More than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona swept across Puerto Rico and caused severe flooding, mudslides and loss of running water, Puerto Ricans are still picking up the pieces, and many are making clear what changes they want to see — starting with the local government.
State of play: President Biden announced Monday a new $60 million investment for flood protections on the island, where over 100,000 Puerto Ricans remain without power. But grassroots groups say they've had to fill in gaping holes in the government’s response and recovery effort.
Australia's government announced a "zero extinctions" drive Tuesday that'll see at least 30% of the country's land mass reserved for conservation in order to protect threatened animals and plants.
Why it matters: "Australia is the mammal extinction capital of the world," said Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek in a statement announcing the 10-year plan to save threatened species including the iconic koala.
Coinciding with his visiton Monday, President Biden announced the administration will provide $60 million to Puerto Rico to help the island shore up protections against future storms.
Driving the news: More than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico, 122,130 customers are still without power as of Monday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.
Hurricane Orlene was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall on Mexico's Pacific coastline Monday morning as a Category 1 storm just north of the Nayarit-Sinaloa state border, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The big picture: The storm was expected to bring dangerous storm surge along the coast of mainland Mexico and heavy rain in the southwest through Tuesday, raising the risk of flash flooding and possible landslides.
Hurricane Ian was a nightmare of a storm to forecast, and experts say the tools meteorologists used to assess and communicate its likely path were part of the problem.
Why it matters: With the death toll mounting, meteorologists, emergency managers and others are asking how they could have done a better job making clear the storm would devastate the Ft. Myers area — and what lessons they can learn for the next storm.
UPS-backed electric vehicle startup Arrival built its first delivery van last week — a significant milestone, considering the challenges it and other upstart EV makers like it are facing.
Why it matters: Arrival and other fledgling commercial EV companies are struggling to launch production as funding dwindles and bigger rivals like GM and Ford start to crank out electric trucks and vans of their own.
Days after Hurricane Ian swept through, central Florida communities are facing sewage concerns and rising floodwaters that the National Weather Service warns will persist "well into this week" — as rescue efforts continue across the state.
Details: The city of Orlando urged residents on Sunday night to "limit water usage" after Ian's "unprecedented rainfall" damaged the sewer system, while the nearby central city of St. Cloud issued a voluntary evacuation order due to rising floodwaters.
