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-- 2017 --
March 8: FEMA Disaster Programs at Risk of Major Cuts by Trump
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
is facing reductions in funding for its most critical programs. These
include reductions of several disaster response and preparedness programs and a
complete elimination of funding for floodplain mapping. Taken together, the cuts
would severely undermine FEMA’s effectiveness—at a time we need it to be
strengthened not weakened.
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/rob-moore/fema-disaster-programs-risk-major-cuts-trump
May 22: Homeland Security Secretary John
Kelly has extended for six months a program that has allowed tens of thousands
of Haitians to remain in the U.S. following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/22/529550684/homeland-security-extends-protections-for-thousands-of-haitians-in-u-s
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August 28: Trump eagerly confronts tricky
politics of natural disasters
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-natural-disasters-20170828-story.html
August 31: ... director of domestic
operations for the National Guard, told Pentagon reporters that up to 30,000
guardsmen as well as a U.S. naval amphibious assault ship could be called upon
to help out [after Hurricane Harvey in Texas] in rescue efforts on the ground.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-pentagon-says-up-to-30-000-national-1504032239-htmlstory.html
August 31: Trump breaks with previous
presidents in response to natural disasters
Focus on the victims of Hurricane Harvey, according to the Washington Post, was
missing from President Donald Trump’s visit to Texas on Tuesday.
“He made virtually no mention of the storm's victims, and there was no
indication he met with any. He didn't call for donations or volunteers. He
didn't mourn the dead,” the Post reported.
https://www.ajc.com/news/trump-breaks-with-previous-presidents-response-natural-disasters/mCpBoyI1A9HnomJHf7pbaL/
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September 6: Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of
the National Guard Bureau, said that ... more than 19,000 Texas Guard and
supporting states responded to Hurricane Harvey's devastation,
https://www.army.mil/article/193396/army_national_guard_troops_prep_for_action_as_hurricane_irma_slams_caribbean_threatens_florida
September 8: Disasters force Trump to
act. Will he flail or fly?
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060060093
September 8: Trump Signs Disaster Aid, and
His Deal With Dems, Into Law
With the cleanup efforts from Hurricane Harvey running out of money and
Hurricane Irma bearing down on Florida, Congress acted quickly, taking only
three days to move the measure through both legislative bodies. But the bill,
which includes a deal struck between the president and Democratic leaders to
include short-term extensions of overall government funding and the nation's
debt ceiling, saw sizable defections among Republicans in both chambers.
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September 8: Is Donald Trump Profiting Off
Natural Disasters Like Hurricane Irma? ... Donald Trump proposed to slash
funding for federal disaster relief and emergency preparedness programs just
months into his presidency. Now, with Hurricane Irma barreling toward the
southeastern U.S. coastline and Houston beginning to rebuild after Hurricane
Harvey, the first family stands to add to its bankroll during—and in the wake
of—major natural disasters striking the United States.
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The president still owns his luxury line of hotels, despite shuffling the daily
responsibilities to his sons and saying he is committed to the terms of a blind
trust he announced after winning the 2016 election. The Trump National Doral
resort is one of those properties. Located in Miami, it has seen a
surge in reservation requests in the days before the huge storm hits. "We're
at full capacity," a receptionist tells Newsweek. "Luckily our windows
are hurricane-proof!"
While those able to pay the high rates ride out what could possibly be one of
the most disastrous storms in modern American history from inside the
president’s resort (built to withstand 200 mile per hour gusts of wind),
thousands of local residents are fleeing from the shores of Florida.
