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World

Hurricane Fiona: As storm passes near Bermuda, Canadians on the Atlantic coast are on guard

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CNN
 — 

Deadly Hurricane Fiona has strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it barrels toward Canada’s Atlantic coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Officials in Canada’s Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are urging those in the storm’s path to be on high alert and prepare for the impact of the hurricane, which has already claimed the lives of at least five people and shut off power for millions this week as it battered multiple Caribbean islands.

“The Air Force Hurricane Hunters have been investigating the major hurricane and have found that it remains powerful and very large,” the center said in an update Friday morning.

The storm “is projected to be a significant and historical weather event for Nova Scotia,” said John Lohr, the minister responsible for the provincial Emergency Management Office.

“It has the potential to be very dangerous. Impacts are projected to be felt across the province. Every Nova Scotian should be preparing today,” Lohr added during an official update Thursday.

Residents should brace for damaging winds, high waves, coastal storm surge and heavy rainfall that may lead to prolonged power outages, Lohr said. Emergency officials have encouraged people to secure outdoor items, trim trees, charge cell phones and create a 72-hour emergency kit.

The area hasn’t seen a storm this intense for about 50 years, according to Chris Fogarty, manager for Canadian Hurricane Centre.

“Please take it seriously because we are seeing meteorological numbers in our weather maps that are rarely seen here,” Fogarty said.

Utility company Nova Scotia Power activated an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Friday morning that will serve as the central coordination area for outage restoration and response, according to a news release.

The company will also be working closely with the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office.

“We are taking every precaution and will be ready to respond to Hurricane Fiona as safely and efficiently as possible,” Sean Borden, the storm lead coordinator for Nova Scotia Power, said in the release.

“Once Fiona passes by Bermuda, the storm is forecast to impact Nova Scotia by Saturday afternoon. Fiona will become extratropical before impact, but this will do little to hinder the damage that Fiona will cause,” CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford explained.

Across Atlantic Canada, winds could be around 100 mph (160 kph) as Fiona makes landfall on Nova Scotia, Shackelford said.

Bermuda, which is under a tropical storm warning, closed schools and government offices Friday, according to Michael Weeks, the island’s minister of national security.

In Canada, hurricane warnings are in place for Nova Scotia from Hubbards to Brule and in Newfoundland from Parson’s Pond to Francois. Prince Edward Island and Isle-de-la-Madeleine are also under warnings.

Prince Edward Island officials are imploring residents to prepare for the worst as the storm looms.

Tanya Mullally, who serves as the province’s head of emergency management, said one of the most pressing concerns with Fiona is the historic storm surge that it’s expected to unleash.

“Storm surge is certainly going to be significant. … Flooding that we have not seen nor can we measure against,” Mullally said Thursday during an update.

She added the northern portion of the island stands to bear the brunt of the storm due to the direction of the winds, which will likely cause property damage and coastal flooding.

All provincial campgrounds, beaches and day-use parks as well as the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park will close Friday at noon, the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office said.

“Safety is our priority as we prepare for significant storm conditions Friday night and Saturday. We are closing provincial park properties for the storm and will reopen when it is safe,” Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton said in a statement announcing the closures.

Earlier this week, Fiona damaged homes and upended critical power and water infrastructure for millions of people across Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos.

Days after Puerto Rico experienced an island-wide blackout as Fiona made landfall Sunday, only 38% of customers had their power restored Thursday, according to power grid operator LUMA Energy.

The mass power outage is happening as much of Puerto Rico endures extreme heat, which caused temperatures to feel as hot as 112 degrees on Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Daniel Hernández, director of renewable projects at LUMA, explained critical places including hospitals will be prioritized before repairs can begin on an individual level.

“This is a normal process. The important thing is that everyone is calm … we are working to ensure that 100% of customers have service as soon as possible,” Hernández said.

Nearly 360,000 customers were experiencing intermittent water service or no service at all as of Thursday evening, according to the government’s emergency portal system.

As of Wednesday, more than 800 people were housed in dozens of shelters across the island, according to Puerto Rico’s housing secretary, William Rodriguez.

President Joe Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for the US territory, FEMA said. The move allows residents to access grants for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses.

In the Dominican Republic, Fiona affected 8,708 households and destroyed 2,262 homes, according to the nation’s head of emergency operations, Maj. Gen. Juan Méndez García.

He said more than 210,000 homes and businesses were still in the dark Thursday morning, and another 725,246 customers were without running water.

“This was something incredible that we’ve never seen before,” Ramona Santana in Higüey, Dominican Republic, told CNN en Español this week. “We’re in the streets with nothing, no food, no shoes, clothes, just what’s on your back. … We don’t have anything. We have God, and the hope help will come.”

Fiona also menaced parts of the Turks and Caicos Tuesday, and areas of the British territory were still without power earlier this week, namely on Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, North Caicos and Middle Caicos, said Anya Williams, acting governor of the islands.

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US

Hurricane Fiona reaches Category 4 as it moves north, leaving disaster-stricken areas on slow road to recovery

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CNN
 — 

With Category 4 Hurricane Fiona poised to sideswipe Bermuda later this week, people in the storm’s deadly wake still faced days without basic utilities Wednesday – including much of Puerto Rico, where most were left without power and running water.

Only about 380,000 of Puerto Rico’s 1.5 million utility customers had power by Wednesday morning, the government said. And about half of the island’s customers still were without running water, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said.

Water is the top concern for residents like Carlos Vega, whose town of Cayey in the mountains of east-central Puerto Rico faced not only utility outages but also partially collapsed roads – an effect of the major flooding and more than 2 feet of rain that parts of Puerto Rico were hit with.

“(Being without) power … we can face that and we can deal with that. The biggest concern is with our water. Can’t live without water,” Vega told CNN on Tuesday.

