Hurricane Helene: Allergy warning as floods stir up swarms of wasps
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.
Dominick Gucciardo walks to his home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Pensacola, North Carolina. Pic: AP
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.
A road in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Pic: AP
‘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.
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters after returning from spending the day in Florida and Georgia to survey damage from Hurricane Helene. Pic: AP
Flooding in a residential area in Swannanoa, North Carolina. Pic: Reuters
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.
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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.
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“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
Pam Bondi: Key proponent of Trump’s false 2020 election claims set to head justice department after Gaetz withdrawal
Donald Trump has pledged for years to surround himself with ultra-loyalists who can mould his government to his vision without barriers.
That’s precisely why he picked Matt Gaetz. Now he’s out, Pam Bondi is in and she’s equally loyal.
Gaetz was uniquely unpopular on Capitol Hill but ultra-MAGA and ultra-loyal to the president-elect.
He was chosen by the president-elect to do his bidding inside the Justice Department as attorney general.
Critics called his pick “a red alert moment for democracy” and the man a “gonzo agent of chaos” – language that would surely only affirm Trump’s decision in his own proudly disruptive mind.
Matt Gaetz has withdrawn despite Trump putting him forward for attorney general. Pic: AP
If it wasn’t for the fact that the president-elect is himself a convicted felon, and a man found liable in a civil court of his own sexual offences, the prospect of Gaetz, with all his baggage, making it through the nomination process would have seemed remote.
But Donald Trump’s return to the White House suggested anything is possible.
And so, beyond his loyalty, Gaetz was Trump’s test for his foot soldiers on Capitol Hill. How loyal were they? Would they wave through anyone he appointed?
It turns out that Gaetz, and the storm around his private life, was too much for a proportion of them.
At least five Senate Republicans were flatly against Matt Gaetz’s confirmation. We understand that they communicated to other senators and those close to Trump that they were unlikely to be swayed.
They included the Republican old guard like Senator Mitch McConnell.
Beyond the hard “no” senators, there were between 20 and 30 other Republicans who were very uncomfortable about having to vote for Gaetz on the Senate floor.
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Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws
The key question is whether Gaetz was Trump’s intentional wild card crazy choice that he knew, deep down, would probably never fly.
Was Gaetz the candidate he had accepted would be vetoed by senators – who would then feel compelled to wave the rest of his nominees through?
Will Pete Hegseth’s alleged sexual impropriety concern them as they consider the suitability of the former Fox News host and army major to run the Department of Defence?
What about Tulsi Gabbard, the candidate Russian state TV calls ‘our girl’, and the appropriateness of her running America’s intelligence agencies?
These are all appointments that the politicians on Capitol Hill must consider and confirm in the weeks ahead.
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We don’t yet know who Trump will choose to direct the FBI.
There are some names being floated which will make the establishment of Washington shudder but then that’s precisely why Trump was elected. He is the disrupter. He said so at every rally, on repeat.
He was quick to pivot to another name to replace Gaetz.
Bondi is the former attorney general of Florida. Professionally she is in a different league to Gaetz. She’s been a tough prosecutor, with a no-nonsense reputation.
She is also among the most loyal of loyalists. Her attachment to Trump stretches way back.
Pam Bondi speaks during a Trump rally in November 2024. Pic: Reuters
I first came across her in Philadelphia in November 2020 when she was among Trump surrogates claiming the election back then had been stolen from them by Joe Biden and the Democrats.
She was a key proponent of the false claims the election had been rigged and Trump was the rightful winner.
The court cases concluding that was all nonsense didn’t seem to convince her.
Now she is poised to head up the Department of Justice as the country’s top law enforcement official.
US
Donald Trump on day one: Pace of change ‘like nothing you’ve seen in history’, warns campaign official
Within hours of taking office, president-elect Donald Trump plans to begin rolling out policies including large-scale deportations, according to his transition team.
Sky News partner network NBC News has spoken with more than half a dozen people familiar with the executive orders that his team plans to enact.
One campaign official said changes are expected at a pace that is “like nothing you’ve seen in history”, to signal a dramatic break from President Joe Biden’s administration.
Mr Trump is preparing on day one to overturn specific policies put in place by Mr Biden. Among the measures, reported by sources close to the transition team, are:
• The speedy and large-scale deportations of illegal immigrants
• Ending travel reimbursement for military members seeking abortion care
• Restricting transgender service members’ access to gender-affirming care
But much of the first day is likely to focus on stopping illegal immigration – the centrepiece of Trump’s candidacy. He is expected to sign up to five executive orders aimed at dealing with that issue alone after he is sworn in on 20 January.
“There will without question be a lot of movement quickly, likely day one, on the immigration front,” a top Trump ally said.
“There will be a push to make a huge early show and assert himself to show his campaign promises were not hollow.”
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Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the next US attorney general.
But Mr Trump’s campaign pledges also could be difficult to implement.
Deporting people on the scale he wants will be a logistical challenge that could take years. Questions also remain about promised tax cuts.
Meanwhile, his pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in just 24 hours would be near impossible.
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Even so, advisers based at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort or at nearby offices in West Palm Beach, Florida, are reportedly strategising about ending the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Following his decisive victory on 5 November, the president-elect has moved swiftly to build a cabinet and senior White House team.
As of Thursday, he had selected more than 30 people for senior positions in his administration, compared with just three at a similar point in his 2016 transition.
Stephen Moore, a senior economic adviser in Mr Trump’s campaign, told NBC News: “The thing to realise is Trump is no dummy.
“He knows he’s got two to three years at most to get anything done. And then he becomes a lame duck and we start talking about [the presidential election in] 2028.”
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