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Indianapolis police officers discuss rescue of Kason Thomas
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Footage released by the zoo shows Bibi the hippopotamus crushing a pumpkin in one bite.
Bibi is the mother of Fiona and Fritz, two other beloved hippos at the zoo, who have also been known to enjoy smashing pumpkins.
Making that even more painful is that most of the damage — 95% or more in Helene's case — was not insured, putting victims in a deeper financial hole.
Storm deaths have been dropping over time, although Helene was an exception. But even adjusted for inflation, damages from intense storms are skyrocketing because people are building in harm's way, rebuilding costs are rising faster than inflation, and human-caused climate change are making storms stronger and wetter, experts in different fields said.
“Today’s storms, today’s events are simply vastly different from yesterday’s events. One of the things that we’re seeing is the energy content that these systems can retain is significantly greater than it used to be,” said John Dickson, president of Aon Edge Insurance Agency, which specializes in flood coverage.
In the last 45 years, and adjusted for inflation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has counted 396 weather disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage. Sixty-three of those were hurricanes or tropical storms.
The $50 billion mark for direct losses is a threshold that differentiates “truly historic events," said Adam Smith, the economist and meteorologist who runs the list out of NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information in Helene-hit Asheville, North Carolina.
Only eight hurricanes reached that threshold. Smith said he thought Milton and Helene have “a very good shot” of joining that list.
The first $50 billion hurricane was Andrew in 1992. The U.S. went 13 more years before Katrina topped the damages chart, then seven years until the third costly whopper, Sandy. Helene and Milton would make seven in the last seven years.
Calculating damages is far from an exact science. The more complex and nastier storms are — like Milton and Helene — the longer it takes, Smith said.
Damage is spread over different places and often a much larger area, with wind damage in some places and flood damage elsewhere.
Helene, in particular, caused widespread flooding and in places not used to it. Estimates for those storms from private firms in recent days vary and are incomplete.
There's three categories of damage: insured damage, uninsured damage and total economic cost. Many risk and insurance firms only estimate insured losses.
Homeowner insurance usually covers wind damage, but not flood. Special insurance has to be bought for that.
Flood insurance coverage rates vary by region and storms differ on whether they cause more wind or water damage. Helene was mostly water damage, which is less likely to be covered, while Milton had a good chunk of wind damage.
Of the top 10 costliest hurricanes as compiled by insurance giant Swiss Re — not including Helene or Milton yet — insured damage is about 44% of total costs.
But with Helene, Aon's Dickson estimated that only 5% of victims had insurance coverage for the type of damage they got.
He estimated $10 billion in insured damage so doing the math would put total damage in the $100 billion to $200 billion range, which he called a bit high but in the ballpark. Insured losses for Milton are in the $50 billion to $60 billion range, he said.
With Helene, Swiss Re said less than 2% of Georgia households have federal flood insurance, with North Carolina and South Carolina at 3% and 9%. In North Carolina's Buncombe County, where more than 57 people died from Helene's flooding, less than 1% of the homes are covered by federal flood insurance, the agency said.
Risk modeling by Moody's, the financial services conglomerate, put a combined two-storm total damage estimate of $20 billion to $34 billion.
“The economic losses are going up because we're putting more infrastructure and housing in harm's way,” said University of South Carolina's Susan Cutter, co-director of the Hazards Vulnerability and Resilience Institute, who added that climate change also plays a role.
Studies show that hurricanes are getting wetter because of the buildup of heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Clear skies continue through the weekend and into the start of next week. As high pressure strengthens, we look at increasing temperatures. In fact, highs in the middle 70s by Sunday are not out of the realm of possibilities.
If you are running the Columbus Marathon, we are looking at temps in the 50s by the start of the race, and around 60°F by the end of the race!
Forecast models keep us dry and free of rain through most of next week!
When a hurricane sets its sights on Florida, storm-weary residents may think of catastrophic wind, hammering rain and dangerous storm surge. Mounds of sand swallowing their homes? Not so much.
That’s the reality for some after Hurricanes Helene and Milton clobbered Florida’s Gulf Coast with back-to-back hits in less than two weeks.
"It's the price you pay to live in paradise," said Bill O'Connell, one of the board members for Bahia Vista Gulf.
O'Connell noted that the beachfront property was already repairing damage from Hurricane Helene before Milton was announced to make landfall again.
Storm surge as high as 10 feet swept mountains of sand into communities.
The fine, white sand helps make Florida’s beaches considered among the best in the world. But the powerful storms have turned the precious commodity into a costly nuisance.
It's creating literal barriers to recovery as residents dig their way out and grapple with what to do with all that sand.
STORY: 10tv.com/article/news/local/columbus-teens-stolen-car-crashes-into-house-and-yard/530-8fb7abd8-a462-474a-95d3-7eef9609f9fe
It came from what’s known as the Oort Cloud well beyond Pluto.
After making its closest approach about 44 million miles (71 million kilometers) of Earth, it won’t return for another 80,000 years — assuming it survives the trip.
Comets are frozen leftovers from the solar system’s formation billions of years ago.
They heat up as they swing toward the sun, releasing their characteristic streaming tails.
The comet was visible from both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Tsuchinshan-Atlas was named for the observatories in China and South Africa that spied it.
October's supermoon is the closest of the year, and it also teamed up with Tsuchinshan-Atlas for a rare stargazing two-for-one.
The third of four supermoons this year, it was 222,055 miles (357,364 kilometers) away Wednesday night, making it seem even bigger and brighter than in August and September.
