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In Memory of
Mr. Raymond Johnson

*Would you be so kind and please click "Donate" just to make a donation to, The Raymond Johnson Memorial Fund? The fund is now in C/O ClassicShoppes.us. His brief but true story is touched on just below the video entitled, "Fetal development month by month," as you scroll downward.

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Today's Holiday

Turkmenistan Independence Day

This national holiday commemorates Turkmenistan's independence from the U.S.S.R. on October 27, 1991. Turkmenistan and other republics were gradually able to establish their own autonomous states due to the relaxation of Soviet rule influenced by the policy of perestroika. When the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, their independence was assured. More...

Today's Holiday provided by TheFreeDictionary.com

Quote of the Day

So, naturalists observe, a flea
Has smaller fleas that on him prey;
And these have smaller still to bite 'em;
And so proceed ad infinitum.
Jonathan Swift
(1667-1745)

Quote of the Day provided by The Free Library

I sincerely hope that you have already taken in & enjoyed this video entitled, "Fetal development month by month." Vividly, it shows the remarkable development of a human life. If you have not as yet watched the video, please take the time to do so now. This video is only 6 minutes, 35 seconds in length.

~Mr. Raymond Johnson~

~Grandfather clause~

*ClassicShoppes.us is now proud to present to you, The Unique Galleria 1, 2, 3 and 4. It welcomes each and everyone of you here & thanks you for dropping in. This site has been created in honor & memory of my blood brother who lost his life as an innocent, unarmed bystander at the ripe, tender young age of "17" back in the year 1955, here within the State of Louisiana; the victim of hatred, scorn & violence. His name, Mr. Raymond Johnson. To date, I only have a general clue as to where his "Remains" can be found. I strongly desire to pinpoint his exact burial location, obtain a "Judicial Exhumation Order," have my brother's "Remains" exhumed, make positive identification, give him not only a respectable but a fully documented & honorable burial space; complete with a new casket and his very own humble headstone. Now, I'm asking you, the general public for your donations to assist me in this very worthy & very personal memorial effort. You may use any one of only 4 flame lit Donate Buttons including the one above to make your generous donation. Your ATM and/or Debit Card with a Visa or MasterCard logo are also accepted in making a generous donation to, "The Raymond Johnson Memorial Fund," c/o ClassicShoppes.us. Many thanks in advance for any size donation you can afford to make. Based on all available evidentiary documentation, I am his blood brother. My name, Mr. Sammy Johnson.

Source: Ancestry and/or family research of the Louisiana State Archives; death records over 50 years old as of July 15, 2023, 12:00 AM CDT

~Is Anybody Safe Anywhere?~

"Susan J. Dlott (born September 11, 1949) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Dlott was born in Dayton, Ohio, on September 11, 1949, to Jewish Russian immigrant parents. Dlott received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970 and a Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law in 1973. Dlott's first husband was builder and developer Austin Eldon Knowlton. Her second and current husband is Stanley M. Chesley; they married in 1991. Chesley, a former trial lawyer, was disbarred by the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2013. In 2004, Chesley purchased "what is believed to be the most expensive single-family home listed in Greater Cincinnati, possibly ever," a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom, French chateau-style home on 5.3 acres nestled into 300 acres of private green space with 27,000 square feet of living space. The estate has a wine cellar and two four-car garages with apartments on top. Dlott and her husband were victims of a violent, armed home invasion robbery by "three black men with guns and masks," Terry Darnell Jackson, 21, Demetrius Williams, 20, and Darrell Joseph Kinney, 20, on December 4, 2015. Chesley and Dlott, who were held at gunpoint, both sustained injuries. The three perpetrators were apprehended and pleaded guilty, and in April 2016, the men were all sentenced to 34 years in prison. Dlott gave testimony at the sentencing hearing. Dlott was described by the Cincinnati Enquirer in 2002 as "sometimes eccentric, often unconventional." Dlott has described herself as a "lenient judge." She is known for her fondness for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Monday, January 15, 2024, 5:00 PM CDT | Headline contributed

