In the News: Northeastern United States Not Ready for Climate Change
Storm Ida caused extensive damage and claimed 40 lives in New York State on September 2, 2021. © AP / Craig Ruttle
Text by: Romain Lemaresquier Follow
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Very heavy toll in the northeastern United States after Storm Ida hit New York City and surrounding states. Forty-three dead (out of a total of 46 nationally), a toll that could increase further in the coming hours. It is the neighboring state of New Jersey that has been the most affected with 23 dead, details this morning the local daily
Daily Record
, which represents a record for this state. On Wednesday evening, when the downpours fell, the houses were shattered like dollhouses, says the daily. And within minutes, the public spaces were totally inundated. The toll in terms of destruction is also the largest ever recorded, knowing that it is still provisional.
Most of the victims died in their cars, the state governor said. People trapped by the rising waters and who drowned in their vehicle, explains the
Daily Record
. If the storm was so devastating in this state, it is quite simply because it is surrounded by water and has a very high population density explains the daily. And as the
New York Times
explains
, these states in the northeastern United States do not have the infrastructure to cope with such volumes of water.
A region built for a different weather era insists the newspaper.
From now on, the unthinkable must become the norm, believe many local officials, and it is all the infrastructures that will have to be adapted to the increasingly frequent climate risks.
In California, Caldor burns South Lake Tahoe dreams to ashes
In California, unlike the east coast of the United States, locals would love for the rain to fall, because since mid-August, the Caldor fire has been ravaging the Sierra Nevada and threatening towns near Lake Tahoe. Faced with the scale of the disaster, the US president declared a state of emergency in California on Thursday. Joe Biden also ordered the granting of federal aid to strengthen efforts to fight this fire with dramatic consequences, as detailed this Friday in the
San Francisco Chronicle
. The daily visited the municipality of South Lake Tahoe, located on the shores of Lake Tahoe as its name suggests. A city that until now lived on tourism, the main source of income.
But tourism there is over, announces the newspaper.
This city was completely evacuated because it risked going up in smoke, as the
San Francisco Chronicle
writes
.
The mountainous landscapes sought after by tourists in winter and the shores of the lake popular in summer are devastated, explains a resident of this locality.
This disaster, coupled with the pandemic which has seriously undermined tourism, could well get the better of this city, he believes, knowing that before these events this city was in full expansion.
And even financial aid will not allow residents to raise their heads, says the mayor of South Lake Tahoe in the columns of the
San Francisco Chronicle
.
Draw for the first televised in Canada
Canadians were able to follow this Thursday the first televised debate between party leaders as part of the electoral campaign for the federal elections to be held on September 20. A debate which ended in a draw according to the Canadian press. A draw that will ultimately arrange everyone, even estimates this morning the daily
Le Devoir
. Admittedly, Erin O'Toole, the leader of the Conservative Party, the only formation that could overshadow Justin Trudeau, has succeeded.
But apart from attacking the outgoing prime minister, he hasn't been able to come up with much, the newspaper said.
Justin Trudeau who had, before the start of the debate, announced that he intended to have fun, did not have the opportunity to do so since he had to justify the holding of early elections in the midst of a pandemic.
For Erin O'Toole, by doing so, Justin Trudeau puts his personal interest ahead of the collective interest.
A feeling shared by the other two participants in this debate, which will not go down in history, according to the daily
Le Devoir
.
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