HURRICANES - Performance by FEMA, Trump on Puerto Rico, Climate Change

"How prepared is FEMA for Hurricane Florence?" PBS NewsHour 9/12/2018

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SUMMARY:  President Trump has said the federal government in "totally prepared" for Hurricane Florence, but the federal reaction to Hurricanes Harvey and Maria last year have raised questions about the nation’s disaster response.  Judy Woodruff talks with former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate and Chris Currie, a Director of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

"Flying into hurricanes, scientists search for more certainty" PBS NewsHour 9/12/2018

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SUMMARY:  How do meteorologists and scientists make predictions about the power and trajectory of a hurricane?  Buckle up.  Science correspondent Miles O’Brien joins a crew of scientists who fly right into the eye of Hurricane Florence.

"Trump disputes Puerto Rico’s hurricane death toll.  Here’s how they are calculated" PBS NewsHour 9/13/2018

aka "Anything That Makes Me Look Bad is 'Fake News'"

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SUMMARY:  In the months since Hurricane Maria, studies estimating the death toll in Puerto Rico have far exceeded the government's initial figure.  But President Trump is denying a conclusion that nearly 3,000 people died as a result of the storm, and defending the government's response.  John Yang talks with Philip Bump from the Washington Post.

"How climate change is ‘loading the dice’ for more perilous hurricanes" PBS NewsHour 9/14/2018

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SUMMARY:  As Hurricane Florence was closing in on the Carolina coast this week, the role of climate change in intensifying weather was back in the national conversation.  Amna Nawaz talks with Radley Horton of Columbia University about the link between climate change and sea level rise and rising temperatures.