Fiona killed at least five people in the Caribbean as it tore through the region last weekend and into this week, including one in Guadeloupe, two in Puerto Rico, and two in the Dominican Republic.

Fiona also whipped parts of the Turks and Caicos islands on Tuesday with sustained winds of almost 125 mph, officials said. That left many areas without power, including on Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, North Caicos and Middle Caicos, said Anya Williams, the deputy governor of the islands.

No deaths or serious injuries had been reported in Turks and Caicos as of Tuesday evening, Williams said.

Fiona’s flooding especially left critical infrastructure damage in Puerto Rico and then the Dominican Republic, which the storm crossed Monday. Nearly 2 million utility customers in the Dominican Republic were without water service as of Tuesday, according to Maj. Gen. Juan Méndez García, director of the country’s emergency operations center.

The power outages come as Puerto Rico faces stifling heat. Heat indices – what the air feels like when combining temperature and humidity – of 105 to 109 degrees are expected Wednesday in north-central, northwestern and western portions of the island, the National Weather Service said.

The landfall in Puerto Rico on Sunday came nearly five years after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, leaving thousands dead and cutting power to and water service to more than 1 million people for what would become months.

Fiona, after its center passed the Turks and Caicos as a Category 3 storm, strengthened to Category 4 – sustained winds of at least 130 mph – early Wednesday over the Atlantic.

Around 11 a.m. Wednesday, it was centered about 675 miles southwest of Bermuda, heading north with sustained winds of 130 mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

Fiona is expected to approach Bermuda late Thursday, potentially still as a Category 4 storm, forecasters said.

Fiona’s powerful center is currently expected to pass west of Bermuda, sparing the British island territory its worst winds. But sustained winds of at least tropical-storm force – 39 to 73 mph – are expected to reach Bermuda by late Thursday or early Friday, the center said.

The US State Department issued a travel advisory Tuesday urging US citizens to reconsider travel to Bermuda due to the storm’s potential impact. The department also authorized family members of US government personnel to leave the island in anticipation of the storm.

Though the storm isn’t expected to track near the US East Coast, it could generate onshore waves of 8 to 10 feet there over the weekend, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said Wednesday.

“It’s not a good weekend to go to the shore and get in the water – it’s time to stay out of the water,” Myers said of the East Coast.

Fiona is expected to affect portions of Atlantic Canada as a powerful hurricane-force cyclone late Friday and Saturday. High winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall could produce significant impacts there.

The storm has strengthened over the past few days – it made landfall in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic as a Category 1 hurricane before battering both with outer bands as it moved over water and toward the Turks and Caicos as a storm in Categories 2 and 3.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Ricardo Rojas/Reuters

A man in El Seibo, Dominican Republic, looks at his house in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona on Tuesday, September 20.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Stephanie Rojas/AP

A photo album belonging to Luis Ramos Rosario lies in the mud inside his home after it was flooded by Hurricane Fiona in Cayey, Puerto Rico.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Alejandro Granadillo/AP

Streets are flooded on Salinas Beach after Hurricane Fiona moved through Salinas, Puerto Rico, on Monday, September 19.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters

Members of the Puerto Rico National Guard rescue a woman stranded at her house in Salinas on Monday.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters

A member of the Puerto Rico National Guard searches for people in Salinas on Monday.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Stephanie Rojas/AP

Residents affected by Hurricane Fiona rest at a storm shelter Monday in Salinas.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters

Children swim in a flooded street in Salinas on Monday.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Jose Rodriguez/AFP/Getty Images

A woman stands outside her flooded house in Salinas on Monday.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

-/AFP/AFP via Getty Images

A person cooks in the dark Monday after losing power in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Alejandro Granadillo/AP

A woman clears debris on her flooded property in Salinas on Monday.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Alejandro Granadillo/AP

Nelson Cirino looks at his bedroom after the winds of Hurricane Fiona tore the roof off his house in Loíza, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, September 18.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters

People clear a road from a fallen tree in Yauco, Puerto Rico, on Sunday.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

NOAA/AP

This satellite image shows Hurricane Fiona in the Caribbean on Sunday.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Alejandro Granadillo/AP

Nelson Cirino secures the windows of his home as the winds of Hurricane Fiona blow in Loíza on Sunday.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Ricardo Rojas/Reuters

Workers of the Social State Plan prepare food rations in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Sunday.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Alejandro Granadillo/AP

Jetsabel Osorio stands in her house in Loíza on Saturday, September 17. It was damaged five years ago by Hurricane Maria.

Photos: Hurricane Fiona slams the Caribbean

Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters

Boats sit secured to mangroves as Fiona approaches Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, on Saturday.



Many in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico still are grappling with Fiona’s aftermath and will likely face a prolonged relief and recovery process.

In Nizao, a small city in southern Dominican Republic, a woman tearfully told CNN affiliate Noticias SIN that Fiona’s winds destroyed her home.

“Thank God my girls (are) safe. I managed to cover them with something and block them with a washing machine,” she told Noticias SIN this week.

Another woman in Nizao who was clearing mud from belongings told Noticias SIN that she was frustrated because flooding frequently damages the region. This week, she left all belongings behind when floodwater encroached, she said.

“We can’t take it any longer. Every year we lose our bed, clothes, food, everything,” the second woman told Noticias SIN.

More than 600 homes in the Dominican Republic have been destroyed and 12 communities cut off from aid due to the storm, said García, the nation’s emergency operations center director. At least 23 roads and 18 bridges suffered damage, he said.

In Puerto Rico, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi expects “a large portion of the population” will have power restored by late Wednesday, with the exception of the island’s southern region, which has suffered the most severe damage, he said Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Pierluisi will take an aerial tour of the island with Criswell, the FEMA administrator, he said. Criswell arrived on Tuesday to determine what additional federal help is needed, and that day surveyed damage with the governor in the city of Patillas.