"The term originated in late nineteenth-century legislation and constitutional amendments passed by a number of Southern U. S. states, which created new requirements for literacy tests, payment of poll taxes and residency and property restrictions to register to vote. States in some cases exempted those whose ancestors (i. e., grandfathers) had the right to vote before the American Civil War or as of a particular date from such requirements. The intent and effect of such rules was to prevent former African-American slaves and their descendants from voting but without denying poor and illiterate whites the right to vote. Although these original grandfather clauses were eventually ruled unconstitutional, the terms grandfather clause and grandfather have been adapted to other uses. The original grandfather clauses were contained in new state constitutions and Jim Crow laws passed between 1890 and 1908 by white-dominated state legislatures including Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia. They restricted voter registration, effectively preventing African Americans from voting. Racial restrictions on voting in place before 1870 were nullified by the Fifteenth Amendment. After Democrats took control of state legislatures again before and after the Compromise of 1877, they began to work to restrict the ability of blacks to vote. Paramilitary groups such as the White League, Red Shirts, and rifle clubs had intimidated blacks or barred them from the polls in numerous elections before what they called the Redemption (restoration of white supremacy). Nonetheless, a coalition of Populists and Republicans in fusion tickets in the 1880s and 1890s gained some seats and won some governor positions. To prevent such coalitions in the future, the Democrats wanted to exclude freedmen and other blacks from voting; in some states they also restricted poor whites to avoid biracial coalitions. White Democrats developed statutes and passed new constitutions creating restrictive voter registration rules. Examples included imposition of poll taxes and residency and literacy tests. An exemption to such requirements was made for all persons allowed to vote before the American Civil War, and any of their descendants. The term grandfather clause arose from the fact that the laws tied the then-current generation's voting rights to those of their grandfathers. According to Black's Law Dictionary, some Southern states adopted constitutional provisions exempting from the literacy requirements descendants of those who fought in the army or navy of the United States or of the Confederate States during a time of war. After the U. S. Supreme Court found such provisions unconstitutional in Guinn v. United States (1915), states were forced to stop using the grandfather clauses to provide exemption to literacy tests. Without the grandfather clauses, tens of thousands of poor Southern whites were disenfranchised in the early 20th century. As decades passed, Southern states tended to expand the franchise for poor whites, but most blacks could not vote until after passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Ratification in 1964 of the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the use of poll taxes in federal elections, but some states continued to use them in state elections. The 1965 Voting Rights Act had provisions to protect voter registration and access to elections, with federal enforcement and supervision where necessary. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections that poll taxes could not be used in any elections. This secured the franchise for most citizens, and voter registration and turnout climbed dramatically in Southern states."

Source: Wikipedia.org | February 5, 2023, 6:00 PM CDT

Raymond's home | 39197 Highway 929 Prvl | October 18, 2000

Sammy's home | 39197 Highway 929 Prvl | October 18, 2001

Dear Lord: Why do I feel out of place here?

Is this "Good Trouble," or just more deadly, double trouble?

We farmed the land, even after nature dished us up, a very ugly hand.

My parents were real strugglers, the backbone on a Prvl farm. I call it my home!

A hurricane named Katrina

A typhoon named Yolanda

A hurricane named Harvey

A hurricane named Irma

A hurricane named Maria

A cyclone named Idai

A hurricane named Laura

A hurricane named Delta

A hurricane named Ian

A hurricane named Ida

A hurricane named Francine

A hurricane named Helene

A hurricane named Milton

"Hurricane Katrina (August 25-29, 2005) was an extremely destructive and deadly tropical cyclone that was the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. It was the eleventh named storm and the fifth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm originated over the Bahamas on August 23 from the interaction between a tropical wave and the remnants of Tropical Depression Ten. Early the following day, the new depression intensified into Tropical Storm Katrina. The cyclone headed generally westward toward Florida and strengthened into a hurricane only two hours before making landfall at Hallandale Beach and Aventura on August 25. After very briefly weakening to a tropical storm, Katrina emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 and began to rapidly deepen. The storm strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, but weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29 in southeast Louisiana. The storm caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge and levee failure. Severe property damage occurred in coastal areas, such as Mississippi beachfront towns where boats and casino barges rammed buildings, pushing cars and houses inland; water reached 6–12 miles from the beach. The storm is the third most intense United States landfalling tropical cyclone, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Overall, at least 1,245 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods, making it the deadliest United States hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. Total property damage was estimated at $108 billion, roughly four times the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in the United States. Over fifty breaches in New Orleans's hurricane surge protection were the cause of the majority of the death and destruction during Katrina on August 29, 2005. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks. Hurricane Katrina formed as Tropical Depression Twelve over the southeastern Bahamas on August 23, 2005, as the result of an interaction of a tropical wave and the remains of Tropical Depression Ten. It strengthened into Tropical Storm Katrina on the morning of August 24. The tropical storm moved towards Florida, and became a hurricane only two hours before making landfall between Hallandale Beach and Aventura on the morning of August 25. The storm weakened over land, but it regained hurricane status about one hour after entering the Gulf of Mexico, and it continued strengthening over open waters. On August 27, the storm reached Category 3 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, becoming the thirdmajor hurricane of the season. An eyewall replacement cycle disrupted the intensification, but caused the storm to nearly double in size. The storm rapidly intensified after entering the Gulf, growing from a Category 3 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane in just nine hours. This rapid growth was due to the storm's movement over the "unusually warm" waters of the Loop Current. Katrina on August 28, nearing the Gulf Coast. Katrina attained Category 5 status on the morning of August 28 and reached its peak strength at 1800 UTC that day, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 902 mbar (26.6 inHg). The pressure measurement made Katrina the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record at the time. It was also the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico at the time."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Friday, September 1, 2017, 11:59 PM CDT

