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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 25 august 2023

Flooding fills tunnels leading to Detroit airport, forces water rescues

in Ohio and Las Vegas

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER and fleet of shuttle buses that
SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON typically take passengers
Associated Press to McNamara.
ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — “I’m trying to be positive,
Heavy rain flooded an but the boys are a little
Ohio highway where peo- stressed out,” Hale said.
ple were rescued from While speaking to a report-
their cars, covered the Las er, she received a text from
Vegas strip with water and Delta Air Lines informing her
temporarily closed a busy that their flight had been
airport terminal outside De- pushed back another hour.
troit. Asked whether Hale be-
Parts of the western United lieved she and her fam-
States have been deluged ily would make it to Florida
in recent weeks with rain by the end of the day, she
from Tropical Storm Hilary, said: “Fingers crossed.”
and much of the central Scientists say that without
U.S. was beaten down by extensive study they can-
deadly sweltering heat. In not directly link a single
Hawaii and Washington, weather event to climate
emergency crews battled change, but that climate
catastrophic wildfires. change is responsible for
Areas in southeast Michi- Cars sit stranded in floodwaters on Sheldon Road south of Ford road in Canton, Mich., Thursday, more intense and more
Aug. 24, 2023.
gan got over 5 inches Associated Press frequent extreme events
(12.7 centimeters) of rain such as storms, droughts,
by Thursday morning, re- three sons ate some snacks park on Friday before em- backs,” said Hale, who floods and wildfires. Cli-
sulting in street flooding in out of a vending machine barking on a Disney cruise lives in Brighton, Michigan, mate change is largely
the Detroit area, including as they awaited word on through the Caribbean, located between Detroit caused by human activi-
tunnels leading to Detroit the status of the terminal. beginning on Saturday. and Lansing. ties that emit carbon diox-
Metropolitan Airport in the The 42-year-old from Brigh- Making matters worse: The Hale and her boys stood ide, methane and other
suburb of Romulus, officials ton and her sons 10, 13 quartet had the same va- on a pedestrian walkway greenhouse gases into the
said. Officials reopened the and 20 were to board a cation booked for Novem- inside the airport’s Evans atmosphere, according to
airport’s McNamara Termi- mid-morning flight to Flori- ber of last year, but missed terminal, which was open the vast majority of peer-
nal Thursday afternoon. da. They were scheduled out due to a tropical storm on Thursday morning. They reviewed studies, science
A few hours earlier Thurs- to visit Walt Disney World’s that struck the region. looked through a window organizations and climate
day, Mitzi Hale and her Magic Kingdom theme “We’re just having flash- toward street level at a scientists.q

Cape Cod strands more dolphins than anywhere else. Now they’re

getting their own hospital

By MARK PRATT Sharp, director of the res- ment and recovery time. them quickly,” he said. one. Its geography it is
Associated Press cue team. Simply caring for “With this ICU for dolphins, While there are marine basically a hook-shaped
When members of the ma- them at the scene is often we’ll be able to get them mammal rehabilitation spit of sand jutting into the
rine mammal team from not enough. They need ad- treatment that’s needed, centers that can take care ocean can make dolphin
the International Fund for ditional diagnostics, treat- then be able to release of animals for months or navigation difficult, and 12-
Animal Welfare rush to a even years, the goal of this foot tides can quickly ex-
Cape Cod beach to help facility is to release them pose a mile of beach.
a stranded dolphin or por- back into the ocean within The 4,200-square-foot
poise, they have no choice four days, he said. (390-square-meter) Dolphin
but to treat the endan- “This is the first time that this Rescue Center is in a reno-
gered animal on site and has been attempted be- vated retail space in down-
then immediately release it. fore,” Sharp said. town Orleans.
That is about to change. There are more live ma- It includes an 1,800-square-
The organization, which rine mammal strandings on foot (167-square-meter) re-
protects animals world- Cape Cod than anywhere habilitation area with two
wide, is opening a first-of- else in the world, Sharp treatment pools 15 feet (4.3
its-kind short-term dolphin said. meters) across and a vet-
hospital on Cape Cod this The welfare fund has re- erinary laboratory.
month that it hopes will not sponded to more than The public will not be per-
only improve survivability 400 live stranded dolphins, mitted to have direct con-
rates, but also enhance the whales and porpoises in tact with the animals be-
research it has developed An International Fund for Animal Welfare team carries a the region in the past five ing a cared for, but there
over 25 years. stranded common dolphin to a waiting vehicle while another years alone, the organiza- is also an education center
Stranded marine mam- waits to be rescued at Herring River, Jan. 19, 2012, in Wellfleet, tion said in a news release. where visitors will be able to
mals are stressed, in shock Mass. Cape Cod is a good habi- watch the recovering ani-
and dehydrated, said Brian Associated Press tat for dolphins, but a risky mals on a monitor.q