Hurricane Ian Archives

Midterms unsettled; Tropical Storm Nicole; Twitter remote work

November 10, 2022

The 2022 midterms remained unsettled as of early Thursday morning; Hurricane Nicole downgraded to a tropical storm shortly after making landfall in Florida; and Elon Musk banned remote work at Twitter. These stories highlight the Daily Rundown for Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022.

Midterms unsettled – While Republicans made small gains in both houses of Congress Wednesday, both chambers remained up for grabs more than 24 hours after polls closed in the 2022 midterm elections. As of 7:00 a.m. EST, Republicans held a 207-184 lead in the House (218 needed for party control) and a 49-48 lead in the Senate.

Based on partial results of the undecided races, Republicans are still expected to take the House. They are currently leading in enough races to secure 220 seats.

However, control of the Senate may come down to next month’s Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker. With the midterms still unsettled, some allies of former President Donald Trump were calling on him to delay his planned announcement of a presidential run for 2024.

“I’ll be advising him that he move his announcement until after the Georgia runoff,” former Trump adviser Jason Miller said. “Georgia needs to be the focus of every Republican in the country right now.”

Nicole downgraded to tropical storm – Hurricane Nicole made landfall along the east coast of Florida early Thursday, shortly before being downgraded to a tropical storm. Nicole had already led officials to shut down airports and theme parks and order evacuations in areas that included former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.

Authorities warned that Nicole’s storm surge could further erode many beaches hit by Hurricane Ian in September. Nicole is forecast to head into Georgia and the Carolinas later Thursday and Friday, dumping heavy rain across the region.

Twitter ends remote work – According to a Bloomberg report, new Twitter owner Elon Musk’s first staff email included a ban on remote work unless he personally approved it. The new rules, which kick in immediately, will expect employees to be in the office for at least 40 hours per week.

In the email, Musk told staff to prepare for “difficult times ahead” as it pertained to the social media company’s finances. Musk has upped the price for the Twitter Blue subscription to $8 and attached user verification to it. Musk told workers in the email that he wants to see subscriptions account for half of Twitter’s revenue.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
DeSantis wins Florida governor’s race over Crist

November 8, 2022

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, won re-election, giving him four more years in the governor’s mansion and a springboard to a possible 2024 presidential run. DeSantis defeated former Gov. and current Rep. Charlie Crist, D, who was seen as a candidate who could win over independent voters because he used to be a Republican.

Crist called on DeSantis to confirm he would serve a full four-year term if he won re-election, rather than run for president in two years.

“The only worn out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist,” DeSantis responded at their final debate.

The governor has his work cut out. The state is still recovering from Hurricane Ian. Based on previous natural disasters, that recovery will take the Naples and the Fort Myers area years to fully build back from and cost billions.

Campaigning was brought to a screeching halt in the final days of September when the hurricane hit as a Category 4, bringing 155 mph winds and a deadly storm surge that measured 12 feet in some areas. More than 100 people died.

The storm gave a boost to DeSantis’ profile as he coordinated response efforts among the local, state and federal governments. He even received a rare compliment from President Joe Biden.

“I think he’s done a good job,” President Biden said. “We have very different political philosophies, but we’ve worked hand in glove.”

It was an extraordinary turn compared to two weeks prior when Biden called DeSantis’ decision to fly immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard “un-American” and “reckless.” Desantis said it wasn’t fair for Texas communities to care for an overwhelming number of migrants and that northern communities should share the burden. A criminal investigation was opened in Bexar County, Texas, to see if migrants were misled about the benefits they could receive for boarding the plane and if the immigrants thought they were going to other cities, not Martha’s Vineyard.

Crist meanwhile criticized DeSantis’ response to the hurricane, and after visiting the disaster zone, he went on a statewide bus tour to meet with Florida voters and collect supplies for the recovery.

Crist also came out with a seven-point plan to fix Florida’s property insurance premiums, calling DeSantis the worst property insurance governor in Florida history who saw premiums double under his watch.

As for the money, DeSantis had an extraordinary financial advantage. The governor broke a gubernatorial fundraising record when it was revealed that he had brought in $177.4 million by Sept. 9, according to OpenSecrets.org. Meanwhile Crist had raised $20 million by the same date.
Hurricane Ian leads to warning over electric vehicles catching fire

October 7, 2022

With the death and destruction that came with Hurricane Ian last week also came a relatively new and potentially growing problem: electric vehicles (EVs) catching fire. Florida State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis highlighted the issue in a tweet thread Thursday.

