President Joe Biden will travel to Puerto Rico on Monday and Florida on Wednesday to survey the damage there after vowing to commit the full strength of the federal government to recovery efforts in the wake of two devastating hurricanes.
The level of destruction from Hurricane Ian, which Biden on Saturday said was “likely to rank among the worst in the nation’s history,” has left bridges and other infrastructure, along with homes and businesses in ruins, with damage estimates ranging from $68 billion to $100 billion.
Ian made landfall Wednesday and tore across Florida, bringing with it powerful gales and a wall of water that inundated parts of the state. It pummeled South Carolina Friday with violent winds and a deadly storm surge on its way up the East Coast. In Florida, power was being restored to about half the roughly 1.8 million homes and businesses that lost it. The White House approved federal disaster funding to mobilise debris removal and cover costs of emergency personnel.
Puerto Rico, a US territory, continues to recover from the damages left by Hurricane Fiona, which caused catastrophic flooding and knocked out much of the power on the island. Power has now been restored to an estimated 91% of customers as of Saturday, according to Luma Energy, a private company managing the island’s power grid since last year.“I’ve directed that every possible action be taken to save lives and get help to survivors, because every single minute counts. It’s not just a crisis for Florida. This is an American crisis.”
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Death toll soars after Hurricane Ian devastates FloridaThe death toll from Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States, soared above 40 Saturday, as President Joe Biden heads to Florida later in the week to survey the devastation.
Read more »
Full list: 37 out of over 300 hospitals exempted from rolling blackouts | CitypressDr Joe Phaahla said although most public health facilities had backup power supply systems, which included generators, these sources of energy were not designed to provide backup electricity for an extended period.
Read more »
Health Dept determined to get more healthcare facilities exempt from power cutsMinister of Health, Joe Phaahla gave an update on Friday on government's interventions to shield hospitals against load shedding.
Read more »
Load shedding crisis: 37 hospitals exempt, but Phaahla wants all public health facilities spared | News24Thirty-seven hospitals across the country have so far been exempted from load shedding. But Health Minister Joe Phaahla says he wants to see all public hospitals and other healthcare facilities spared from power cuts. | TebogoMonama
Read more »
Hospitals excluded from being load sheddingMinister of Health, Dr. Joe Phaahla announced a number of initiatives that the department of health will assist the healthcare sector with like the load shedding blackouts, also exempting hospitals from load shedding
Read more »