"Corpses hung from trees, were scattered on sidewalks or buried in flattened buildings—some of the thousands believed killed in one Philippine city alone by ferocious Typhoon Haiyan [called "Super Typhoon Yolanda" in the Philippines] that washed away homes and buildings with powerful winds and giant waves. Desperate survivors of one of the most powerful storms ever recorded begged for help and scavenged for food, water and medicine in the central Philippines four days after an estimated 10,000 people were killed by a Typhoon Haiyan. Philippine President Benigno Aquino [Succeeded by "Rodrigo Roa Duterte" on "June 30, 2016"] declared a state of national calamity and deployed hundreds of soldiers in Tacloban to quell looting. Tacloban's administration appeared to be in disarray as city and hospital workers focused on saving their own families and securing food. Operations were further hampered because roads, airports and bridges had been destroyed or were covered in wreckage from a storm with winds of up to 195 mph. Bodies littered the streets of Tacloban, rotting and swelling, and people walked covering their noses with rags or old clothes to mask the stench. The United Nations said officials in the town had reported one mass grave of 300-500 bodies. Typhoon Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, was a powerful tropical cyclone that devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, on November 8, 2013. It is the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record, killing at least 6,268 people in that country alone. Haiyan is also the strongest storm recorded at landfall, and unofficially the strongest typhoon ever recorded in terms of wind speed. As of January 2014, bodies were still being found."

"Hurricane Harvey (August 25-29, 2017) was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, ending a record 12-year period with no major hurricanes making landfall in the United States. In a four-day period, many areas received more than 40 inches of rain as the system meandered over eastern Texas and adjacent waters, causing catastrophic flooding. With peak accumulations of 51.88 in , Harvey is the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the contiguous United States. The resulting floods inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, displaced more than 30,000 people, and prompted more than 17,000 rescues. The eighth named storm, third hurricane, and the first major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Harvey developed from a tropical wave to the east of the Lesser Antilles, reaching tropical storm status on August 17. The storm crossed through the Windward Islands on the following day, passing just south of Barbados and later near Saint Vincent. Upon entering the Caribbean Sea, Harvey began to weaken due to moderate wind shear and degenerated into a tropical wave north of Colombia early on August 19. The remnants were monitored for regeneration as it continued west-northwestward across the Caribbean and the Yucatán Peninsula, before redeveloping over the Bay of Campeche on August 23. Harvey then began to rapidly intensify on August 24, regaining tropical storm status and becoming a hurricane later that day. While the storm moved generally northwest, Harvey's intensification phase stalled slightly overnight from August 24–25; however, Harvey soon resumed strengthening and became a Category 4 hurricane late on August 25. Hours later, Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, at peak intensity. Harvey has caused at least 48 confirmed deaths; 1 in Guyana, and 47 in the United States. Catastrophic inland flooding is ongoing in the Greater Houston metropolitan area. FEMA director Brock Long called Harvey the worst disaster in Texas history, and expected the recovery to take many years. Preliminary estimates of economic losses range from $10 billion to $160 billion, with a large portion of the losses sustained by uninsured homeowners."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Friday, September 1, 2017, 11:59 PM

"Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Cape Verde type hurricane, the most intense observed in the Atlantic since Dean in 2007. It was also the most intense Atlantic hurricane to strike the United States since Katrina in 2005, and the first major hurricane to make landfall in the state of Florida since Wilma in 2005. The ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Irma caused widespread and catastrophic damage throughout its long lifetime, particularly in parts of the northeastern Caribbean and the Florida Keys. Irma developed on August 30, 2017 near the Cape Verde Islands, from a tropical wave that had moved off the west African coast three days prior. Under favorable conditions, Irma rapidly intensified shortly after formation, becoming a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale within a mere 24 hours. It became a Category 3 hurricane (and therefore a major hurricane) shortly afterward; however, the intensity fluctuated between Categories 2 and 3 for the next several days due to a series of eyewall replacement cycles. On September 4, Irma resumed intensifying, becoming a Category 5 hurricane by early the next day. On September 6, Irma reached its peak intensity with 185 mph (295 km/h) winds and a minimum pressure of 914 hPa (27.0 inHg), making it the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide so far in 2017. Another eyewall replacement cycle caused Irma to weaken back to a Category 4 hurricane, but the storm attained Category 5 status for a second time while making landfall in Cuba. After dropping to Category 3 intensity due to land interaction, the storm re-intensified to Category 4 as it crossed warm waters between Cuba and the Florida Keys before making landfall on Cudjoe Key with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km/h). Irma dropped back to Category 3 by the time it made a second Florida landfall on Marco Island. Irma weakened to a Category 2 hurricane later that day, the first time it weakened below major hurricane status in over a week, and eventually dissipated off the coast of New England. The storm caused catastrophic damage in Barbuda, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Anguilla and the Virgin Islands as a Category 5 hurricane. As of September 15, the hurricane has caused at least 82 deaths, including 43 in the Caribbean and 39 in the United States."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Thursday, September 14, 2017, 12:00AM

"Hurricane Maria was a tropical cyclone which struck Dominica as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale, Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane, and is currently moving away from the East Coast of the United States. It is also the tenth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, the worst to strike Dominica in its recorded history and the worst in Puerto Rico since 1928. The thirteenth named storm, seventh hurricane, fourth major hurricane, and the second Category 5 hurricane of the unusually active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Maria caused catastrophic damage during its journey across the Northeastern Caribbean. It was the third major hurricane in a row to threaten the Leeward Islands with a direct strike or major impacts within two weeks, after Hurricane Irma caused catastrophic damage there and Jose, then a Category 4 hurricane, passed dangerously close just days after. Originating from a tropical wave that the National Hurricane Center began monitoring on September 13, Maria developed into a tropical storm on September 16 east of the Lesser Antilles, with steady strengthening occurring. In remarkably favorable conditions for further development, on September 18, Maria underwent explosive intensification, doubling its sustained wind speed from 80 mph to 160 mph, becoming a Category 5 hurricane, making the 2017 season the first since 2007 to feature two Category 5 hurricanes, and one of only six Atlantic hurricane seasons to feature two or more Category 5 hurricanes in the satellite era. As of September 25, the hurricane has caused at least 59 deaths: 27 in Dominica, 5 in the Dominican Republic, 2 in Guadeloupe, 3 in Haiti, 24 in Puerto Rico, and 1 in the United States Virgin Islands. Initial assessments indicate catastrophic damage to Dominica, which suffered an island-wide communication blackout. The islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique also endured widespread flooding, damaged roofs and uprooted trees. Puerto Rico has suffered catastrophic damage, including a loss of electric power (its electrical grid having been effectively destroyed). Insured losses from the hurricane are estimated at $40—85 billion, mostly in Puerto Rico, making Maria's cost comparable to that of previous Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. Still recovering from Hurricane Irma two weeks prior, approximately 80,000 remained without power as Maria approached. Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority struggled with increasing debt, reaching $9 billion even before the hurricanes prompting them to file for bankruptcy. Furthermore, the company lost 30 percent of its employees since 2012. Aging infrastructure across the island makes the grid more susceptible to damage from storms; the median age of PREPA power plants is 44 years. Inadequate safety also plagues the company and local newspapers frequently describe poor maintenance and outdated controls. Evacuation orders were issued in Puerto Rico in advance of Maria, and officials announced that 450 shelters would open in the afternoon of September 18. As of September 19, at least 2,000 people in Puerto Rico have sought shelter."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Sunday, October 1, 2017, 12:45PM CDT

