Hurricane Ian will go down as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States. The utter devastation that we are witnessing in southwest Florida is difficult to comprehend, and it will literally take years for the region to recover. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2006, it was just a Category 3 storm. Hurricane Ian was a very strong Category 4 storm when it finally made landfall, and it very nearly hit Category 5. Some media outlets were reporting that Ian had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, while others were reporting that Ian had maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. In either case, it came really close to becoming a Category 5 storm.
But this wasn’t supposed to happen.
Ian wasn’t supposed to be a “monster storm” when it slammed into the Florida coast, but in the final hours it absolutely “exploded” in intensity.
According to USA Today, Ian ultimately became “one of the most powerful storms in U.S. history”…
Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida’s southwestern coast Wednesday as one of the most powerful storms in U.S. history, tearing apart homes and buildings and leaving some residents stranded as storm surge flooded communities.
The storm made landfall near Cayo Costa as a Category 4 storm Wednesday afternoon with maximum sustained winds measured at a stunning 150 mph — only 7 mph slower than a Category 5, the highest status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale of Hurricane Intensity.
On Wednesday, September 21st Joe Biden delivered a major speech in front of the UN General Assembly in which he boldly called for the creation of a Palestinian state…
President Joe Biden told the United Nations on Wednesday the Palestinians are “entitled” to their own state, a day after the U.S. State Department announced $64 million in aid to the U.N. agency for so-called Palestinian refugees.
“We will continue to advocate for a lasting, negotiated peace between the Jewish and democratic state of Israel and the Palestinian people,” Biden said during his address at the U.N. General Assembly.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s security – full stop. And a negotiated two state solution remains our best way to ensure Israel’s security and prosperity for the future and give the Palestinians the state to which they are entitled,” he said.
And exactly one week later Hurricane Ian hit the United States.
In fact, as Hurricane Ian was tearing apart countless homes, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations once again reaffirmed our commitment to a Palestinian state…
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield addressed the UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East Wednesday, during which she reiterated the Biden Administration’s support for the Two-State Solution.
“From day one, the Biden Administration has been unequivocal in our support for a two-state solution. That has not changed. As President Biden made clear to the UN General Assembly last week, “A negotiated two-state solution remains…the best way to ensure Israel’s security and prosperity for the future and give the Palestinians the state…to which they are entitled,” Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said.