“There’s a ton of EVs disabled from Ian. As those batteries corrode, fires start. That’s a new challenge that our firefighters haven’t faced before. At least on this kind of scale,” Patronis tweeted. “It takes special training and understanding of EVs to ensure these fires are put out quickly and safely.”

It also takes plenty of manpower and water power. Last April, a Tesla Model S crashed in a suburb of Houston and started on fire. Eight firefighters ultimately spent seven hours putting out the fire, using 28,000 gallons of water to get the job done.

As the popularity of electric vehicles grows, firefighters nationwide are realizing that they are not fully equipped to deal with them. So they have been banding together, largely informally, to share information and help each other out.

Electric cars rely on a bank of lithium-ion batteries, similar to batteries found in a cellphone or computer. But unlike a small phone battery, the large batteries found in the Tesla Model X, for instance, contain enough energy to power an average American home for more than two days. So when an electric vehicle catches on fire, damaged energy cells cause temperatures to rise out of control and the resulting blaze can require a significant amount of water to put out.

The fire problem could get even worse as natural disasters like Ian continue to worsen and electric vehicles continue to grow in popularity. Upon taking office, President Joe Biden set a goal of ensuring 50% of new cars being EVs by 2030. In addition, multiple states have moved to require all new cars and trucks sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2035.

NBC News and FOX Weather contributed to this report.
Biden visits Florida; S Korea missile mishap; Putin annexes Ukraine regions

October 5, 2022

On Oct. 5, 2022, President Joe Biden will visit Florida to survey the damage left behind by Hurricane Ian; a South Korean missile misfires during drills in response to North Korea; and Russia formally annexes portions of Ukraine.

Biden to visit Hurricane Ian aftermath in Florida – President Biden will visit Fort Myers, Florida, Wednesday to talk with residents and business owners who experienced some of the worst devastation left behind by Hurricane Ian. The storm has left more than 80 people dead and hundreds of thousands of residents are still without power. Biden is expected to be joined by Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, and Sen. Rick Scott, R.

South Korean response missile misfires – The U.S. and South Korea conducted live-fire drills Wednesday in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile fired Tuesday. However, a South Korean missile malfunctioned during the tests. It plowed into the ground during the drill and started a fire that concerned local residents. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported no injuries from the incident.

Ukraine annexation signed by Putin – Russia has officially annexed four regions in Ukraine — it’s official for Russia at least. President Vladimir Putin signed the annexation into law on Wednesday. The annexation comes the same week Ukraine has reported taking back towns in the annexed regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his military has taken back dozens of towns in just the past week.
Damage estimates could make Ian costliest storm in Florida history

October 3, 2022

What remains of Hurricane Ian is slowly making its way up the East Coast. Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power in Florida, but help is coming by land, sea and space.

Ian could be the most expensive storm in Florida’s history. Early damage estimates were in the $30 to $40 billion range, but the latest data puts the damage estimate at closer to $63 billion. By comparison, 1992’s Hurricane Andrew caused $26.5 billion worth of damages in Florida and was considered the most expensive storm in state history until now.

Property insurance companies were already losing money in Florida. Now, there are fears the industry in the state could collapse altogether. If that happens, Florida homeowners could end up bearing the cost of rebuilding through assessments levied on them by the state.

Florida’s barrier islands were some of the hardest hit areas, with some homes and businesses simply wiped off the map.

The National Guard and Coast Guard had to use helicopters to evacuate people from the islands. The storm exposed the many vulnerabilities of building on these thin strips of land.

On Sanibel Island, the only road in or out was destroyed. Temporary bridges will be erected so residents can leave the islands with their vehicles.

Officials in Lee County are facing criticism over their evacuation order, which came a day later than many neighboring communities. But Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson defended the county’s response. Anderson said warnings for hurricane season start in June, and some people just refuse to heed the warnings.

By Monday morning, Ian’s death toll climbed to more than 80 people. Around 600 thousand homes and businesses were still without power.

The federal government pledged to unleash a massive amount of federal disaster aid to the impacted regions. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also said he will be sending 120 Starlink internet satellites to help restore internet connectivity in the area.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Biden to visit Puerto Rico, Florida in aftermath of Hurricanes Fiona and Ian

October 3, 2022

Within a 10-day span in September, storm systems in the Atlantic grew to tremendous size. Hurricanes Fiona and Ian terrorized coastal cities and islands. Hurricane Fiona traveled through Puerto Rico, flooding the island and knocking out the island’s electrical grid where weeks later one in five residents are still without power.

