The eye of Hurricane Irma passes through Naples, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. A rough surf surrounds Boynton Beach inlet in Boynton Beach, Fla. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Irma (all times local): 6:50 p.m. Florida officials are urging people to stay in their homes and shelters, even if it looks […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Hurricane aid measure grows to $15 billion as Irma bears down
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have almost doubled the size of the disaster relief package for Harvey to more than $15 billion, a first installment to help communities in Texas rebuild from the storm — and stock reserves for looming damage from Hurricane Irma. The must-do legislation, paired with a short-term increase in the government’s […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Illustrated explainer: Harvey's lasting legacy is in the water
Hurricane Harvey began with raging winds, but its legacy will be water. Seemingly endless, relentlessly insidious water — a staggering 40 inches or more that swamped parts of Houston in just five days. Harvey scooped tons of water from the sea and hurled it down on the nation’s fourth-largest city, drowning vast swathes of the […]
Posted inOur View, sj-web
Help for victims, not crooks
Crooks and thieves are ugly opportunists, and they’re leaping on the opportunity that is Harvey. Earlier this week, Attorney General Janet Mills issued a warning about making online donations to hurricane victims because fraudulent websites have sprouted up to scam us. These crooks are only too happy to take the money you intend to give […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Differences dissolve when disaster strikes
Politicians, celebrities and the rich often set the world’s idea of their cities and regions. It takes a disaster to meet the regular folks. We met average Louisianans during Hurricane Katrina and the commoners from New Jersey and New York for Superstorm Sandy. Hurricane Harvey has introduced America and the world to ordinary Texans. And […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Harvey updates: Sheriff doesn't expect toxins from chemical blasts
In this photo provided by Beulah Johnson, evacuees sit in the bleachers at the Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, after floodwaters caused by Tropical Storm Harvey inundated the facility overnight. Authorities said it’s not clear where the evacuees will go.In this photo provided by Beulah Johnson, evacuees sit in […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Hurricane Harvey brings Houston together
It seems like it always takes a disaster. Twenty-five years ago this month, that disaster was Andrew, a hurricane that devastated a large swath of South Florida, including the house in whose master bedroom closet I sheltered through the night with my wife and five kids. The storm took our roof and our possessions. It […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Harvey updates: Flooded roads isolate Southeast Texas community
HOUSTON (AP) — Updates from Tropical Storm Harvey (all times local): Updated 8:15 a.m.: An emergency management official east of Houston says the area bordering Louisiana is virtually isolated because primary roads are flooded and water levels are rising. Marcus McLellan, spokesman for the Jefferson County emergency management office in Beaumont, said Wednesday that Interstate […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Social media used in search for missing people in wake of Harvey
In this Monday, Aug. 28, 2017 photo, Bajauh Henix takes a photo with her daughter Paige Booth after being reunited nearly four hours after the two evacuated from their home in Houston. Bajauh Henix and her mother, Kennesha Grand, were evacuating through high water and rain when they handed the baby off to a police […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Amid Harvey floods, Houston chief worries 'how many bodies?'
HOUSTON (AP) — Crews overwhelmed by thousands of rescue calls during one of the heaviest downpours in U.S. history have had little time to search for other potential victims, but officials acknowledge the grim reality that fatalities linked to Harvey could soar once the devastating floodwaters recede from one of America’s most sprawling metropolitan centers. […]