Page 4 - aruba-today-20201114

A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 14 November 2020
Hurricane Center: An Iota could follow Eta's deadly path

By CURT ANDERSON and and was electrocuted, said
FREIDA FRISARO Jacob Saur, director of
Associated Press public safety for Manatee
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) County.
— Just as the remnants of Earlier, firefighters in Tam-
Eta finally blew out to sea pa had to rescue around
on Friday, another storm a dozen people who got
was brewing that could fol- stuck in storm surge flood-
low its path of death and ing on a boulevard ad-
destruction into Central jacent to the bay. Some
America this weekend, and vehicles remained on the
Tropical Storm Theta was roadway Thursday. Isolated
moving closer to Europe. neighborhoods also experi-
Hurricane experts were enced enough flooding to
closely watching the Ca- evacuate.
ribbean, where Tropical Several sailboats broke free
Depression 31 could get a from their moorings and
name — Iota — later Friday washed ashore in Gulfport,
or Saturday. Forecasters Florida, including the ves-
warned that it could power sel where Mo Taggart has
up quickly, to near major lived for two years with her
hurricane strength, as it ap- dog. She thinks the boat is
proaches Central America a total loss.
late Sunday and Monday, "I mean, it was disaster,"
and wreak more havoc in Taggart said. "I mean, I
a region where people are came out here. My boat's
still grappling with the after- just up against the seawall,
math of Eta. just smashing, smashing ... I
This extraordinarily busy A street sign is damaged in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020, in the need to get another boat.
Atlantic hurricane season Passe-A-Grille neighborhood of St. Pete Beach, Fla. I want to be back on the
has focused attention on Associated Press water, (my dog) wants to
climate change, which sci- be back on the water."
entists say is causing wetter, flooding, water rescues as torrential rains brought the Carolinas. Eta was the 28th named
stronger and more destruc- and at least one bridge flash floods and landslides The Tampa Bay area was storm of a busy Atlantic
tive storms. collapse in South Caro- to parts of Central America buffeted with gusty winds hurricane season, tying
The National Hurricane lina, said Sandy LaCorte, a and Mexico. Then it me- and rain, and there was the 2005 record for named
Center in Miami said Eta's meteorologist with the Na- andered across Cuba, the one U.S. death linked to storms. Theta, the 29th,
remnants would pick up for- tional Weather Service in Florida Keys and around Eta: In Bradenton Beach, was centered Friday south-
ward speed in the next day Greenville, South Carolina. the Gulf of Mexico before Mark Mixon stepped into his southeast of the Azores,
or so as it pulls away from Eta hit Nicaragua last week slogging ashore again near flooded garage as he was and moving east with top
the Southeast seaboard. as a Category 4 hurricane, Cedar Key, Florida, and laying sandbags around his sustained winds of 60 mph
Eta also triggered flash killing at least 120 people dashing across Florida and home Wednesday evening (95 kph).q
Explosion kills 2 steam pipe workers at veterans hospital

ment of the small outer Three other workers were a building that houses the
building and had just fin- injured, but those injuries hospital's labor shops, such
ished routine maintenance were not life threatening, as carpentry and plumb-
on a leaky pipe. He said officials said. Officials ini- ing, a spokesperson for the
the explosion occurred just tially believed one worker hospital said.
after 8 a.m. as the pipe was was missing but all were U.S. Sen. Richard Blumen-
being refilled with steam. accounted for. thal, a member of the Sen-
The names of those killed The contractor who died ate Veterans' Affairs Com-
were not immediately re- worked for Mulvaney Me- mittee, said the hospital,
leased. One was a con- chanical, based in Dan- which was built in the 1950s
tractor and the other was a bury, Connecticut, said and underwent a renova-
VA employee and a Navy company Vice President tion in the 1990s, has de-
veteran, Montoya said. Charles Brough. caying infrastructure that
That man's next of kin told "Our prayers are with the needs to be replaced.
Montoya that her loved families of the victims of this Gov. Ned Lamont, a Dem-
Veterans Affairs Police guard the entrance to a maintenance one had decided to work explosion," VA Secretary ocrat, said state emergen-
facility after an apparent steam explosion in a maintenance
building at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Haven, Conn., Fri- for the VA because he Robert Wilkie said. cy management officials
day, Nov. 13, 2020. wanted to take care of fel- Police, the VA and the fed- will provide as much aid as
Associated Press low veterans. eral Occupational Safety necessary to conduct an
"(She said) he wanted to and Health Administration investigation.
By PAT EATON-ROBB Veterans Affairs hospital in give back to those men were investigating the ac- "This is a heartbreaking trag-
WEST HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut, officials said. and women who fought cident, and the cause of edy, and I have instructed
Two workers were killed in Alfred Montoya Jr., direc- so hard," Montoya said. the explosion had not been our state agencies to pro-
an explosion Friday while tor of the VA Connecticut "It's moments like that really determined Friday, officials vide full resources as the
repairing a steam pipe in a Healthcare System, said tear at your heart and tear said. response and investigation
maintenance building at a the men were in the base- at your soul." The explosion occurred in continues," Lamont said.q