PERRY: North Carolina officials pledged to get more water and other supplies to flood-stricken areas by Monday after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction across the US Southeast and the death toll from the storm rose to nearly 100.
At least 91 people across several states were killed. A North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people killed.
Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
Supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city of Asheville. Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water to the city by Monday.
“We hear you. We need food and we need water,” Pinder said on a Sunday call with reporters. “My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”
Officials warned that rebuilding from the widespread loss of homes and property would be lengthy and difficult. The storm upended life throughout the Southeast. Deaths also were reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.
Cooper implored residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.
One rescue effort involved saving 41 people north of Asheville. Another mission focused on saving a single infant. The teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, North Carolina National Guard Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.
President Joe Biden described the impact of the storm as “stunning” and said he would visit the area this week as long as it does not disrupt rescues or recovery work.
In a brief exchange with reporters, he described the impact of the storm as “stunning” and said that the administration is giving states “everything we have” to help with their response to the storm.
Hurricane Helene roared ashore late Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph (225 kph) winds. A weakened Helene quickly moved through Georgia, then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains that flooded creeks and rivers and strained dams.
There have been hundreds of water rescues, including in rural Unicoi County in East Tennessee, where dozens of patients and staff were plucked by helicopter from a hospital rooftop Friday.
More than 2 million homeowners and other utility customers were still without power Sunday night. South Carolina had the most outages and Gov. Henry McMaster asked for patience as crews dealt with widespread snapped power poles.
“We want people to remain calm. Help is on the way, it is just going to take time,” McMaster told reporters outside the airport in Aiken County.
Begging for help in North Carolina as that help is slow to arrive
The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.
Jessica Drye Turner in Texas had begged for someone to rescue her family members stranded on their rooftop in Asheville amid rising floodwaters. “They are watching 18-wheelers and cars floating by,” Turner wrote in an urgent Facebook post on Friday.
But in a follow-up message Saturday, Turner said help had not arrived in time to save her parents, both in their 70s, and her 6-year-old nephew. The roof collapsed and the three drowned.
“I cannot convey in words the sorrow, heartbreak and devastation my sisters and I are going through,” she wrote.
The state was sending water supplies and other items toward Buncombe County and Asheville, but mudslides blocking Interstate 40 and other highways prevented supplies from making it. The county’s own water supplies were on the other side of the Swannanoa River, away from where most of the 270,000 people in Buncombe County live, officials said.
Law enforcement was making plans to send officers to places that still had water, food or gas because of reports of arguments and threats of violence, the county sheriff said.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell toured south Georgia on Sunday and planned to be in North Carolina Monday.
“It’s still very much an active search and rescue mission” in western North Carolina, Criswell said. “And we know that there’s many communities that are cut off just because of the geography” of the mountains, where damage to roads and bridges have cut off certain areas.
Biden on Saturday pledged federal government help for Helene’s “overwhelming” devastation. He also approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available for affected individuals.
Storm-battered Florida digs out, residents gather for church
In Florida’s Big Bend, some lost nearly everything they own. With sanctuaries still darkened as of Sunday morning, some churches canceled regular services while others like Faith Baptist Church in Perry opted to worship outside.
Standing water and tree debris still covers the grounds of Faith Baptist Church. The church called on parishioners to come “pray for our community” in a message posted to the congregation’s Facebook page.
“We have power. We don’t have electricity,” Immaculate Conception Catholic Church parishioner Marie Ruttinger said. “Our God has power. That’s for sure.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it looked “like a bomb went off” after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air.
In eastern Georgia near the border with South Carolina, officials notified Augusta residents Sunday morning that water service would be shut off for 24 to 48 hours in the city and surrounding Richmond County.
A news release said trash and debris from the storm “blocked our ability to pump water.” Officials were distributing bottled water.
With at least 25 killed in South Carolina, Helene was the deadliest tropical cyclone for the state since Hurricane Hugo made landfall north of Charleston in 1989, killing 35 people.
Moody’s Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage.
Climate change has exacerbated conditions that allow such storms to thrive, rapidly intensifying in warming waters and turning into powerful cyclones sometimes within hours.
New tropical depression in Atlantic could become strong hurricane, forecasters say
A new tropical depression in the eastern Atlantic Ocean could become a “formidable hurricane” later this week, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday. The depression had sustained 35 mph (55kph) winds and was located about 630 miles (1,015 kilometers) west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, the center said. It could become a hurricane by Wednesday.
Supplies are rushed to North Carolina communities left isolated after Helene
https://arab.news/my7xj
Supplies are rushed to North Carolina communities left isolated after Helene
UK baby killer Letby’s lawyer to present new evidence in bid to clear her name
The CCRC has said it is assessing Letby’s application but has not given a timeframe for any decision
LONDON: A lawyer for nurse Lucy Letby said he would present new evidence on Thursday to the commission which considers miscarriages of justice, saying it undermined the case against the British nurse convicted of murdering seven babies in her care.
