Hurricane Helene: Allergy warning as floods stir up swarms of wasps

Published

7 months ago

October 4, 2024

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Swarms of wasps stirred up by flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene have prompted US health officials to stock up on allergy medication.

The search for survivors and victims has entered its second week after the deadliest storm the US has seen since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

At least 215 people have been killed as communities from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia struggle to recover.

As well as people’s homes, the rain and floodwater destroyed the nests of wasps and bees.

Officials have stocked up on allergy medications like Benadryl and EpiPens to help those who may get stung, Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports.

“We are actively working to ensure Benadryl and epinephrine are readily available in western North Carolina for those who may be allergic or have been stung,” Summer Tonizzo, a press assistant at the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, told NBC News.

She said it was normal for the wasps to be disturbed after a hurricane.

Tarren Pruitt, 42, a registered nurse in West Jefferson, North Carolina, also told NBC that since the hurricane, she has noticed more wasps and heard reports of workers getting stung while trying to restore power.

Chris Hayes, an extension associate in urban entomology at North Carolina State University, said wasps “tend to get more aggressive this time of year” anyway as food becomes scarcer and the weather causes population numbers to dwindle.

That, alongside the impact of the storm, aggravates the effects and if a colony’s queen has been killed the rest of the wasps, known popularly as yellow jackets in the US, could be flying around aimlessly.

Most people aren’t allergic to wasp or bee stings but may still develop pain, itching or swelling when stung. Benadryl, either in topical or oral form, can help reduce those symptoms. EpiPens are reserved for people with severe allergic reactions – such as trouble breathing or swallowing – which can sometimes be life-threatening.

The National Park Service is advising people in affected areas of the US to walk slowly away with their hands covering sensitive areas of their face if they discover a wasp or bee nest that has been disturbed.

‘People need help now’

Dozens or possibly hundreds of people are still unaccounted for after Hurricane Helene.

Around half of those killed in the storm died in North Carolina, with 72 people dying in Buncombe County alone.

Dozens more were killed in South Carolina and Georgia as authorities now face the difficult battle to search for victims and help survivors recover.

“We know these are hard times, but please know we’re coming,” Sheriff Quentin Miller of Buncombe County said at a Thursday evening news conference.

“We’re coming to get you. We’re coming to pick up our people.”

“People need help now,” President Joe Biden said, with Congress not set to return until after the 5 November election.

After flying in to view the affected areas on Wednesday, Mr Biden vowed that the federal government would foot the bill for debris removal and emergency protective measures for six months in North Carolina and three months in Georgia.

More than one million people across the US were left without power after Hurricane Helene struck Florida on 26 September.

Efforts to find the missing are hindered by a lack of phone service and electricity as search crews must trudge through the mountains to see if residents are safe.

Along the Cane River in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, firefighters had to cut their way through trees to make progress.

In Pensacola, North Carolina, it’s still unclear how many people have been lost, according to Mark Harrison, chief medical officer for the local fire department.

Nearer the Tennessee state line, crews were finally beginning to reach side roads after clearing out main routes.

But this brought further troubles as crews struggled to navigate the smaller roads.

“Everything is fine and then they come around a bend and the road is gone and it’s one big gully or the bridge is gone,” said Charlie Wallin, a Watauga County commissioner. “We can only get so far.”

When the search will end is unclear.

“You hope you’re getting closer, but it’s still hard to know,” he said.

US

Trump’s tariffs hit the West’s busiest port – with traffic down by nearly a third

Published

14 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Trump's tariffs hit the West's busiest port - with traffic down by nearly a third

Driving south from Los Angeles along the coast, you can’t miss the San Pedro port complex. Dozens of red cranes pop up from behind the freeway.

The sound of industry whirs as containers are unloaded from hulking ocean liners on to waiting lorries and freight trains that seem to never end.

The port of Long Beach combines with the port of Los Angeles to make the busiest port in the western hemisphere.

The colourful metal containers contain anything and everything, from clothes and car parts to fridges and furniture. Around $300bn of cargo passes through here every year and 60% of it is from China.

But at the moment, it’s far less busy than usual. Traffic is down by a third, compared with this time last year.

In the closest part of the mainland United States to China, this is Donald Trump‘s new tariffs policy in action, the direct result of frozen trade between the two countries.

“For the month of May, we expect that we’ll be down about 30% from where we were in May of 2024,” Noel Hacegaba, the port of Long Beach chief operating officer, tells Sky News.

“What that translates into is fewer ships and fewer containers. It means fewer trucks will be needed to transport those containers from the port terminal to the warehouses. It means fewer jobs.”

‘We’re barely surviving’

Helen Andrade knows all about that. She and her husband, Javier, are both lorry drivers. Helen only got her license in the last few years, so when work dries up, she is likely to be impacted first.

“I’m lying awake at night worrying about this,” she says.

“We’re barely surviving and we’re already seeing work slowing down. In my case, there are two incomes that are not going to come in. How are we going to survive?”