http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-hurricane-irma-harvey-profit-making-money-millions-doral-hotel-662297
September 21: President Trump has declared
that major disasters exist in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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Trump made the declarations official Wednesday night, according to the White
House. The presidential disaster declarations provide federal funding for relief
efforts in the two territories in the wake of Hurricane Maria, a category 4
storm that made initial landfall early Wednesday.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/351718-trump-declares-disaster-declarations-for-puerto-rico-us-virgin
October 1: Trump on the Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria disaster: "Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San
Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help,"
... "They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community
effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/01/politics/trump-tweets-puerto-rico/index.html
October 1: The mayor, in turn, insisted
in an interview
with CNN that she would not be distracted by "small comments, by politics,
by petty issues. This is one goal, and it is to save lives."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/01/politics/donald-trump-price-hurricane-golf-weekend/index.html
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September 26:
3 storms, 3 responses: Comparing
Harvey, Irma and Maria
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/26/us/response-harvey-irma-maria/index.html
October 2:
The
Military Was Ready in Texas and Florida. What Went Wrong in Puerto Rico?
When [Puerto Rico] Hurricane Maria struck, the U.S. military
called off the huge resources it had mustered for Hurricanes Harvey [Texas] and
Irma [Florida].
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/02/us-military-puerto-rico-215668
October 2: Over the past few years, the
military has conducted textbook operations in Pakistan, Japan, Thailand and
Haiti—pumping in massive amounts of aid after devastating earthquakes and
hurricanes in those countries, no matter how rough or isolated the conditions.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/02/us-military-puerto-rico-215668
October 2: Just weeks ago, the military
response to Hurricane Harvey in Texas was rapid and powerful. In preparation for
Hurricane Irma, the Trump administration again ordered up an extensive military
relief operation.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/02/us-military-puerto-rico-215668
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October 2: But when Hurricane Maria struck
at full strength several days later—precisely as advertised, and similar in
scale to Harvey—the U.S. military simply called off the huge resources it had
mustered for Hurricane Irma. ... An on-scene commander—crucial in crises this
large—was not appointed until nearly 10 days after landfall.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/02/us-military-puerto-rico-215668
October 2: ... in Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands, American citizens are waiting for the USNS Comfort
hospital ship, which won’t arrive until next week. Ten days after landfall there
was no real air bridge. Likely dozens upon dozens of heavy helicopters are
needed to move supplies until trucks are offloaded. And reservist units
specifically trained for long-term humanitarian relief, water purification,
medical care and military police? As of this writing, there is absolutely no
sign of them. Ten days in, a few Marines, small Army elements and the Puerto
Rican National Guard were ashore on their own.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/02/us-military-puerto-rico-215668
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October 2: In contrast, the United States
eventually put 60,000 federal and reserve troops into New Orleans after Katrina
... Puerto Rico will need far more ...
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/02/us-military-puerto-rico-215668
October 2: Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel
Miranda to Donald Trump: “You are going straight to hell”
The typically sunny Miranda, who unironically calls people “friendos,” was
criticizing the president’s response to the crisis in Puerto Rico.
... Trump’s
flat-footed reaction to the crisis in Puerto Rico appears to have finally
gotten the best of Miranda ...
https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/10/2/16400388/hamilton-composer-lin-manuel-miranda-donald-trump-going-straight-to-hell
October 4:
Trump On Puerto
Rico: Response Just As Good As Texas And Florida ...
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/politics/trump-puerto-rico-latest/index.html
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October 4:
Trump administration asks Congress for $29 billion in disaster aid
The request comes as the government is spending almost $200 million a day for
emergency hurricane response and faces a surge in flood claims for federally
insured homes and businesses slammed by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/trump-administration-asks-congress-29-billion-disaster-aid
October 3:
[Whenever a "preventable death" happens] it's an
admission of failure and a breakdown of our entire medical system.
... When you hear the death toll has increased from
the current official number of 16, know that most every additional death need
not have happened. They were preventable.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/health/gupta-puerto-rico-essay/index.html
October 8:
Donald Trump Revels In Recounting
The ‘Very Good Towels’ He Threw To Hurricane Victims (which was widely seen as
disrespectful to the suffering residents) ... joked
to the island’s officials that the cost of the storm has “thrown our budget a
little out of whack,” downplayed Maria as not “a real catastrophe” like
Hurricane Katrina (the 2005 storm in which many more lives were lost), and told
a family of hurricane victims to “have a good time.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-puerto-rico-paper-towels_us_59da65a3e4b046f5ad9904c6
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October 12:
U.S. House approves disaster funds as Trump criticizes Puerto Rico
A new package of U.S. disaster assistance sailed through the House of
Representatives on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump expressing
impatience with having to devote federal resources for hurricane-ravaged Puerto
Rico’s recovery.
