Disaster Relief

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have voted down a Republican bill to keep funding the government, putting it on a path to a shutdown after midnight Wednesday. The 55-45 vote Tuesday on the bill to extend federal funding for seven weeks fell short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster and pass the legislation. After the vote, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget issued a memo saying “affected agencies should now execute their plans for an orderly shutdown.” The action comes as Democrats are making good on their threat to close the government if President Donald Trump and Republicans won’t accede to their health care demands.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia farmers are still waiting for aid after Hurricane Helene, even as other states finalize agreements. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Georgia officials announced $531 million for Georgia farmers on Tuesday. However, unlike South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, Georgia hasn’t completed an agreement on distributing the funds. Officials are still ironing out administrative details. The delays have frustrated farmers, who have faced financial stress and low crop prices. The September 2024 storm caused significant damage across several states, with Georgia’s poultry industry being a major target for additional aid.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities in the Bahamas have closed a majority of schools following mandatory evacuations for some islands in the archipelago as Tropical Storm Imelda drops heavy rain and unleashes flooding in the northern Caribbean. A tropical storm warning was in effect Monday for parts of the northwestern Bahamas, including Eleuthera, the Abacos, Grand Bahama Island and the surrounding keys. Heavy rains also were forecast along the coastline of North and South Carolina. Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto churned in open waters nearby, which forecasters said would cause Imelda to abruptly turn to the east-northeast, away from the southeastern United States coast.

SPRUCE PINE, N.C. (NCN News) – One year after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, recovery continues across the mountains. The storm killed 108 people, caused more than 2,000 landslides and left businesses, roads and communities in ruins. While many restaurants, farms and attractions are reopening, most small businesses still have not returned to pre-Helene revenues. State officials say bipartisan support has brought new funding and infrastructure repairs, but rebuilding remains a long-term effort.

WOODFIN, N.C. (AP) — It’s been only a year since Hurricane Helene hammered the southeast U.S. from Florida to the Carolinas. Some of the heaviest damage came from flooding in the North Carolina mountains, where some 30 inches of rain turned gentle streams into walls of water that swept away anything in their path. The worst wreckage has been cleared away, but cleanup crews are still at work plucking smaller debris from waterways throughout the region. In the understandable haste to rescue people and restore their lives to some semblance of normalcy, some fear the recovery efforts compounded Helene’s impact on the ecosystem. Contractors hired to remove vehicles, shipping containers, shattered houses and other large debris from waterways sometimes damaged sensitive habitat.

President Donald Trump has approved federal disaster aid for six states and tribes following storms and floods this spring and summer. The disaster declarations, announced Thursday, will provide federal funding to Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, as well as tribes in Montana and South Dakota. In most cases, it took Trump over a month to approve the aid requests, continuing a trend of longer waits for disaster relief. An Associated Press analysis shows delays in approving federal disaster aid have grown over time. The White House says Trump is providing a more thorough review of requests.

President Donald Trump has floated the idea of “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which manages federal disaster response. But at a Thursday meeting, the 12-person review council he appointed to propose changes to FEMA seemed more focused on reforms than total dismantlement. The meeting in Oklahoma City offered hints of what types of reforms the council might present to Trump in its final report. Members mainly focused on conventional and oft-cited opportunities for change, such as getting money faster to states and survivors and enhancing the capacity of local emergency managers.

Some employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency who signed a public letter of dissent earlier this week were put on administrative leave Tuesday evening. That’s according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press. More than 180 current and former FEMA employees signed the letter sent to the FEMA Review Council and Congress on Monday critiquing recent cuts to agency staff and programs, and warning that FEMA’s capacity to respond to a major disaster was dangerously diminished. The AP has confirmed that at least two of the signatories received notices Tuesday evening informing them they would be placed on leave indefinitely. FEMA did not immediately respond to questions on how many staff were put on leave.

More than 180 current and former FEMA employees have published a letter warning of potential disaster due to cuts in the agency. The letter coincides with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, highlighting concerns about management and capacity at FEMA. It warns that current practices echo conditions the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act aimed to prevent. The letter criticizes policies like expenditure approval and reassignment of staff to ICE. It calls for FEMA to be an independent cabinet-level agency. Thirty-five signatories included their names, while 141 remained anonymous due to fear of suppression.

RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Erin is strengthening again and forecasters say it could re-intensify into a major hurricane. The storm is creeping toward the mid-Atlantic coast and churning up menacing waves that have closed beaches from the Carolinas to New York City. It’s expected to peak over the next 48 hours. Erin is unlikely to make landfall along the East Coast before turning farther out to sea. But authorities are warning that its large swells will cut off roads on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and whip up life-threatening rip currents from Florida to New England. The National Hurricane Center is watching two more clusters of storms to the east of Erin.