Fire/EMS/ERs/disasters, etc.

[Vrede too]

What's become of the teams of rescuers ready to go at the drop of a hat?

He ain't gonna do shit.

In general, people will only survive for 3 or 4 days under the rubble. It's already been 2 days. We didn't do international work, but I wonder what's become of the FEMA team I used to work with.

[Vrede too]

Were there any monks still inside?

Rooftop swimming pools and more:

[Vrede too]

FEMA will stop matching 100% of Helene recovery money in North Carolina
Gov. Stein: ‘I am extremely disappointed and urge the President to reconsider FEMA’s bad decision, even for 90 days.’

PINO lied about his commitment to WNC in order to get our votes. MAGA excuse-making Rep Edwards (R-NC11) is useless. No word from R Sens Tillis and Budd.

In blue states some people are saying, 'You voted for them, what did you expect?'
viewtopic.php?p=211769#p211769
They may not know how hard hit Buncombe County voted.

[Vrede too]

...

Since you insist on bragging about your balmy weather :

Could a Tsunami Swallow Your Home? See This California Map.

Tsunami Hazard Area Map

Do you have a sense of how fast you could get the home moving in an emergency? A warning could sometimes be hours out.

Two answers to that question: if all we wanted to do was to get the hell out of Dodge, we could be folded and rolling in about 15 minutes. That would result in some outdoor things being left behind, and probably some stuff jammed into places where it could get broken in the escape, but we'd be gone. Second part: we're not really in the Tsunami zone. If you look on the map around Oceanside, you see a little insert of yellow that goes up Loma Alta creek. But otherwise, north and south from there, look at S Pacific St. and the hazard stops along there and doesn't go far inland. That's not because of distance from the water, it's because there's a large drop-off from the street to the water, maybe 15-20 feet. There would be a bunch of waterfront houses get splashed, but it's really unlikely to get over that embankment.

3rd floor away from the coast should be enough for even the biggest tsunamis.

Have you been sinning again and are you glad you're not on an upper floor in your high-rise?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/52-magnitude ... 08277.html

[O Really]

We definitely felt the quake this morning. The shakealert went off on the phone and a few seconds later we got a roar and probably 5 seconds of shake. It was close to Julian, in the lower mountains, about 30 crow-miles away. No damage anywhere as far as I know, but the weather chicks who usually have nothing to talk about we're having a ball.

Interesting side note, though, at the Safari Zoo, the elephants trotted around in a circle like soccer players after a score and then did their alert circle. Backed up against each other's butts in a tight circle all looking outward. Caught on zoo video, don't get to actually see that very often.

[Vrede too]

... Interesting side note, though, at the Safari Zoo, the elephants trotted around in a circle like soccer players after a score and then did their alert circle. Backed up against each other's butts in a tight circle all looking outward. Caught on zoo video, don't get to actually see that very often.

I saw that! Worth looking up on YT or local TV websites if anyone missed it.

EDIT: Found it:
https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-new ... arthquake/

[GoCubsGo]

FEMA will stop matching 100% of Helene recovery money in North Carolina
Gov. Stein: ‘I am extremely disappointed and urge the President to reconsider FEMA’s bad decision, even for 90 days.’

PINO lied about his commitment to WNC in order to get our votes. MAGA excuse-making Rep Edwards (R-NC11) is useless. No word from R Sens Tillis and Budd.

In blue states some people are saying, 'You voted for them, what did you expect?'
viewtopic.php?p=211769#p211769
They may not know how hard hit Buncombe County voted.

You have a traitor in your midst.

[Vrede too]

You have a traitor in your midst.
https://x.com/WLOS_13/status/1912128940765765902

It's a real MAGA shame. Rep Chuck Edwards (R-NC11) had a otherwise been doing pretty good with Helene services.


About 1.5 hours from Whack9's fam:
Wildfire in Ocean County, N.J. prompts mandatory evacuations

We've had several wildfires still cooking in WNC, but it's raining now:
https://wlos.com/news/local/rain-shower ... e-forecast
https://wlos.com/news/local/wildfire-up ... acres-burn

[Vrede too]

DOGE Cuts Devastate Our Natural Disaster Preparedness | Opinion

[GoCubsGo]

DOGE Cuts Devastate Our Natural Disaster Preparedness | Opinion

Understatement.

DonOld seems to think there are state resources and state experts to handle national problems without taking a moment to consider why there is a FEMA in the first place.

He's gonna FAFO real fast but not before real Americans suffer.

[Vrede too]

DOGE Cuts Devastate Our Natural Disaster Preparedness | Opinion

Understatement.

DonOld seems to think there are state resources and state experts to handle national problems without taking a moment to consider why there is a FEMA in the first place.

He's gonna FAFO real fast but not before real Americans suffer.

Yep, understatement. Hurricane DonElon has left the NWS, NOAA and FEMA "in tatters".

