state's big tourism industry.By midday Tuesday, Dorian had been downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, and forecasts were lessening the threat of a direct hit on Florida.Still, more than 2 million people in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas had been warned to evacuate.Parts of the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida, closed early on Tuesday. Airports in Orlando, Palm Beach and several smaller cities remained closed, and most flights in Fort Lauderdale were scrubbed too. Florida accounted for most of the 1,800 U.S. flights canceled by mid-afternoon in the East."It generally looks like we dodged a bullet," Sean Snaith, director of the economic forecasting institute at the University of Central Florida, said Tuesday. "These temporary shutdowns have some effect, but it's not going to move the needle in terms of employment or economic growth."Dorian caused catastrophic flooding and at least five deaths in the Bahamas .But the National Hurricane Center reduced the threat of a direct hit on Florida and its $1 trillion economy, the fourth-largest in the country behind California, Texas and New York. Instead, the storm was expected to brush close to South Carolina and maybe North Carolina too on Thursday or Friday.Even as Dorian weakened approaching the U.S. mainland, other storms are forming in the Atlantic, and there could be additional powerful hurricanes this fall. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently raised its forecast for the likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season, including two to four major hurricanes — winds above 110 mph — through November.The Congressional Budget Office estimates that hurricanes cause about $28 billion a year in damage in the U.S., and since 2005, the government has borne about 60% of the cost, or $18 billion a year.It's difficult to predict where any particular storm will make landfall, but hurricanes are growing more damaging partly because of increased development in coastal areas.Maria and Irma, the back-to-back hurricanes in the Caribbean and Florida in 2017, caused $140 billion in damage. Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston that same year at a cost of $125 billion. The most damaging hurricane in U.S. history remains Katrina, in 2005, which flooded New Orleans and killed more than 1,800 people.Florida's tourism industry has taken gut punches before and bounced back. In the first six months of this year, the state saw a record 68.9 million visitors, a 6% increase over the same period last year, according to the governor's office."Florida has continued to see visitation numbers break records year after year, whether it's in the wake of hurricanes or the Zika virus or red tides," Snaith said. "These events aren't great for marketing, but promoters in the (tourism) industry get out in front of stuff like that and try to erase any temporary damage."Visit Florida, the state's tourism agency, has been promoting travel to parts of the state, including the Gulf Coast, that are not under hurricane threat.The storm's threat prompted organizers to move a major college football game, Boise State against Florida State, from Jacksonville to Tallahassee, about 160 miles to the west. That hurt tourism in Jacksonville over the Labor Day weekend, although presumably businesses in Tallahassee got a boost. The tourism agency Visit Jacksonville said it was prepared to help local tourism businesses "get back up and running quickly."Businesses that shut down, even just briefly, may seek interruption benefits from their insurers. Fred Karlinsky, an attorney specializing in insurance matters at Miami-based Greenberg Traurig, said the duration of the closure matters more than whether Dorian comes ashore."It's a very important coverage, and it pays out," he said.Last week, many Florida hotels suspended their cancelation policies because of the approaching storm."It looks like things are much less threatening. It's a good day in Florida," said Amanda Handley, a spokeswoman for the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. She cautioned, however, that there was still a threat of high winds, heavy rain and storm surges along the Atlantic coast.Florida's neighbors might not share the relief. Up the coast and across the state line in Folly Beach, South Carolina, workers were hurriedly boarding up restaurants and shops.___David Koenig reported from Dallas. Curt Anderson in Miami, Sarah Blake Morgan in Folly Beach, South Carolina, and Cody Jackson in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.
After inflicting 'extreme damage' on Bahamas, Hurricana Dorian closes in on Florida-[Reuters]-September 3, 2019-By Dante Carrer
(Fixes spelling of Lego in second paragraph.)-MARSH HARBOUR, Bahamas, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Hurricane Dorian carved a path of destruction through the Bahamas and relief officials on Tuesday were preparing for a humanitarian crisis after one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the islands killed at least five people, with the scale of the disaster as yet unknown.Aerial video recorded over the Bahamas' Great Abaco Island showed mile upon mile of flooded neighborhoods, pulverized buildings, upturned boats and shipping containers scattered like Lego toys. Many buildings that had not been flattened had walls or roofs partly ripped away.While its winds had diminished to a Category 2 storm, Dorian expanded in size and picked up speed on Tuesday. Forecasters said it would come "dangerously close" in the next 36 hours to Florida's east coast, where more than a million people have been ordered evacuated.In the Freeport area of Grand Bahama island, people on jet skis and boats tried to rescue hundreds of people whose homes had flooded on the low-lying island, a CNN correspondent said.Tropical-storm-force winds hampered the efforts, flipping over some of the jet skis. The correspondent said he had spoken to a man whose wife had died of hypothermia after being trapped in their flooded home for hours and others who said they had watched people swept away by the storm surge.The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in a 5 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) advisory that Dorian had sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (175 km per hour) and was moving northwest at 5 mph (8 kph), as it churned about 105 miles 170 kms) east of Vero Beach, Florida."Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next couple of days," the NHS said.EXTREME DAMAGE-The exact toll of the devastation in the Bahamas will not be clear until the storm completely passes and rescue crews can get on the ground. Dorian has battered the Bahamas for the past three days."We have not been able to assess the damages on Grand Bahama Island just yet. We expect it to be very devastating and the damage to be extreme," said Theo Neilly, the Bahamian consul general in Washington.He added that the sea surge from the storm was high and people were still trapped in their homes and attics.Speaking to CNN, Iram Lewis, a member of Parliament, said the death toll would climb."It is safe to say, unfortunately, that number will go up," Lewis said of the death toll, and the destruction "is just unbelievable."As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.The Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas may require food for 14,500 people and Grand Bahama for 45,700 people, the U.N. World Food Programme said in a statement. The preliminary estimates were based on an assessment by representatives from Caribbean countries, the WFP and other organizations.The U.S. military has been authorized to provide logistics, health and engineering support to the Bahamas for up for 14 days if needed, General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, the head of U.S. Northern Command, told reporters on Tuesday.The U.S. Coast Guard said four of its helcopters were assisting in the humanitarian effort.Efforts to reach officials in the Bahamas by phone on Tuesday were unsuccessful.'DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO' Dorian was expected to hit Florida with hurricane conditions overnight, before bringing its powerful winds and dangerous surf along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina by late Thursday.Forecasters have told Floridians not to become complacent. Dorian could drive seawater inland as it approaches, with parts of the northern Florida and Georgia coasts seeing as much as 7 feet (2.1 meters), said NHC Director Ken Graham.Hurricane-force winds had expanded to 60 miles (95 km) from the storm's core, with still-dangerous tropical storm-force winds felt for 175 miles (280 km) from its center, the NHC said.After days of warnings to flee a storm that at its peak was rated at the top of the scale of hurricane strength, many residents of Florida's coast remained unsure whether to wait it out or evacuate."I know it's a mandatory evacuation, but everyone I talked to is staying, and I don't know what to do. But I'm going to be ready and packed up in case I need to get on the road if they close those bridges," said Linda Cassano, a 53-year-old beautician who lives on Jacksonville Beach as she stocked up on water and food. "What deterred me is everything was open, the garbage man came today, the post office was delivering, so those things kind of make you indecisive."The governors of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have ordered evacuations of some coastal counties.Dorian was tied with Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, based on maximum sustained winds. Allen in 1980 was the most powerful, with 190-mile (306-kph) winds, the NHC said.(Reporting by Dante Carrer in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, Zachary Fagenson in Jacksonville, Florida, Gabriella Borter in Titusville, Florida, Peter Szekely and Matthew Lavietes in New York, Rich Mckay in Atlanta and Idrees Ali in Washington, writing by Paul Simao and Bill Tarrant; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Monster' Hurricane Dorian pummels Bahamas, forecast to threaten Florida-[Reuters]-September 1, 2019-By Gabriella Borter
