SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)

"Florida prepared on Sunday for its largest evacuation since 2017 as Hurricane Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico on its path toward the U.S. state's western coast, coming on the heels of the devastating Hurricane Helene."

"Among the many pieces of critical infrastructure that Hurricane Helene knocked offline in Asheville, N.C., was a key federal office for monitoring the global climate. Work is underway to get the facility running again, but the outage is likely to delay some agencies’ monthly updates on global warming and other climate indicators."

"The country’s most-visited national park site, the Blue Ridge Parkway, will remain closed indefinitely, the National Park Service (NPS) said Wednesday. The closure affects the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway, though some parts were hit harder than others by storm damage. It comes right as the region and scenic road typically see a boom in tourism, as weather cools and the leaves change colors."

"In a novel lawsuit brought early last year, a trio of Louisiana challengers laid out a sweeping narrative that traced a direct line between the oppressive legacy of slavery and allegedly discriminatory air pollution exposure. But their bid to upend one parish’s land-use practices faltered when a federal judge threw out the suit eight months later on prosaic procedural grounds. Now, those plaintiffs are regrouping for a rematch before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals."

"The amount of rain that Tropical Storm Helene unleashed over North Carolina was so intense, no amount of preparation could have entirely prevented the destruction that ensued. But decisions made by state officials in the years leading up to Helene most likely made some of that damage worse, according to experts in building standards and disaster resilience."

"As residents of western North Carolina piece together their lives following Hurricane Helene, few will be able to rely on federal flood insurance to help them rebuild."

"Democrats are deploying climate arguments against Republican Rick Scott in the state’s contentious Senate race."

"Residents east of Atlanta were again warned Tuesday to take shelter where they are if shifting winds push the still-billowing chemical cloud from a chlorine factory fire over their neighborhood."

"U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will travel on Wednesday to North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia to assess the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene in the southeastern U.S. which has killed at least 140 people."