“The community there … (had) severely impacted roads, and bridges were damaged. Water was flooding the streets, and … other parts of the community (were) inaccessible,” Criswell said during a news conference Wednesday.

“But I also saw a resilient Puerto Rico,” she said. “I met with a woman named Anna, who opened up her own home in her own driveway to help create a path for the community. With the bridge that was washed away, her home became that pathway to help give food and water to the rest of her community.”

The storm is a catastrophic blow to Puerto Rico, which was still recovering in some areas from when Hurricane Maria ripped through the island in 2017, inflicting widespread infrastructure damage and destroying homes.

The damage caused by Fiona is “devastating” and “catastrophic” in the island’s center, south and southeast regions, Pierluisi said Tuesday.

Across Puerto Rico, more than 1,200 people were housed in dozens of shelters on Tuesday, the governor said. About 200 families were stranded in the Barros sector of the island because a bridge had been destroyed, according to the governor.

Emergency crews are struggling against mudslides and flood conditions, which were blocking access to parts of the power grid as well as highly impacted and remote areas that need supplies, a CNN crew there reported.

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Health

Flint residents reported high rates of depression, PTSD years after water crisis

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CNN
 — 

In a new study, researchers say the experiences of residents of Flint, Michigan, show that environmental disasters like the water crisis can have long-term consequences for mental health.

Flint residents reported changes to the water’s color, smell and taste soon after the city turned to the Flint River as a water source in April 2014. Following outraged pushback by residents and reports of children with mysterious illnesses, tests by the US Environmental Protection Agency and scientists at Virginia Tech detected dangerous levels of lead in the water.

For the new study, published in JAMA Network Open on Tuesday, nearly 2,000 adults living in Flint throughout the crisis were asked about their experiences, their psychological symptoms five years after the crisis and whether they had access to or used mental health services between August 2019 and April 2020. Most of the responses were gathered before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Researchers found that 1 in 5 Flint residents met the criteria for presumptive major depression, 1 in 4 for presumptive post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and more than 1 in 10 for both disorders.

“Our findings from the study conducted with Flint residents five years after the water crisis indicate that Flint residents report extremely high levels of PTSD and depression, which are higher than rates found in Veterans post-deployment and US and global prevalence rates,” Angela Moreland-Johnson, one of the study authors and an assistant professor at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, told CNN in an email.

More than half of the people surveyed were women, and more than half of all respondents identified their race as Black or African American.

“Individuals who believed that their or their family’s health was moderately or greatly harmed by the water crisis were 123% more likely than their peers to have depression, 66% more likely to have PTSD, and 106% more likely to have comorbid depression and PTSD,” the study said.

According to the results, men were 28% less likely than women to meet the criteria for depression, and Black residents were offered more mental health services than White residents.

“The Flint community may require expanded mental health services to meet continued psychiatric need,” the researchers wrote in the study. “National disaster preparedness and response programs should consider psychiatric outcomes.”

The new study did not examine the mental health of residents in other communities such as Jackson, Mississippi, which recently experienced its own water crisis. But Moreland-Johnson said that the study’s results suggest that people involved in crises like Flint “may experience heightened PTSD and depression.”

The finding is especially relevant for those who experienced a potentially traumatic event before an environmental disaster, as “these prior experiences may place them at heightened risk for mental health concerns including PTSD and depression.”

Researchers said that communication with residents is key.

“Importantly, we found that people who experienced the greatest harm from the Flint crisis and those with low confidence in the information provided by authorities about water safety were significantly more likely to experience adverse mental health outcomes half a decade after the crisis,” study author Salma Abdalla, a research fellow with the Boston University School of Public Health, told CNN in an email.

Eight years after the water crisis began in Flint – even with new pipes and a different water source – some city residents recently told CNN they still don’t trust the water.

“I’ll never drink the water again,” said Audra Bell, whose family buys about 10 cases of bottled water a week for cooking, brushing teeth and making coffee and for them and their dogs to drink.

Their neighbor LeeAnne Walters says she does the same.

“There’s not been any justice in Flint. There has been no rebuilding of trust with the government because they haven’t done anything to do so. So the voices go unheard, and people have serious PTSD when it comes to water. I don’t know if there will ever be justice as far as Flint and the damage that’s been done to the people,” she told CNN.

Bell said the crisis has been hard on families, and choosing to stay in Flint hasn’t been an easy decision.

Her advice to Jackson residents: “Just do the best that you can, and keep your family safe.”

The water is back on in Jackson after historic flooding took out the water treatment plant where pumps were already failing. But problems for residents may linger.

Abdalla said the research in Flint “highlights the importance of early action following environmental disasters such as the current Jackson MS water crisis.”

“It showcases the importance of coupling efforts to fix the water supply system with clear communication by officials to restore trust in the safety of the system. Efforts should also include mental health recourses to those who need it,” Abdalla said.

CNN has contacted the city of Jackson to find out what options residents have for mental health support but did not immediately hear back. In a statement, the Mississippi Department of Mental Health said community mental health centers can provide therapy, peer support and intensive outpatient programs for people in need of psychiatric care and substance abuse treatment.

In a statement to CNN, study author Aaron Reuben, a postdoctoral fellow with the Medical University of South Carolina, said the new research “indicates that public works environmental disasters have a long tail, with psychological harms that can continue for many years if not treated.”

“Simply put, clean water is a requirement for health, well-being, productivity, and dignity – and we are failing our citizens in providing for this basic necessity. We feel that the residents of Flint who lived through the water crisis have been remarkably resilient – and yet there is still a large, unmet need for mental health services to address the psychological impacts of the event, which are reflected in very high rates of diagnosable depression and PTSD across the Flint community,” Reuben said.

