A state of emergency has been declared in the Central American nations, where more than 20 people are missing.

It has caused heavy rains, landslides and floods which are blocking roads, destroying bridges and damaging houses.

In Costa Rica, nearly 400,000 people are without running water and thousands are sleeping in shelters.

At least eight people have died in the storm there, while another 11 were killed when it moved north and reached Nicaragua, where as much as 15ins (38cm) of rain had been predicted to fall by the US’s National Hurricane Center.

Three people have been killed in Honduras, including two youths who drowned in a river, and several are reported missing.

One man was also reportedly killed in a mudslide in El Salvador, according to emergency services.

In Costa Rica, all train journeys were suspended and dozens of flights cancelled on Thursday.

More than a dozen national parks popular with tourists have been closed as a precaution.

The storm also caused extensive damage to infrastructure in Nicaragua.

ate was expected to move off the eastern coast of Honduras at 23:00 ET (03:00 GMT) on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters say the storm will gain strength and become a category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall on the southern coast of the United States on Sunday.

Residents from Florida to Texas have been told to prepare for the storm, which, if it does strike, will be the third major storm to hit the southern coast his year.

Both Texas and Florida are still recovering from the damage inflicted by Hurricane Harvey, which hit the former in August and caused “unprecedented damage”, and Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida in September.

Oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico says they are evacuating staff from platforms which lie along the predicted path of the storm.

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Source: BBC

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According to the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Hassan Tampuli, the price surge could largely be attributed to the recent hurricanes that ravaged the United States of America.

“For the past many years, at this time of the year, prices will normally come down after the summer driving season. In the summer driving season, where there is no winter, people go out of their houses, they go on vacation, crisscrossing their country and then the demand on products increases…it is different this time because of the unfortunate national disaster that we have in the United States, especially, which has led to the diversion of [fuel] products from Europe meant for south, west and central African countries to the Americans,” Mr. Tampuli said on Wednesday at a press conference.

Fuel prices hit all-year-high

[contextly_sidebar id=”poGDKqqKi4t0uMj1m9QGAHEnH0oPmPJQ”]Fuel prices have hit all-year-high in September, with petrol selling at an average price of GHc4.29 at the pumps, and diesel going for an average of GHc4.23 per litre.

Analysts have posited that the surge in fuel prices could be among other things be as a result of crude oil price on the international market, as well as the depreciation of the Ghanaian currency – the cedi.

Reduce taxes on fuel prices

Some have also complained that the numerous taxes on petroleum products, could have led to a surge in prices, and have thus called on government to review them.

But Mr. Tampuli defended the taxes saying they help to stabilize the prices within the country. He also said government does not benefit from the taxes saying they are in the interest of consumers.

Hurricane Harvey, Irma and all in-between

Climate change in recent times led to some massive hurricanes – Harvey, Irma, others —hitting some states in the US.

The storms, which were so violent, were said to have destroyed properties worth millions of dollars. Some US states were cut off from social amenities including electricity due to the storms.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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A town hall grew heated after City Council member Greg Travis, who represents parts of western Houston, told about 250 people that an Army Corps of Engineers official told him that certain gauges measuring water levels at the Buffalo Bayou – the city’s main waterway – failed due to a decision to release water from two municipal reservoirs to avoid an overflow.

Travis’ words inflamed tensions at the town hall, held at the Westin Houston hotel, as the region struggled to recover from Hurricane Harvey, which dropped as much as 50 inches (127 cm) of rain in some areas along Texas’ Gulf Coast, triggering historic floods.

More than 450,000 people either still do not have safe drinking water or need to boil their water first.

On Aug. 28, the Army Corps and the Harris County Flood Control District opened the Addicks and Barker reservoirs in western Houston to keep them from overflowing. They warned it would flood neighborhoods, some of which remained closed off two weeks later.

Travis said the Army Corps official said they kept releasing water without knowing the extent of the flooding. “They didn’t understand that the bathtub effect was occurring,” he said.

Residents attempting to return to flooded homes may have to contend with contaminated water and air because the city’s sewer systems overflowed during the floods. Fire chief Samuel Pena said people returning home should wear breathing masks and consider getting tetanus shots.

“We couldn’t survive the Corps – why should we rebuild?” Debora Kumbalek, who lives in Travis’ district in Houston, shouted during the town hall.

Scattered heaps of discarded appliances, wallboard and mattresses can be still seen throughout the city of 2.7 million people, the nation’s fourth-largest.

There were no representatives from the Army Corps at the town hall. An official from the Army Corps could not immediately comment. An official from the Harris County Flood Control District did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Corps released water at an intended maximum rate of 13,000 cubic feet (370 cubic meters) per second to keep those reservoirs from overflowing. However, preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that on at least two days, the average release rate exceeded that 13,000 level.

Many residents face lengthy rebuilding processes, and the majority do not have flood insurance. The Federal Emergency Management Administration will contribute a maximum of $33,000 per home in assistance to cover damages, a FEMA official said at the town hall, though for heavily flooded homes, damages will likely exceed that amount.