Trump and his aides on Thursday suggested that there would be a limit to how
much help Puerto Rico could expect from Washington to solve some of its
longer-term problems, although Trump is expected to sign the latest emergency
package.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico-congress/u-s-house-approves-disaster-funds-as-trump-criticizes-puerto-rico-idUSKBN1CH1A7
October 13:
"I will tell you I left Texas and I left Florida and I left Louisiana and I went
to Puerto Rico and I met with the President of the Virgin Islands," [Trump] told
the audience of the Values Voter Summit in Washington.
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"We are one nation and we all hurt together, we hope together and we heal
together," he said, later adding, "The Virgin Islands and the President of the
Virgin Islands, these are people that are incredible people, they suffered
gravely and we're be there, we're going to be there, we have really, it is not
even a question of a choice."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/politics/virgin-islands-president-donald-trump/index.html
[Of course, Trump is the president of the Virgin Islands, so he apparently met
and spoke with himself.]
October 12:
President Donald Trump
tweeted that first responders can't stay in Puerto Rico "forever," but if
history is any indicator, they can definitely stay there for a long time.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency can (and does) stay involved in disaster
relief for years after major catastrophes. In fact,
FEMA is still spending money on relief efforts in the wake of a few major
storms that are a decade (or even more) old.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/12/politics/fema-trump-hurricane-puerto-rico/?iid=ob_article_footer_expansion
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October 12: More than a dozen years after Hurricane
Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast, FEMA was slated to dole out nearly half a
billion dollars in fiscal year 2017 to fund relief efforts, mostly in Louisiana,
after the hurricane and subsequent storms Rita and Wilma.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/12/politics/fema-trump-hurricane-puerto-rico/?iid=ob_article_footer_expansion
October 12: The agency is also still
spending millions of dollars this year on recovery plans in the wake of
Hurricanes Gustav in Louisiana and Ike in Texas from 2008. In fact, FEMA has
already spent $2 million in Puerto Rico relief this year -- connected to
Hurricane Irene in 2011.
Significant relief efforts remain underway in the wake of Hurricane
Sandy, totaling over $1.4 billion this year in disaster recovery money, plus
another $1.2 billion this year after Hurricane Matthew last year.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/12/politics/fema-trump-hurricane-puerto-rico/?iid=ob_article_footer_expansion
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October 12: FEMA continues relief
efforts for even smaller, lower-profile recovery efforts, dropping millions of
dollars this year on floods in Iowa from 2008, Tennessee from 2010, North Dakota
from 2011 and Colorado from 2013.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/12/politics/fema-trump-hurricane-puerto-rico/?iid=ob_article_footer_expansion
October 19:
President Donald Trump said Thursday
that
Puerto Rico faced a situation "worse than Katrina" as he explained why he
was rating his administration's response to the hurricane a 10 out of 10.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/politics/puerto-rico-governor/index.html
October 19: Trump Gives Himself ‘A 10’ Out Of 10 On His Response To Puerto Rico
President
Donald Trump said Thursday that he’d give himself “a 10,” on a scale of 1 to
10, for how he has responded to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit the
island.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-puerto-rico-hurricane-maria_us_59e8d8abe4b0aa3f77dc5f5f
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October 19:
“I’d say it was a 10,” Trump told a reporter at a White House event with Puerto
Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. “I give ourselves a 10. … We have provided so much,
so fast. We were actually there before the storm hit.”