(Updates with evacuations ordered in Georgia and latest weather report, paragraphs 3-4,)-TITUSVILLE, Fla., Sept 1 (Reuters) - Hurricane Dorian, the second-strongest Atlantic storm on record, pounded the Bahamian islands of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama on Sunday night and was forecast to move dangerously close to Florida in the next two days, U.S. forecasters said.Hazards for the Abaco Islands included storm surges 18 to 23 feet (5.5 to 7 metres) above normal tide levels, with higher destructive waves, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.At 11 p.m. (0300) GMT, the hurricane was about 135 miles (220 km) from the Florida coast, parts of which were being evacuated, as it crawled westward. Farther north, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster ordered mandatory evacuations for parts of eight coastal counties effective at noon (1600 GMT) on Monday.Georgia Governor Brian Kemp ordered evacuations in all or parts of six coastal counties also effective at noon on Monday.Even a glancing blow from one of the strongest storms ever to menace Florida could bring torrential rains and damaging winds, the NHC said."On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Great Abaco and Grand Bahama islands tonight and Monday," the NHC said. "The hurricane will move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday night."Dorian is forecast to remain a hurricane for the next five days, the NHC said. Dorian made landfall on Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (295 kph) and gusts of more than 220 mph (354 kph).Dorian was the strongest hurricane on record to hit the northwestern Bahamas as a life-threatening Category 5 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale.It was tied with Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, based on maximum sustained winds. Allen in 1980 was the most powerful, with 190 mph (306 kph) winds, the NHC said.Julia Eaddy, 70, in Titusville, Florida, said she and her husband had ridden out several hurricanes before and were not fazed by the forecast. "I think it will be more of the same," she said.Several gasoline stations around Titusville were closed. Many grocery stores were open but boarded up. Inside, shelves emptied out fast.'MONSTER STORM'-Like many officials in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents against becoming complacent after forecasts began saying on Saturday that the state might escape a direct hit."This storm at this magnitude could really cause massive destruction. Do not put your life in jeopardy by staying behind when you have a chance to get out," DeSantis said, urging people to heed evacuation orders from county officials.Dozens of Floridians who live in boats in marinas in Brevard County were rushing to secure their vessels, strapping them to docks and removing canvas coverings from decks, but some boat residents said they wanted to ride out Dorian."I will not get off this boat during the hurricane for any reason at all, save a human life," said Ned Keahey, 56. "It's home."Residents on Abaco posted video on social media showing floodwaters halfway up the sides of single-family homes with parts of the roofs torn off. Car alarms blared across the island, which was littered with twisted metal and splintered wood.Forecasters predicted up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain. The storm was moving at just 6 mph (9 kph) on Sunday night, prolonging a pummeling expected to last for hours, the NHC said.Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in a nationally televised news conference that a "deadly storm and a monster storm" was battering the islands. Homes there are built to withstand winds of at least 150 mph (241 kph), but the expected storm surge was higher than the average roof."This will put us to a test that we've never confronted before," Minnis said. "This is probably the most sad and worst day of my life to address the Bahamian people."Palm Beach County, the third most-populated county and home to President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, was among those with partial mandatory evacuations. Other counties announced voluntary evacuations."This looks like it could be larger than all of them," Trump said during a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).FEMA is moving food, water and generators into the Southeastern United States, said acting Administrator Peter Gaynor.Also on Sunday, a new tropical storm formed southwest of Mexico and was expected to become a hurricane on Monday, the NHC said. Tropical Storm Juliette was 455 miles (735 km) from Manzanillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), the NHC said.(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Titusville, Florida; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely in New York, Steve Holland in Washington, Anthony Esposito in Mexico City and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Writing by Lisa Shumaker and Grant McCool; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Peter Cooney and Paul Tait)
Flash floods kill six, one missing in Kenya's Hell's Gate park -authorities-[Reuters]-September 2, 2019
(Updates death toll, adds details, changes dateline, previous NAIROBI)-HELL'S GATE NATIONAL PARK, Kenya, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Flash floods killed six people at Kenya's Hell's Gate National Park and left one person missing after their tour group was swept away, the state-run wildlife authority said on Monday.The incident occurred on Sunday in the Rift Valley, some 69 km north west of the capital, Nairobi, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said on its Twitter account."Six bodies of the flash flood victims have been recovered, having one tourist missing. The search and rescue operation continues as we reach out to next of kin to share details of sad incident and plan together next course of action," KWS tweeted on Monday.KWS had earlier put the number of the dead at four.Naivasha Sub-County Commissioner Mathioya Mbogo said the seven who were swept away were all Kenyans and six had visited the park from the western city of Kisumu."Those swept away were two minors, two women, two men and the local guide," he said.KWS had said earlier the victims included five Kenyan tourists, a local guide and a non-resident whose nationality was not disclosed. KWS said the gorge in park was closed to the public on Sunday after the incident.The park is famous for its gorges, cliffs and steam plumes from geothermal activity underground, and in areas adjacent to it, the steam is harnessed to generate electricity.The park has also been used as a location for films like Tomb Raider II:Cradle of Life, according to the Kenya Film Commission.Gorges in the park are prone to flash floods and have in the past killed visitors. In 2012, floods killed seven who were part of a church group on a trek. (Additional reporting by George Obulutsa and Humphrey Malalo in Nairobi; editing by Darren Schuettler)
Facebook's Libra could undercut ECB's powers: Mersch-[Reuters]-September 2, 2019
FRANKFURT, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Widespread acceptance of Facebook's proposed Libra currency could even undermine the European Central Bank's ability to set monetary policy, a potential risk for the currency bloc, ECB board member Yves Mersch said on Monday."Depending on Libra’s level of acceptance and on the referencing of the euro in its reserve basket, it could reduce the ECB’s control over the euro, impair the monetary policy transmission mechanism by affecting the liquidity position of euro area banks, and undermine the single currency’s international role, for instance by reducing demand for it," Mersch added. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi Editing by Peter Graff)
Great ball of fire: Edmonton region lights up with reports of meteor-[CBC]-September 1, 2019
A fireball blazing across the sky was captured by doorbell and dash cameras in the Edmonton region late Saturday.Many people took to social media, posting photos and videos of the mysterious bright object in the sky, speculating that it appeared to be a meteor.Wes Glassford was outside in his Beaumont yard, a few minutes before 10:30 p.m. MT, on Saturday. He was setting up his camera in hopes of getting some shots of the northern lights."While I was doing that, I heard kind of a 'boom,' and I actually thought someone set off a firework," he said.When he realized it was a meteor, he snapped a photograph. His camera was set to a 10-second exposure, ending up with an image of a streak of light with squiggles on the end. He said it flared as it passed overhead, lighting up his yard."It was just kind of neat to see. I don't know how to describe it, other than that it got bright for a bit," he said.The bright streak was likely a bolide — a very bright meteor — or maybe even a super bolide, according to Mike Hankey, operations manager for the American Meteor Society.Based on the images sent to the society so far, Hankey said it appears to be on the brighter end of the meteor spectrum that ranges from meteor, to fireball, to bolide and super bolide.A super bolide is "a bigger object that is brighter than the full moon," he said. "It's actually even brighter than that, almost as bright as the sun. So it explodes at the end of its flight, and oftentimes these events are associated with meteorites, which are rocks that survive from the fireball."Hankey set up an event profile for reports that came out of northern Alberta late Saturday. By mid-morning Saturday, the society had received 69 reports, as well as two videos and pictures."This fireball would have been seen for 600 kilometres from either side of it, probably," he said.He said the more reports and visuals they are able to gather, the better it is for scientists who study meteor activity.Though meteorites have been recovered in Alberta after past events, Hankey said it's likely still too early to find fragments of last night's bolide."In the first days or hours after the fireball, the reports and the data that we give is just an estimate," he said.He said he expects scientists are already combing through satellite images and other footage to get a better handle on the fireball's path, in hopes of narrowing down the landing sites of meteorites. He said rocks are usually only recovered a few times per year.The society has been dedicated to tracking meteors for over 100 years.