President Joe Biden will now travel to the U.S. territory island Monday. Biden is expected to announce $60 million in storm preparedness funds. This is separate from funding for clean up efforts and is for preventative tactics to tackle future threats of flooding in Puerto Rico.

“Our hearts, to state the obvious, it can’t go without saying our hearts are heavy,” President Biden said over the weekend. “The devastating hurricane, the storms in Puerto Rico, Florida and South Carolina. And yes, we owe Puerto Rico a hell of a lot more than they’ve already gotten.”

After his Puerto Rico visit, Biden will stop in Florida to survey its damage Wednesday one week after Hurricane Ian made landfall. At least 80 deaths have been reported. More than 1,100 people have been rescued from inundated parts of Florida according to the Florida governor’s office. More than 689,000 homes, businesses and other customers in Florida still did not have power as of Sunday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.

A familiar face is also helping in the aftermath. Elon Musk has repositioned his Starlink satellites in space toward Florida. It helps to provide internet service to residents who still don’t have it and, without the efforts of Starlink, likely wouldn’t for days to come.

“We are working with Elon Musk and Starlink satellite,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “They are positioning those Starlink satellites to provide good coverage in Southwest Florida and other affected areas.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson takes oath, Ian makes landfall in South Carolina, government shutdown averted as funding bill passes

September 30, 2022

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson takes ceremonial oath at Supreme Court – Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson took the judicial oath Friday at a special sitting of the Supreme Court. She is next set to hear arguments for the first time on Monday as a member of the nation’s top judicial body.

“This morning, I attended Justice Jackson’s investiture,” said President Joe Biden. “She’s a brilliant legal mind, extraordinarily qualified, and is making history today.”

During the investiture ceremony, Jackson was escorted by the Clerk of the Court, Scott Harris, to the high court, where she sat in the same chair used by Chief Justice John Marshall during the early 19th century. The chair has been used for the investiture of every new justice since Lewis F. Powell Jr. took his Judicial Oath in 1972.

Ian has made landfall in South Carolina with sustained winds near 85 mph – Hurricane Ian made landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, around 2:05 p.m. EDT as a Category 1 storm. Nearly 200,00 people across the state have been left without power, with officials expecting that number will continue to increase as the storm moves inland.

“Don’t drive through flooded roadways. Take another route and stay safe,” urged the Myrtle Beach Police Department. “There is no reason to take this risk.”

National Weather Service has warned the hurricane could bring on a “life-threatening storm surge” and advised the public to “avoid injury by sheltering in an interior room away from windows.”

Government shutdown averted after House, Senate pass funding bill – After receiving approval from the Senate on Thursday, a stopgap bill to fund the government through Dec. 16 and avert a shutdown was passed by the House of Representatives on Friday. This came just hours ahead of a midnight deadline when funding is set to expire.

“The American people are better served when both sides come together to pass a responsible, on-time budget.,” said Rep. Elaine Luria. “I remain hopeful that the House and Senate can find common ground to produce a final omnibus funding package before the new December deadline that prioritizes defense spending and provides our government with the basic resources it needs to function.”

The House passed the measure by a vote of 230-201, with 10 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting it through. The bill now heads to President Biden for his signature.
Hurricane Ian eyes East Coast; warships on Korean coast; ALS drug approved

September 30, 2022

On Sept. 30, 2022, Hurricane Ian is projected to make its second landfall in the U.S.; a set of warships belonging to the U.S., Japan and South Korea set sail in the face of heightened threats from North Korea; and a new drug to treat ALS has received FDA approval.

Hurricane Ian heads toward Carolinas – After briefly dropping to a tropical storm on Thursday, Hurricane Ian has gained momentum as it heads for the Carolinas today. The entirety of the South Carolina coast is under a hurricane warning while officials are forecasting a life-threatening storm surge. Twelve deaths have been linked to the hurricane as of Friday morning.

U.S., Japan, South Korea warships sail – American, Japanese and South Korean warships gathered around the Korean peninsula Friday. The three nations are conducting their first trilateral anti-submarine drills in five years. The drills can be seen as a response to North Korea, which has tested several sophisticated missiles meant to be fired from submarines.