"Hurricane Maria is regarded as being the worst natural disaster on record to affect Dominica and Puerto Rico, and is also the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Jeanne in 2004. The tenth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record and the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2017, Maria was the thirteenth named storm, eighth consecutive hurricane, fourth major hurricane, second Category 5 hurricane, and the deadliest storm of the hyperactive 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. At its peak, the hurricane caused catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the northeastern Caribbean, compounding recovery efforts in the areas of the Leeward Islands already struck by Hurricane Irma. Total losses from the hurricane are estimated at upwards of $91.61 billion (2017 USD), mostly in Puerto Rico, ranking it as the third-costliest tropical cyclone on record. As of 28 August 2018, 3,057 people were estimated to have been killed by the hurricane: an estimated 2,975 in Puerto Rico, 65 in Dominica, 5 in the Dominican Republic, 4 in the contiguous United States, 3 in Haiti, 2 in Guadeloupe, and 3 in the United States Virgin Islands. Maria is the deadliest hurricane in Dominica since the 1834 Padre Ruíz hurricane, and the deadliest in Puerto Rico since the 1899 San Ciriaco hurricane. The death toll in Puerto Rico was initially reported as 64 by Puerto Rican authorities, but revised after several studies estimated between 1,400 and 4,600 deaths were attributable to the storm. The official estimate of 2,975 is based on a study commissioned by the governor of Puerto Rico, where researchers at George Washington University developed statistical models of excess mortality attributable to Maria, including both direct and indirect fatalities. Researchers attribute the discrepancy with the initial death count to "lack of awareness of appropriate death certification practices after a natural disaster" among physicians reporting deaths to vital statistic agencies."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Saturday, October 13, 2018, 11:59PM CDT

"The Camp Fire is the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Named after Camp Creek Road—its place of origin—the fire started on November 8, 2018, in Butte County, in Northern California. The fire has caused 76 civilian fatalities, injured 12 civilians and five firefighters, covered an area of about 140,000 acres and destroyed 11,862 structures, including 9,700 single-family homes and 118 apartment buildings, with most of the damage occurring within the first two days. The fire forced the evacuation of Paradise, Magalia, Centerville, Concow,Pulga, Butte Creek Canyon, and Yankee Hill and threatened the communities of Butte Valley, Chico, Forest Ranch, Helltown, Inskip, Oroville, and Stirling City. Within the first day, the fire essentially destroyed the community of Concow and the town of Paradise, incinerating homes, businesses, churches, a hospital, schools, and a rest home. The fire began on the same day as the Woolsey Fire and the Hill Fire in Southern California. The fire started at sunrise on Thursday, November 8, 2018, and was first reported at 6:33 a.m. PST, near Pulga, California, near Camp Creek Road in Butte County, California. Soon after the ignition of the Camp Fire, initial attack firefighters were dispatched to a report of a brush fire under Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) power lines near Poe Dam on the Feather River. Arriving 10 minutes later, the first units on scene observed rapid fire growth and extreme fire behavior, due to low humidity and high winds in the area. The National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning for most of Northern California's interior, as well as Southern California, through the morning of November 9. PG&E reported that power lines were down. Shortly after the fire erupted, the Butte County Sheriff's Office ordered the evacuation of Paradise. Other locations were also issued evacuation orders, while others were issued evacuation warnings, and emergency shelters were established. Due to the speed of the fire, most residents of Concow and many residents of Paradise were unable to evacuate before the fire arrived. The fire spread so rapidly that firefighters stopped attempting to control the flames, and instead were in rescue mode to help people get out alive. By 8:00 p.m. PST on November 9, the fire had burned 20,000 acres and threatened about 15,000 structures, with wind speeds approaching 50 miles per hour, allowing the fire to grow rapidly. According to Captain Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, "Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed, it's that kind of devastation. The wind that was predicted came and just wiped it out." By the morning of November 10, the fire was reported by Cal Fire to have grown to a size of 100,000 acres and was 20% contained. By then, an estimated 6,713 structures had been destroyed by the fire, surpassing the Tubbs Fire as the most destructive wildfire in California history. Also on November 10, an additional fourteen bodies were discovered, bringing the total number of confirmed casualties to 23. The following day, the death toll increased to 29 after six more bodies were discovered. By the morning of November 13, Cal Fire reported the fire was 125,000 acres and was 30% contained. The fire had destroyed over 8,700 residences in addition to commercial buildings and other structures, with most of the damage occurring within the first two days of the fire. The death toll increased to 42, making it the single-deadliest wildfire in California history, surpassing the 1933 Griffith Park Fire, which killed 29 people. By the evening of November 13, the death toll had increased to 48. As of November 17 at 6:01 pm PST, the fire was at 149,000 acres with 55% containment, also there was an additional five deaths bringing the total to 76. President Donald Trump, Governor Jerry Brown, Governor-elect Gavin Newsom, and FEMA director Brock Long toured the Paradise area, and held a short conference in the afternoon. Traffic jams on the few evacuation routes led to cars being abandoned while people evacuated on foot, and also caused at least four deaths when the fire overtook people who were trapped in their vehicles, as well as one person outside a vehicle. Many seniors were evacuated by passersby and neighbors, with at least one story of dozens of evacuees jumping into a reservoir to escape the flames. The community of Concow and the town of Paradise were largely destroyed within the first day of the fire, losing an estimated 80% to 90% of their buildings. At least five of the public schools in Paradise were destroyed, as were a Christmas tree farm and over 7,000 other structures. The Honey Run Covered Bridge over nearby Butte Creek, the last three-span Pratt-style truss bridge in the United States, was incinerated on November 10. On November 11, it was estimated that 52,000 people had evacuated. As of the evening of November 17, 76 fatalities were confirmed due to the fire while another 1,276 people remained unaccounted for. The smoke from the fire has resulted in widespread air pollution throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley, prompting the closure of public schools in five Bay Area counties and dozens of districts in the Sacramento metropolitan area on November 16."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Sunday, November 18, 2018, 3:25PM