“The lesson for communities like Jackson, MS, is to not overlook psychological injury, and to not assume that, just because community members are resilient, they could not benefit from services to address the psychological scars of a long-term water crisis.”

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US

Storm lashes Alaskan shore, bringing severe coastal flooding and prompting evacuations

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CNN
 — 

The remnants of Typhoon Merbok have been battering Alaska’s western coast since late Friday, bringing flooding powerful enough to uproot buildings and forcing residents to seek shelter.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Saturday declared a disaster for impacted communities as heavy rains lashed the coast, filling roadways with water and debris.

By Saturday night, the governor was reporting impacts to roads, oil storage and possibly sea walls. Authorities were still assessing whether the storm affected water supplies and sewage systems in the state’s western towns, Dunleavy said in a Saturday night briefing.

About 450 residents in coastal communities have sought shelter in schools, according to Bryan Fisher, director of the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

There were no reports of injuries or fatalities related to the storm as of Saturday night, said Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe of the Alaska National Guard, adding that “there likely will be a military response” with aircraft ready to help with evacuations if necessary.

Water continues to surge early Sunday, with levels expected to peak above the high tide line of 3-5 feet at Deering, 4-6 feet at Kotzebue, and 5-7 feet at Shishmaref and Kivalina, according to the National Weather Service.

“These are concerning numbers,” NWS tweeted.

Coastal flood warnings continue across the western and northern coasts of Alaska through Sunday as several locations see extremely high water levels, according to CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

The water will remain at or near peak levels for up to 24 hours in some locations. Winds are expected to weaken as the storm pushes inland but water levels along the coast are expected to remain elevated through Sunday.

The storm is shaping up to be the state’s strongest in over a decade, according to forecasters.

Creating a “very angry sea” in the city of Nome, according to the National Weather Service in Fairbanks, the storm has brought “waves and storm surge pushing into the community.”

The water level is still going up and is expected to peak Sunday afternoon before slowly receding, affecting the city’s population of over 9,800 people.

The water level in Nome stood at 8.47 feet Saturday night, down from a high of 10.52 feet earlier in the day. The levels exceeded those seen during significant storms in 2011 and 2004, according to the National Weather Service.

A floating building hit a 300-gallon tank in Nome around 6 p.m. local time, resulting in a spill, according to Jason Brune, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The scale of the spill was still unknown Saturday night.

Nome resident Simon Kinneen said he was driving past Snake River in the Belmont Point area when he saw a home float away.

“The wind came up high enough to float the house and the wind and surge blew the house to the northwest,” he told CNN.

In a video taken by Kinneen, an entire house is seen floating on the river before it gets lodged between the river and a nearby bridge.

In Golovin, where a few homes floated off of their foundation, residents were evacuated to a local school on higher ground Saturday, authorities said.

“Water is surrounding the school, homes and structures are flooded, at least a couple homes floating off the foundation, some older fuel tanks are tilted over,” the National Weather Service in Fairbanks tweeted.

Golovin has a population of about 175, according to the US Census Bureau and is located south of the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve.



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Health

Polio is back — how concerned should Americans be?

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CNN
 — 

New York’s governor has declared a state of emergency after health officials detected poliovirus in the wastewater of five counties – evidence the disease is circulating. The declaration also follows a report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of an unvaccinated person in Rockland County, New York, who was diagnosed with paralytic polio this summer – the first case identified in the United States in nearly a decade.

Understandably, these events have sparked a lot of questions: Why does one case of polio worry officials? What does it mean to find poliovirus in wastewater? Who should be worried about contracting the disease? If someone had the vaccine years ago, are they still protected now?

To understand more about this disease, which most people alive today have never experienced, I spoke with CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is also author of “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.”

CNN: So far, there has been only one documented case of paralysis due to poliovirus in New York. Why does one case worry health officials?

Dr. Leana Wen: An August report from the CDC said that “even a single case of paralytic polio represents a public health emergency in the United States.” This is for two main reasons.

First, polio is a disease with the potential for very severe consequences. During its peak in the 1940s and 1950s, polio resulted in tens of thousands of children becoming paralyzed every year. Thousands died from the virus.

This changed with the introduction of vaccines that are highly effective – more than 99% effective at protecting against paralytic polio. Thanks to massive vaccination campaigns, the last incidence of wild-type polio occurred in 1979 – and it had been considered to be eliminated in the United States. The reemergence of such a disease, which can have such serious impacts, is a major threat.

Second, the one case of paralytic polio may be the tip of a large iceberg. Most cases of polio infection are asymptomatic and do not cause paralysis. Symptoms – which can include fatigue, fever and diarrhea – tend to be mild and can resemble those of other viruses. Public health officials are worried there are many other people who may be infected with polio and could be transmitting it unknowingly.

This is particularly concerning because Rockland County, where the recent paralytic case of the virus was diagnosed, has a polio vaccination rate of just 60%. In some parts of the county, the vaccination rate is as low as 37%. These numbers are far below the threshold needed for herd immunity, and that means there are a lot of individuals in the area who are vulnerable to polio infection and potential severe outcomes.

CNN: What does it mean that poliovirus has been detected in the wastewater of five counties, including New York City?

Wen: Finding poliovirus in sewage means one of two things: That there are people actively infected with polio who are shedding the virus, or that the virus signal could be from people who recently received the oral polio vaccine (OPV). OPV is no longer given in the United States – since 2000, the version used in the US is the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which is injected – but other countries are still using OPV, and it’s possible that travelers from those places are shedding virus from the vaccine.

In rare circumstances, the weakened virus from people who just received OPV could cause paralytic polio in unvaccinated individuals – which is a major reason why OPV is no longer used in the US.

