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US Hit By Record Number Of Billion-dollar Disasters So Far This Year

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Between January and August, the United States was struck by a record-breaking 23 weather and climate disasters where losses exceeded $1 billion in each case, official data showed Monday.

The tally for 2023 has already exceeded the previous record of 22 such events in 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, and four months still remain in the year.

These disasters included fires in Hawaii in August, flooding in California in the spring, and Hurricane Idalia that made landfall in Florida on August 30.

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Together, they “caused 253 direct and indirect fatalities and produced more than $57.6 billion in damages,” NOAA said. Two more potential billion-dollar events — Tropical Storm Hilary on the West Coast, and the drought affecting the South and Midwest — remain under investigation.

Rachel Cleetus, policy director with the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said, “These record-breaking numbers, during a year that is on track to be one of the hottest ever, are sobering and the latest confirmation of a worsening trend in costly disasters, many of which bear the undeniable fingerprints of climate change.”

Since 1980, the year NOAA began tracking these events, the United States has sustained 371 billion-dollar events, adjusted for inflation.

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Between 2018-2022, the annual average has been 18.0 events, compared to 8.1 events between 1980-2022.

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2023 is likely to be the hottest year in human history, and global temperatures during the Northern Hemisphere summer were the warmest on record, the European Union climate monitor said last week.

The United States meanwhile saw its ninth-warmest August on record, according to NOAA.

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Though 2023 has had the highest number of billion-dollar disasters, it’s still behind other years in terms of total economic damages

Hurricane Ian, which struck Florida in September 2022, caused 152 deaths and losses worth $112.9 billion.

The costliest year was 2017, with $383.7 billion damages adjusted for inflation. The bulk of that damage came from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which struck in quick succession.

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JUST IN: Convicted Kidnap Kingpin Evans Re-arraigned, Opts For Plea Bargain

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Convicted billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, and his co-defendant Joseph Emeka, charged with murder and attempted kidnap have opted for plea bargain.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state lead counsel, Mr Yusuf Sule, informed the court about the plea bargain option on Thursday when the case was called for re-arraignment.

The case was called for re-arraignment before Justice Adenike Cokers of an Ikeja High Court.

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NAN reports that Evans and his co-defendant were to be re-arraigned on an amended five-count charge bordering on murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy to commit felony, wit: kidnapping and attempt to murder.

Sule informed the court that the case was for re-arraignment but he was aware the defendants have applied for plea.

The prosecutor, however, said the plea bargain terms were being considered by the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN).

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JUST IN: Collapsed Roof Injures OAU Students During Lecture

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A torrential rainfall of early Thursday morning, accompanied with a whirlwind has injured students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

The rain which started when the students were having a lecture, SER to be precise, in the Amphitheatre of the Oduduwa Hall, affected the ceiling of the Amphitheatre as it fell off and injured a few of the students.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire led other principal officers to the Medical and Health Centre of the University, and ensured that the injured students were given adequate medical attention.

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A release by the Public Relations Officer of the University, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, stated that the Vice-Chancellor also followed two other students, whose cases demanded more medical attention to the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), where the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Professor John Okeniyi, physically supervised the proceedings.

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The Vice-Chancellor has, therefore, appealed for calm and urged students and staff to go about their academic and administrative activities without any form of untoward action.

Meanwhile, the management of the University, has sealed off the amphitheatre, the venue of the unfortunate incident, until further notice.

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Edo Guber: Those Leaving PDP Are Disgruntled; We Need People With Value – Campaign DG

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Matthew Iduoriyemkewen, the Director-General of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council for the September 21st governorship election in Edo State says persons who defected from the party to other parties are disgruntled.

Iduoriyemkewen made this assertion on Thursday in Benin during a familiarisation visit to the leadership and members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State council, where he solicited for a partnership and cooperation from media practitioners.

According to the DG, the PDP is interested in persons of value, adding that those that are in the party are assets to the party and that many persons are still coming.

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Most of the people moving out of the PDP have become disgruntled, and they feel they must have it all. I don’t know who gave them that kind of entitlement that PDP is theirs, and it must be theirs, and that when they need anything in PDP, and they don’t get it, nobody else can get it, and that the roof must be brought down,” he added.

He continued: “I can tell you that people we have in PDP are those that are asset to the party. Those that are assets to the party, we do not allow them to leave. More so, those that we are bringing into the party are those that will add value to the party. You will start seeing them very soon.”

Iduoriyemkewen, who said Edo needs persons with value and substance, stressed that his party candidates – Asue Ighodalo and Osarodion Ogie – are the rights persons Edo needs to move to an enviable heights.

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Further speaking on activities of the campaign council, the DG said the party campaign would be issue-based, adding that how to move Edo forward is his party concern and not frivolous issues.

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He said: “Our campaign would be issue-based. The campaign would be where we met Edo people and where we intend to take them to. Our campaign is going to be a realistic one, the steps we intend to take to solve the numerous challenges facing us.

“What we are going to be telling Edo people is the process of taking them from where we met them to where we are taking them to.”

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Responding, the chairman, Edo NUJ, Comrade Festus Alenkhe, assured the DG of members of the council unbiased, apolitical stance as far as politics is concerned in the state.

The Edo NUJ chairman who said the union as a professional body frowned at fake news and unverified information, described the NUJ secretariat as a freedom ground where anyone can come to express his or mind on issues.

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