It will reach its full lunar phase today.
Since Helene swallowed mountain towns, damaged water infrastructure and killed nearly 250 people across the Southeast, local governments have been overwhelmed.
Without easy access to water for flushing, people are struggling with where to go to the bathroom and what to do with it. Mishandling fecal matter can lead to cholera, dysentery and other serious, even fatal diseases. Members of the community are stepping in to preserve dignity and public health, donating their time and money.
In Asheville, one person is making and distributing emergency toilets. Others are hauling water from pools and ponds to those in need.
Yet another water solution is coming from people who still have water — because they have a well. Erik Iverson lives near a well owned by an urban farm that wanted to help after the hurricane. He laid two 200-foot lengths of plastic PEX pipe to route the well water to the road for easy public access.
Then he added ultraviolet light purification in order to offer drinkable water (however, the city recommends boiling all water sources). Now people driving by can access two spouts, operated by a foot pedal connected to a chain, touch-free to minimize germs spreading.
“After an event like this, everybody springs into action and heroic mode wanting to help. It's far in advance of any governmental body or any NGO coming in because we're already here,” Iverson said. “We know what neighbors need to be taken care of and ways that we can contribute."
Thousands remain without water as the city is still working to restore water service after its infrastructure was severely damaged in the storm.
As global warming worsens, having diverse and local water sources will be critical for future crises, Iverson said.
"By having this infrastructure in place both here and at numerous wells across the county, then we have the option of diffusing the weight on one particular water source over another.”
It won't get quite as cold tonight - albeit it'll still be cold enough for frost formation on your windshield!
Blue skies and unseasonably warm temps are expected through the weekend, and even into the start of next week! In fact, we are not expecting any major weather disturbances through next week.
The Columbus Marathon is Sunday, and weather should be perfect for runners! We are looking at sunny skies with temps in the 50s at 7am, and 60s by noon!
One benefit of the clearing skies today will be the opportunity to check out the full 'Hunter's Supermoon' tonight, which will be the biggest and brightest moon of 2024. The downside of the full moon is that it may prevent you from seeing comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. But not to worry, as the comet will be visible in the evening sky through, the weekend. This will be visible in the western sky about 45 minutes after sunset (check it out, as it won't be around for another 80,000 years!). You should be able to see the comet with the naked eye, but binoculars will help.
Making that even more painful is that most of the damage — 95% or more in Helene's case — was not insured, putting victims in a deeper financial hole.
Storm deaths have been dropping over time, although Helene was an exception. But even adjusted for inflation, damages from intense storms are skyrocketing because people are building in harm's way, rebuilding costs are rising faster than inflation, and human-caused climate change are making storms stronger and wetter, experts in different fields said.
“Today’s storms, today’s events are simply vastly different from yesterday’s events. One of the things that we’re seeing is the energy content that these systems can retain is significantly greater than it used to be,” said John Dickson, president of Aon Edge Insurance Agency, which specializes in flood coverage.
In the last 45 years, and adjusted for inflation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has counted 396 weather disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage. Sixty-three of those were hurricanes or tropical storms.
The $50 billion mark for direct losses is a threshold that differentiates “truly historic events," said Adam Smith, the economist and meteorologist who runs the list out of NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information in Helene-hit Asheville, North Carolina.
Only eight hurricanes reached that threshold. Smith said he thought Milton and Helene have “a very good shot” of joining that list.
The first $50 billion hurricane was Andrew in 1992. The U.S. went 13 more years before Katrina topped the damages chart, then seven years until the third costly whopper, Sandy. Helene and Milton would make seven in the last seven years.
Calculating damages is far from an exact science. The more complex and nastier storms are — like Milton and Helene — the longer it takes, Smith said.
Damage is spread over different places and often a much larger area, with wind damage in some places and flood damage elsewhere.
Helene, in particular, caused widespread flooding and in places not used to it. Estimates for those storms from private firms in recent days vary and are incomplete.
There's three categories of damage: insured damage, uninsured damage and total economic cost. Many risk and insurance firms only estimate insured losses.
Homeowner insurance usually covers wind damage, but not flood. Special insurance has to be bought for that.
Flood insurance coverage rates vary by region and storms differ on whether they cause more wind or water damage. Helene was mostly water damage, which is less likely to be covered, while Milton had a good chunk of wind damage.
Of the top 10 costliest hurricanes as compiled by insurance giant Swiss Re — not including Helene or Milton yet — insured damage is about 44% of total costs.
But with Helene, Aon's Dickson estimated that only 5% of victims had insurance coverage for the type of damage they got.
He estimated $10 billion in insured damage so doing the math would put total damage in the $100 billion to $200 billion range, which he called a bit high but in the ballpark. Insured losses for Milton are in the $50 billion to $60 billion range, he said.
With Helene, Swiss Re said less than 2% of Georgia households have federal flood insurance, with North Carolina and South Carolina at 3% and 9%. In North Carolina's Buncombe County, where more than 57 people died from Helene's flooding, less than 1% of the homes are covered by federal flood insurance, the agency said.
Risk modeling by Moody's, the financial services conglomerate, put a combined two-storm total damage estimate of $20 billion to $34 billion.
“The economic losses are going up because we're putting more infrastructure and housing in harm's way,” said University of South Carolina's Susan Cutter, co-director of the Hazards Vulnerability and Resilience Institute, who added that climate change also plays a role.
Studies show that hurricanes are getting wetter because of the buildup of heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
AP Video produced by Teresa de Miguel