Month: October 2018

LOS ANGELES — In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Michael in Florida, the Walt Disney Company is donating $1 million toward relief efforts. The company will also match donations made by employees to eligible relief and recovery organizations helping in Florida. RELATED: Mexico City, Florida officials combing town for people who rode out Hurricane Michael Michael barreled into the Florida Panhandle last week as a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds that…

MEXICO BEACH, Florida — Four days removed after Hurricane Michael pulverized the Florida Panhandle, officials in Mexico Beach, which was one of the communities hit the hardest, told ABC News 46 people remain unaccounted for. Nearly 300 people, including 10 children, rode out the storm when it made landfall in the middle of last week, according to the town’s city clerk and mayor. There has been only one reported fatality in Mexico Beach from Hurricane…

For a Southern state regularly exposed to hurricanes, call it an election Florence-style. In 2016, North Carolina voters cast their ballots just four weeks after Hurricane Matthew unleashed devastating floodwaters on the state’s eastern half. This fall, they’re voting about seven weeks after Hurricane Florence sent rivers wildly bursting their banks. That leaves North Carolina lawmakers quickly adjusting rules for voter registration, the state elections board struggling to track down storm-displaced voters, and activists complaining…

Sebastian Aho scored his second goal of the game in overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes over the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Saturday night. Justin Williams tied it for Carolina with 1:09 left in the third period, and the Hurricanes matched the best five-game start in franchise history by tying the 4-0-1 Hartford Whalers in 1995-96. Aho added an assist while running his point streak to five games. Jordan Staal and Brett Pesce also scored…

Legislative leaders on Saturday announced an agreement to set aside nearly $800 million in new funding for Hurricane Florence recovery efforts. The commitment reflects uncommonly fast cooperation among the Republican-controlled legislature and the Democratic governor. Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday proposed spending $750 million immediately and $1.5 billion over several years, focused primarily on housing, agriculture and businesses. The new commitment by General Assembly leaders is on top of $50 million lawmakers approved earlier this…

Drivers who live in nearly one-third of North Carolina counties can get free duplicate licenses, IDs and registration cards through the end of the year. Those are among several breaks included in an executive order signed by Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday, intended to help residents of disaster areas in southeastern North Carolina after Hurricane Florence, said a press release from the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles. The area includes Wilmington, Fayetteville and Greenville and…

They’ve been described as 100- or even 500-year storms, to indicate that they’re not supposed to happen more than once in a lifetime. And yet hurricanes Floyd, Matthew and now Florence all brought once inconceivable flooding to Eastern North Carolina three times in less than 20 years. And it would be smart to assume it will happen again as we rebuild and build new roads, bridges, water systems, sewage treatment plants and other infrastructure, according…