Fire chief Pena said homes may also be occupied by alligators, rodents and snakes due to the floods.

A total of 52 of the state’s public drinking water systems were still damaged, inoperable or destroyed, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, leaving 70,000 people without water. Another 380,000 people need to boil their water.

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Source: Reuters

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According to a report published by Cowen & Co. analyst Helane Becker on Tuesday, the financial toll from the hurricane on United could be more than $265 million.

United Airlines is by far the largest tenant of Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The airline’s operations at the airport account for 17% of its total capacity.

(Prior to its 2010 merger with United, Continental Airlines was based in Houston.)

While Southwest and Spirit also face losses as a result of the storm, the scale of United’s operation in Houston means it’s exposed to a higher degree.

Becker expects Southwest to take a $77 million financial hit while Spirit will likely lose $11 million.

Further, the analyst does not expect United to be able to recoup much of the revenue it has lost during the airport’s closure. (George Bush Intercontinental is not scheduled to reopen until Thursday.)

In the report Becker wrote:

“We assume the airports in the area will be closed for seven days and expect relatively little chance to recoup the lost revenue as the impact to people in the region could be profound (justifiably difficult to go on vacation after your house was flooded or the roof torn off). In addition, we expect school closures, and it is possible future vacations will be canceled to make up the lost classroom time. Given Houston is a major hub for United, they will likely be the most impacted by the storms.”

In April, the video surfaced of David Dao being forcibly removed from one of the United’s planes in Chicago. The public backlash after the incident forced CEO Oscar Munoz to institute a series of passenger-friendly policies to reduce the likelihood of such an event ever happening again at the airline.

Even though the incident turned United into the butt of every joke about poor customer service for a few months, it didn’t actually harm the airline’s bottom. In fact, United had a great second quarter with profits up 39%.

For United and its Houston-based employees, Harvey will prove to be much more devastating not just in lost business, but the widespread devastation will affect employees’ ability to return to work even after the airport reopens.

For its part, United sent three of its brand new Boeing 777-300ER jets to Houston over the weekend. The wide-body airliners were filled with emergency supplies and more than 100 employees to help with relief efforts. In addition, United donated $200,000 to aid Texas communities impacted by the hurricane.

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Source: Business Insider

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The move comes after Osteen received significant pressure on social media to provide assistance to the community.

Charles Clymer, who had provided some of the original evidence that the church had not been flooded as otherwise claimed, posted a photo to Twitter that showed air mattresses being prepared for people.

Lakewood Church apparently bought countless air mattresses and are prepping to open their doors. Took a while but good news.#JoelOsteen pic.twitter.com/MYXf1HqAbF

— Charles Clymer (@cmclymer) August 29, 2017

As the former home of the Houston Rockets, the church’s 16,000 seats are spacious enough for big crowds. And one would think a religious institution would be inclined to open its doors to the needy in a time like this, as others in the area already have.

Yet as the fallout from the storm continues to devastate the area, the massive building remains empty.

The church said in a Facebook post on Sunday morning that it’s “inaccessible due to flooding” and directed residents to a list of other shelters.

But several people in the area questioned this claim with photos posted on social media of the building’s exterior and surrounding grounds.

Aside from that initial post this weekend, the church was silent on the matter. Emails were not returned, and an automated phone message said no one could answer because of “inclement weather conditions in our area.”

A statement from the church issued later on Monday afternoon said it had volunteers working in shelters around the city, but made no mention of the status of its building or its prospects as a similar relief zone.

“We are working diligently with the city of Houston to mobilize our many volunteers at shelters around the city as well as various other points of need in and around the Houston area,” the statement posted to Facebook read. “In addition, we are working with Samaritan’s Purse on major relief efforts.”

A church spokesperson told a Slate reporter that the church is open, but its social media channels made no mention of that change.

Later, the church released a statement saying it’s “prepared to house people once shelters reach capacity.”

As for Osteen himself, the superstar pastor has punctuated his usual stream of religious aphorisms on Twitter with a few calls to pray for Harvey victims, but he’s stayed mum on the church controversy. Making the optics worse, he’s also reportedly blocked users who’ve asked him about it.

Photos circulating on Twitter purported to show floods in the church’s lower parking levels on Sunday night, and some users speculated problems in the underground parking and floods in the surrounding roads have been to blame for the church’s response.

But judging from the number of social media sleuths who visited on Monday, the place seemed accessible enough.

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Source: Mashable

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The storm, which has even stronger gusts, is the most powerful to hit the US mainland for 12 years.

Up to 40in (1m) of rain is expected to fall.

President Donald Trump has signed a disaster proclamation for the state, which will free up federal aid for the worst-affected areas.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has warned of record flooding in multiple regions.

Harvey made landfall around 22:00 local time (03:00 GMT) as a Category 4 storm, and has already brought down trees and cut power in the city of Corpus Christi. Thousands of residents have boarded up their homes and fled.