Helen adds: “I’m scared for the next two weeks, because over the next two weeks, I’m going to see where this is going, whether I have saved up enough money, which I know that I have not.”

In Long Beach, one in five jobs is connected to the port. But what happens in the port doesn’t stay here.

The shipments reach every part of the country and already, a shortage of certain items imported from China and price hikes are taking hold.

A short drive away is downtown LA’s toy district, a multicultural area consisting of a dozen streets of pastel-coloured buildings, home to importers and wholesalers of toys, much of which is imported from China.

One woman in a toy warehouse is reading a Chinese newspaper. She points to a headline about the 145% tariffs.

“I can’t afford this, I can’t afford this, I’m going to have to put prices up,” she says, exasperated.

Empty shelves

Around the corner is a party shop, selling gift bags and wrapping paper. There are empty shelves which would otherwise have been full.

“These empty spaces are where we stopped importing from China because the tariffs are too high,” says the owner, Jacob Mok.

He tells Sky News: “I’ll keep watching China and America negotiations. I hope as soon as possible they reach a deal because this is very hard for us.”

Jacob is not alone. The impact is being felt throughout the supply chain.

US trade secretary Scott Bessent will meet his Chinese counterpart in Switzerland this weekend.

Pressure is growing on Mr Trump’s team to strike a deal with China and do it quickly.

US

From Chicago’s south suburbs to Rome: Dolton’s faithful say ‘Bob’ was the boy destined to be pope

Published

14 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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From Chicago's south suburbs to Rome: Dolton's faithful say 'Bob' was the boy destined to be pope

He was the boy from the small town with big dreams of becoming pope.

Robert Prevost, or “Bob” as they knew him in Dolton, south Chicago, was the youngest son of Louis, a teacher, and Mildred, a librarian.

Devoted in their faith, they were prominent figures in St Mary’s Church.

Scott Kuzminski remembers “Millie”, the chorister, with the “voice of an angel”, and her son with a calling on his life.

“Some children dream to be the top soccer player, or rich or something, and he dreamed he was going to be the Pope,” he said.

The railroad runs through this sleepy suburb, now destined to become a place of pilgrimage.

That’s an answer to prayer for Kathleen Steenson, who believed from childhood that her church would give the world a pope.

She said: “Our faith in this little parish is so strong… and in my little mind, I thought, the next pope has got to come from here because we’re such a great little community.”

St Mary’s Church, where the Pope served as an altar boy before entering the priesthood, is derelict now, symbolic of the challenges.

But to many, this is holy ground, illuminated by the colours cast by the sun shining through the stained glass.

And at the Cathedral of the High Name in the heart of Chicago, there’s a renewed sense of optimism.

“It’s a miracle and a great blessing,” a man leaving a celebratory mass for the new pontiff told me.

A woman, who had also been in the congregation, added: “I hope that he can help people to see beyond the divisions of the country and remember the poor.”

“It’s not just the virtues that he extols,” said another man, “I’m hoping he’ll bring inspiration to all of us to preach love and that the people in Washington will listen.”

Earlier this year, Cardinal Prevost, as he was then, questioned President Trump’s stance on immigration and vice president JD Vance’s interpretation of Christianity.

Leo XIV is the first Pope from North America, but spent years as a missionary in Peru, South America.

And it’s his pastoral heart that’s giving cause for hope in a deeply divided America.

US

Lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claims there was ‘mutual violence’ between him and ex-girlfriend

Published

14 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Lawyer for Sean 'Diddy' Combs claims there was 'mutual violence' between him and ex-girlfriend

A lawyer representing Sean “Diddy” Combs has told a court there was “mutual” domestic violence between him and his ex-girlfriend Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura.

Marc Agnifilo made the claim as he outlined some of the music star’s defence case ahead of the full opening of his trial next week.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of
transportation for prostitution. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Ms Ventura is expected to testify as a star witness for the prosecution during the trial in New York. The final stage of jury selection is due to be held on Monday morning.

Mr Agnifilo told the court on Friday that the defence would “take the position that there was mutual violence” during the pair’s relationship and called on the judge to allow evidence related to this.

The lawyer said Combs‘s legal team intended to argue that “there was hitting on both sides, behaviour on both sides” that constituted violence.

He added: “It is relevant in terms of the coercive aspects, we are admitting domestic violence.”

Ms Ventura’s lawyers declined to comment on the allegations.

US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he would rule on whether to allow the evidence on Monday.

Combs, 55, was present in the court on Friday.

He has been held in custody in Brooklyn since his arrest last September.

Prosecutors allege that Combs used his business empire for two decades to lure women with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, then violently coerced them to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs”.

Combs’s lawyers say prosecutors are improperly seeking to criminalise his “swinger lifestyle”. They have suggested they will attack the credibility of alleged victims in the case by claiming their allegations are financially motivated.

The trial is expected to last around eight weeks.