It’s almost Halloween, which means everyone you know is probably posting adorable photos from the pumpkin patch. But folks looking for pumpkins to carve before the trick-or-treaters arrive may not be able to find the orange gourds at Home Depot locations in hurricane-ravaged Texas and Florida this season, as the retailer says it’s cutting back on pumpkin sales to let some stores focus on storm recovery. [More]
natural disasters
Why Hurricane Harvey Was Good News For Car Companies
By 10.3.17
Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc across swaths of Texas and Louisiana, damaging billions of dollars’ worth of property in its path. That includes cars, many of which needed to be replaced, resulting in a bittersweet sales boost for a number of automakers. [More]
FEMA Tweets Number For Phone Sex Line Instead Of Disaster Relief Effort
By 9.20.17
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is offering help to Florida residents with a program called “Operation Blue Roof,” which provides fiber-reinforced tarps to homeowners to cover damaged roofs until they can arrange repairs. The only problem is, one federal agency appears to have accidentally directed folks to a phone sex line instead. [More]
Irma Continues To Snarl Travel As It Heads To Georgia, South Carolina
By 9.11.17
Although Irma has now been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, it’s still got plenty of juice in it as it continues to rage in Florida and move towards Georgia and South Carolina. And that means trouble may still be tricky in the coming days, as some airports remain closed and airlines cancel hundreds of flights. [More]
Airfare Prices Out Of Florida Skyrocketing Ahead Of Hurricane Irma
By 9.6.17
As Hurricane Irma barrels toward Florida, many people are rushing to get out of the state before it hits. But as that demand increases, travelers are complaining that ticket prices are skyrocketing. [More]
Pizza Hut Workers Use Kayaks To Deliver Food To Hurricane Harvey Victims
By 8.31.17
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, flood waters have wreaked havoc on much of southeastern Texas. So when a Pizza Hut manager heard there were families trapped in their homes without food, she decided that if she couldn’t get to them by land, she’d send pizza over the water — by kayak. [More]
Here’s How Wireless Companies Are Offering Help To Customers In Hurricane-Ravaged Areas
By 8.28.17
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, wireless networks are experiencing outages, leaving some customers without reliable cellphone service. The four major providers are now stepping up to offer help by way of waiving service fees or offering extra data. [More]
Southwest Airlines Flies 500 Stranded Passengers Out Of Airport Closed By Hurricane
By 8.28.17
With the arrival of Hurricane Harvey in Texas this weekend, hundreds of Southwest Airlines customers were stranded on Sunday after Houston Hobby Airport closed — so the airline decided to just fly those folks out of there. [More]
Here’s What To Do With Gators Displaced By Hurricane Flooding
By 8.25.17
With Hurricane Harvey barreling toward the coast of Texas, the state’s residents have no doubt been busy preparing for any havoc the storm may wreak, including extreme flooding. But beyond the potential damage those rising waters could do to homes and property there’s another eventuality Texans should be ready to handle: Displaced alligators. [More]
New Facebook Safety Check Feature Lets Users Offer, Get Help In A Crisis
By 2.8.17
More than two years after Facebook launched its Safety Check tool as a way for users to let their friends and family know they’re okay in a crisis, the social media company is adding a feature that will allow people to ask for help, as well as offer it, when natural disasters or other emergency situations occur. [More]
Charter Continues To Charge Wildfire Victims For Service They Don’t Have
By 12.29.16
Charter cable and internet customers in Tennessee who recently lost their homes to wildfire say the pay-TV giant, which recently merged with Time Warner Cable, is continuing to charge them for services that they can’t possibly access, and to return equipment that no longer exists. [More]
How To Avoid Scams Aiming To Cash In On Hurricane Matthew Damage
By 10.10.16
Hurricane Matthew is gone, but not without doing significant damage. As the recovery and rebuilding process begins, there will inevitably be unscrupulous scammers trying to cash in via fake charities, bogus offers of home repair, cybercrime, or through old-fashioned price gouging. [More]
Florida Airports Closing, More Than 1,300 Flights Cancelled As Hurricane Approaches
By 10.6.16
Things are about to get very, very nasty in Florida and the southeast, with Hurricane Matthew — one of the strongest seen in the U.S. in many years — bearing down rapidly on the coast. And that means if you’ve got travel plans in the coming days that are supposed to take you to or through many big, busy airports… think again. [More]
As Floods Ravage Louisiana, Here’s How To Avoid Home Repair & Charity Scams
By 8.15.16
As you have no doubt already heard, flood waters are wreaking havoc in Louisiana, displacing many thousands of residents and doing untold damage to their homes. When the waters eventually recede and people return home, there will inevitably be scammers ready to take advantage of their situation; just as there will be bogus charities and other fraudsters waiting to cash in on the good will of other Americans. [More]
Comcast Decides To Not Charge Early Termination Fees To Flood-Ravaged Stores
By 8.5.16
Flood waters recently tore through Ellicott City, MD, forcing some businesses to close up shop. One store says Comcast tried to rub salt in this fresh wound by demanding it pay hundreds of dollars to cancel service it can no longer use. [More]
In Wake Of Storms, Don’t Be Taken In By Home-Repair Scams Or Fake Charities
By 12.28.15
Over the weekend, tornadoes ripped through the Dallas area, rending homes into piles of wood and destroying lives. Additionally, bad weather in the region resulted in damage to the property of countless other Americans. We can understand the desire to get your life back in order immediately — or to donate money to help victims — but don’t let yourself be taken in by unscrupulous scammers. [More]
Dish Apologizes For Demanding Couple Return Equipment After Their Home Was Destroyed By Wildfire
By 10.5.15
Whenever there’s a natural disaster wreaking devastation upon people and their homes, it seems there will, unfortunately, always be cable customer service representatives who respond less than sensitively. Here’s another: a couple whose home burned down in a California wildfire says they were shocked when Dish demanded they return equipment that was destroyed. [More]
Facebook Adds New Safety Check Feature To Let Loved Ones Know You’re Okay After A Disaster
By 10.16.14
I’ll never forget the one time I’ve felt an earthquake in New York City. Not because it was anything scary — it was only a brief, jarring moment in an elevator — but because it seemed like every person I knew outside of the area was reaching out whether through text, phone call, email or social media to make sure I was okay (I was totally fine, but it was nice anyway). Facebook has a new feature called Safety Check that it says will make that whole process a lot easier. [More]
