USA Breaks Record For Mass Deaths By Gun Shooting

Ken AshfordCrime, Disasters, Gun ControlLeave a Comment

And here we go again. Politicians will send thoughts and prayers and… My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2017 … right… condolences and sympathies, etc… and then nothing will be done. So here’s what happened. There are now at least … Read More

Why Is Trump Tweeting About The NFL?

Ken AshfordDisasters, Race, Red Sox & Other Sports, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Thursday night in Alabama, at a rally, Trump went off on a tangent about the NFL and its bad ratings and how players who refused to stand for the national anthem (i.e., Colin Kaepernick) should be fired by the owners.  This got cheers from the Alabamians, because they are Alabamians.  And it made headlines on Friday (since he never says … Read More

SimCity Set To “All Disasters Mode”

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

First Harvey, then Irma.  Now Maria is hitting Puerto Rico with a force “not seen in modern history” according to WaPo It hit the island at 6:15 a.m. as a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds — the first Category 4 storm to directly strike the island since 1932. By midmorning, Maria had fully engulfed the 100-mile-long island as … Read More

9/11 Plus 16 — What If Trump Was President?

Ken AshfordDisasters, History, Trump & Administration, War on Terrorism/Torture, WeatherLeave a Comment

Each year as 9/11 comes and goes, there is less added to the perspective. An entire generation is now politically aware, who cannot remember that horrible day.  Bizarre, to me. We forget that Bush, like Trump, was in the infancy of his presidency. I remember thinking that he was over his head — partly because it was unprecedented, and partly … Read More

Harvey Update

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

The images just don’t stop. It’s actually pretty incredible that only 15 have died so far. As they were saying before the hurricane hit, the real problem would not be the hurricane impact, but the rains that would follow for days and days.  According to the Washington Post, 30% of Harris County’s 1,777 square miles are underwater.  Harris County is home … Read More

Hurricane Harvey

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Disasters, Trump & Administration, WeatherLeave a Comment

There’s a good reason why Mashable’s Andrew Freedman dubbed Hurricane Harvey—now barreling toward Texas and Louisiana—“the meteorological equivalent of a White Walker from Game of Thrones.”  This is no joke.  Harvey is likely to be the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2005. Harvey will make landfall late Friday or early Saturday.  The storm is expected to hit middle … Read More

5.8 Earthquake off North Korea Coast

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Disasters, North KoreaLeave a Comment

Normally, I wouldn’t care, but I have to wonder if this is an earthquake.  Info coming in….   The quake was very deep – 348.2 miles (560km) below the seabed off the coast Its epicenter was 125 miles (201 km) southeast of North Korean city of Chongjin Early speculation indicated quake was man-made, as has been the case in past … Read More

Scenes From New Zealand

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

New Zealand got hit by a devastating 7.8M earthquake earlier this week and has had about 300+ aftershocks, some of them quite strong.  Here are some scenes: Stranded cows:

Matthew Update

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Disasters, Local Interest, WeatherLeave a Comment

As of this writing (10/7/2016) at 11:45 a.m., Hurricane Matthew, now a Category 3, has shown a little mercy by veering slightly northernly and westernly than expected.  Right now, the western eyewall is brushing the Florida coast — the hurricane is located 75 miles southeast of Jacksonville. The winds along the Florida coast are rough, but it doesn’t seem to … Read More

Matthew Bears Down

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Disasters, WeatherLeave a Comment

Florida is going to get hit HARD. Thousands told to evacuate.  Winds up to 140. No we did not work coordinate this with the @pbpost #newspapers #frontpagestoday pic.twitter.com/KkJiB7MCst — Rolando Otero (@Photero) October 6, 2016 From the National Weather Station in Melbourne FL – no mincing of words: The #eyewall of #Hurricane #Matthew is now completely visible on @RadarScope. #HurricaneMatthew … Read More

6.2 Magnitude Hits Central Italy

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit central Italy early Wednesday and rescuers are searching for survivors. 73 people have died, according to Italian officials [UPDATE 1:45 pm EST: Now 120 dead and still rising] Rescuers struggle to reach some remote towns Amatrice, town at epicenter, “is no more” says mayor Witness: We woke up shaking side to side in bed

Louisiana Flood – How Did It Happen?

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

You had rain like it was from a slow-moving tropical depression.  It dropped 24+ inches of rain in some places.  That is more rain than what Bakersfield, California, has seen in 5+ years, or Omaha, Nebraska in one year. Radar of #LouisianaFlood from Thu am when heavy rain started evolving inland to Sat pm when it finally diminished pic.twitter.com/Cat919VqEL — Stu Ostro (@StuOstro) August … Read More

Trump and Nukes

Ken AshfordDisasters, Election 2016Leave a Comment

This should sober you up. This morning on Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough relates a story where Trump repeatedly asked a security expert why we couldn’t use nukes.  This is sobering (good part starts at 1 minute mark): Watch: What are some major concerns about Trump’s handling of national security? Hayden and #morningjoe weigh in. https://t.co/FyFoSmJlJI — Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) August … Read More

Orlando’s Crappy Long Weekend

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

Friday night:  Guy shoots and kills Christina Grimmie after her concert.  Grimmie was an up-and-coming singer who appeared on TV’s “The Voice” Saturday night:  Terrorist and self-hating gay guy kills 49 innocent people in gay nightclub Tuesday night:  Alligator drags aways and kills (we assume) a 2 year old boy at Disney resort