Letby was jailed in 2023 for the remainder of her life after being found guilty of murdering the newborns and attempting to murder eight more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England.
Letby, 35, Britain’s worst serial child killer of modern times, has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal against her convictions.
However her case has become a cause celebre after medical experts, media and other supporters challenged the prosecution case used to convict her, and said that evidence suggested no babies were murdered.
Her lawyer Mark McDonald said on Wednesday he would hand over an 86-page report by leading medical specialists to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), saying it cast serious doubt on the trial’s key findings about two of the children, known as Babies F and L.
The court’s conclusion that the babies were poisoned using insulin was key to the prosecution proving she had committed murder.
“The fresh evidence I will hand in to the CCRC tomorrow totally undermines the prosecution case at trial,” McDonald said. “This is the largest international review of neonatal medicine ever undertaken, the results of which show Lucy Letby’s convictions are no longer safe.”
The CCRC has said it is assessing Letby’s application but has not given a timeframe for any decision.
Meanwhile police are still investigating Letby and hospital managers, saying her previous appeals about flawed evidence have been rejected. The head of a public inquiry into the deaths has also rejected calls for her investigation to be paused.
Philippines steps up disaster preparedness in wake of deadly Myanmar quake
- Philippine officials are warning of a 7.2-magnitude quake that could kill up to 50,000 people
- Officials are working to improve building resilience across the country to withstand earthquakes
Manila: Philippine officials are calling for enhanced disaster preparedness following the massive earthquake in Myanmar, warning that the archipelago nation is at risk of a devastating seismic event.
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, lies along the so-called Ring of Fire, an arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean where the majority of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.
For the past decade, the Philippine government has been preparing for the “Big One,” a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that experts say could impact Manila and its surrounding areas.
“We must double our efforts, especially as the Philippines is at risk for the ‘Big One’— a potentially catastrophic earthquake that could result in 30,000 to 50,000 casualties,” Ariel F. Nepomuceno, administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, has said.
“The most critical step in enhancing our earthquake preparedness is to implement engineering solutions, such as retrofitting essential structures like schools and health centers.”
The 7.2-magnitude earthquake forecast by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology was based on historical records of fault movements, as seismic events are impossible to predict.
Philippine officials have been calling for increased disaster preparedness after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit central Myanmar on Friday killed more than 2,700 people, injured more than 4,500 others, and destroyed scores of buildings.
“We’re part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and every now and then we have earthquakes, we’ll be jolted by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and sometimes tsunamis. And for all these disasters, the best course of action is always preparedness,” PHIVOLCS Director Dr. Teresito Bacolcol said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
“We have to make sure that our buildings, our houses are earthquake resilient — meaning, we have to follow the minimum engineering standards when we construct our houses or buildings.”
In the Manila capital region, at least 124 public buildings have been retrofitted, or strengthened to make it more earthquake-resistant, with plans to do so for 500 more, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
The Department of Science and Technology, which presides over PHIVOLCS, is also planning to hold earthquake seminars in different parts of the country this year, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency.
Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense is working on improving the National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill by adding more scenarios, including nighttime drills and tsunami preparedness.
One of the deadliest recorded earthquakes in the Philippines took place in 1990, when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed nearly 2,000 people in the country’s north.
Mixture of energy, solemnity during this year’s Arab American Heritage Month
- Israeli violence has ‘dampened’ celebrations, Arab America Foundation president tells Arab News
- Senator: ‘From culture and science to activism and business, Arab Americans continue to thrive and inspire’
Chicago: This year’s Arab American Heritage Month is being celebrated in a mixed atmosphere of energetic pride and solemn concern for events overseas, under the theme “Honoring the past, inspiring the future.”
Arab Americans used to celebrate at different times in different states, but the community came together in 2017 to consolidate the heritage month in April.
Leaders from around the country said this year’s celebrations have a solemn tone because of turmoil in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Warren David, president of the Arab America Foundation, told Arab News: “We’ll honor legendary songstress Umm Kulthum on the 50th anniversary of her passing. We’re also partnering with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library for a special workshop on understanding Arabic music.”
He said an “exceptional” performance is being planned at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington D.C., entitled “Sounds of the Arab world” and featuring musician Nibal Malshi.
However, David acknowledged that Israeli violence “has dampened the celebration as many Arab Americans are distraught with the current situation — tragic loss of life, no ceasefire, no plan for a Palestinian state. We hope to see a peaceful solution.”
He added that while Arab American Heritage Month is officially recognized by 20 US states, AAF is working to secure recognition from the remaining 30.
According to the Arab American Institute, there are about 3.5 million Arabs in the US, in all 50 states.
Major populations are located in 11 states: California, Michigan, New York, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
To mark Arab American Heritage Month, AAI is hosting a celebration on April 3 at the Theater Alliance in Washington D.C., featuring playwright Kareem Fahmy and comedian Rola Z.
Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released a video and statement on X saying: “Happy Arab American Heritage Month, Michigan. This month, we celebrate Michigan’s strong, proud Arab-American community.
“They have, and continue to make, immeasurable contributions to our state’s economy, culture and our future.
“Michigan is a stronger, better state because of the diverse groups of people who call it home. This month and all year long, let’s celebrate our friends and neighbors in this community.”
Several New York legislators, all Democrats, took to X to applaud Arab American Heritage Month.
New York City Assembly member Harvey Epstein said: “Let’s celebrate all that Arab-American culture brings to New York.”
New York State Sen. Pete Harckham said: “We acknowledge the amazing contributions of Arab Americans both nationally and here in New York.”
The month, he added, is “a time to celebrate the rich culture, contributions and history of Arab Americans who’ve enriched our communities and nation.
“From culture and science to activism and business, Arab Americans continue to thrive and inspire.”
New York State Sen. Andrew Gounardes said: “This Arab American Heritage Month, I celebrate Arab-American achievements and culture across the arts and sciences, in business and industry, in education and medicine, and in every branch of the military. These contributions enrich our nation and move us toward a brighter future.”
In Illinois, Hassan Nijem, president of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, told Arab News that celebrations are being planned with several elected officials including Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, who had her website and services brochures translated into Arabic.
The annual Arab American Festival and Miss Arab USA pageant, both in Arizona, are recognized as the largest Arab heritage celebrations nationwide, and attract communities from across the country.
Singapore detains two teenagers, one over plan to shoot mosques, other planned to join Daesh
- The 17-year-old male who was detained and subscribed to far-right extremist ideology
- The second detained youth was a 15-year-old female who wanted to marry a Daesh fighter
SINGAPORE: Singapore used an internal security law against two teenagers separately, one over plans to attack mosques and the other for wanting to fight in Syria alongside Daesh militants, authorities said on Wednesday.
The 17-year-old male was detained and subscribed to far-right extremist ideology, seeing himself as an “East Asian supremacist,” authorities said.
He wanted to shoot mosques and had unsuccessfully tried to buy guns, including from the United States, Malaysia and Thailand, the internal security department said.
The teenager wanted to “maximize casualties” and kill at least 100 Muslims, to outdo the 2019 Christchurch attack in which a gunman killed 51 worshippers in a mosque, it said.
Detained in March under the island’s Internal Security Act, he could be held for up to two years without trial.
He was identified following an investigation into an 18-year-old detained in December over similar far-right extremism, authorities said.
Authorities said they were concerned about youth radicalization in Singapore, and have used the Internal Security Act against 17 youth aged 20 and under since 2015.
That law allows suspects to be held for lengthy periods without trial, or to be given a restriction order limiting travel and Internet access, among other conditions.
Of the 17 detained in the past ten years, nine planned to carry out attacks in multi-racial Singapore, where 74 percent of residents are Chinese, 13.6 percent Malay, 9 percent Indian, and 3.3 percent is classified as other, according to population statistics.
The second detained youth was a 15-year-old female who wanted to marry a Daesh fighter and raise a pro-Daesh family or fight for the extremist group in Syria, said the internal security department.
She was issued with a restriction order in February.
“Self-radicalization can happen very quickly. In the case of the 15-year-old, it only took weeks. It is thus critical that the public be vigilant to signs that someone around us may have become radicalized,” said the internal security department.
Kremlin says visit of senior Russian negotiator to US this week ‘possible’
- Kirill Dmitriev took part in Russia-US talks in Saudi Arabia in February
- President Vladimir Putin appointed Dmitriev as the Kremlin’s international economy envoy in February
MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Wednesday said that its negotiator Kirill Dmitriev could visit the United States this week, as US media reported he is expected in Washington to meet Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff.
Dmitriev took part in Russia-US talks in Saudi Arabia in February and his visit would be the first of a senior Russian official to the United States since Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.
“Yes, I confirm. This visit may be possible. We are continuing to talk to the Americans. I will not give more concrete (details),” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about media reports on the visit.
President Vladimir Putin appointed Dmitriev as the Kremlin’s international economy envoy in February as Moscow seeks to warm ties with Washington during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Russia is hoping for an easing of massive sanctions on its economy under Trump.
His visit to the United States would come as both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating agreements brokered by Washington officials in Saudi Arabia in March.
Citing sources, CNN reported that the United States temporarily lifted sanctions against Dmitriev to allow his visit.
Writing on social media, Dmitriev said “maybe” in a post in which he shared a link to the CNN report.
Witkoff has previously traveled to Russia to meet Putin.
Europe and Kyiv fear the Trump administration could strike a deal with Moscow on Ukraine or lift sanctions on the Russian economy in a bid to force a ceasefire on terms favorable to Russia.