US weather forecasting is more crippled than previously known as hurricane season nears

... There is not a single manager in place at the hurricane-prone Houston-Galveston forecast office, according to a NOAA staff member who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

... Already, multiple offices have reduced or eliminated daily weather balloon launches and more are likely to follow suit following a wave of early retirements taking place this week, the NOAA employee said. The balloons provide critical data for computer models that forecasters use to predict the weather, raising the likelihood that projections will be more unreliable.

... There are also more than 90 vacancies among the staff responsible for repairing NWS Doppler radars and automated surface weather observation stations, the NOAA staff member said, greatly raising the likelihood of prolonged equipment outages that could affect air travel. Weather stations provide pilots and controllers with crucial data on wind direction and speed at airports to determine how to take off and land safely, among other parameters.

Radar outages during tornado and hurricane seasons could cause forecasters to miss hazardous conditions till after they strike.

The NWS has lost more than 550 people all told, since the start of Trump’s second term, according to tallies kept by sources inside and outside of the agency. That’s about the same number as the agency lost in the 15 years between 2010 and 2025, according to Tom Fahy of Capitol Meteorologics.

... “It’s like driving down the road with bald tires. You might get 1,000 miles. You might get 10 miles. To some extent, you don’t know. You’re just engaging in a risky behavior.”

With FEMA limping into hurricane season with staff vacancies of their own, the state and local emergency management interactions that meteorologists in charge typically have may be even more important during the coming months.

... Hurricane season begins on June 1.

The federal role before, during and after severe weather events that Americans have come to rely on is no more.

New World Disorder

[Vrede too]

You have a traitor in your midst.

Looks like we're still finding bodies 7+ months later, Chuck and DonOLD.

Woodfin Police: Fisherman finds dead body covered in debris in French Broad River

[GoCubsGo]

Guess it's not surprising.

Do you know how many are still missing?

[Vrede too]

Guess it's not surprising.

Do you know how many are still missing?

The article below says 5.

A partial unknown is how many unhoused people might have been swept away.

Online conspiracy theorists are saying "hundreds" missing.



Discovery of body in French Broad River spurs debate over Helene's true death toll

[GoCubsGo]

[Vrede too]

https://bsky.app/profile/politico.com/p ... rdj3zius2h

PINO, Cosplay ICE Barbie Gnome and ass-kissing MAGAt Rep Chuck Edwards (R-NC11) are assholes, this time directly to me and my neighbors.

[GoCubsGo]

https://bsky.app/profile/politico.com/p ... rdj3zius2h

PINO, Cosplay ICE Barbie Gnome and ass-kissing MAGAt Rep Chuck Edwards (R-NC11) are assholes, this time directly to me and my neighbors.

You'd think that'd cost Chuckles at the ballot box in 2026.

You'd probably be wrong.

[Vrede too]

https://bsky.app/profile/politico.com/p ... rdj3zius2h

PINO, Cosplay ICE Barbie Gnome and ass-kissing MAGAt Rep Chuck Edwards (R-NC11) are assholes, this time directly to me and my neighbors.

You'd think that'd cost Chuckles at the ballot box in 2026.

You'd probably be wrong.

At best it would be a wash for him. He has been very good on providing info and direct services to Helene victims. Many won't blame him for his tolerance of PINO and Cosplay ICE Barbie Gnome's incompetence and lack of caring.

[GoCubsGo]

Exclamation point!

[Vrede too]

Exclamation point!
https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/ ... ll7kq@jpeg

On top of that . . .

DOGE cuts AmeriCorps program, sending WNC recovery volunteers home

For weeks, one spent hours in the sun handing out free food. Another crawled under houses to get muck out of the insulation. Others repaired homes and worked in warehouses, organizing donations.

The volunteers were some of the 50 members of AmeriCorps, a federal agency program for national service and volunteerism, who worked throughout Western North Carolina on recovery efforts.

Then came the email: The federal grant money that was paying for their programs was eliminated. It “no longer effectuates agency priorities,” the email read....

The impact of 50 people working full time is huge, and it doesn't get much more cost effective than volunteers. Assholes.

... Attorneys general from dozens of states call DOGE’s elimination of AmeriCorps programs “unlawful.”

N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson filed a lawsuit against the Corporation for National and Community Service — or AmeriCorps — “for unlawfully terminating congressionally approved grants that fund jobs and critical programs supporting Western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene.”

“These funds — which Congress already appropriated for North Carolina — are creating jobs, cleaning up storm damage and helping families rebuild,” Jackson wrote in a press release. “AmeriCorps must follow the law so that people in Western North Carolina can confidently move forward.”

Oh look, Elon and TACO Don are illegals, again.

... “It really broke my heart to have to send them home early. All their hard work was just cut short,” she said.

Ariane Kjellquist, a spokeswoman for the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, said the organization is losing the equivalent of about 500 hours of labor — representing roughly a third of its construction team.

“ I think we’ll feel that most on the home repair side, which has a lot, a lot of people waiting for the services,” she said....

Thanks, RepuQs.