TheRepublic.com - Emergency management News

Vt. seeks US damage assessment after flash floods

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:49:12 -0400

UNDERHILL, Vermont - Flash flooding from record-tying rainfall in parts of northern Vermont washed out roads, damaged bridges and clogged culverts after a string of overnight thunderstorms across the region that left some residents Friday slogging through mud and debris.

Can Tornado Alley become safer? Yes, within limits

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:16:47 -0400

In the wind-swept prairie called Tornado Alley, the scene is eerily familiar: Homes smashed to splinters. Trees and telephone poles snapped like twigs. Piles of bricks, overturned cars and dazed survivors sifting through rubble in search of a precious photo or heirloom. A town in ruins.

Duncan, Malloy pledge support for school security

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:34:31 -0400

HARTFORD, Connecticut - State and federal officials, including the U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, offered reassurances Friday that efforts are underway to improve school security in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown and the gun violence experienced in Connecticut's state capital and other cities.

Oklahoma gets far more than its share of disasters

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:55:22 -0400

WASHINGTON - Many states get hit frequently with tornadoes and other natural catastrophes, but Oklahoma is Disaster Central.

Officials: Fort Yukon flooding threat mostly over

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:07:09 -0400

FORT YUKON, Alaska - The threat of flooding in Fort Yukon is mostly over, but residents of the town northeast of Fairbanks remain vigilant.

Hurricane center: Beware of the storm surge

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:49:14 -0400

MIAMI - During a hurricane, storm surge is one of the greatest threats to life and land, yet many people don't understand the dire warnings from forecasters to get out of its way. So this season, they hope to offer easy-to-understand, color-coded maps and change the way they talk to the public.

Safe room mandates remain rare in tornado states

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:31:32 -0400

MOORE, Oklahoma - After living nearly 20 years in their one-story brick home, Sherry and Larry Wells finally won the lottery - for a state rebate on a home storm shelter, that is. A contractor finished installing the concrete bunker beneath the slab of their garage in early May. About three weeks later, the shelter saved their lives when a tornado that killed 24 people tore through their neighborhood.

MWR cars, others bring awareness to storm victims

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:05:47 -0400

CONCORD, North Carolina - Owner Michael Waltrip and others in the NASCAR garage hope to bring attention to the needs of those affected by the Oklahoma tornadoes at the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend.

Obama increases fed share of Sandy relief for NY

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:36:18 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is providing more Hurricane Sandy disaster relief to New York, increasing the share of public assistance that the government will pay from 75 percent to 90 percent of the cost.

Evacuated residents of ND city to return Friday

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:22:58 -0400

BISMARCK, North Dakota - The threat of a possible dam failure on a river near a northeastern North Dakota city eased on Thursday, and officials said most of the 1,300 evacuated residents would be allowed to return to their homes within 24 hours.

Alabama governor promotes hurricane preparedness

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:05:04 -0400

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Gov. Robert Bentley has kicked of Hurricane Emergency Preparedness Week with a seminar and workshop at the Alabama Emergency Management Agency's headquarters in Clanton.

Sioux Falls debates fed aid for storm recovery

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:40:28 -0400

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota - Sioux Falls officials are debating whether the city should accept federal money to help with recovery from an ice and snow storm last month, when other disaster-stricken areas might need the money more.

Flooding takes big bite out of Michigan man's land

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:40:22 -0400

CROTON TOWNSHIP, Michigan - A Michigan man's home is no longer habitable after flooding along the Little Muskegon River took a big bite out of his property.

Bangladesh: Owners' many failings led to collapse

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:56:12 -0400

DHAKA, Bangladesh - The defects and errors that led to the world's deadliest garment-industry accident extend from the swampy ground the doomed Rana Plaza was built on, to "extremely poor quality" construction materials, to the massive, vibrating equipment operating when the eight-story building collapsed, a committee appointed by Bangladesh's government concluded.

Officials warn residents to guard against fraud

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:44:05 -0400

OKLAHOMA CITY - The U.S. attorney for western Oklahoma is urging residents and businesses to keep their guard up when preparing to make donations to aid the tornado relief effort.

Oklahoma emergency operations center to close

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:58:23 -0400

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management says an emergency operations center that opened after a massive tornado hit Moore is closing.

Joplin remembers tornado, pushes for recovery

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:44:43 -0400

JOPLIN, Missouri - The draft beer and whiskey shots flow freely at the sparkling new Joplin Elks Lodge 501, a distant hallway plaque the only visible reminder that three members and a bartender cleaning up after Sunday bingo died in a monster tornado that forever grafted a little-known southwest Missouri city into the nation's disaster lexicon.

Officials: All accounted for after Okla. tornado

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:43:26 -0400

MOORE, Oklahoma - Authorities have now accounted for the last six people - all of them adults - who were believed to still be missing after the massive tornado in an Oklahoma City suburb.

School storm protection is spotty in tornado zones

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:34:04 -0400

MOORE, Oklahoma - With its single-story design and cinder-block walls, Plaza Towers Elementary School may have seemed sturdy when it was built a couple of generations ago. But a powerful tornado revealed the building's lack of modern safety standards, destroying the school and killing seven students.

Christie backs Okla. aid, blunting talk of payback

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:00:22 -0400

BELMAR, New Jersey - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose own state was beset by a major storm last year and then by squabbling in Congress over disaster aid, said Wednesday that Oklahoma's tornado victims deserve "swift and immediate" help, and federal lawmakers have said they are likely to get it.

W.Va. gov offers response help to Oklahoma

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:11:35 -0400

CHARLESTON, West Virginia - Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is offering West Virginia's emergency response resources to Oklahoma officials following this week's deadly tornado.

FEMA Chief: Feds won't go 'when the cameras leave'

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:54:05 -0400

WASHINGTON - The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says U.S. officials are "going neighborhood to neighborhood" to make sure Oklahoma gets the help it needs.

Parents face tough choice when tornadoes bear down

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:45:01 -0400

MOORE, Oklahoma - With an ominous storm approaching, the Moore Public School District flashed a text alert to parents: "We are currently holding all students until the current storm danger is over. Students are being released to parents only at this time."

All 28 bodies recovered from Indonesian mine room

Wed, 22 May 2013 05:23:18 -0400

TIMIKA, Indonesia - Rescuers on Wednesday recovered the last of 28 miners killed last week when an underground room of a giant Indonesian gold and copper mine collapsed, the operator of the U.S.-owned facility said.

No new funds needed for Okla. tornado recovery

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:07:18 -0400

WASHINGTON - Top lawmakers and officials said Tuesday that the federal government has plenty of money on hand to pay for recovery efforts in the wake of the devastating tornado that struck Oklahoma.