Dorian strikes Bahamas as catastrophic hurricane, parts of Florida evacuate-[Reuters]-September 1, 2019-By Gabriella Borter
TITUSVILLE, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Dorian became the strongest storm in modern records to hit the northwestern Bahamas and is expected to pound the islands with up to two days of torrential rain, high waves and damaging winds as parts of Florida evacuated before it took aim at the U.S. mainland.The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Dorian was over Abaco as a Category 5 storm on Sunday with maximum sustained winds of 180 miles per hour (285 km per hour) and gusts of more than 200 mph (322 kph).Millions of people from Florida to North Carolina were bracing to see whether Dorian avoids a U.S. landfall and, as predicted, veers north into the Atlantic Ocean after hitting the Bahamas. Even a glancing blow from one of the strongest storms ever to menace Florida could bring torrential rains and damaging winds, and "a Florida landfall is still a distinct possibility," the Miami-based NHC warned.Bahamas residents reported trees snapping and docks being destroyed before the brunt of the storm arrived. The pummeling was expected to last for hours as the hurricane slowed to just 1 mph, "prolonging its catastrophic effects," the NHC said.On Great Guana Cay, just off Great Abaco Island, waves began washing over low-lying parts of the tiny 9-mile (14-km) strand of land that is only about a quarter-mile wide by mid-morning, resident Tom Creenan said.Although some residents left for Nassau and elsewhere days ago, some 200 to 300 are riding out the storm on Great Guana Cay, where power was already out and forecasters are predicting up to 2 feet (61 cm) of rain and 23-foot (7-meter) storm surges."The other day the prime minister came out and said everybody in Abaco should leave," Creenan said by phone. "But there's no place to go.""This is the strongest hurricane that's ever hit in the Bahamas," Creenan said. "I grew up in Florida, so I've been through Andrew."Hurricane Andrew slammed into eastern Florida in 1992 as a category 5 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, obliterating the town of Homestead.That state was taking no chances with Dorian and four Florida counties, including Palm Beach County, issued mandatory evacuations for some residents, including those in mobile homes, on barrier islands and in low-lying areas. Other coastal counties have announced voluntary evacuations.U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the storm would likely impact the eastern seaboard from Florida to North Carolina."Looking like one of the largest hurricanes ever," he wrote on Twitter.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is moving food, water and generators into the southeastern United States, said acting Administrator Peter Gaynor."When it comes to response, we are more than ready to deal with anything that Dorian delivers us this year, or any other storm that may come this season," he told CNN.Meanwhile, a new tropical storm has formed southwest of Mexico and is expected to become a hurricane on Monday. Tropical Storm Juliette is 455 miles (735 km) from Manzanillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), the NHC said on Sunday.(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Titusville; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely in New York and Zachary Fagenson in Jacksonsville; Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Dale Hudson and Daniel Wallis)
Northern Bahamas hunkers down as Hurricane Dorian closes in-[Associated Press]-September 1, 2019
McLEAN'S TOWN CAY, Bahamas (AP) — A dangerous Hurricane Dorian closed in on the northern Bahamas early Sunday, threatening to batter islands with 150 mph (240 kph) winds, pounding waves and torrential rain as people hunkered down in schools, churches and other shelters.Millions from Florida to the Carolinas kept a wary eye on Dorian, meanwhile, amid indications it would veer sharply northeastward after passing the Bahamas and track up the U.S. Southeast seaboard. But authorities warned even if its core did not make U.S. landfall and stayed offshore, the potent Category 4 storm would likely hammer U.S. coastal areas with powerful winds and heavy surf.In the northern stretches of the Bahamas archipelago, hotels closed, residents boarded up homes and officials hired boats to move people from low-lying areas to bigger islands as Dorian approached.Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis warned that Dorian is a "dangerous storm" and said any "who do not evacuate are placing themselves in extreme danger and can expect a catastrophic consequence."Small skiffs shuttled Saturday between outlying fishing communities and McLean's Town, a settlement of a few dozen homes at the eastern end of Grand Bahama island, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) from Florida's Atlantic coast. Most people came from Sweeting Cay, a fishing town of a few hundred people about 5 feet (1.5 meters) above sea level."We're not taking no chances," said Margaret Bassett, a ferry boat driver for the Deep Water Cay resort. "They said evacuate, you have to evacuate."Over two or three days, the slow-moving hurricane could dump as much as 4 feet (1 meter) of rain, unleash devastating winds and whip up a dangerous storm surge, said private meteorologist Ryan Maue, seconding some of the most reliable computer models.Government spokesman Kevin Harris said Dorian was expected to impact some 73,000 residents and 21,000 homes. Authorities closed airports for The Abaco Islands, Grand Bahama and Bimini, but Lynden Pindling International Airport at the capital of Nassau remained open.Jeffrey Allen, who lives in Freeport on Grand Bahama, said he had learned after several storms that sometimes predictions of damage don't materialize, but he still takes precautions."It's almost as if you wait with anticipation, hoping that it's never as bad as they say it will be. However, you prepare for the worst nonetheless," he said.On average, the Bahamas archipelago gets a direct hit from a hurricane every four years, officials said. Construction codes require homes to have metal reinforcements for roof beams to withstand winds into the upper limits of a Category 4 hurricane, and compliance is generally tight for residents who can afford it. Risks are higher in poorer communities, which typically have wooden homes and are generally in lower-lying areas.Early Sunday, Dorian was centered around 95 miles (150 kilometers) east of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas and 280 miles (450 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach as it crept westward at 8 mph (13 kph).The slow-crawling storm was predicted to take until Monday afternoon to pass over the Bahamas, and then turn sharply and skirt up the U.S. coast, staying just off Florida and Georgia on Tuesday and Wednesday and then buffeting South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents along that state's densely populated Atlantic coast, "We're not out of the woods yet."He noted some forecast models still bring Dorian close to or even onto the Florida peninsula."That could produce life-threatening storm surge and hurricane force winds," DeSantis said. "That cone of uncertainty still includes a lot of areas on the east coast of Florida and even into central and north Florida, so we are staying prepared and remaining vigilant."In Miami, Carmen Segura said she had installed hurricane shutters at her house, bought extra gas and secured water and food for at least three days. She felt well prepared and less worried, given the latest forecasts, but still was uneasy given the storm's unpredictability."Part of me still feels like: So, now what?" Segura said.South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency, mobilizing state resources to prepare for potential storm effects. President Donald Trump already declared a state of emergency and was brief late Saturday about the storm.The hurricane upended some Labor Day holiday weekend plans in the U.S.: Major airlines allowed travelers to change their reservations without fees, big cruise lines rerouted their ships and Cumberland Island National Seashore off Georgia closed to visitors. Disney World and Orlando's other resorts held off announcing any closings.Sherry Atkinson, who manages a hotel on North Carolina's Outer Banks, said the hurricane wasn't spoiling holiday vacations for guests."So far, there hasn't even been a snippet of conversation about evacuations," she said.___Associated Press writers Tim Aylen in McLean's Town Cay; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Michael Weissenstein in Havana, Cuba; Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami; Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida; Julie Walker in New York; Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland; and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this report.___For AP's complete coverage of the hurricane: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes
Florida residents told to stock up on food, water as hurricane nears-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-August 30, 2019-By Zach Fagenson
MIAMI, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Florida's governor on Friday urged residents in the state to stock up on at least a week's worth of food, water and medicine and to prepare to lose power and cellphone service for days after Hurricane Dorian makes landfall early next week.The slow march and rising intensity of the storm, which is moving in a northwestern direction to the Bahamas, has alarmed forecasters who worry parts of Florida will be walloped by strong winds, a storm surge and heavy rain for an extended period."I think there’s a pretty high degree of certainty that this is going to be a major hurricane," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a news conference from the state emergency operations center in Tallahassee. He said residents should prepare for a "multiday event."Florida is under a declaration of emergency, and DeSantis has activated 2,500 National Guard troops, with another 1,500 on standby. No evacuations were ordered as of early Friday, but many were expected as the storm's path becomes clearer.Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in 12 counties of neighboring Georgia to assist with storm readiness, response and recovery.Dorian began on Friday over the Atlantic as a Category 2 hurricane but was expected to be classified a Category 3 later in the day. It had maximum sustained winds near 110 miles per hour (175 km per hour), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT).Forecasters predicted the storm would grow more ferocious as it gained fuel from the warm waters off Florida and be near the state's peninsula late on Monday.The NHC has issued a hurricane watch for northwestern Bahamas.If, as expected, the storm reaches Category 4 over the weekend, its winds will blow at more than 130 mph (210 kph). There was concern it could slow from its current 12-mph (9-kph) march across the map, giving it more time to intensify.Recent NHC weather models show Dorian smacking into the center of Florida.The storm could roll inland toward Orlando on Tuesday or early Wednesday. Other NHC weather models show it tracking south toward Miami before hitting the peninsula, or heading north to the Georgia coast.Along with the dangerous winds, the storm was expected to drop 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) of rain on the coastal United States. "This rainfall may cause life-threatening flash floods," NHC forecasters said.President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled a planned weekend trip to Poland, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place, so he can make sure resources are properly directed for the storm."Now it's looking like it could be an absolute monster," Trump said in a video posted on Twitter, adding that food and water were being shipped to Florida.Dorian could churn across dozens of launchpads owned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Air Force and companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.FUEL, NURSING HOMES-Some gas stations in Florida have run dry and others have long lines of cars, DeSantis said, adding that the state had eased regulations to allow higher-capacity trucks to transport fuel and to make it easier to bring in fuel from other states.Gasoline prices at the pump are not expected to spike because of the storm, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.com."This is not going to be a pricing event," DeHaan said. "There are no refiners in Florida, there’s only a pipeline, and I can’t imagine that would be affected significantly. Fuel is flowing, and that’s the most important factor.”Colonial Pipeline, which delivers fuels such as gasoline and diesel from the Gulf Coast to markets across the southern and eastern United States, said it was operating normally. It had no plans to shut down ahead of Dorian's projected landfall.Florida officials also were making sure all nursing homes and assisted living facilities had generators, and were checking with 107 facilities where information about generators was uncertain.Earlier this week, police in Hollywood, Florida, charged four nursing home caregivers with causing the deaths of 12 patients who died in the sweltering heat of a post-hurricane power outage left by Hurricane Irma two years ago. (Reporting by Zach Fagenson in Miami and Peter Szekely in New York; additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly in New York; writing by Paul Simao; editing by Jane Merriman and Jonathan Oatis)
Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago resort in Hurricane Dorian's path-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 30, 2019
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump's prized Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida is potentially sitting directly in the path of Hurricane Dorian , which is forecast to become an extremely destructive storm.The resort, which is currently closed for the summer, is on the wealthy barrier island of Palm Beach. During the cooler months, Trump visits the property frequently and has held several high-level meetings there with world leaders.The National Hurricane Center's most recent track for Dorian places Mar-a-Lago in the crosshairs of a possible Category 4 storm with winds of almost 140 mph (225 kph).Still, the resort dates from the 1920s and has seen more than its share of hurricanes in the past. It was originally built by cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, with the main mansion containing 126 rooms.Trump bought the place in 1985, after efforts to make it into a national park did not work out. Since he became president, Trump has hosted leaders such as Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and China's Xi Jinping at the resort.Hurricanes have always been a part of Mar-a-Lago.In 2005, Trump said he received a $17 million insurance payment for hurricane damage to the resort. But an Associated Press investigation found little evidence of such large-scale damage.At the time, Trump said he didn't know how much had been spent on repairs, but acknowledged he pocketed some of the money. He transferred funds into his personal accounts, saying that under the terms of his policy "you didn't have to reinvest it.""Landscaping, roofing, walls, painting, leaks, artwork in the — you know, the great tapestries, tiles, Spanish tiles, the beach, the erosion," he said of the storm damage. "It's still not what it was."Trump is a climate change skeptic. Meanwhile, local governments across Florida, including in Palm Beach County, are gearing up to deal with rising sea levels and possibly more intense hurricanes. If sea-level rise predictions even at the lower end come true, Mar-a-Lago could have ocean water lapping on its lawns in the not-too-distant future.___For AP's complete coverage of the hurricane: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes .
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
IT IS INTERESTING THAT THIS HURRICANE WAS OVER THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND. WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS THE AGE OF GRACE WILL BE LIKE BIRTH PANGS OF LABOR. MORE INTENSE AS THE AGE OF GRACE GETS GREATER AND GREATER SIN JUDGEMENT AGAINST IT.
MATTHEW 24:8
New Living Translation-But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
Global effort to aid devastated Bahamas gears up in Dorian's wake-[Reuters]-September 5, 2019-By Nick Brown
(Updates with latest NHC advisory)-NASSAU, Bahamas, Sept 5 (Reuters) - An international relief effort to bring humanitarian aid to stunned residents of the Bahamas gathered pace on Thursday as Hurricane Dorian churned northward off the coast of South Carolina, threatening storm surges and flooding.Aerial video of the worst-hit Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas showed widespread devastation, with the harbor, shops, workplaces, a hospital and airport landing strips damaged or decimated, frustrating rescue efforts.The United Nations estimated more than 76,000 people were in need of humanitarian relief after the most damaging storm ever to hit the island nation.The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said it bought 8 metric tonnes of ready-to-eat meals and was organizing an airlift from Panama of storage units, generators and prefab offices for two logistics hubs, as well as satellite equipment for emergency responders.The U.N. agency has allocated $5.4 million to a three-month emergency operation to support 39,000 people, said Hervé Verhoosel, senior WFP spokesperson."In a first phase, WFP will focus on the immediate procurement and distribution of up to 85 MT of ready-to-eat meals for the most affected communities," Verhoosel said.Dorian was rated a Category 5 hurricane when it killed at least 20 people in the Bahamas. Authorities expect that number to rise, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said at a news briefing, as retreating floodwaters revealed the scope of destruction.One of the storm survivors on the Abaco Islands, Ramond King, said he watched as swirling winds ripped the roof off his house, then churned to a neighbor's home to pluck the entire structure into the sky."'This can't be real, this can't be real'," King recalled thinking. "Nothing is here, nothing at all. Everything is gone, just bodies."Total insured and uninsured losses in the Bahamas amounted to $7 billion, including buildings and business interruptions, according to a preliminary estimate by Karen Clark & Co, a consultancy that provides catastrophic modeling and risk management services.With telephones down in many areas, residents posted lists of missing loved ones on social media. One Facebook post by media outlet Our News Bahamas had 2,500 comments, mainly listing lost family members.Dorian killed one person in Puerto Rico before hovering over the Bahamas for two days with torrential rains and fierce winds that whipped up 12- to 18-foot (3.7- to 5.5-meter) storm surges.POSSIBLE RECORD SURGE-The hurricane was barreling north-northeast just off the southeastern U.S. coast on Thursday, moving at about 7 miles per hour (11 kph), with maximum sustained winds fluctuating between 110 and 115 mph (175-185 kph), between a Category 2 and Category 3 storm on the five-point Saffir-Simpson wind scale.The storm was about 50 miles (80 km) east-southeast of flood-prone Charleston, South Carolina, at 11:30 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said."Whether it makes landfall or not, you still have the core winds right around the center," NHC Director Ken Graham said from the agency's headquarters in Miami."So wherever those make it on shore, you can still have some significant hurricane force winds."More than 2.2 million people in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina had been ordered to evacuate, although Florida avoided a direct hit.The forecast called for the storm to move northeast along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a popular coastal vacation spot, by Friday afternoon and then out to sea. The NHC also added a tropical storm warning for coastal Virginia, including the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area.Parts of the Carolinas would get 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) of rain, with some areas topping out at 10-15 inches (25 to 38 cm). Storm surge was forecast at 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.4 meters) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.More than 239,000 homes and businesses in the U.S. Southeast were without power, according to local electric companies.RELIEF EFFORTS-A flight from the U.S. Agency for International Development landed in the Bahamas early on Thursday with enough relief supplies to help 31,500 people, bringing hygiene kits, water containers and buckets, plastic sheeting and chain saws.Also arriving was a disaster assistance response team (DART) plane that included a fire and rescue team from Fairfax County, Virginia, to help the authorities search for survivors, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance said on Twitter.A British Royal Navy vessel was providing assistance, and Jamaica was sending a 150-member military contingent to help secure Abaco and Grand Bahama, officials said.Volunteers also ferried supplies to the islands in a flotilla of small boats.As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.(Reporting by Nick Brown in Nassau, Bahamas, additional reporting by Nick Carey in Charleston, South Carolina, Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Rebekah Ward in Mexico City, Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico and Rich McKay in Atlanta, writing by Scott Malone and Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Cynthia Osterman)
South Carolina scrambles ahead of Dorian's storm surge-[Reuters]-September 4, 2019-By Nick Carey
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - A large digital screen alongside a major highway running into Charleston, South Carolina, issued a stark warning to residents on Wednesday: 'HURRICANE DORIAN, LEAVE NOW."A large number of people had already heeded that warning, as could be seen at busy gasoline stations on the city's outskirts.At one, drivers lined up calmly for snacks and fuel ahead of a journey inland."We've seen many worse storms than Dorian over the years, but we figured we wouldn't take any chances, so we're going to stay with family away from the coast," said George Wilson, 42, as he waited to buy candy and chocolate for his children.But while tens of thousands of residents had decided to evacuate, many others in Charleston were choosing to ride out the storm.Dorian has devastated parts of the Bahamas and killed at least seven people, where the scope of the destruction was still coming into focus on Wednesday.The storm's wind speeds dropped on Tuesday to make it a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale. It maintained that level on Wednesday, but forecasters warned it was still dangerous.South Carolina officials said they were expecting storm surges of 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 metres) and wind gusts of 90 miles per hour (145 kph) on Thursday, and told people to evacuate the coast as Dorian drew closer.Business owners and residents were busy boarding up shops on Wednesday in Charleston's historic district, but said they were used to doing so as hurricanes have become such a regular occurrence here."This has pretty much become an annual ritual for us," said Micah Elliott, co-founder of Charleston Built, who has boarded up about 15 homes and businesses for clients.Elliot was helping Kevin Leprince, 48, a local artist, board up his art gallery in the historic district. Leprince said his gallery should be safe from the storm surge, but he was worried that flooding from the expected heavy rain could damage his artwork.Closer to the waterfront, Mark Huske was placing sandbags along the windows of an architect's office. Huske said that if the storm surge hit as expected, it would flood the office."It's going to get very messy down here," he said. "I honestly don't know why anyone would buy a house down here. It's pretty much guaranteed to flood."'SEEN MUCH BIGGER THAN THIS' A crowd of tourists and local residents strolled along the Charleston waterfront, unfazed by the intermittent rain, taking photographs and cheering dolphins that surfaced in the Ashley River.Danny Davis and his wife, Octavia, stood under a large umbrella enjoying the view on the waterfront and said that other than buying extra water and supplies, they had made few major preparations for Dorian."We've seen much bigger than this. Dorian is going to be nothing special," Danny Davis said.Charleston has suffered damage from a number of storms over the years, including flooding from Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and a major battering from Hurricane Hugo in 1989.The owners of Ink & Ivy, a bar in the historic district, decided to stay open throughout Dorian. The bar was busy on Wednesday afternoon and bartender Gregory Wilder, 41, said he expected a good crowd for the evening."We're going to stay here and party no matter what happens," he said. "Unless the power goes out."Charleston city spokesman Jack O'Toole said the city now faced "a triple threat, from wind, the storm surge and flooding.""It may be too late for people to evacuate," O'Toole said. "So our message to residents now is to batten down the hatches and be prepared for the worst."(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Bahamas staggers from Dorian's devastation, U.S. coast fears storm surge-[Reuters]-September 4, 2019-By Nick Brown
