Betty MacDonald Fan Club. Join fans of the beloved writer Betty MacDonald (1907-58). The original Betty MacDonald Fan Club and literary Society. Welcome to Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society - the official Betty MacDonald Fan Club Website with members in 40 countries.
Betty MacDonald, the author of The Egg and I and the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series is beloved all over the world. Don't miss Wolfgang Hampel's Betty MacDonald biography and his very witty interviews on CD and DVD!
Monday, September 11, 2017
Hurricane Irma: storm surge causes record flooding in north-east Florida – live updates
Hurricane Irma: storm surge causes record flooding in north-east Florida – live updates
Follow latest developments as Irma moves up the west coast of
Florida. Storm downgraded to a category 1 storm with winds of less than
100mph
The number of homes currently without power in Florida has shot up to 5.78m, according to the latest update from theFlorida State Emergency Response Team. That represents 58% of the state, it said. The worst hit areas are Miami Dade county where 815,650 homes are
without power (down from 1.1m earlier) and neighbouring Broward county
where 643,000 homes currently don’t have power.
Entrepreneur and British Virgin Island resident, Richard Branson, has
called for a “disaster recovery Marshall plan” for the Caribbean- a
reference to the multi-billion dollar programme agreed by the US to help
Europe recover from the devastation of the second world war. In a blogpost he writes:
The UK government will have a massive role to play in the recovery of
its territories affected by Irma - both through short-term aid and
long-term infrastructure spending. The region needs a “Disaster Recovery
Marshall Plan” for the BVI and other territories that will aid in
recovery, sustainable reconstruction and long-term revitalisation of the
local economy. This will have to include building resilience against
what is likely to be a higher intensity and frequency of extreme weather
events, as the effects of climate change continue to grow.
Branson said tens of thousands of people who have lost their homes
and livelihoods amid “worrying reports of civil unrest spreading”. He added: “We must get more help to the islands to rebuild homes and
infrastructure and restore power, clean water and food supplies.”
Since you’re here … we have a small favour to ask. More
people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues
across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can.
So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s
independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and
hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective
matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it,
helps to support it, our future would be much more secure. You can give
to the Guardian by becoming a monthly supporter or by making a one-off contribution. - Guardian HQ
Flooding of 4.5ft (1.37m) on the Johns River beat the previous record set in 1964 during Hurricane Dora.
Thank Cuba ...
Had the center of Irma hit Florida 20 to 30 miles (32-50 kilometers) to the east its impact would have been much worse, meteorologists have told AP.
Florida can thank Cuba, where it did hit as a Category 5 storm, said
Maue and Jeff Masters, meteorology director for Weather Underground. Irma would probably have hit Florida as a Category 5 hurricane if it had missed Cuba, Masters said. The storm briefly trekked over Cuba’s low populated coast Friday
evening through Saturday afternoon. That weakened Irma enough that when
upper level winds from the west eroded some of the storm’s top and also
blew in dry air, it had the combined of effect of making Irma more
ragged, Masters said. It was at that point, he said, that Irma’s
southwest eyewall sort of came apart, no longer a perfect circle on
satellite imagery. Slightly weakened from Cuba, the storm got caught up in competing
weather systems a little longer, delaying its northward right turn into
Florida. And that delay pushed the track further west, making it more of
a threat to Florida’s west coast than its east.
Meanwhile, Cuba has sent hundreds heath workers doctors to several other Caribbean island hit by Irma, the Independent reports.
More than 750 health workers have arrived in Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia, the Bahamas, Dominica and Haiti. They have been told to follow the guidelines of the Ministry of
Public Health (Minsap) and to contribute to aiding the recovery of
regions that have been hit by the hurricane. “The collaboration of the Central Medical Cooperation Unit, together
with the Minsap Management Center, and our embassies, have maintained
the communication to assess the damages and assess what help our own
collaborators could provide,” Regla Angulo Pardo, the director of the
Central Unit of Medial Cooperation in Cuba, told Granma.
Hurricane Irma is continuing to lash Florida as it moves north of Tampa, but is losing strength and is set to be downgraded to a tropical storm later today.
It was a category four storm when it first made landfall in the Florida
Keys, but is now a category one hurricane with sustained windspeeds of
75mph and is likely to classed as tropical storm later on Monday,
according to the National Hurricane Center
The most immediate threat from the storm is the possibility of storm surges.
The critical point could come at high tide, the NHC said, and bring up
to 15ft (4.5m) of water flooding inland in the Tampa area. High tide is
expected at St Petersburg at 5.30am.
Forecasters say they expect Irma’s centre to stay inland over Florida and then move into Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.
It will weaken into a tropical storm over far northern Florida or
southern Georgia on Monday as it speeds up its forward motion.
More 4.2 millions homes are without power in Florida.
A police officer and prisoner officer were killed in a car crash in
southern Florida thought to have been caused by the hurricane. Miami
International Airport will remain closed until at least Tuesday. Three
construction cranes have crashed to the ground in southern Florida.
In the Caribbean, the premier of the British Virgin Islands, Orlando Smith,
has asked for immediate aid from the British government to get the
territories back on their feet after being devastated by Irma last week.
He said the situation was “critical” and called for a “comprehensive package” to rebuild the islands.
The clean-up operation is continuing in the Caribbean where it is thought 28 people have been killed.
French president Emmanuel Macron has promised to visit the badly-hit French island of St Martin on Tuesday. Dutch
prime minister Mark Rutte said the death toll on the Dutch part of St.
Martin had doubled to four, and that 70% of homes had been damaged or
destroyed.
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has insisted Britain is doing all it can to help
after facing fresh criticism from Britons stranded in the Caribbean.
Johnson said 700 British troops were in the region, with UK police also
arriving. The government has already set aside £32m in aid and will
match public donations to the Red Cross appeal
Irma has weakened to hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 75 mph and is set to become a tropical storm later on Monday, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. It is currently centred 60 miles north of Tampa, on the west coast of Florida. Here are other main points:
A Hurricane warning for Florida west has been changed to a tropical storm warning.
Tropical storm warnings and storm surge warngins have been lifted for the Florida Keys and the Northwestern Bahamas.
Storm surge and hurricane warnings remains in place for many parts
of Florida including Tampa Bay. A Storm surge warning means there is a
“danger of life-threatening inundation”, from rising water moving inland
from the coast.
Irma is moving north-northwest at 18mph towards the eastern Florida
Panhandle into southern Georgia this afternoon, and move through
southwestern Georgia and eastern Alabama tonight and Tuesday.
Additional weakening is forecast. Irma is expected to weaken to a
tropical storm this morning and to a tropical depression by Tuesday
afternoon.
Tornadoes are possible across northeast Florida and southeast portions of Georgia and South Carolina through tonight.
Some better news ... Hurricane Jose, the next Atlantic weather system behind Irma, has weakened to a category 2 storm and is lingering over the western Atlantic. According to the latest update from the US National Hurricane Centre
Jose now has sustained wind speeds of 105mp, which means it has weakened
from a category 3 to a category 2 storm. Jose is currently 255 miles north east of the Turks and Caicos islands. The NHC said:
Jose is moving toward the north-northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h), and a
turn toward the northeast is expected by tonight, with a reduction in
forward speed. Jose is then expected to move slowly toward the east and
southeast Tuesday into Wednesday. Maximum sustained winds are near 105
mph (165 km/h) with higher gusts. Steady weakening is forecast during
the next 48 hours.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.
Jeff Kleinman (@jeffkleinman)
NWS San Juan (@NWSSanJuan)
NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic)