"The Woolsey Fire, named after Woolsey Canyon Road, is a destructive wildfire burning in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties of the U. S. state of California. The fire ignited on November 8, 2018, and has burned over 98,362 acres of land. The fire has destroyed an estimated 1,130 structures, killed 3 people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people. It was one of several fires that ignited on the same day. While the nearby Hill fire was contained with minimal damage on November 16, the Camp Fire in northern California destroyed most of the town of Paradise. The fire started near the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in the Santa Susana Mountains above the Simi Valley near the boundary between Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The Santa Ana winds, which often are a factor for Southern California fires, pushed the fire in a southerly direction throughout the first day. The Ventura freeway between the San Fernando Valley and the Conejo Valley was closed as the fire crossed and headed into the rugged Santa Monica Mountains. The fire raced through the chaparral-covered steep canyons where it encountered historic movie and TV sets, small ranches, and the homes of celebrities. Dozens of homes in Malibu were destroyed or damaged on both sides of Pacific Coast Highway. Many of these were on Point Dume that juts out from the narrow coastal terrace that lies between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. While the firefighters successfully protected Pepperdine University to the south, the entire portion of the Malibu coast west to the community of Solromar suffered damage from the fire. Thousands of residents were kept away from their homes in numerous neighborhoods along the Ventura Freeway and the communities along the Malibu coast. The evacuations frustrated residents as they lasted for many days as the fire continued to threaten homes especially when the winds increased and fanned the flames. The evacuated residents were incrementally allowed to return to see if their home were damaged or destroyed as the fire continued to spread through the rugged wilderness at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains. Around 2:24 p.m. PST on November 8, 2018, a fire ignited on the Santa Susana Field Laboratory from unknown causes in Ventura County,California. Powerful Santa Ana winds, reaching 50 to 60 mph, caused the fire to spread rapidly and beyond firefighting capabilities. During the overnight hours into the early morning of November 9, the fire spread through Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills and soon crossed U. S. Route 101 near Calabasas. Aerial suppression of the fire was unable to commence until 5:00 a.m. PST, November 9, when winds lessened enough. The blaze spread rapidly throughout the day, reaching the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu by the afternoon. Pepperdine University in Malibu recommended that students shelter in place in specific buildings on campus rather than use the crowded highway to evacuate. Farther north, the flames spread to portions of Thousand Oaks, Bell Canyon, Oak Park. and theWest Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. On the day before the Hill and Woolsey fires started, residents in the Conejo Valley experienced the shooting of thirteen people in a bar including a police officer and the perpetrator. As the fires threatened the community and otherwise disrupted their routine, memorial services had to be postponed. By the morning of November 10, 3,242 firefighters were deployed to attempt to contain the blaze. The fire had engulfed more than 70,000 acres of land, forcing the evacuation of an estimated 295,000 people from 105,000 residences. This included an unprecedented total evacuation of Bell Canyon, Malibu, and Oak Park. Before sunrise on November 14, the fire flared up in rugged wilderness at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains with winds blowing strongly. The fire burned well away from populated neighborhoods, but was threatening scattered home sites. The flare-up sent a huge column of smoke over Point Mugu and out to sea. As of November 17 at 6:54 p.m. PST, the fire was 84% contained, with full containment expected by November 22. The Woolsey Fire forced many of the public and private parks and trails within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to close indefinitely. It also caused Malibu Creek State Park and Zuma Beach to close. Two people were found dead in a vehicle on Mulholland Highway in Malibu. Emergency personnel were unable to reach the victims when a report of a critical burn victim was relayed, due to downed power lines. On Tuesday November 13, a third victim was discovered in the 32000 block of Lobo Canyon Road in Agoura Hills. At least 177 homes were destroyed by the fire. Many celebrities are among those who have lost their homes, including Kim Basinger, Tracey E. Bregman, Gerard Butler, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, Scott Derrickson, Joe Flanigan, Mike Garson, Camille Grammer, Daryl Hannah and Neil Young, Gabe Kapler, Lil Pump, Robin Thicke, and Eric Wynalda. Multiple filming locations and historical sites were directly impacted by the fire, including Paramount Ranch, Peter Strauss Ranch, the former Reagan Ranch now part of Malibu Creek State Park, and the lower house of Villa De La Vina, the mansion where The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are filmed. The numerous drug rehabilitation centers and sober living housesin Malibu that have given rise to the nickname "Rehab Riviera" were evacuated ahead of the fire. At least two were destroyed or significantly damaged. There have been two cases of looting in Ventura County, one of which resulted in a car chase."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Monday, November 19, 2018, 12:00AM