The president’s remark conveys a different
reality than what’s going on in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that is home to
3.4 million Americans. As of Thursday ― more than a month after Hurricane Maria
hit ― 30 percent of the island still has no drinking water and 80 percent
doesn’t have power. That’s according to
government data
updated daily, which some volunteer workers on the ground say is inaccurate.
They say the situation is far more grim.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-puerto-rico-hurricane-maria_us_59e8d8abe4b0aa3f77dc5f5f
October 19:
“I think it was worse than Katrina,” he said. “It was, in many ways, worse than
anything people have ever seen.”At least
45 people have died
in Puerto Rico since Maria hit. That is nowhere near the roughly
1,833 people who died
as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-puerto-rico-hurricane-maria_us_59e8d8abe4b0aa3f77dc5f5f
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October 20:
President Trump is living in an "alternative reality world" after he gave
his administration a 10 out of 10 rating for its hurricane recovery efforts in
Puerto Rico, the mayor of San Juan said.
... Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said Friday she would give the administration "a 1"
out of 10 rating, adding "the administration has been unresponsive."
When asked if she agreed with the president's self assessment, Cruz
replied "Well, if it's a 10 out of a scale of 100, of course. It is still a
failing grade."
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/san-juan-mayor-trump-living-in-alternative-reality-world/article/2638161
October 20:
[One month after hurricane Maria], According to Puerto Rico's
government, more than 80
percent of the island remains without electricity.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/san-juan-mayor-trump-living-in-alternative-reality-world/article/2638161
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October 20:
[Hurricane Maria] has upended the lives of 3.4 million people. It has cut
off entire towns from each other. It has left residents without water to drink
or bathe in. Enough aid has not come for many. The gravity of the recovery time
is starting to set in.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/20/us/puerto-rico-one-month-santiago/index.html
October 21:
All five living former US presidents will take part in a benefit concert in
Texas to raise money for hurricane relief efforts, while
President Donald Trump will appear in a taped video message to the concertgoers,
the White House announced Saturday.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/21/politics/hurricane-relief-concert-five-former-presidents/index.html
October 26:
Trump signs $36.5 billion emergency aid bill for disasters
But White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said earlier this week the next
request for disaster aid, expected to cost tens of billions of dollars, should
be paired with cuts to other government programs to finance the money.
https://www.apnews.com/15c14ae204a74b31a4c2381a80e144ad
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November 10: Puerto Rico's emergency
management director resigned Friday as the island's slow recovery continues
nearly two months after Hurricane Maria made landfall.
The governor also announced that
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, who was appointed by the Pentagon to lead all
military relief efforts, will be reassigned outside the island next week.
About 60% of the US territory is still without power as the island's
approximately 3.4 million US citizens struggle through the aftermath of the
storm.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/10/us/puerto-rico-emergency-management-director-resigns/index.html
December 18:
House Republicans will introduce Monday an $81 billion disaster aid
package after the hurricanes and wildfires this year.
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This is almost double the $44 billion figure the Trump administration requested
recently and come in response to efforts Republicans from Texas and Florida
pressing for additional resources.
Texas GOP Rep. Mike McCaul confirmed the leadership is moving forward with the
$81 billion package and says it also includes resources for Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands and California wildfires, in addition to Texas and Florida.
http://www.crossroadstoday.com/story/37094450/house-republicans-plan-to-introduce-81-billion-disaster-aid-package
-- 2018 --
Back to top
Undated: This map provides general locations
of major fires burning in California. The fire locations are approximates. Some
of the fires on the map are not in the jurisdiction of CAL FIRE and are under
the command of another local or federal fire agency.
http://www.fire.ca.gov/general/firemaps
January 4:
January 11: Disaster Mitigation Targeted by
Trump Saves $6 for Every $1 Spent, Report Says
Federal programs to protect Americans against extreme weather and other natural
disasters save even more money than previously thought, according to a report
funded by the same agencies that have proposed cutting many of those programs.