New ALS treatment receives FDA approval – The FDA has approved the drug Relyvrio to treat ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Relyvrio is now the third U.S. approved medicine for ALS. FDA approval didn’t come without controversy. It was based on results from a single study. Typically, the FDA requires two large studies or one study with “very persuasive” results according to FDA scientists. The FDA has acknowledged the study has its limitations but said the approval was necessary as treatments for ALS are few and far between.
Congress on track to fund government, avoid shutdown

September 29, 2022

Members of Congress in both chambers believe they are on track to pass a government funding bill and avoid a shutdown Friday at midnight. The package just passed the Senate, 72-25, and is now headed to the House

“The last thing the American people [need] right now is a pointless government shutdown. I’m optimistic we are on track to avoiding one well before the deadline,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.

House Democratic Leadership said they expect a relatively smooth process because Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., has been participating in negotiations with the Senate.

“We are prepared to act, as soon as the Senate acts,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, N.Y., said.

The Continuing Resolution (CR) largely funds the government at its current levels, but there are a few key additions. There will be $12.3 billion for Ukraine to provide equipment, training, weapons, logistics support, and financial support for their government. Financial support for the war received strong bipartisan approval.

“It’s crystal clear that American assistance has gone a long way to helping the Ukrainian people resist Putin’s evil, vicious aggression,” Sen. Schumer said.

“Assisting Ukraine is not some feel good symbolic gesture, it’s literally an investment in our own national security and that of our allies,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., echoed.

But to ensure all that money for Ukraine is going exactly where it’s intended, the Inspector General will receive $2 million to put together a comprehensive list of all the articles and services provided to Ukraine, and to monitor their end use.

The CR will also provide $18.8 billion for the FEMA disaster relief fund. That will pay for the response to a number of natural disasters including Hurricane Ian. In addition, Jackson, Mississippi will receive $20 million for water and waste water infrastructure improvements.

The package also includes a 5-year reauthorization of FDA user fees that are paid by drug companies and used to fund the review process for new medicines.

This continuing resolution will fund the government through Dec. 16, at which time Congress hopes to pass an omnibus package for all of next year.
Stunning images and videos of storm damage in aftermath of Hurricane Ian

September 29, 2022

Hurricane Ian has been downgraded to a tropical storm but not before devastating winds and floods pummeled southwest Florida. A place known for beautiful beach getaways can hardly be recognized in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian’s destruction as record-breaking storm surges paved a path through the Sunshine State. Streets are no longer visible and likely will remain so for days until waters recede. Muddied flood waters rushed the roads with enough force behind it to move flooded cars in its current.

The wind was a major force of power too. Wind gusts were recorded near 150 miles per hour after landfall, knocking down signs, slinging debris, and making for unbearable outside conditions. Despite warnings to evacuate and stay indoors, several water rescues have already been underway. The Naples Fire Rescue team broke through a car’s back window to save a woman stranded in her vehicle. The fireman waded through water that was chest deep.

The threat for residents is far from over even as the storm crosses back into the Atlantic. Dangerous downed power lines litter the roadways in the hurricane’s aftermath. More than 2 million residents are without power. Though Florida took the brunt of the storm, the widespread hurricane-turned-tropical storm is still packing powerful wind speeds and massive amounts of rain. The threat has now moved toward Georgia and the Carolinas with expected landfall on Friday.

DeSantis wins Florida governor’s race over Crist

Hurricane Ian leads to warning over electric vehicles catching fire

Biden visits Florida; S Korea missile mishap; Putin annexes Ukraine regions

Damage estimates could make Ian costliest storm in Florida history

Biden to visit Puerto Rico, Florida in aftermath of Hurricanes Fiona and Ian

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson takes oath, Ian makes landfall in South Carolina, government shutdown averted as funding bill passes

Hurricane Ian eyes East Coast; warships on Korean coast; ALS drug approved

Congress on track to fund government, avoid shutdown

Stunning images and videos of storm damage in aftermath of Hurricane Ian

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Midterms unsettled; Tropical Storm Nicole; Twitter remote work

DeSantis wins Florida governor’s race over Crist

Hurricane Ian leads to warning over electric vehicles catching fire

Biden visits Florida; S Korea missile mishap; Putin annexes Ukraine regions

Damage estimates could make Ian costliest storm in Florida history

Biden to visit Puerto Rico, Florida in aftermath of Hurricanes Fiona and Ian

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson takes oath, Ian makes landfall in South Carolina, government shutdown averted as funding bill passes

Hurricane Ian eyes East Coast; warships on Korean coast; ALS drug approved

Congress on track to fund government, avoid shutdown

Stunning images and videos of storm damage in aftermath of Hurricane Ian