"The tornado outbreak of March 3, 2019, was a significant severe weather event affecting the Southeastern United States. Over the course of 6 hours, a total of 39 tornadoes touched down across portions of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. The strongest of these was an EF4 tornado that devastated communities from Beauregard, Alabama to Talbotton, Georgia, killing 23 people and injuring 97 others. Its death toll represented more than twice the number of tornado deaths in the United States in 2018, and it was the deadliest single tornado in the country since the 2013 Moore EF5 tornado. An EF3 tornado destroyed residences northeast of Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, and was only the second tornado of that strength in the county since 1945. Several other strong tornadoes occurred throughout the evening of March 3. A large number of EF0 and EF1 tornadoes also touched down. On February 28, the Storm Prediction Center issued a day four risk for severe thunderstorms across a broad region of the Southeast United States stretching from northern Louisiana through northwestern Georgia. A broad Slight risk was introduced the following day, and a more narrow Enhanced risk was raised across portions of southeastern Alabama and southwestern Georgia later on March 2 where the threat for tornadoes, some potentially strong, appeared most likely. Twenty-three deaths occurred as a result of a single tornado, which touched down in Lee County, Alabama. At least two of the deaths occurred near the Alabama town of Beauregard. Four of the dead were children. 10 of the victims were from one family. 60 patients were received at the East Alabama Medical Center; however, only four remained hospitalized on March 4. Many people were initially reported as missing. Drones with heat-seeking devices were utilized in the search effort for survivors while ground crews had to wait for morning light on March 4. In a later report on March 6, all tornado victims in Alabama have been accounted for."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Sunday, March 10, 2019, 7:00 PM CDT

"Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Mozambique since Jokwe in 2008 and the deadliest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2019 as of March. The tenth named storm and record-breaking eighth intense tropical cyclone of the 2018–19 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Idai originated from a tropical depression that formed off the eastern coast of Mozambique on 4 March. The depression made landfall in the aforementioned country later in the day and remained a tropical cyclone throughout the entirety of its trek over land. On 9 March, the depression reemerged into the Mozambique Channel and was upgraded into Moderate Tropical Storm Idai next day. The system then began a stint of rapid intensification, reaching an initial peak intensity as an intense tropical cyclone with winds of 110 mph on 11 March. Idai then began to weaken due to ongoing structural changes within its inner core, falling to tropical cyclone intensity. Idai's intensity remained stagnant for about a day or so before it began to re-intensify. On 14 March, Idai reached peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum central pressure of 940 hPa. Idai then began to weaken as it approached the coast of Mozambique due to less favorable conditions. On 15 March, Idai made landfall near Beira, Mozambique, as an intense tropical cyclone. Idai brought strong winds and caused severe flooding in Madagascar, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique that has killed 552 people–268 in Mozambique, 98 in Zimbabwe, 176 in Malawi, 7 in South Africa, and 3 in Madagascar–and affected more than 1 million others. Catastrophic damage occurred in and around Beira in southern Mozambique. The President of Mozambique stated that more than 1,000 people may have died in the storm. Approximately 249 deaths occurred in Malawi, Mozambique, and South Africa from the flooding that preceded Idai's second landfall. At least 202 deaths occurred in Mozambique and 98 in Zimbabwe after Idai made its second landfall. As of 19 March 2019, 100,000 people are reported as requiring rescue in the Beira area."