(Adds U.S. National Hurricane Center says Dorian could strengthen again, updates throughout; changes byline, dateline, previous MARSH HARBOUR, Bahamas)-NASSAU, Bahamas, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Survivors of Hurricane Dorian on Wednesday picked through the wreckage of homes ripped open by fierce winds, struggled to fuel generators and queued for food after one of the most powerful Caribbean storms on record devastated parts of the Bahamas.The most damaging storm to strike the island nation, Dorian killed at least 20 people, the Miami Herald reported, citing Bahamas Health Minister Duane Sands. But the toll was certain to rise as the scope of the destruction - and the humanitarian crisis was still coming into focus - with aerial video of the Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas showing wide devastation.Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, said in a conference call with reporters that he expected the death toll to rise significantly.In the United States, South Carolina was preparing for a record storm surge and major flooding with the potential for over a foot of rain in places when Dorian hits the coast on Thursday or Friday.Dozens of people in the Bahamas took to Facebook to search for missing loved ones, and aid agencies estimated that tens of thousands of people out of the Bahamas population of 400,000 would need food and other support."We are in the midst of one of the greatest national crises in our country's history," Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told a news conference. "We can expect more deaths to be recorded. This is just preliminary information."LaQuez Williams, pastor at Jubilee Cathedral in Grand Bahama, who opened the church as a shelter for about 150 people, said he saw people on their rooftops seeking refuge."They were calling for help, but you could not go out to reach," Williams said. "It was very difficult because you felt helpless."Aerial video of Great Abaco Island showed miles of flooded neighborhoods littered with upturned boats and shipping containers scattered like toys. Many buildings had walls or roofs partly ripped off.A Reuters photographer surveying the damage on Grand Bahama island said many hangers at Freeport airport and several aircraft appeared to be severely damaged.DORIAN COULD STRENGTHEN-Dorian rampaged through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded, killing one person in Puerto Rico, before hovering over the Bahamas for two days with torrential rains and fierce winds that whipped up 12-18 foot storm surges in places.Dorian was about 150 miles (240 kms) south of Charleston at 5 p.m. EST, packing winds of 110 mph, making it a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its 5 p.m. (2100 GMT) advisory.But it could strengthen again to a Category 4 in the next 24 hours "because it is hovering over warm waters, a key ingredient in hurricane intensity, NHC meteorologist Lance Wood said.The NHC issued a storm surge warning that covered the whole length of the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina and extending to Hampton Roads in Virginia.The NHC warned that Dorian would move near or over the coast of South or North Carolina on Thursday or Friday. More than 2.2 million people in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have been ordered to evacuate.Florida avoided a direct hit from Dorian."We certainly got lucky in Florida, and now if we could get lucky in Georgia, in North Carolina, in South Carolina," President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.Trump said the United States was sending supplies to the Bahamas, including materials that had been originally intended for Dorian victims in Florida.BAHAMAS BATTERED-With many telephones down on Abaco and Grand Bahama islands, residents posted lists of missing loved ones on social media sites.A single Facebook post by media outlet Our News Bahamas seeking the names of missing people had 2,000 comments listing lost family members since it went live on Tuesday, although some of the comments were also about loved ones being found.Janith Mullings, 66, from Freeport, Grand Bahama, said she had been through hurricanes all her life but had never seen anything like Dorian."We’ve never had hurricanes in none of our islands that have experienced the ocean rising like it did. The ocean was something no one could prepare for," she said.A massive relief effort was under way with volunteers ferrying supplies to the islands in a flotilla of small boats.As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said."It's heartbreaking ...," said Caroline Turnquest, director general of Bahamas Red Cross. "We know from what we've been seeing and hearing, that this one will require the help of all the persons."Food may be required for 14,500 people in the Abaco Islands and for 45,700 people in Grand Bahama, the U.N. World Food Programme said.The State Department said it did not believe any U.S. citizens who were in the Bahamas, a popular tourist destination, during the storm were killed.U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection personnel have airlifted 61 people from the northern Bahamas to the capital Nassau over two days, the U.S. Embassy said. (Reporting by Dante Carrer in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, and Nick Brown in Nassau, Bahamas, additional reporting by Zachary Fagenson in Jacksonville, Florida, Gabriella Borter in Titusville, Florida, Peter Szekely, Jonathan Allen and Matthew Lavietes in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta, Writing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Cynthia Osterman and Grant McCool)
Historic hurricane Dorian growing, lurching toward USA; Bahamas devastated-[USA TODAY]-John Bacon and Janine Zeitlin-September 4, 2019
MIAMI – Hurricane Dorian technically diminished to Category 2 status Tuesday as it slowly turned to the northwest, but the historic and violent storm was growing in size as it moved away from the Bahamas and grazed the Florida coast. The latest forecasts put the hurricane farther off Florida’s east coast than previous projections. Still, forecasters said, some coastal areas from Florida to North Carolina could see 4 to 10 inches of rain in coming days. Or worse.“We still have hurricane warnings up because it’s just too close to call,” said Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Any little wiggle, wobble and it could get really close to the coast.”Tuesday afternoon, tropical-storm-force winds were slamming portions of the east coast of Florida, the hurricane center said.In the Bahamas, at least five people have died and thousands of homes are in ruins, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said. The U.S. Coast Guard was assisting in rescue operations, he said. Relief and rapid assessment teams were standing by and will be deployed as soon as possible, Minnis added."There are many difficult days, weeks and months ahead of us as a people and as a country," he said.The center of the storm, which had stalled overnight, was picking up speed Tuesday and pulling away from the battered islands at about 6 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.The storm lingered over the Bahamas after making landfall three times Sunday, triggering severe flooding as parts of the country face the prospects of up to 30 inches of rain. Wind speeds lessened slightly but still roared at 110 mph, with higher gusts. A storm surge of up to 15 feet was swamping neighborhoods."The headline for this Dorian advisory is NOT that the wind speed has slightly decreased," the hurricane center tweeted. "The combined wind, surge, and floods hazards are the same or even worse since the hurricane has become larger."Dorian was a Category 5 monster driving sustained winds of 185 mph when it slammed into the Bahamas on Sunday. As the storm stalled, the Bahamas Press reported that the death toll was far higher than the government's reports.The media outlet published video of floodwaters at the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport that forced patients to evacuate. Bahamians desperate for rescue called into radio shows asking for help.Brandisha Adderley, 29, said her home in Spring City, in the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, was destroyed. Adderley, who lives with her 2-year-old daughter and her grandmother, said the family went to the home of a neighbor and huddled in the one room that was not ruined by the storm."Thank God for our defense force" that rescued the group and took them to a shelter, she said. "There is no food, no water. There is no way out of our community. Everything is wet and destroyed."The hurricane center said Dorian, 105 miles east of Vero Beach, Florida, was expected to head northwest or north-northwest later today and tonight. A turn toward the north is forecast by Wednesday evening, followed by a turn toward the north-northeast Thursday morning.Millions of people living along the coast from Florida to North Carolina faced evacuation orders. A few heavy downpours associated with Dorian were rolling onto Florida's east coast Tuesday."Dangerous conditions at the beaches with high surf and rip currents," the National Weather Service in Melbourne tweeted. "Don't attempt to enter the water."The hurricane will move "dangerously close" to the Florida east coast late Tuesday through Wednesday evening and "very near" the Georgia and South Carolina coasts Wednesday night and Thursday, the Hurricane Center said. It will loom near or over the North Carolina coast late Thursday.Airlines wary of Dorian's impact canceled more than 1,600 Tuesday flights to, within and from the United States as of 8:30 a.m., according to flight tracking service FlightAware. That is on top of nearly 1,500 on Labor Day. Hurricane and storm surge warnings and watches were in effect along much of the East Coast. Amy Brauner, executive director of the Eastern South Carolina Chapter of the American Red Cross, stressed the need for coastal residents to have a plan and be prepared to execute it on short notice."This storm can turn on a dime," she said. "We want to make sure everybody's safe."In Georgia, coastal residents in Chatham County were evacuating inland. Savannah Mayor Eddie DeLoach said residents were uncertain how soon to leave because the storm was moving so slowly.“Everybody’s asking ‘Well, do I really need to go?’” DeLoach said. “If you see it bearing down on you, you have more of an urgency and people have more of a tendency to get in line and make it happen.”Chatham County Commission Chairman Albert Scott said Tuesday that if residents' streets flooded during Hurricane Matthew in 2016, they could "pretty much expect they are going to flood during Dorian. You are encouraged to leave."In South Carolina, Charleston residents said Tuesday that they were taking other cues beyond the state evacuation order."I feel like it's too early," says Lexi Tempe, who lives in downtown Charleston and was filling sandbags at Grace Bridge Street near the harbor, one of several sandbag depots the city was offering.Johnny Smith, who lives in downtown Charleston in a housing complex off Coming Street, remembered last year and how Hurricane Florence had no impact.But like a lot of lifelong city residents, the 52-year-old is a veteran of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the most violent storm to strike South Carolina in modern history. At the time, Smith lived in housing at the site of the aquarium, right along the waterfront."We don't play with hurricanes," Smith said. "When the tide is high, we get flooded out."Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Fernand formed Tuesday afternoon in the Gulf of Mexico, about 160 miles east of La Pesca, Mexico. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for portions of the gulf coast of Mexico. The storm should make landfall in Mexico by Wednesday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Jordan Culver, Dawn Gilbertson and Doyle Rice, USA TODAY; Mark H. Bickel, Fort Myers News-Press; Eric Connor, Conor Hughes and Carol Motsinger, The Greenville (S.C.) News.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Dorian update: Storm eases to Category 2 status.