One additional point of concern is that a wastewater sample from Nassau County on Long Island has been genetically linked to the paralytic polio case identified in Rockland County. (The two counties are not adjacent, rather approximately 40 miles apart.) This is further evidence of community spread that’s going largely undetected.

CNN: How can people contract polio?

Wen: Polio is an infectious disease that can be transmitted in a number of ways. A primary route is fecal-oral, meaning someone could get polio if they come into contact with feces from an infected person. This could occur, especially in children, through putting objects like toys that have been contaminated with feces into the mouth.

Poliovirus could also be transmitted through the respiratory route – for example, if someone who is infected coughs or sneezes and those droplets land around your mouth. It’s worth nothing that people who are vaccinated could also contract polio and pass it on to others, though they are extremely well-protected from severe illness themselves.

CNN: Should New Yorkers be worried about contracting polio?

Wen: Again, people who are vaccinated against polio are extremely well-protected from paralytic polio, and should not be concerned at this point. It should be pointed out, however, that while IPV is very good at preventing the most severe potential effects of the disease, people who received the vaccine could still be carriers of polio and could transmit it to others. Those at risk for serious outcomes are people who are unvaccinated and those who are incompletely vaccinated, including young children under 6 who have not yet completed their polio vaccine series.

CNN: How many polio vaccines should someone receive?

Wen: The CDC recommends children receive four doses of IPV. The first is given at 2 months of age, the second at 4 months, the third between 6 and 18 months old and the fourth between 4 and 6 years old.

Adults who have never been vaccinated against polio should receive three doses of IPV. The first should be given as soon as possible, the second one to two months after that and the third six to 12 months after the second.

CNN: If someone had the vaccine years ago, are they still protected? Who should get a polio booster now?

Wen: The protection against severe disease remains strong for many years after immunization; it’s believed it probably lasts for a lifetime. There is no need for most vaccinated people to get more doses.

However, if someone has not completed their original vaccine series, they should get their remaining doses. Some fully vaccinated people can also receive an additional lifetime booster of IPV under specific circumstances – for example, if they have direct contact with someone suspected of having polio or if they are health care workers with higher risk of exposure to people with the disease.

CNN: What if you’re not sure whether you were vaccinated? Say you don’t recall getting the vaccine, and it’s been many years. Is there a blood test you can take to verify either way?

Wen: You could check with your primary care physician’s office or state health department to see whether they have records of your immunizations. If they don’t, and there is no other way for you to verify – for example, by asking parents or other relatives or caregivers – you should speak with your health care provider about getting the full vaccine series for polio now. There is no blood test that can reliably detect whether you’re fully vaccinated against polio.

CNN: What if you or your family members haven’t yet gotten vaccinated against poliovirus?

Wen: People who have yet to receive any doses or are incompletely vaccinated should make sure to get their entire polio vaccine series right away. This is particularly important if they live in or around Rockland County in New York – but really everyone should get caught up with their routine immunizations.

It was a tragedy decades ago that so many children became permanently paralyzed and even died from polio. This should not happen again, since we have such effective vaccines that can prevent severe consequences of the disease.

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Science

Thwaites ‘doomsday glacier’ is holding on ‘by its fingernails,’ scientists say

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CNN
 — 

Antarctica’s so-called “doomsday glacier” – nicknamed because of its high risk of collapse and threat to global sea level – has the potential to rapidly retreat in the coming years, scientists say, amplifying concerns over the extreme sea level rise that would accompany its potential demise.

The Thwaites Glacier, capable of raising sea level by several feet, is eroding along its underwater base as the planet warms. In a study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, scientists mapped the glacier’s historical retreat, hoping to learn from its past what the glacier will likely do in the future.

They found that at some point in the past two centuries, the base of the glacier dislodged from the seabed and retreated at a rate of 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) per year. That’s twice the rate that scientists have observed in the past decade or so.

That swift disintegration possibly occurred “as recently as the mid-20th century,” Alastair Graham, the study’s lead author and a marine geophysicist at the University of South Florida, said in a news release.

It suggests the Thwaites has the capability to undergo a rapid retreat in the near future, once it recedes past a seabed ridge that is helping to keep it in check.

“Thwaites is really holding on today by its fingernails, and we should expect to see big changes over small timescales in the future – even from one year to the next – once the glacier retreats beyond a shallow ridge in its bed,” Robert Larter, a marine geophysicist and one of the study’s co-authors from the British Antarctic Survey, said in the release.

The Thwaites Glacier, located in West Antarctica, is one of the widest on Earth and is larger than the state of Florida. But it’s just a faction of the West Antarctic ice sheet, which holds enough ice to raise sea level by up to 16 feet, according to NASA.

As the climate crisis has accelerated, this region has been closely monitored because of its rapid melting and its capacity for widespread coastal destruction.

The Thwaites Glacier itself has concerned scientists for decades. As early as 1973, researchers questioned whether it was at high risk of collapse. Nearly a decade later, they found that – because the glacier is grounded to a seabed, rather than to dry land – warm ocean currents could melt the glacier from underneath, causing it to destabilize from below.

It was because of that research that scientists began calling the region around the Thwaites the “weak underbelly of the West Antarctic ice sheet.”

In the 21st century, researchers began documenting the Thwaites’ rapid retreat in an alarming series of studies.

In 2001, satellite data showed the grounding line was receding by around 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) per year. In 2020, scientists found evidence that warm water was indeed flowing across the base of the glacier, melting it from underneath.

And then in 2021, a study showed the Thwaites Ice Shelf, which helps to stabilize the glacier and hold the ice back from flowing freely into the ocean, could shatter within five years.