Back to top
The report, released Thursday by the
National Institute of Building Sciences, found that every $1 the federal
government spends on so-called mitigation projects, such as elevating homes at
risk of flooding, improving stormwater management systems or strengthening
buildings against earthquakes, reduces future costs by an average of $6. That’s
higher than the 4-to-1 savings the institute last estimated in 2005; the
increase reflects the growing effects of climate change as well as better data
and measurement, according to the group.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-11/disaster-mitigation-programs-targeted-by-trump-seen-saving-money
January 31: Trump Tells Puerto Rico ‘We Love
You’ as FEMA Cuts Off Food and Water Aid to Island
“A third of Puerto Rico still lacks electricity. Many do not have running water.
But FEMA will ‘officially shut off’ tomorrow,”
wrote activist Erin Schrode on Facebook Tuesday. Schrode is COO of World
Central Kitchen, who is leading the #ChefsForPuertoRico project with chef José
Andrés to distribute millions of meals on the island.
http://www.newsweek.com/trump-tells-puerto-rico-we-love-you-fema-cuts-food-water-aid-island-795928
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January 31: FEMA
Reverses Decision to End Puerto Rico Aid After Trump Celebrates Support for
Puerto Rico in SOTU ... the Wednesday shutdown date had been “mistakenly
provided” and that FEMA is in fact still in the process of deciding when it will
wind down operations.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/fema-reverses-puerto-rico-aid-shutdown-after-trump-sotu.html
February 6: In the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina, Congress launched a bipartisan investigation into how the Bush
administration’s response had fallen so fatally short. That probe found, among
other things, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had neglected to line
up potential contractors in preparation for a major natural disaster — an
oversight that led FEMA to rely on wasteful, fraudulent, or inefficient partners
once the levees broke.
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Now, some on Capitol Hill are beginning to suspect that FEMA made the same error
under Trump, in the run-up to last year’s devastating hurricane season. Cause
for such concerns isn’t hard to find. In November, the
Associated
Press revealed that the agency paid a single firm $30 million for emergency
tarps and plastic sheeting — none of which was ever delivered.
The federal government had time to deploy satellite phones to the island, to
avoid the communications blackout that isolated remote areas from the
territory’s government. It could have delivered reserves of food, fuel, and
water in advance of the storm, allowing local officials to spread those vital
resources throughout the territory before Maria lay waste to much of its
trucking infrastructure. Instead, the president did almost nothing in the
lead-up to the storm — and
went on a four-day golf vacation in its immediate aftermath.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/trumps-failure-in-puerto-rico-was-even-worse-than-we-knew.html
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February 11: The U.S. Department of Homeland
Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that
federal emergency aid has been made available to the territory of American Samoa
to supplement territory and local response efforts due to the emergency
conditions in the area affected by Tropical Storm Gita beginning on February 7,
2018, and continuing.
https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2018/02/11/president-donald-j-trump-signs-emergency-declaration-american-samoa
February 14: How Trump’s 2019 budget would
leave us vulnerable to natural disasters ... ‘This admin’s approach to science
is ass-backwards.’
... programs to study natural hazards do cost money. For example, the USGS is
working to develop an
Earthquake Early
Warning System that would give people on the West Coast of the US a few
seconds to minutes of warning before the ground starts shaking.
Those
precious seconds could give train conductors time to slow down, warn
surgeons to hold tightly to their scalpels, and get people out of elevators and
into shelter. The system, which is still in development, is anticipated to cost
$38.3 million up front, and $16.1
million for maintenance and operation each year.
“That is a drop in the bucket of what we should be spending on making sure that
people are protected and ready for these things ..."
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/14/17006424/donald-trump-2019-budget-proposal-usgs-geological-survey-funding-cuts-earthquakes-volcanoes
March 16: With FEMA facing its deepest
scrutiny in more than a decade, the government watchdog in charge of measuring
the agency's performance is no longer assessing its initial response to
disasters.
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The decision by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector
General to no longer issue preliminary reports comes as the watchdog
took the extraordinary step last week of pulling a dozen largely positive
assessments of the Obama administration's initial response to several
disasters.