Floridians hope Dorian's economic impact will be temporary-[Associated Press]-September 3, 2019
Hurricane Dorian is losing strength as it churns closer to the Florida coast, and that's bringing some cautious relief to the state's big tourism industry.By midday Tuesday, Dorian had been downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, and forecasts were lessening the threat of a direct hit on Florida.Still, more than 2 million people in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas had been warned to evacuate.Parts of the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida, closed early on Tuesday. Airports in Orlando, Palm Beach and several smaller cities remained closed, and most flights in Fort Lauderdale were scrubbed too. Florida accounted for most of the 1,800 U.S. flights canceled by mid-afternoon in the East."It generally looks like we dodged a bullet," Sean Snaith, director of the economic forecasting institute at the University of Central Florida, said Tuesday. "These temporary shutdowns have some effect, but it's not going to move the needle in terms of employment or economic growth."Dorian caused catastrophic flooding and at least five deaths in the Bahamas .But the National Hurricane Center reduced the threat of a direct hit on Florida and its $1 trillion economy, the fourth-largest in the country behind California, Texas and New York. Instead, the storm was expected to brush close to South Carolina and maybe North Carolina too on Thursday or Friday.Even as Dorian weakened approaching the U.S. mainland, other storms are forming in the Atlantic, and there could be additional powerful hurricanes this fall. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently raised its forecast for the likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season, including two to four major hurricanes — winds above 110 mph — through November.The Congressional Budget Office estimates that hurricanes cause about $28 billion a year in damage in the U.S., and since 2005, the government has borne about 60% of the cost, or $18 billion a year.It's difficult to predict where any particular storm will make landfall, but hurricanes are growing more damaging partly because of increased development in coastal areas.Maria and Irma, the back-to-back hurricanes in the Caribbean and Florida in 2017, caused $140 billion in damage. Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston that same year at a cost of $125 billion. The most damaging hurricane in U.S. history remains Katrina, in 2005, which flooded New Orleans and killed more than 1,800 people.Florida's tourism industry has taken gut punches before and bounced back. In the first six months of this year, the state saw a record 68.9 million visitors, a 6% increase over the same period last year, according to the governor's office."Florida has continued to see visitation numbers break records year after year, whether it's in the wake of hurricanes or the Zika virus or red tides," Snaith said. "These events aren't great for marketing, but promoters in the (tourism) industry get out in front of stuff like that and try to erase any temporary damage."Visit Florida, the state's tourism agency, has been promoting travel to parts of the state, including the Gulf Coast, that are not under hurricane threat.The storm's threat prompted organizers to move a major college football game, Boise State against Florida State, from Jacksonville to Tallahassee, about 160 miles to the west. That hurt tourism in Jacksonville over the Labor Day weekend, although presumably businesses in Tallahassee got a boost. The tourism agency Visit Jacksonville said it was prepared to help local tourism businesses "get back up and running quickly."Businesses that shut down, even just briefly, may seek interruption benefits from their insurers. Fred Karlinsky, an attorney specializing in insurance matters at Miami-based Greenberg Traurig, said the duration of the closure matters more than whether Dorian comes ashore."It's a very important coverage, and it pays out," he said.Last week, many Florida hotels suspended their cancelation policies because of the approaching storm."It looks like things are much less threatening. It's a good day in Florida," said Amanda Handley, a spokeswoman for the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. She cautioned, however, that there was still a threat of high winds, heavy rain and storm surges along the Atlantic coast.Florida's neighbors might not share the relief. Up the coast and across the state line in Folly Beach, South Carolina, workers were hurriedly boarding up restaurants and shops.___David Koenig reported from Dallas. Curt Anderson in Miami, Sarah Blake Morgan in Folly Beach, South Carolina, and Cody Jackson in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.
After inflicting 'extreme damage' on Bahamas, Hurricana Dorian closes in on Florida-[Reuters]-September 3, 2019-By Dante Carrer
(Fixes spelling of Lego in second paragraph.)-MARSH HARBOUR, Bahamas, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Hurricane Dorian carved a path of destruction through the Bahamas and relief officials on Tuesday were preparing for a humanitarian crisis after one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the islands killed at least five people, with the scale of the disaster as yet unknown.Aerial video recorded over the Bahamas' Great Abaco Island showed mile upon mile of flooded neighborhoods, pulverized buildings, upturned boats and shipping containers scattered like Lego toys. Many buildings that had not been flattened had walls or roofs partly ripped away.While its winds had diminished to a Category 2 storm, Dorian expanded in size and picked up speed on Tuesday. Forecasters said it would come "dangerously close" in the next 36 hours to Florida's east coast, where more than a million people have been ordered evacuated.In the Freeport area of Grand Bahama island, people on jet skis and boats tried to rescue hundreds of people whose homes had flooded on the low-lying island, a CNN correspondent said.Tropical-storm-force winds hampered the efforts, flipping over some of the jet skis. The correspondent said he had spoken to a man whose wife had died of hypothermia after being trapped in their flooded home for hours and others who said they had watched people swept away by the storm surge.The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in a 5 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) advisory that Dorian had sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (175 km per hour) and was moving northwest at 5 mph (8 kph), as it churned about 105 miles 170 kms) east of Vero Beach, Florida."Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next couple of days," the NHS said.EXTREME DAMAGE-The exact toll of the devastation in the Bahamas will not be clear until the storm completely passes and rescue crews can get on the ground. Dorian has battered the Bahamas for the past three days."We have not been able to assess the damages on Grand Bahama Island just yet. We expect it to be very devastating and the damage to be extreme," said Theo Neilly, the Bahamian consul general in Washington.He added that the sea surge from the storm was high and people were still trapped in their homes and attics.Speaking to CNN, Iram Lewis, a member of Parliament, said the death toll would climb."It is safe to say, unfortunately, that number will go up," Lewis said of the death toll, and the destruction "is just unbelievable."As many as 13,000 homes in the Bahamas may have been destroyed or severely damaged, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.The Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas may require food for 14,500 people and Grand Bahama for 45,700 people, the U.N. World Food Programme said in a statement. The preliminary estimates were based on an assessment by representatives from Caribbean countries, the WFP and other organizations.The U.S. military has been authorized to provide logistics, health and engineering support to the Bahamas for up for 14 days if needed, General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, the head of U.S. Northern Command, told reporters on Tuesday.The U.S. Coast Guard said four of its helcopters were assisting in the humanitarian effort.Efforts to reach officials in the Bahamas by phone on Tuesday were unsuccessful.'DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO' Dorian was expected to hit Florida with hurricane conditions overnight, before bringing its powerful winds and dangerous surf along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina by late Thursday.Forecasters have told Floridians not to become complacent. Dorian could drive seawater inland as it approaches, with parts of the northern Florida and Georgia coasts seeing as much as 7 feet (2.1 meters), said NHC Director Ken Graham.Hurricane-force winds had expanded to 60 miles (95 km) from the storm's core, with still-dangerous tropical storm-force winds felt for 175 miles (280 km) from its center, the NHC said.After days of warnings to flee a storm that at its peak was rated at the top of the scale of hurricane strength, many residents of Florida's coast remained unsure whether to wait it out or evacuate."I know it's a mandatory evacuation, but everyone I talked to is staying, and I don't know what to do. But I'm going to be ready and packed up in case I need to get on the road if they close those bridges," said Linda Cassano, a 53-year-old beautician who lives on Jacksonville Beach as she stocked up on water and food. "What deterred me is everything was open, the garbage man came today, the post office was delivering, so those things kind of make you indecisive."The governors of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have ordered evacuations of some coastal counties.Dorian was tied with Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, based on maximum sustained winds. Allen in 1980 was the most powerful, with 190-mile (306-kph) winds, the NHC said.(Reporting by Dante Carrer in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, Zachary Fagenson in Jacksonville, Florida, Gabriella Borter in Titusville, Florida, Peter Szekely and Matthew Lavietes in New York, Rich Mckay in Atlanta and Idrees Ali in Washington, writing by Paul Simao and Bill Tarrant; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Monster' Hurricane Dorian pummels Bahamas, forecast to threaten Florida-[Reuters]-September 1, 2019-By Gabriella Borter