“From the satellite data, we’re seeing these big fractures spreading across the ice shelf surface, essentially weakening the fabric of the ice; kind of a bit like a windscreen crack,” Peter Davis, an oceanographer with the British Antarctic Survey, told CNN in 2021. “It’s slowly spreading across the ice shelf and eventually it’s going to fracture into lots of different pieces.”

Monday’s findings, which suggest the Thwaites is capable of receding at a much faster pace than recently thought, were documented on a 20-hour mission in extreme conditions that mapped an underwater area the size of Houston, according to a news release.

Graham said that this research “was truly a once in a lifetime mission,” but that the team hopes to return soon to gather samples from the seabed so they can determine when the previous rapid retreats occurred. That could help scientists predict future changes to the “doomsday glacier,” which scientists had previously assumed would be slow to undergo change – something Graham said this study disproves.

“Just a small kick to the Thwaites could lead to a big response,” Graham said.

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Scientists at Florida Aquarium make major breakthrough in race to save Caribbean coral reefs

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Florida Keys
CNN
 — 

Scientists at the Florida Aquarium have made a breakthrough in the race to save Caribbean coral: For the first time, marine biologists have successfully reproduced elkhorn coral, a critical species, using aquarium technology.

It’s a historic step forward, and one they hope could help revitalize Caribbean ecosystems and could pay humans back by offering extra protection from the fury of hurricanes.

Elkhorn coral once dominated the Caribbean. But, just as other vital coral ecosystems are degrading around the world, elkhorn are now rarely seen alive in the wild. This species — so important because it provides the building blocks for reefs to flourish — has been until now notoriously difficult to grow in aquariums.

Which is why scientists were thrilled when they saw their reproductive experiment was a success.

“When it finally happened, the first sense is just sheer relief.” said Keri O’Neil, the senior scientist that oversees the Tampa aquarium’s spawning lab. “This is a critical step to preventing elkhorn coral from going extinct in the state of Florida.”

O’Neil’s colleagues call her the “coral whisperer” because she has managed to spawn so many varieties of coral. Elkhorn marks the aquarium’s 14th species spawned inside the Apollo Beach lab, but the team ranks it as its most important yet.

O’Neil estimates there are only about 300 elkhorn coral left in the Florida Keys Reef Tract — but the spawning experiment produced thousands of baby coral. She expects up to 100 of them could survive into adulthood.

Named for its resemblance to elk antlers, the coral thrives at the top of reefs, typically growing in water depths of less than 20 feet. This makes their colonies crucial for breaking up large waves. During peak hurricane season, reefs are a silent but powerful ally that protects Florida’s coastlines from storm surges, which are growing larger as sea levels rise.

“As these reefs die, they begin to erode away and we lose that coastal protection as well as all of the habitat that these reefs provide for fish and other species,” O’Neil said. “Now there are so few left, there’s just a few scattered colonies. But we’re really focusing on restoring the elkhorn coral population for coastal protection.”

The Florida Aquarium’s news comes after scientists reported in early August that the Great Barrier Reef was showing the largest extent of coral cover in 36 years. But the outlook for coral around the world is grim — studies have shown that the climate crisis could kill all of Earth’s coral reefs by the end of the century.

Elkhorn coral was listed as federally threatened under the US Endangered Species Act in 2006 after scientists found that disease cut the population by 97% since the 1980s. And ocean warming is its largest threat. As ocean temperature rises, coral expels the symbiotic algae that lives inside it and produces nutrients. This is the process of coral bleaching, and it typically ends in death for the coral.

“They’re dying around the world,” O’Neil told CNN. “We are at a point now where they may never be the same. You can’t have the ocean running a fever every summer and not expect there to be impacts.”

Elkhorn coral seem to have something analogous to a fertility problem. Its reproduction is sporadic in the wild, making it difficult to sustain a much-needed increase in population. Because of its low reproductive rate, genetic diversity can also be very low, making them more susceptible to disease.

“You could say they’re successfully having sex, but they’re not successfully making babies [in the wild],” O’Neil said. “Terrestrial animals do this all the time. When you have an endangered panda or chimpanzee, the first thing you do is start a breeding program, but coral reproduction is super weird.”

The most challenging part for O’Neil’s team was doing the unprecedented — getting the coral to spawn in a lab. O’Neil said other researchers doubted they could pull it off.

“We faced a lot of criticism from people,” she said. They would say “‘you can’t keep those in an aquarium. You know that’s impossible!’”

They were right. At first.

Elkhorn coral only spawn once a year. In the lab’s 2021 experiment, the environment was strictly controlled to imitate natural conditions. Using LED lights, they accurately mimicked sunrise, sunset and moon cycles. But the coral didn’t spawn.

We “realized that the timing of moonrise was off by about three hours,” O’Neil said.

After that frustrating failure, the aquarium’s scientists knew they had a much better shot this year. And, with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Restoration Center and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Florida Aquarium did in August what was thought impossible by some peers.

The spawning could be a game-changer, according to Thomas Frazer, the dean of the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida, and it could lead to a future where coral is more resilient to the dramatic changes brought by the climate crisis.

“This type of work really matters,” Frazer told CNN. “Corals selected for restoration might, for example, be more resistant to warmer ocean temperatures and bleaching, exhibit skeletal properties that are able to withstand more intense wave energy, or traits that might make them more resistant to disease or other environmental stressors.”

Margeret W. Miller is a coral ecologist who has focused on restoration research for more than two decades. Miller co-authored a study in 2020 that found the elkhorn rate of reproduction in the Upper Florida Keys was so low, it would indicate the species was already “functionally extinct” and could be wiped out in six to 12 years.

Miller said the Florida Aquarium’s breakthrough will open new doors to tackle the larger restoration effort.

“Because this species is an important restoration target, the capacity for spawning under human care opens lots of research opportunities to develop interventions that might make restoration efforts more resilient to climate change and other environmental threats,” Miller told CNN.

