Tiring Floyd blows into New York
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.NEW YORK brushed itself down yesterday after Hurricane Floyd swept through, leaving it damp, a little battered but not much the worse for wear.
Floyd was downgraded to a mere tropical storm, and moved into Canada, where it was expected to peter out. Because it made a turn earlier in the week, the largest hurricane seen in the Atlantic for years never hit the United States with its full force.
President Bill Clinton announced some $500m (pounds 308m) in disaster aid for communities hit by Floyd in the country's south-east. Much of coastal North Carolina was still under water, and thousands of people were homeless. Seventeen people were killed in incidents linked to the storm, a fraction of those who would have died were it not for the massive evacuation of the east coast, which sent some three million people to shelter inland. As people streamed home in the south-east, many found that their homes had been burgled while they were away.
New York worked itself into a lather over Floyd, but there was little damage. The formal, open meeting of the United Nations Security Council was cancelled for the first time in recent history, and some homes were flooded as six inches of rain fell. But losses were far more severe in the Bahamas, which took the full force of the storm and where it will take weeks to clean up and repair.
Hurricane Gert, hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic, was unlikely to make landfall in the US, but it its track could take it towards Bermuda. Gert's winds of 140mph made it a category four storm, which could do very serious damage. The British island is the home of the reinsurance industry, so at least it should be financially prepared.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments