Important Takeaways:
- Three days after Cyclone Chido tore through the French overseas territory off East Africa, the hospital’s emergency department has not seen large numbers of injured, leading them to fear the worst, Naouelle Bouabbas said.
- “The fact that we don’t see that many injured from the cyclone when everything has collapsed makes us think that all these people are still buried and are dead,” she told Reuters in a video call from the islands.
- “We expect thousands, tens of thousands would not surprise me,” said Bouabbas, when asked about a possible death toll, adding there was no infrastructure in place yet to remove people from the rubble.
- Authorities have said hundreds or even thousands could have died, but only 22 deaths had been confirmed on Tuesday morning
- The Red Cross said on Tuesday that about 100,000 people were unaccounted for, including about 200 of its volunteers, after the cyclone battered the islands with 200 kph (124 mph) winds in the worst storm in 90 years.
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Important Takeaways:
- Authorities in North Carolina on Monday confirmed at least 94 storm-related fatalities from Hurricane Helene but still could not account for the number of those who remain missing or unaccounted for.
- Fatalities were reported across 20 counties, according to a morning update from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).
- The vast majority of those fatalities were reported in Buncombe, with 42 deaths, followed by Yancey and Henderson, at 12 and 7, respectively.
- NCDHSS said there are no missing persons numbers at this time because there are different sources of where missing persons and welfare check requests were reported during the storm.
- Justin J. Graney, Chief of External Affairs and Communications for North Carolina Emergency Management, told Fox News Digital there are “wide area searches taking place since [Hurricane Helen] took place.”
- “This includes grid searches, vehicle searches, damaged structure searches, and searches around areas where debris have collected. Hundreds of responders have conducted said searches,” Graney said.
- On Thursday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed the state’s first relief package to address Helene’s devastation, allocating $273 million for immediate needs and giving flexibility to agencies and displaced residents.
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Important Takeaways:
- The bodies of kindergarten teacher Maya Goren as well as the soldiers Major Ravid Aryeh Katz, Master Sergeant Oren Goldin, Staff Sergeant Tomer Ahimas and Sergeant Kiril Brodski were found during an operation in the Khan Younis area.
- The military said it had determined that Ms. Goren was murdered in captivity, while the soldiers were killed in combat on 7 October and their bodies then abducted.
- The announcement means 111 of the 251 people taken hostage are still being held in Gaza, including 39 who the military says are presumed dead.
- The Hostages and Missing Families Forum praised what it called the “crucial and decisive military action that provides their families with important closure and eternal rest for the murdered”.
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Important Takeaways:
- The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state rose to 143, up from 136 on the day before, the local civil defense government body said on Sunday, as rains continue to pour on the state.
- Another 125 people remain unaccounted for in the state, where rivers are reporting rising levels. Weather service Metsul called the situation “extremely worrying.”
- On Saturday evening the government announced around 12.1 billion reais ($2.34 billion) in emergency spending to deal with the crisis that has displaced more than 538,000 people in the state, out of a population of around 10.9 million.
- With this new money, more than 60 billion reais in federal funds has already been made available to the state, said the federal government in a statement on Saturday.
- Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the state will rebuild what was destroyed.
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Important Takeaways:
- Kansas City cops claim Super Bowl parade shooting that left one dead and 21 others injured – including NINE kids – was NOT targeted – as hero who took down gunman armed with high-caliber rifle speaks out
- Heroic fans who tackled one of the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooters have described holding him down and snatching his rifle after it fell onto the ground.
- Three people are in custody in connection with the incident that sparked panic among the crowds yesterday after the Chiefs celebrated their win, including the young man tackled as he attempted to flee the scene.
- Shots rang out moments after Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes left the stage next to Union Station, hundreds of thousands had gathered to party.
- What exactly led to the shooting remains unclear. Police last night said it was not ‘targeted’, but are yet to explain why the shooter was carrying a rifle. None of the suspects have been named.
- No charges have been announced, and police said no motive has been determined. Police have referred to the people in custody as being detained.
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Important Takeaways:
- At least 131 killed, 700 injured in China’s deadliest earthquake in 9 years
- A devastating earthquake, measuring 6.2 in magnitude, rocked northwestern China shortly before midnight on Monday. The seismic event, impacting Gansu and Qinghai provinces, stands as the most lethal earthquake in China in the past nine years, claiming the lives of at least 131 individuals and injuring over 700.
- The disaster left residents in dire conditions, with many spending the night in tents in freezing temperatures, the newswire noted.
- The quake also caused landslides, complicating rescue efforts. Emergency workers are searching for missing persons, with Qinghai officials reporting 16 missing in a landslide.
- According to Reuters, 78 people were found alive in Gansu, where rescue operations concluded Tuesday afternoon. Attention is now turning to treating the injured and resettling residents as they brace for the challenges of the approaching months-long winter.
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Important Takeaways:
- The search has ended for any more victims among climbers who were caught by a weekend eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Marapi volcano that killed 23 people and injured several others, officials said Thursday.
- About 75 climbers started up the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) mountain in Agam district of West Sumatra province on Saturday and were on the volcano when it erupted the following day.
- West Sumatra Police Chief Suharyono said earlier that the discovery of the body of a female university student Wednesday had raised the confirmed death toll to 23. Officials said Thursday that they believed all the dead had been recovered.
- After an evaluation of the search and rescue results, “authorities have ended the search and rescue operation in Mount Marapi as all the victims have been found by late Wednesday,” said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson.
- The National Search and Rescue Agency said all the bodies had been taken to a hospital by late Wednesday for identification.
- Some 52 climbers were rescued after the initial eruption Sunday, with about a dozen taken to hospitals with serious to minor injuries.
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Important Takeaways:
- Nearly 100 dead and missing in Mexico from hurricane -state governor
- The number of people dead and missing due to Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm which hammered the Mexican Pacific resort city of Acapulco last week, has risen to close to 100, authorities in the state of Guerrero said on Monday.
- Otis battered Acapulco with winds of 165 miles per hour (266 km per hour) on Wednesday, flooding the city, tearing roofs from homes, hotels and other businesses, submerging vehicles, and severing communications as well as road and air connections.
- Evelyn Salgado, governor of Acapulco’s home state of Guerrero, said 45 people were confirmed dead and 47 others were missing, citing figures from state prosecutors. Salgado had said on Sunday morning the death toll stood at 43.
- On Sunday afternoon, Mexico’s federal civil protection authorities said there were 48 dead, consisting of 43 in Acapulco and five in nearby Coyuca de Benitez.
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Important Takeaways:
- Lewiston, Maine mass shooting suspect Robert Card wanted on murder charges, with 18 dead
- Maine State Police Col. William Ross said Thursday an arrest warrant for fugitive Robert Card has been issued on at least eight counts of murder as the victims are still being identified from a series of mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday night.
- He said eight people were killed at Schemengees Bar and Grill while seven were killed at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, while another three died after being transported to local hospitals.
- A massive manhunt is underway to find 40-year-old Card of Bowdoin, who has been identified by authorities as the suspect.
- Maine Gov. Janet Mills said there were 18 people dead in the shootings and 13 injured.
- “In memory of those we lost and in honor of those who were injured, President Biden and I have ordered all U.S. flags and state of Maine flags to be lowered to half-staff immediately for the next five days,” she said.
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Important Takeaways:
- Hurricane Otis caused 27 confirmed deaths and left 4 missing, Mexican authorities report
- Mexican authorities gave the first human toll for Hurricane Otis’ destruction along the country’s Pacific coast Thursday: at least 27 dead and four missing.
- Tens of thousands of residents in damaged homes without electricity awaited help more than a day after Otis roared ashore in Acapulco.
- López Obrador said the destruction was so complete that not a single power line pole remained standing in the impact zone. Small farmers had their corn crops devastated by Otis’ wind and pounding rain, he said. Restoring power to the area was a top priority, he said.
- The early images and accounts were of extensive devastation, toppled trees and power lines lying in brown floodwaters that in some areas extended for miles. The resulting destruction delayed a comprehensive response by the government, which was still assessing the damage along the coast, and made residents desperate.
- Many of the once sleek beachfront hotels in Acapulco looked like toothless, shattered hulks after the Category 5 storm blew out hundreds — and possibly thousands — of windows
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