(Updates with evacuations ordered in Georgia and latest weather report, paragraphs 3-4,)-TITUSVILLE, Fla., Sept 1 (Reuters) - Hurricane Dorian, the second-strongest Atlantic storm on record, pounded the Bahamian islands of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama on Sunday night and was forecast to move dangerously close to Florida in the next two days, U.S. forecasters said.Hazards for the Abaco Islands included storm surges 18 to 23 feet (5.5 to 7 metres) above normal tide levels, with higher destructive waves, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.At 11 p.m. (0300) GMT, the hurricane was about 135 miles (220 km) from the Florida coast, parts of which were being evacuated, as it crawled westward. Farther north, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster ordered mandatory evacuations for parts of eight coastal counties effective at noon (1600 GMT) on Monday.Georgia Governor Brian Kemp ordered evacuations in all or parts of six coastal counties also effective at noon on Monday.Even a glancing blow from one of the strongest storms ever to menace Florida could bring torrential rains and damaging winds, the NHC said."On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Great Abaco and Grand Bahama islands tonight and Monday," the NHC said. "The hurricane will move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday night."Dorian is forecast to remain a hurricane for the next five days, the NHC said. Dorian made landfall on Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (295 kph) and gusts of more than 220 mph (354 kph).Dorian was the strongest hurricane on record to hit the northwestern Bahamas as a life-threatening Category 5 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale.It was tied with Gilbert (1988), Wilma (2005) and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, based on maximum sustained winds. Allen in 1980 was the most powerful, with 190 mph (306 kph) winds, the NHC said.Julia Eaddy, 70, in Titusville, Florida, said she and her husband had ridden out several hurricanes before and were not fazed by the forecast. "I think it will be more of the same," she said.Several gasoline stations around Titusville were closed. Many grocery stores were open but boarded up. Inside, shelves emptied out fast.'MONSTER STORM'-Like many officials in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents against becoming complacent after forecasts began saying on Saturday that the state might escape a direct hit."This storm at this magnitude could really cause massive destruction. Do not put your life in jeopardy by staying behind when you have a chance to get out," DeSantis said, urging people to heed evacuation orders from county officials.Dozens of Floridians who live in boats in marinas in Brevard County were rushing to secure their vessels, strapping them to docks and removing canvas coverings from decks, but some boat residents said they wanted to ride out Dorian."I will not get off this boat during the hurricane for any reason at all, save a human life," said Ned Keahey, 56. "It's home."Residents on Abaco posted video on social media showing floodwaters halfway up the sides of single-family homes with parts of the roofs torn off. Car alarms blared across the island, which was littered with twisted metal and splintered wood.Forecasters predicted up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain. The storm was moving at just 6 mph (9 kph) on Sunday night, prolonging a pummeling expected to last for hours, the NHC said.Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in a nationally televised news conference that a "deadly storm and a monster storm" was battering the islands. Homes there are built to withstand winds of at least 150 mph (241 kph), but the expected storm surge was higher than the average roof."This will put us to a test that we've never confronted before," Minnis said. "This is probably the most sad and worst day of my life to address the Bahamian people."Palm Beach County, the third most-populated county and home to President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, was among those with partial mandatory evacuations. Other counties announced voluntary evacuations."This looks like it could be larger than all of them," Trump said during a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).FEMA is moving food, water and generators into the Southeastern United States, said acting Administrator Peter Gaynor.Also on Sunday, a new tropical storm formed southwest of Mexico and was expected to become a hurricane on Monday, the NHC said. Tropical Storm Juliette was 455 miles (735 km) from Manzanillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), the NHC said.(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Titusville, Florida; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely in New York, Steve Holland in Washington, Anthony Esposito in Mexico City and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Writing by Lisa Shumaker and Grant McCool; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Peter Cooney and Paul Tait)
Flash floods kill six, one missing in Kenya's Hell's Gate park -authorities-[Reuters]-September 2, 2019
(Updates death toll, adds details, changes dateline, previous NAIROBI)-HELL'S GATE NATIONAL PARK, Kenya, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Flash floods killed six people at Kenya's Hell's Gate National Park and left one person missing after their tour group was swept away, the state-run wildlife authority said on Monday.The incident occurred on Sunday in the Rift Valley, some 69 km north west of the capital, Nairobi, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said on its Twitter account."Six bodies of the flash flood victims have been recovered, having one tourist missing. The search and rescue operation continues as we reach out to next of kin to share details of sad incident and plan together next course of action," KWS tweeted on Monday.KWS had earlier put the number of the dead at four.Naivasha Sub-County Commissioner Mathioya Mbogo said the seven who were swept away were all Kenyans and six had visited the park from the western city of Kisumu."Those swept away were two minors, two women, two men and the local guide," he said.KWS had said earlier the victims included five Kenyan tourists, a local guide and a non-resident whose nationality was not disclosed. KWS said the gorge in park was closed to the public on Sunday after the incident.The park is famous for its gorges, cliffs and steam plumes from geothermal activity underground, and in areas adjacent to it, the steam is harnessed to generate electricity.The park has also been used as a location for films like Tomb Raider II:Cradle of Life, according to the Kenya Film Commission.Gorges in the park are prone to flash floods and have in the past killed visitors. In 2012, floods killed seven who were part of a church group on a trek. (Additional reporting by George Obulutsa and Humphrey Malalo in Nairobi; editing by Darren Schuettler)
Facebook's Libra could undercut ECB's powers: Mersch-[Reuters]-September 2, 2019
FRANKFURT, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Widespread acceptance of Facebook's proposed Libra currency could even undermine the European Central Bank's ability to set monetary policy, a potential risk for the currency bloc, ECB board member Yves Mersch said on Monday."Depending on Libra’s level of acceptance and on the referencing of the euro in its reserve basket, it could reduce the ECB’s control over the euro, impair the monetary policy transmission mechanism by affecting the liquidity position of euro area banks, and undermine the single currency’s international role, for instance by reducing demand for it," Mersch added. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi Editing by Peter Graff)
Great ball of fire: Edmonton region lights up with reports of meteor-[CBC]-September 1, 2019
A fireball blazing across the sky was captured by doorbell and dash cameras in the Edmonton region late Saturday.Many people took to social media, posting photos and videos of the mysterious bright object in the sky, speculating that it appeared to be a meteor.Wes Glassford was outside in his Beaumont yard, a few minutes before 10:30 p.m. MT, on Saturday. He was setting up his camera in hopes of getting some shots of the northern lights."While I was doing that, I heard kind of a 'boom,' and I actually thought someone set off a firework," he said.When he realized it was a meteor, he snapped a photograph. His camera was set to a 10-second exposure, ending up with an image of a streak of light with squiggles on the end. He said it flared as it passed overhead, lighting up his yard."It was just kind of neat to see. I don't know how to describe it, other than that it got bright for a bit," he said.The bright streak was likely a bolide — a very bright meteor — or maybe even a super bolide, according to Mike Hankey, operations manager for the American Meteor Society.Based on the images sent to the society so far, Hankey said it appears to be on the brighter end of the meteor spectrum that ranges from meteor, to fireball, to bolide and super bolide.A super bolide is "a bigger object that is brighter than the full moon," he said. "It's actually even brighter than that, almost as bright as the sun. So it explodes at the end of its flight, and oftentimes these events are associated with meteorites, which are rocks that survive from the fireball."Hankey set up an event profile for reports that came out of northern Alberta late Saturday. By mid-morning Saturday, the society had received 69 reports, as well as two videos and pictures."This fireball would have been seen for 600 kilometres from either side of it, probably," he said.He said the more reports and visuals they are able to gather, the better it is for scientists who study meteor activity.Though meteorites have been recovered in Alberta after past events, Hankey said it's likely still too early to find fragments of last night's bolide."In the first days or hours after the fireball, the reports and the data that we give is just an estimate," he said.He said he expects scientists are already combing through satellite images and other footage to get a better handle on the fireball's path, in hopes of narrowing down the landing sites of meteorites. He said rocks are usually only recovered a few times per year.The society has been dedicated to tracking meteors for over 100 years.
Dorian strikes Bahamas as catastrophic hurricane, parts of Florida evacuate-[Reuters]-September 1, 2019-By Gabriella Borter
TITUSVILLE, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Dorian became the strongest storm in modern records to hit the northwestern Bahamas and is expected to pound the islands with up to two days of torrential rain, high waves and damaging winds as parts of Florida evacuated before it took aim at the U.S. mainland.The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Dorian was over Abaco as a Category 5 storm on Sunday with maximum sustained winds of 180 miles per hour (285 km per hour) and gusts of more than 200 mph (322 kph).Millions of people from Florida to North Carolina were bracing to see whether Dorian avoids a U.S. landfall and, as predicted, veers north into the Atlantic Ocean after hitting the Bahamas. Even a glancing blow from one of the strongest storms ever to menace Florida could bring torrential rains and damaging winds, and "a Florida landfall is still a distinct possibility," the Miami-based NHC warned.Bahamas residents reported trees snapping and docks being destroyed before the brunt of the storm arrived. The pummeling was expected to last for hours as the hurricane slowed to just 1 mph, "prolonging its catastrophic effects," the NHC said.On Great Guana Cay, just off Great Abaco Island, waves began washing over low-lying parts of the tiny 9-mile (14-km) strand of land that is only about a quarter-mile wide by mid-morning, resident Tom Creenan said.Although some residents left for Nassau and elsewhere days ago, some 200 to 300 are riding out the storm on Great Guana Cay, where power was already out and forecasters are predicting up to 2 feet (61 cm) of rain and 23-foot (7-meter) storm surges."The other day the prime minister came out and said everybody in Abaco should leave," Creenan said by phone. "But there's no place to go.""This is the strongest hurricane that's ever hit in the Bahamas," Creenan said. "I grew up in Florida, so I've been through Andrew."Hurricane Andrew slammed into eastern Florida in 1992 as a category 5 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, obliterating the town of Homestead.That state was taking no chances with Dorian and four Florida counties, including Palm Beach County, issued mandatory evacuations for some residents, including those in mobile homes, on barrier islands and in low-lying areas. Other coastal counties have announced voluntary evacuations.U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the storm would likely impact the eastern seaboard from Florida to North Carolina."Looking like one of the largest hurricanes ever," he wrote on Twitter.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is moving food, water and generators into the southeastern United States, said acting Administrator Peter Gaynor."When it comes to response, we are more than ready to deal with anything that Dorian delivers us this year, or any other storm that may come this season," he told CNN.Meanwhile, a new tropical storm has formed southwest of Mexico and is expected to become a hurricane on Monday. Tropical Storm Juliette is 455 miles (735 km) from Manzanillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), the NHC said on Sunday.(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Titusville; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely in New York and Zachary Fagenson in Jacksonsville; Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Dale Hudson and Daniel Wallis)
Northern Bahamas hunkers down as Hurricane Dorian closes in-[Associated Press]-September 1, 2019
