Natural disasters

October 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, leadership from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will join the State of California along with numerous national and local emergency preparedness organizations at events across the impacted region in solemn acknowledgement of the 20th anniversary of the San Francisco Bay Area 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.    » read more »

Iowa Governor Culver Announces More Than $10 Million In Disaster Housing Tax Credits; Housing tax credits aid counties impacted by natural disasters of 2008

June 10, 2009 -- DES MOINES – Today, Iowa Governor Chet Culver announced that the state is awarding $10,615,880 million in federal Housing Tax Credits to projects in Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Des Moines. The Housing Tax Credits will provide financing for the creation and rehabilitation of 142 units of affordable housing in areas impacted by the natural disasters of 2008. The awards were made with a special allocation of Housing Tax Credits that Iowa received in response to the natural disasters of 2008.    » read more »

Encourages Virginians to prepare for emergencies, take advantage of Sales Tax Holiday May 25-31

May 22, 2009 -- RICHMOND – Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine has recognized May 24-30 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week and today reminded Virginians that the Commonwealth will mark its second annual Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday from Monday, May 25, through Sunday, May 31.

"Hurricane season will soon be here and now is a good time to start thinking about what you will need if one of these devastating storms affects Virginia," Governor Kaine said. "These tax breaks should help everyone buy the items they need to see them through the difficult days that follow the storms."    » read more »

USDA extending buy-in waiver for those impacted by natural disasters

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2009 - The recently approved American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) allows producers to become eligible for 2008 disaster assistance authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill even if they did not previously obtain otherwise statutorily required crop insurance from the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) or Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage for 2008 by now paying a buy-in fee through May 18, 2009.    » read more »

Jan. 23, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- Significant loss of life, destroyed property and businesses, and repairs to infrastructure could be avoided by replacing Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps with ones that contain high-accuracy and high-resolution land surface elevation data, says a new report from the National Research Council.

The benefits of more accurate flood maps will outweigh the costs, mainly because insurance premiums and building restrictions would better match the actual flood risks. Coastal region flood maps could also be improved by updating current models and using two-dimensional storm surge and wave models.    » read more »

9/1/2008 - BATON ROUGE, La. (AFPN) -- As Hurricane Gustav made landfall on the Gulf Coast, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security praised the men and women of the Air Force and the National Guard for their efforts during preparations for the storm.

Secretary Michael Chertoff said the services were especially useful to help evacuate people with medical needs, such as critical care patients, who would be unable to otherwise leave the area.

"It was really the Air National Guard and the Air Force who came to the rescue setting up an air bridge so we could fly people out on C-130s and C-17s," he said. "It was a real positive addition to the capabilities we have on the ground."    » read more »

August, 2008 -- CHICAGO – To help injured disaster survivors that may be at risk for infection from blood-borne viruses or tetanus in the environment, new vaccine recommendations were released today in the latest issue of the American Medical Association (AMA) Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal. The recommendations are co-published with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).    » read more »

24 June 2008 -- U.S. President George Bush says the United States will do it all it can to help the victims of the typhoon that struck the Philippines over the weekend. Following talks at the White House with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, Mr. Bush announced plans to send a U.S. aircraft carrier to the scene.

President Bush says the USS Ronald Reagan and other naval assets are moving into place.

"We are happy to do it. We want to help our friends in the time of need," the president said.

With President Arroyo at his side, Mr. Bush also expressed America's condolences to the victims of the storm and their families.    » read more »

June 20, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) joined members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation today in sending a letter to the President in support of Governor Rod Blagojevich's request for Individual Assistance and Public Assistance for the 21 Illinois counties affected by severe flooding.

Illinois flooding, June 2008: Photo by Jim Simonson (CC)    » read more »

23 June 2008 -- Chinese authorities say they have punished 31 officials and fired 12 others because of their poor handling of relief supplies and response to the country's massive earthquake last month.

China's top anti-corruption official, Ma Wen, told reporters Monday that most of the demerits and firings were a response to complaints about misuse of tents and improper distribution of food and other goods.

China's May 12 quake killed nearly 70,000 people and left millions homeless. The government has previously warned that it would come down hard on those who misused aid funds or relief supplies.

Corruption is rampant across China, and there is concern about the use and destination of donations.    » read more »

INDIANAPOLIS (06/16/2008) - Soldiers and Airmen from the Indiana National Guard began returning to home stations Sunday after spending eight days fighting floodwaters in southwest Indiana.

Sixty Soldiers from Joint Task Force-81 will remain behind in the vicinity of East Mount Carmel and New Harmony, Ind., working with local responders to observe the water level at local levees.    » read more »

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Army National Guard flew one of its CH-47 Chinook helicopters into Cedar Rapids on Monday to help the town turn its water back on. The massive helicopters were used to pluck seven electrical pumps from a well field in Northwest Cedar Rapids still under water. Water receded enough by Saturday for the pumps to be above water.

National Guard flood relief, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: An employee from the Cedar Rapids Water Utility prepares to attach a lift cable from an Iowa Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook to a damaged water pump on the Iowa River near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt Jack Braden    » read more »

Iowa Delegation joins Harkin in urging Bush to grant 60-day waiver for state matching funds for emergency protective measures and debris removal

June 17, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) was joined by Iowa’s Congressional Delegation in urging the President to waive for 60 days the percentage of matching funds the state must contribute to qualify for federal disaster assistance concerning emergency protective measures and debris removal. The current White House took similar action to aid Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina to lower the in-kind matching requirement for the period immediately following the hurricane.    » read more »

June 17, 2008 -- THE PRESIDENT: I've just assembled my -- many people on my domestic policy team to discuss the current flooding in the Midwest. Of course, our hearts and thoughts go to those who lost life. And of course, we're concerned about those whose -- who lost their homes or lost their businesses.

George W. Bush offers media a photo opportunity on Midwest flood relief: White House photo

I've been briefed by Secretary Chertoff and Secretary Schafer and Director Paulison about the response. First task at hand is to deal with the flood waters, to anticipate where the flooding may next occur, and to work with the state and local authorities to deal with the response.    » read more »

Beijing -- 16 June 2008 -- Massive flooding across a broad stretch of southern China has killed 57 people and forced more than one million others to flee their homes.

For China, spring and summer flooding has become a regular event. But Civil Affairs Ministry official Li Baojun says this year is different.

Flooding in China: Photo by Dennis Kruyt (CC)

Li says there are floods every year, but that in some areas, this has been the highest rainfall in history. He especially points to southern Guangdong province, which has seen 250 to 500 millimeters of rain since the
second half of May.    » read more »