South African president to visit flood sites with death toll at 78 and expected to climb
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit the sites Friday of devastating floods that have left at least 78 people dead in the southeast of the country as search and rescue operations continue for a fourth day and authorities say they expect the death toll to rise.
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7 hours ago
- CBS News
Los Angeles County firefighters prepositioned due to "critical fire weather"
With red flag warnings in place for critical fire weather in Los Angeles County on Saturday, state and city leaders have taken a proactive approach to the potential need for firefighters. National Weather Service officials issued the red flag warning on Saturday, which they expected to last from 1 p.m. until at least 5 a.m. on Sunday morning. Areas affected by the warnings include the I-5 corridor and the Antelope Valley, where NWS officials say "strong to damaging" winds, some of which could reach up to 65 mph, were expected. This, paired with low humidity in the area, could create dangerous fire conditions. In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom approved the prepositioning of some firefighting resources. "The Governor's Office of Emergency Services has approved the prepositioning of firefighting resources in Los Angeles County in response to Red Flag Warnings and critical fire weather conditions forecasted to impact Southern California through Sunday, June 22, 2025," said a release from Newsom's office. "This proactive approach has proven to be a critical component of California's wildfire response strategy, reducing response times and containing fires before they escalate into major incidents. These efforts ensure that both ground and air resources are ready to respond quickly, minimizing the potential impact of new fires." In January, a series of red flag warnings were issued due to similar weather conditions. The extremely high-powered winds and low levels of humidity created conditions that saw several devastating wild fires, including the Palisades and Eaton fires, break out and destroy thousands of homes and buildings.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
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Even hotter weather on the way next week
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)- Another day, another round of hot weather, and we have little relief in your First Alert Forecast. Weekend: Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s each afternoon this weekend. Isolated showers and storms are possible Saturday afternoon. Excess humidity will cause feel-like readings to be in the upper 90s. Rain chances back off slightly Sunday, with only stray showers possible. Heat index temperatures will remain in the upper 90s. Next Week: The heat dome across the Southeast will remain in place through next week. This will allow afternoon highs to soar in the upper 90s by Tuesday. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are set to be the hottest days of the year.. so far. Heat index readings could be as hot as 105 degrees. Rain chances also increase by the middle of next week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Having fought flooding for years, Father's Day Flood brings sad end to Fairmont church
FAIRMONT — Pastor Lonnie Leo Riley is always grateful, but on Father's Day, his gratitude became difficult to describe. The building that housed Riley's church, Agape Life Ministries, at 410 Morgantown Ave., is now condemned in the aftermath of the severe flooding from June 15. 'Actually, when church was over, about noon, I looked out and the sun was shining, and we all got out of there,' said Riley, who along with his wife Regina, are ministers of the church. 'My wife and I had to do a counseling session, so we stayed over, talking with some individuals, and by the time we got out of there, close to two it started raining,' Riley said. After the counseling session, Riley looked at his wife and said, 'Oh man, it's coming down,' so they left the church and went home. 'When I got home, my house was flooded as well, so I got home and dealt with that as much as possible,' he continued. Riley said he returned to the church at 6 or 7 p.m. and found damage that was unprecedented. He said water came up to his waist. 'By time I got back over to whole floor of the basement had been washed out,' Riley said. 'Completely washed out. Church was wide open, so the basement door blew off, blew off the hinges. Those church doors open out for safety purposes. It washed it back inside the church about 20 feet.' During the past year, Riley has worked with Fairmont city officials sort of nudging them on from the sidelines as they planned and approved a $17.4 million stormwater project along Morgantown Avenue. However, that project can't happen soon enough for Riley. 'When I got there, it was so much devastation,' Riley said. 'And I went down and looked, I thought, 'OK, somebody left the door open.' Mentally, you're not focusing and I looked up and the door was gone, literally gone. So much debris in the basement, I couldn't even see the door. I couldn't find a door.' He said if church services had ran two hours longer on Sunday, lives would have been in peril as the church holds children's programming in the basement while adults are in worship. Riley said 'some years ago' a sinkhole developed under the church which was already home to the City of Fairmont's water lines under the structure. 'And so the building — it collapsed on the inside of the basement,' Riley said. 'My refrigerator, my kitchen area, was in the basement. We came in and the refrigerator was down inside the sinkhole.' He said the church is in the process of looking for a new place to worship. One June 22, Riley and Agape Life Ministries members will worship in the auditorium at East Fairmont High. In terms of financial loss, Riley said he had no way to provide an estimate of how much was lost in the flooding. In a prepared statement, City Manager Travis Blosser said city staff have 'kept frequent contact with Pastor Riley' and the issues at the church 'are one of the main reasons' the city applied for the $17.4 million grant from the Department of Environmental Protection for the stormwater system upgrade. 'The carnage that the flooding brought to Agape and the other structures and businesses along that stretch of Morgantown Avenue shows exactly why this project is so necessary to complete as soon as possible,' Blosser continued. 'It also shows the damage wasn't just an isolated incident on Locust Avenue, but stretched across Fairmont.' Blosser encourages residents whose homes and property were flooded to fill out a Disaster Impact Survey. 'The numbers collected through this survey allow us to better pursue relief funding for our community to help those impacted by this crisis,' Blosser said. The survey is online at Blosser said residents are encouraged to fill out the survey regardless of the amount of damage they incurred. Residents who are unable to access the digital survey can call the Marion County Department of Homeland Security at 304-366-0196 for assistance in logging their damage. On the state level, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Friday that he has 'asked President Donald Trump for a Major Disaster Declaration and an Emergency Declaration' for Marion and Ohio counties. 'These declarations will help unlock federal resources to support our fellow West Virginians hardest hit by the major flooding events earlier this week.'
