Several islands in the Caribbean and Florida are bracing themselves this week as Hurricane Irma makes its way toward land.
The storm is currently rated a Category 4, but it could potentially reach Category 5. According to CNN, Puerto Rico and a string of Caribbean islands are under hurricane warnings, including the British and US Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Martin/St. Maarten and St. Barts. The preparation and warnings begin as officials are now assessing the collateral damage fromHurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana. According to ABC, the death toll has escalated to approximately 60 people. We’re in for a hell of a hurricane season this year, folks.
President Donald Trumpis expected to announce the cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on Tuesday, but with a six-month delay to give Congress time to come up with an alternative. There’s just one thing – we won’t be hearing it from him. According to HuffPost, the news will come from none other than attorney general Jeff Sessions. According to CNN, sources have cautioned that this was the President’s plan as of Sunday night and could change leading up to his scheduled Tuesday announcement. The program’s cancellation would affect nearly 800,000 people, putting their jobs, pursuit of higher education, and citizenship in the U.S. in danger. A Democratic leadership aide in Senate said that working with Republicans on the fix “will be a high priority” for Democrats if Trump announces DACA’s end. Until then, everyone will be waiting with bated breath.
Founders of the Black Lives Matter Movement— Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi— will be receiving the Sydney Peace Prize. This is the first year that the Sydney Foundation has chosen a collective instead of one person as a recipient of the prize. According to The Sydney Peace Foundation, they were chosen “for building a powerful movement for racial equality, courageously reigniting a global conversation around state violence and racism … and for harnessing the potential of new platforms and power of people to inspire a bold movement at a time when peace is threatened by growing inequality and injustice.” The prize will be awarded to the three mothers of the movement at a November ceremony in Sydney.
1. Governors Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana and Haley Barbour of Mississippi declared states of emergency, and advised many to leave their homes on Aug. 26. With little preparation, many stayed behind to fight the storm and were left stranded.
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2. A family is seen trying to escape the wrath of Hurricane Katrina in the days it wreaked havoc in New Orleans.
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3. Over 30,000 were left without their homes and possessions because of the hurricane.
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4. The National Guard and UNICEF arrived in New Orleans days after the storm arrived in its worst hit area, the Lower Ninth Ward. In the nation's history, this was the first time UNICEF was called to provide aid in the United States.
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5. Approximately 1,833 deaths were reported in the wake of the hurricane, but with no real memorial or list of the victims, many believe the number is much higher.
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6. For a week, 30,000 people took shelter in the Superdome, where they were given food and water. With limited medical help, reports claimed 100 people died, when only four died from exhaustion, another from an overdose, and one from an apparent suicide.
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7. More than a million housing units were destroyed during the storm. Half of them were from Louisiana.
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8. Because of the storm, half of the city's population dropped from 484,674 in April 2000 to 230,172 in July 2006.
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9. The difference in flooding was shocking to residents. While tourist areas were left undamaged, some places received one foot of flooding and others up to 10 feet of flooding.
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10. The majority of relief funds sent to New Orleans by George Bush ($120.5 billion) went to emergency relief ($75 billion), not rebuilding.
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11. Private insurance companies provided a total of $30 billion to residents, a lot less than federal aid provided.
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12. A reported 600,000 households were still displaced a month after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.
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13. In the four days after the levees broke, 140 premature babies were brought to the Woman's Hospital in New Orleans.
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14. Midwives helped deliver 20 healthy babies in the storm's aftermath.
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15. While the city lost most of its residents after they were forced to relocate, a slight growth was seen in the city. In 2013, the Census Bureau reported a 2 percent growth (8,827 people) in the metro city area.
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16. From the Salvation Army: "@salvationarmyus continues to be a source of hope, stability, and service to the residents of the Gulf Coast 10 years after #hurricanekatrina. #doingthemostgood"
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Continue reading 10 Years Later: Remembering Hurricane Katrina