McLEAN'S TOWN CAY, Bahamas (AP) — A dangerous Hurricane Dorian closed in on the northern Bahamas early Sunday, threatening to batter islands with 150 mph (240 kph) winds, pounding waves and torrential rain as people hunkered down in schools, churches and other shelters.Millions from Florida to the Carolinas kept a wary eye on Dorian, meanwhile, amid indications it would veer sharply northeastward after passing the Bahamas and track up the U.S. Southeast seaboard. But authorities warned even if its core did not make U.S. landfall and stayed offshore, the potent Category 4 storm would likely hammer U.S. coastal areas with powerful winds and heavy surf.In the northern stretches of the Bahamas archipelago, hotels closed, residents boarded up homes and officials hired boats to move people from low-lying areas to bigger islands as Dorian approached.Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis warned that Dorian is a "dangerous storm" and said any "who do not evacuate are placing themselves in extreme danger and can expect a catastrophic consequence."Small skiffs shuttled Saturday between outlying fishing communities and McLean's Town, a settlement of a few dozen homes at the eastern end of Grand Bahama island, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) from Florida's Atlantic coast. Most people came from Sweeting Cay, a fishing town of a few hundred people about 5 feet (1.5 meters) above sea level."We're not taking no chances," said Margaret Bassett, a ferry boat driver for the Deep Water Cay resort. "They said evacuate, you have to evacuate."Over two or three days, the slow-moving hurricane could dump as much as 4 feet (1 meter) of rain, unleash devastating winds and whip up a dangerous storm surge, said private meteorologist Ryan Maue, seconding some of the most reliable computer models.Government spokesman Kevin Harris said Dorian was expected to impact some 73,000 residents and 21,000 homes. Authorities closed airports for The Abaco Islands, Grand Bahama and Bimini, but Lynden Pindling International Airport at the capital of Nassau remained open.Jeffrey Allen, who lives in Freeport on Grand Bahama, said he had learned after several storms that sometimes predictions of damage don't materialize, but he still takes precautions."It's almost as if you wait with anticipation, hoping that it's never as bad as they say it will be. However, you prepare for the worst nonetheless," he said.On average, the Bahamas archipelago gets a direct hit from a hurricane every four years, officials said. Construction codes require homes to have metal reinforcements for roof beams to withstand winds into the upper limits of a Category 4 hurricane, and compliance is generally tight for residents who can afford it. Risks are higher in poorer communities, which typically have wooden homes and are generally in lower-lying areas.Early Sunday, Dorian was centered around 95 miles (150 kilometers) east of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas and 280 miles (450 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach as it crept westward at 8 mph (13 kph).The slow-crawling storm was predicted to take until Monday afternoon to pass over the Bahamas, and then turn sharply and skirt up the U.S. coast, staying just off Florida and Georgia on Tuesday and Wednesday and then buffeting South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents along that state's densely populated Atlantic coast, "We're not out of the woods yet."He noted some forecast models still bring Dorian close to or even onto the Florida peninsula."That could produce life-threatening storm surge and hurricane force winds," DeSantis said. "That cone of uncertainty still includes a lot of areas on the east coast of Florida and even into central and north Florida, so we are staying prepared and remaining vigilant."In Miami, Carmen Segura said she had installed hurricane shutters at her house, bought extra gas and secured water and food for at least three days. She felt well prepared and less worried, given the latest forecasts, but still was uneasy given the storm's unpredictability."Part of me still feels like: So, now what?" Segura said.South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency, mobilizing state resources to prepare for potential storm effects. President Donald Trump already declared a state of emergency and was brief late Saturday about the storm.The hurricane upended some Labor Day holiday weekend plans in the U.S.: Major airlines allowed travelers to change their reservations without fees, big cruise lines rerouted their ships and Cumberland Island National Seashore off Georgia closed to visitors. Disney World and Orlando's other resorts held off announcing any closings.Sherry Atkinson, who manages a hotel on North Carolina's Outer Banks, said the hurricane wasn't spoiling holiday vacations for guests."So far, there hasn't even been a snippet of conversation about evacuations," she said.___Associated Press writers Tim Aylen in McLean's Town Cay; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Michael Weissenstein in Havana, Cuba; Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami; Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida; Julie Walker in New York; Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland; and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this report.___For AP's complete coverage of the hurricane: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes
Florida residents told to stock up on food, water as hurricane nears-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-August 30, 2019-By Zach Fagenson
MIAMI, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Florida's governor on Friday urged residents in the state to stock up on at least a week's worth of food, water and medicine and to prepare to lose power and cellphone service for days after Hurricane Dorian makes landfall early next week.The slow march and rising intensity of the storm, which is moving in a northwestern direction to the Bahamas, has alarmed forecasters who worry parts of Florida will be walloped by strong winds, a storm surge and heavy rain for an extended period."I think there’s a pretty high degree of certainty that this is going to be a major hurricane," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a news conference from the state emergency operations center in Tallahassee. He said residents should prepare for a "multiday event."Florida is under a declaration of emergency, and DeSantis has activated 2,500 National Guard troops, with another 1,500 on standby. No evacuations were ordered as of early Friday, but many were expected as the storm's path becomes clearer.Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in 12 counties of neighboring Georgia to assist with storm readiness, response and recovery.Dorian began on Friday over the Atlantic as a Category 2 hurricane but was expected to be classified a Category 3 later in the day. It had maximum sustained winds near 110 miles per hour (175 km per hour), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT).Forecasters predicted the storm would grow more ferocious as it gained fuel from the warm waters off Florida and be near the state's peninsula late on Monday.The NHC has issued a hurricane watch for northwestern Bahamas.If, as expected, the storm reaches Category 4 over the weekend, its winds will blow at more than 130 mph (210 kph). There was concern it could slow from its current 12-mph (9-kph) march across the map, giving it more time to intensify.Recent NHC weather models show Dorian smacking into the center of Florida.The storm could roll inland toward Orlando on Tuesday or early Wednesday. Other NHC weather models show it tracking south toward Miami before hitting the peninsula, or heading north to the Georgia coast.Along with the dangerous winds, the storm was expected to drop 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) of rain on the coastal United States. "This rainfall may cause life-threatening flash floods," NHC forecasters said.President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled a planned weekend trip to Poland, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place, so he can make sure resources are properly directed for the storm."Now it's looking like it could be an absolute monster," Trump said in a video posted on Twitter, adding that food and water were being shipped to Florida.Dorian could churn across dozens of launchpads owned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Air Force and companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.FUEL, NURSING HOMES-Some gas stations in Florida have run dry and others have long lines of cars, DeSantis said, adding that the state had eased regulations to allow higher-capacity trucks to transport fuel and to make it easier to bring in fuel from other states.Gasoline prices at the pump are not expected to spike because of the storm, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.com."This is not going to be a pricing event," DeHaan said. "There are no refiners in Florida, there’s only a pipeline, and I can’t imagine that would be affected significantly. Fuel is flowing, and that’s the most important factor.”Colonial Pipeline, which delivers fuels such as gasoline and diesel from the Gulf Coast to markets across the southern and eastern United States, said it was operating normally. It had no plans to shut down ahead of Dorian's projected landfall.Florida officials also were making sure all nursing homes and assisted living facilities had generators, and were checking with 107 facilities where information about generators was uncertain.Earlier this week, police in Hollywood, Florida, charged four nursing home caregivers with causing the deaths of 12 patients who died in the sweltering heat of a post-hurricane power outage left by Hurricane Irma two years ago. (Reporting by Zach Fagenson in Miami and Peter Szekely in New York; additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly in New York; writing by Paul Simao; editing by Jane Merriman and Jonathan Oatis)
Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago resort in Hurricane Dorian's path-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 30, 2019
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump's prized Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida is potentially sitting directly in the path of Hurricane Dorian , which is forecast to become an extremely destructive storm.The resort, which is currently closed for the summer, is on the wealthy barrier island of Palm Beach. During the cooler months, Trump visits the property frequently and has held several high-level meetings there with world leaders.The National Hurricane Center's most recent track for Dorian places Mar-a-Lago in the crosshairs of a possible Category 4 storm with winds of almost 140 mph (225 kph).Still, the resort dates from the 1920s and has seen more than its share of hurricanes in the past. It was originally built by cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, with the main mansion containing 126 rooms.Trump bought the place in 1985, after efforts to make it into a national park did not work out. Since he became president, Trump has hosted leaders such as Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and China's Xi Jinping at the resort.Hurricanes have always been a part of Mar-a-Lago.In 2005, Trump said he received a $17 million insurance payment for hurricane damage to the resort. But an Associated Press investigation found little evidence of such large-scale damage.At the time, Trump said he didn't know how much had been spent on repairs, but acknowledged he pocketed some of the money. He transferred funds into his personal accounts, saying that under the terms of his policy "you didn't have to reinvest it.""Landscaping, roofing, walls, painting, leaks, artwork in the — you know, the great tapestries, tiles, Spanish tiles, the beach, the erosion," he said of the storm damage. "It's still not what it was."Trump is a climate change skeptic. Meanwhile, local governments across Florida, including in Palm Beach County, are gearing up to deal with rising sea levels and possibly more intense hurricanes. If sea-level rise predictions even at the lower end come true, Mar-a-Lago could have ocean water lapping on its lawns in the not-too-distant future.___For AP's complete coverage of the hurricane: https://apnews.com/Hurricanes .
