Recovery

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting individual assistance following the Jan. 9 tornado. If approved, individuals in the county could apply for grants up to $40,000.

Hawaii state agencies now face potential spending restrictions of up to 15 percent as the Legislature considers an emergency appropriation as an alternative to plug the still uncertain deficit.

Everyone should have a disaster recovery plan and should avoid signing any documents within the first 72 hours. Anyone whose property has been impacted by disaster should call their insurance company.

A Jan. 22 storm and torrential rains and flooding killed three and damaged or destroyed roughly 1,000 homes across San Diego. The city itself suffered an estimated $51.1 million in damage to its infrastructure.

The award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be used in some of the state’s highest risk areas for wildfire prevention, as well as improving forest health and building community resilience.

In the midst of recovery efforts following the August 2023 wildfires on Maui, the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs last week urged property owners to prioritize hiring licensed contractors for their repair work.

The City Council approved the Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, a large-scale series of flood mitigation projects over the next 10 years — at a cost of more than $2 billion.

After the attack, the staff at Johnson Memorial suddenly had to revert to low-tech ways of patient care. They relied on pen and paper for medical records and notes, and sent runners between departments to take orders and deliver test results.

The AM for Every Vehicle Act would require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to mandate that new vehicles include AM radio at no extra cost.

Because the town was not officially in a flood zone, few had flood insurance. Because the town was poor, even fewer had the capital to rebuild. And because so many were undocumented, few were eligible for much money from FEMA.

Walker was shot twice in the chest, with one of the bullets hitting him close to the heart, and one in the shoulder. Doctors operated on him to remove bullet fragments but had to leave some in his body.

According to FEMA, 143 households in Seminole, Orange, Osceola and Lake counties are still in housing provided by the agency’s Transitional Shelter Assistance program.

The benefits, provided through the Disaster CalFresh food program, are available to those who lived or worked in the affected counties from Feb. 21 to March 22, when the region was hit with torrential rain.

Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the state’s Office of Emergency Services, encourages people and families affected by the storms to apply for government-sponsored aid — even if they are concerned about their immigration status.

"They're managing very well under the circumstances. They obviously had roof and water damages that they continue to work on. Their private sector partners have been on the ground 24-7 as well."

For the 55 days until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took over, there was a near-constant state of confusion over who was — or who should have been — in charge of fighting the fire, and who would pay to put it out.

"I seen the transformer over there explode and I grabbed my dog and hunkered down with him. You could feel the whole trailer moving and shaking. I thought it was going to come apart. We're just lucky to be alive."

The official death toll stood at 21 on Monday, down from 25 as previously announced, as authorities cited the total confirmed by coroners since Friday's Twister, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.