Miller said more research needs to be done to make sure lab-spawning elkhorn coral is reasonably safe and effective, to be used in species conservation.

“This sort of captive spawning is not a tool that directly addresses widespread coral restoration at the global scale that would match the scale of the need. Indeed, no current coral restoration efforts meet that scale, and none will truly succeed unless we can take serious action to ensure that coral reef habitats can remain in a viable condition where corals can thrive,” Miller told CNN.

The climate crisis is the ultimate problem that needs to be solved, Miller said. The rapid increase in ocean temperature needs to be addressed, along with threats to water quality. Still, she said, the ability to grow elkhorn in a lab is an important tool in the restoration effort.

“The research on coral propagation and interventions that can be enabled by captive spawning efforts can, however, buy time for us to make such changes effectively before corals disappear from our reefs completely,” Miller said.

Elkhorn branches can grow as much as five inches per year, making it one of the fastest-growing coral species, according to NOAA. And based on observations from the Florida Aquarium scientists, their new elkhorn coral babies will take three to five years to become sexually mature.

Within a year or two, scientists intend to replant these lab-grown corals in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

In the race to restore the reefs, scientists agree this breakthrough is only a first step.

“We are really buying time,” O’Neil said. “We’re buying time for the reef. We’re buying time for the corals.”

The ultimate goal is a breeding program where scientists could select for genetic diversity and breed more resilient coral capable of withstanding threats like pollution, warming ocean waters and disease.

Then nature can take the wheel.

“There is hope for coral reefs,” O’Neil said. “Don’t give up hope. It’s all not lost. However, we need to make serious changes in our behavior to save this planet.”

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US

‘We’re living in a nightmare’: Jackson university students take online classes, leave campus amid city’s ongoing water crisis

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CNN
 — 

Just one week after the school year began in Mississippi’s capital city, university students were faced with a crisis canceling all in-person classes and forcing them online, but this time, it wasn’t Covid-19.

Hundreds of students at Jackson State University, a historically Black university, moved into their dorms August 18 as they settled in for the new year, but many have already returned home, while others are being forced to make difficult adjustments on campus due to the city’s ongoing water crisis.

Water in this US city is so dirty, boiling it doesn’t make it usable

Jackson had been without reliable tap water service since Monday, when torrential rains and severe flooding helped push an already-hobbled water treatment plant to begin failing. Roughly 150,000 residents are being forced to buy water or rely on an inefficient system of bottled water pick-up sites for water to drink, cook and brush teeth as businesses and schools were shuttered.

“It’s like we’re living in a nightmare right now,” said Erin Washington, 19, a sophomore. “We can’t use the showers, the toilets don’t flush,” she said.

Washington said the campus already had low water pressure and the toilets wouldn’t flush Sunday, and by the next day, students had no access to running water. Tuesday, the water turned on for a “split-second,” but it was brown and muddy, she added.

Wednesday, the water supply turned off completely, which Washington said was the “last straw” for her. She booked a flight back home to Chicago in the afternoon and is waiting to hear from university officials on whether they will go back to in-person classes next week.

The university’s head football coach, Deion Sanders, also said its football program is in “crisis mode.”

University officials scrambled to make provisions for the 2,000 students who live on campus as they continue to experience low water pressure, university president Thomas K. Hudson told CNN on Friday.

The university switched to virtual learning Monday, a familiar shift for many students whose in-person classes were canceled and moved online in 2020 to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. School officials are monitoring the water pressure “in hopes of resuming in-person classes next week,” Hudson said.

Rented portable showers and toilets have been set up across the campus and water is being delivered to students, Hudson said.

Hudson told CNN earlier this week Jackson State has a stash of drinking water it keeps for emergencies. The university is also bringing in clean water to keep the chillers operating for air conditioning in the dorms, he added.

“It’s their frustration that I’m concerned about,” Hudson said. “It’s the fact that this is interrupting their learning. So what we try to do is really focus on how we can best meet their needs.”

The water system in Jackson has been troubled for years and the city was already under a boil-water notice since late July. Advocates have pointed to systemic and environmental racism among the causes of Jackson’s ongoing water issues and lack of resources to address them. About 82.5% of Jackson’s population identifies as Black or African American, according to census data.

The main pumps at Jackson’s main O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant around late July were severely damaged, forcing the facility to operate on smaller backup pumps, Gov. Tate Reeves said this week, without elaborating on the damage, which city officials also have not detailed.

The city announced August 9 the troubled pumps were being pulled offline. Then, last week, heavy rains pushed the Pearl River to overflow, cresting Monday and flooding some Jackson streets, while also impacting intake water at a reservoir which feeds the drinking water treatment plant.

Jim Craig, senior deputy and director of health protection at the Mississippi Department of Health, said a chemical imbalance was created on the conventional treatment side of the plant, which affected particulate removal, causing a side of the plant to be temporarily shut down and resulting in a loss of water distribution pressure.

A temporary rented pump was installed Wednesday at the plant, and “significant” gains were made by Thursday, the city said, with workers making a “series of repairs and equipment adjustments.”

It’s still unclear, however, when potable water will flow again to the city’s residents. On Thursday, people of Jackson were advised to shower with their mouths closed.

Hudson said the university is receiving “an overwhelming amount of support from organizations and individuals who are contributing potable water, bottled water and monetary donations through our Gap Fund,” which provides financial support to students for emergency expenses.

“We will continue to work with the City of Jackson for updates on their progress to resume operation at the water treatment facility. In the meantime, the university will remain open to house our resident students during this holiday weekend as needed,” he said, referencing the Labor Day weekend.