Source: ABC Evening News, Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 5:30 PM CDT | Wikipedia.org, Wednesday, March 20, 2019, 12:00 AM CDT

"Hurricane Laura was a deadly and damaging Category 4 Atlantic hurricane that tied the 1856 Last Island hurricane as the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the U. S. State of Louisiana, as measured by maximum sustained winds. The twelfth named storm, fourth hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Laura originated from a large tropical wave that moved off the West African coast on August 16 and became a tropical depression on August 20. Laura intensified into a tropical storm a day later, becoming the earliest twelfth named storm on record in the North Atlantic basin, forming eight days earlier than 1995's Hurricane Luis. Laura first hit the Lesser Antilles and brushed Puerto Rico as a tropical storm, then moved across the island of Hispaniola, killing 31 people in Haiti and four in the Dominican Republic. The storm then moved across the length of Cuba, prompting tropical storm warnings and the evacuation of more than 260,000 people there. Subsequently, the outer rain bands extended into the Florida Keys and South Florida. Laura then moved across the Gulf of Mexico, strengthening slowly at first, before a period of rapid intensification on August 26. That day, Laura became a major hurricane, and later attained peak 1-minute sustained winds of 150 mph, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane. Early on August 27, Laura made landfall near peak intensity on Cameron, Louisiana. This was the tenth-strongest U. S. hurricane landfall by wind-speed on record. The storm caused the deaths of at least 34 people in the U. S. and inflicted an estimated $8.7 billion in insured damage on southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas near the Gulf of Mexico. After landfall, Laura rapidly weakened as it moved inland, becoming a tropical storm later that day, and weakening further to a tropical depression on the next day. On August 29, Laura degenerated into a remnant low, before being absorbed into another extra tropical storm near the East Coast of the U. S. shortly afterward. Overall, Laura caused more than $8.9 billion in damage and 69 deaths."

Source: Wikipedia.org | August 16, 2020 to August 29, 2020 | Tuesday, September 1, 2020, 12:00 AM CDT

"Hurricane Delta was the record-tying fourth named storm of 2020 to strike Louisiana, as well as the record-breaking tenth named storm to strike the United States. The twenty-sixth tropical cyclone, twenty-fifth named storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the very active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Delta formed from a tropical wave which was first monitored by the National Hurricane Center on October 1. Moving westward, the wave began to quickly organize and due to its imminent threat to land, it was designated Potential Tropical Cyclone Twenty-Six late on October 4. The next day, the system sufficiently organized and was designated as Tropical Depression Twenty-Six, and soon thereafter, Tropical Storm Delta. Extremely rapid intensification ensued throughout October 5 into October 6, with Delta becoming a Category 4 hurricane within 28 hours of attaining tropical storm status. Louisiana and Southeast Texas were again bombarded by heavy rain, high winds, and storm surge and 14 weak tornadoes were confirmed in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. Two people were killed by rip currents, while four other people have been killed indirectly by the storm and the storm caused 1.5 Billion dollars. At 00:00 UTC on October 1, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began to monitor a tropical wave moving into the Eastern Caribbean for potential development. It moved steadily westward at 15–20 miles per hour and began to organize late on October 3. Although it lacked sufficient organization to be deemed a tropical cyclone, its imminent threat to land and likely cyclogenesis prompted the NHC to initiate advisories on the disturbance, classifying it as Potential Tropical Cyclone Twenty-Six at 21:00 UTC at October 4. At 03:00 UTC on October 5, the system organized into Tropical Depression Twenty-Six. Nine hours later, the depression strengthened into a tropical storm, whereupon it was assigned the name Delta. The area that Delta threatened was the same area affected by the stronger Category 4 hurricane Laura a little over one month earlier. Many residents were still "traumatized" due to significant damage from hurricane Laura still evident in coastal areas. Around 5,600 residents were still located in hotels six weeks after Laura struck because their homes were destroyed by the hurricane. Additionally, 6,000 homes still had tarps on them. On October 6, Governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Delta. The Houston SPCA evacuated 15 cats from a shelter in Louisiana to their shelter in Houston. A group of firefighters from Tulsa, Oklahoma traveled to Monroe to set-up a shelter for evacuees and help with swift water rescues along the coast. Waitr offered free grocery delivery in Lafayette for those unable or choosing not to go out in public to prepare for the storm. On October 7, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards conferred with President of the United States Donald Trump, who agreed to sign a disaster declaration for the entire state ahead of the storm. Street flooding was reported in Baton Rouge on October 8. The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport reported 8 inches of rain, which prompted a flash flood warning issued by the National Weather Service."

Source: Wikipedia.org | Tuesday-Wednesday, October 13-14, 2020, 7:43 PM CDT

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