Acting DHS Inspector General John V. Kelly said the reports, pulled last week
from the IG's web site, didn't meet proper standards for a government audit.
"We were not confident that the evidence collected (in those reports) was
necessary to support the conclusion," Kelly said in an interview Thursday. "It
doesn't mean the conclusion was wrong (but) our standard is that it has to be
adequately supported. You can't say something without having the evidence even
if it's true."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/16/fema-watchdogs-decision-stop-issuing-initial-disaster-reports-means-no-preliminary-measure-repsonse/428976002/
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March 16: The Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) announced that additional disaster assistance is available to the
Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands through an extension of increased federal
funding, including direct federal assistance, to the Territory for debris
removal and emergency protective measures undertaken as a result of Hurricane
Irma beginning on September 5, 2017 and Hurricane Maria beginning on September
16, 2017.
https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2018/03/16/president-donald-j-trump-amends-us-virgin-islands-declaration
March 16:
FEMA is not preparing for “climate change.”
Last year was among the
most expensive years in the history of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency’s disaster relief program, due to record-breaking hurricanes and
wildfires that scientists say were
made worse by climate change. But the agency has
removed that very term from its strategic plan for the next four years.
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It’s long been the unspoken policy of the Trump administration to erase
references to climate change from government documents.
https://newrepublic.com/minutes/147519/fema-not-preparing-climate-change
May 8: President Donald J. Trump Approves
Major Disaster Declaration for North Carolina
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that federal
disaster assistance has been made available to the state of North Carolina to
supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by a tornado
and severe storms on April 15, 2018.
https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2018/05/08/president-donald-j-trump-approves-major-disaster-declaration-north-carolina
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May 12:
President Trump Declares Hawaii’s Devastating Eruptions A Major Disaster
The American Red Cross is operating shelters for evacuated residents while the
county and Salvation Army provide food and supplies.
The declaration comes after a week of
earthquakes, newly opened fissures and devastating lava flows have plagued
neighborhoods in the Puna district of Hawaii’s Big Island. Gov. David Ige (D)
requested the disaster declaration on Wednesday.
Kilauea, considered one of the world’s most active volcanoes, began erupting on
May 3 after scientists observed an uptick in earthquakes around the volcano’s
east rift zone. The initial eruptions were followed by two powerful earthquakes
and the formation of even more explosive fissures.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-declares-hawaii-volcano-eruption-major-disaster_us_5af65a96e4b032b10bfadb01
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The
Camp fire in Northern California’s rural Butte County had killed 42 people
and destroyed more than 6,400 homes as of Monday, making it the state’s most
deadly and destructive fire in history. Authorities said more than 200 people
remained unaccounted for. The fire started on Nov. 8, 2018 in a wooded area near
the town of Paradise.
Meanwhile, in Southern California, the
Woolsey fire in Ventura and Los Angeles counties was blamed for the death of
two people and had destroyed an estimated 435 structures. That blaze started on
a suburban hillside, not a forest.
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November 13:
For Trump, even disaster response is colored in red and blue
A president who prizes and craves loyalty more than any other attribute, Trump
has divided states into ones that voted for him and the ones that didn’t, and
found that last group wanting. In California, that has meant state officials are
having to fight not only killer fires but also the combustible rhetoric coming
from the Oval Office.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/president-trump-again-blames-california-for-a-natural-disaster-adding-to-his-public-denunciations-of-the-strongly-democratic-state/2018/11/12/811626de-e6ab-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.abd512a026b1
November 17:
California wildfires leave at least 74 dead with more than 1,000 still
missing: 'It's going to get worse'
https://abcnews.go.com/US/officials-order-evacuations-camp-fire-threatens-8000-acres/story?id=59065896
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November 21:
California wildfires death toll climbs to 86, with more than 500 still
unaccounted for
https://abcnews.go.com/US/relentless-california-wildfires-leave-86-dead-500-unaccounted/story?id=59262994&cid=clicksource_interest_band
November 24:
Climate report: Trump administration downplays warnings of looming
disaster
Democrats ramp up pressure to act in wake of most sobering government analysis
yet
The
Trump administration attempted to downplay the stark findings of its own
climate change assessment, as Democrats sought to pressure the White House to
avert looming economic and public health disaster.