City officials reported Saturday most of the city’s water pressure is being restored, but a boil-water advisory remains in place, and pressure is expected to continue to fluctuate as repairs continue. The city said workers are fixing automated systems to support better water quality and production.

Mom and son share videos of daily life with no clean water in Jackson, Mississippi

Trenity Usher, 20, a junior at Jackson State, said she thought this year would be her first “normal year” on campus before the water crisis wreaked havoc on the city.

Usher’s freshman year started in 2020 when Covid-19 prompted universities across the country to move classes online. Usher was one of the few freshmen students who decided to live on campus, she recounted. During her second semester in February 2021, a winter storm froze and burst pipes, leaving many city residents and university students without water for at least a month.

Unlike Washington who was able to go home to Chicago, Usher has to stay on campus because she’s a member of the school band.

Usher moved into her dorm August 19 and even then, she said water was an issue. “Water from the faucets were running thin,” she said.

“A lot of people are packing up and leaving, the parking lots are empty.” She said. If she wasn’t required to stay, Usher says she probably would’ve made the trek home to Atlanta.

“We practice for six to seven hours a day and then how are we supposed to shower?” Usher said. She also has an emotional support bunny she has to make sure has plenty of water, in addition to herself.

Usher said she’s had to pour bottles of water in her trash can to shower outside due to the water pressure issue on campus, a situation she called “horrible.”

Jaylyn Clarke, 18, a freshman, had been on campus for a week before the floods. She took the opportunity to get to know the campus and meet new people. Clarke was looking forward to the experience of attending a historically Black university and enjoyed the perks of staying close to home, which is only three hours away in New Orleans.

Clarke started to see river flood warnings last Thursday, which made her nervous about the potential for flooded roads nearby and being trapped on campus.

“Basically, we couldn’t do our laundry because of low water pressure, the showers and the toilets weren’t working well, and it even affected the AC,” she said, adding the water was brown and smelled like sewage.

Clarke finally decided to go home to New Orleans on August 30 to shower, wash clothes and attend online classes until the issue is resolved.

“I’m going with the flow because I do love Jackson State, but this water issue is like a rain cloud, like a shadow that’s being casted over.”

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Health

City children have better mental health and cognition if they live near woodlands

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London
CNN
—  

City children who have daily exposure to woodland have better cognitive development and a lower risk of emotional and behavioral problems, according to a new study published in Nature Sustainability.

Researchers studied 3,568 adolescents aged 9 to 15 at 31 schools across London over four years to examine the associations between natural environments and cognitive development, mental health and overall well-being.

Using vegetation satellite data, researchers calculated adolescents’ daily exposure to “green space,” like woods, meadows and parks, and “blue space,” including rivers, lakes and the sea, within 50 meters (164 feet), 100 meters (328 feet), 250 meters (820 feet) and 500 meters (1,640 feet) of their home and school.

A higher daily exposure to woodland was associated with higher scores for cognitive development – measured through a series of memory-based tasks – and a 17% lower risk of emotional and behavioral problems two years later, researchers said, adding that they adjusted for other variables, such as age, ethnic background, gender, parental occupation, type of school and air pollution.

Exposure to green space was associated with a beneficial contribution to young people’s cognitive development, researchers explained. The same associations were not seen with exposure to blue space – though the sample of children studied generally had low access to it, researchers noted in the study published Monday.

Lead author Mikaël Maes said that, while the team had established an association between woodlands and better cognitive development and mental health, there is no causal link between the two – something that could be studied in the future.

“Currently, the mechanisms why humans receive mental health or cognition benefits from nature exposure is unknown. Scientific research on the role of the human senses is key to establish a causal link,” Maes, a PhD researcher at University College London’s school of Geography, Biosciences and Imperial College London School of Public Health, told CNN.

Maes said in an email that one possible explanation for the link between woodland, cognition and mental health could be that audio-visual exposure through vegetation and animal abundance – which are more common in woodland – provides psychological benefits.

However, there were limitations to the study. The team said the research assumed that living or going to school near natural environments meant more exposure to them, which may not always be the case. Area crime rates were also not taken into account.

Researchers also noted that more than half of participants had parents who had a managerial or professional occupation, meaning that adolescents in other socio-economic groups could be underrepresented in the study. Pupils with special educational needs could also react differently than peers represented in the research.

“The findings are impressive and do highlight the importance of time outside on such a scale,” Carol Fuller, head of the Institute of Education at the University of Reading, told CNN via email.

“That said, while the findings are encouraging, what we don’t get from the study is a sense of why we see the results that we do? While the authors speculate as to the reasons, there is a crucial need to engage directly with young people to understand the results from the perspective of those who were taking part,” Fuller, who was not associated with the research, said.

“The research adds to a growing body of work about the importance of being outside on things like confidence, resilience, and self-efficacy,” she said.

“It makes sense that if you can develop these skills, things like cognition and learning outcomes will then improve. Being outside allows young people to learn a range of different skills and engage in diverse experiences, important for developing these underlying traits,” she added.

Stella Chan, professor of Evidence-based Psychological Treatment at the University of Reading, said in an email to CNN that the research offered “novel insights” with “potential to inform how we may better support young people’s intellectual development, health, and wellbeing.”

“As the authors note, just because someone lives close to natural environments does not mean that they could or would access this space, and of course how people use the space is another big question to ask,” Chan, who was not involved in the study, said.

“Building on these findings, it would be important to investigate how factors that are associated with exposure to natural environments, such as physical activity and hanging out with friends, may help enhance teenagers’ resilience, health, and wellbeing,” Chan said.

The great outdoors has long been linked to good physical and mental health – a 2015 study showed that people who take walks in nature report fewer repetitive negative thoughts.

And a 2019 study found that spending two hours a week soaking up nature – be it woodland, park or beach – gives a positive boost to health and well-being, both mentally and physically.

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