About three hours after it struck, the storm was downgraded to Category 3 after winds dropped slightly to 125mph (201km/h). It remains life-threatening, and capable of causing major damage to buildings.

The mayor of coastal Rockport, Patrick Rios, urged the few remaining people in the 10,000-strong town to leave immediately.

The city manager said people were trapped in a housing centre for elderly people, where the roof had collapsed and rescue teams were unable to gain access, according to CBS.

Long queues of traffic have been heading out of the storm’s path.

Governor Abbot said it was obvious Texas was confronting a “very major disaster”, and more than 1,000 National Guardsmen were to help with the disaster relief operation.

High winds began lashing the coast at nightfall on Friday as coastal water levels rose at the same time.

Harvey is the first major storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and has severely hampered Gulf of Mexico oil production and air travel.

Storm surges of up to 12ft (4m) are expected over the next few days and the National Hurricane Center warned of life-threatening floods in and around Houston.

Forecasters say the storm’s path is uncertain but it is expected over the next few hours to be near or just inland of the middle of the Texas coast.

Mr Trump is likely to visit Texas early next week, the White House said.

The storm is likely be the strongest storm to hit the US since October 2005, when Hurricane Wilma struck the coast of Florida.

Wilma left 87 people dead and was part of a record-breaking hurricane season that included Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and killed nearly 2,000 people in August of that year.

The last category four storm to hit the US was Charley in August 2004.

While Harvey is packing strong and potentially devastating winds, the biggest threats to Texas are rainfall and the storm surge.

Meteorologists say Harvey could remain in the area, dumping rain until the middle of next week.

Oil-rich Houston, the fourth biggest city in the US, could face up to 20in of rain over the coming days.
On top of that, the central Texas coast is likely to see a significant storm surge – this happens when low pressure at sea “lifts” tides to a level higher than normal, and high winds then blow the water inland.

The NHC said it expected “catastrophic flooding” across the coast and in some inland areas throughout south-east Texas.

Parts of Texas are already seeing a storm surge 2.5ft above normal.

About 45% of US oil refining takes place on the Gulf of Mexico coast, and Corpus Christi is an important port for the industry.

Crude oil production has slowed down by about 20% to prepare for the storm, and fears Harvey could lead to a shortfall in fuel have helped drive up prices.

Long queues of cars have been spotted leaving central Texas and the British band Coldplay cancelled a Friday night concert in Houston.

At least 20,000 passengers on three cruise ships have been unable to disembark in Galveston, Texas, cruise operator Carnival Corp said.

The Houston Chronicle reported they, and the passengers on one other ship, might need to stay out at sea until the middle of next week.

Meanwhile, Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi has flown at least 10 babies from its neonatal intensive care unit to hospitals further inland, due to fear of power failures.

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Source: BBC

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“We have done our best; we have made Ghanaians aware of what is going to happen this year with the heavy rains. Those who will suffer anything are those who continue to live in the low-lying areas because they have their own reasons,”Mr. Azantilow said

He said although residents living in those areas had been advised to relocate, they had refused to heed to NADMO’s advice, thus contributing to the problem.

Hours of heavy rainfall on Thursday led to flooding in parts of Accra and the other regions.

The flood caused heavy vehicular traffic while most of the roads were almost impassable.

Describing the flooding in the national capital, Mr. Azantilow explained that “The flooding is quite extensive, it is not something that we were expecting because the Meteorological Services has warned us that this year we will have heavy rains and we aware that Accra and its metropolis will suffer some floods.”

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Azantilow further stated that NADMO had launched an initiative to cater for the individuals affected by the floods.

“Our rescue team is on the stand by and  we will visit all the areas to decide what assistance we can give them,” he added.

Mr. Azantilow also said no casualties had been recorded yet, although some individuals had been rendered homeless by the flood.

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @EfeAnsah

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According to them, no resident was displaced by the incident.

Some areas in the Cape Coast Municipality got flooded on Wednesday after a heavy rainstorm.

Several structures including schools and church buildings were affected.

Citi News’ Central Regional correspondent, Kwamena Bamfo-Adjei who visited the affected communities reported that about four churches had been hit and its members were trying to retrieve some items from the buildings.

A resident he spoke to said: “We have lost a lot of things. I don’t think I can even mention them due to the magnitude.”

The Central Regional NADMO coordinator, Yisande Amartey in an interview with Citi News explained that “people haven’t been displaced; the water receded immediately after the rains so I don’t think there is any cause for alarm. We are firmly on the ground.”

Mr. Amartey attributed the intensity of the flooding to the construction of a fuel station in the middle of a waterway which prevented the free flow of the rainwater during the rainstorm.

He noted that his outfit is currently assessing the extent of damage that has been caused and “until we send the report to Accra, we cannot do anything immediately.”

He however dismissed claims that about 40 houses had been affected but clarified that an estimated number of about 26 houses were hit by the flood.

He revealed personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service had been deployed to pump out the water from the affected buildings d and assured residents that NADMO was working to put the situation under control.

By Afua Kesewa Akoto/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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