The
US National Climate change assessment, the work of 300 scientists and 13
federal agencies, was released on Friday afternoon. It found that wildfires,
storms and heatwaves are already taking a major toll on Americans’ wellbeing,
with climate change set to “disrupt many areas of life” in the future.
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The voluminous report, which warns of hundreds of billions of dollars lost, crop
failures, expanding wildfires, altered coastlines and multiplying health
problems, represents the most comprehensive and sobering analysis yet of the
dangers posed to the US by rising temperatures.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/24/climate-change-report-trump-administration-democrats-reaction
November 21:
Reality Check: ‘Rake’
America Great Again?
President Donald Trump blames state officials for not doing enough to
prevent the [California] fires. But is that true? ...
“I was with the president of Finland and he said, ‘We have a much different,
we’re a forest nation.’ He called it a ‘forest nation,’ and they spend a lot of
time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don’t have any problem,”
Trump said.
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Actually, Finland does not rake the forest — and
Finns made sure President Trump knew it on social media.
Finland is 70-percent forest, and home to some of the world’s largest paper
companies. The country also has a vast forest road network, an early warning
system and aerial surveillance.
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/11/21/reality-check-rake-america-great-again/
-- 2019 --
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April 2:
One Killed in Explosion, Fire at Houston-Area Chemical Facility
The second fire in recent weeks at a chemical facility near nation’s
fourth-largest city also injured two others
https://www.wsj.com/articles/one-killed-in-explosion-fire-at-houston-area-chemical-facility-11554238696
April 2:
6 devastating fires in Houston history since 1947
https://abc13.com/6-devastating-fires-in-houston-history-since-1947/5208974/
May 6:
Homeowners Fault Government for Hurricane Harvey Damage
Houston area residents allege the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers knew houses were
at risk and now, under eminent domain law, owe them compensation
https://www.wsj.com/articles/homeowners-fault-government-for-hurricane-harvey-damage-11557135000
May 16:
Colorado is on the leading edge of technology to fight
wildfires and is testing new and potentially life-saving tools.
The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control Center of Excellence is
partnering with Honda to test an autonomous ATV.
"(It) is essentially an ATV with advanced sensors and different attachments,"
said the Center's Garrett Seddon.
Firefighters battling wildfires can typically carry up to 50 pounds of gear,
plus hoses and more equipment with them in hot, steep and dangerous terrain. The
goal is for the ATV to carry a lot of that equipment, plus medical supplies, to
keep firefighters safe.
https://kdvr.com/2019/05/16/colorado-tests-new-technology-to-battle-wildfires/
May 22:
Tanker collision sends thousands of gallons of gas product leaking into Houston
shipping channel
https://abcnews.go.com/US/tanker-accident-leaves-thousands-gallons-gas-product-leaking/story?id=62975485
May 24: The House on
Friday failed to pass the Senate-passed $19 billion bill providing disaster aid
funding to parts of the United States hit by hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes
and wildfires after a Republican lawmaker objected.
The House tried to pass the measure during a pro forma session by unanimous
consent, since most lawmakers had left for a weeklong Memorial Day recess the
day before. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, objected, saying the bill didn't address the
humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border and that it was not paid for.
"Our nation is strong enough, and compassionate enough, to have a responsive and
fiscally responsive approach to help people who are hurting in the wake of
natural disasters," he said.
It was unclear what would happen next. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in
a statement that he would be "discussing a path forward with Members on both
sides of the aisle, and we will take action as early as next week when the House
meets again during pro forma."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-fails-pass-19-billion-disaster-relief-bill-after-gop-n1009741
-- 2020 --
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