Latest news with #Iniki
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
American in UK visits impressive service station that's 'like a theme park'
An American woman has said she's finally come to understand why Brits have a favourite service station after visiting a Welcome Break in the UK she compared to a theme park UK service stations are typically quite basic, offering a couple of eateries, a shop and toilets for travellers in need of a rest on the motorway. However, one Welcome Break UK services is drawing visitors from far and wide. An American woman was left astounded after her recent visit at the Yorkshire service station, describing it as "exquisite". Situated of the M1J33 near Rotherham, the service station boasts an array of popular chains such as Starbucks, Pret A Manger, Burger King, Chopstix, The Good Breakfast, KFC, Waitrose, and WHSmith. Not only does it offer top-notch facilities and a variety of dining options, but the service area - which opened its doors in January this year - also provides 458 parking spaces for various types of vehicles. Plus, it has resulted in the creation of around 230 new jobs. Iniki, an American woman who relocated from Florida - a state known for its large 'petrol stations' - hailed the Rotherham Welcome Break as "the nicest UK service station." In a recent TikTok post, Iniki said: "I think I finally understand when Brits say they have a favourite service station because this service station was exquisite. This is a brand new Welcome Break in Rotherham and I was thoroughly impressed." The woman, who is married to a British man, likened it to "kind of looks like a little town" and said it reminded her of Universal Studios. She described her experience as akin to "a walk in the park." The American was also impressed by the variety of dining choices, gaming section and children's play area. "So yeah, I never understood the hype about service stations until now," she added. One person remarked: "As someone who was born in Rotherham, it's strange hearing an American say it haha. Driven past this service station many times but never been in. Looks nice!". One declared it's "probably the best thing" in Rotherham. "Nicest place in Rotherham," chimed in another. "Wow, it's really nice," noted someone else. A further user commented: "I love a good service station. It's kind of like you're going on holiday, slight airport vibes without the planes or security."
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season Has Begun. Recent Years Show How Impactful It Can Be To Mexico, US
The Eastern Pacific hurricane season often takes a backseat in popularity when compared to the Atlantic, but recent years have proven to be a wake-up call for both Mexico and the United States when it comes to the serious impacts that storms in this ocean basin can produce. -Season Starts May 15: That's over two weeks earlier than the Atlantic's official start due to warmer waters and more favorable upper-level winds earlier in the season. -A Typical Season: Based on the 1991-2020 average, 15 named storms form in the Eastern Pacific each year. This year's first Eastern Pacific storm will be given the name Alvin. -Where They Form And Track: The map below is centered on August, but it gives a general sense of where these Eastern Pacific storms tend to roam during the season. Most of them are concentrated in the Pacific waters west of Mexico. Many of them track harmlessly westward out to sea, but sometimes they can impact land, particularly Mexico. On occasion, their impacts can be felt in the Southwest U.S. and Hawaii. -Mexico Has Had Back-To-Back Devastating Years: In October 2023, catastrophic Hurricane Otis struck Acapulco as a Category 5, becoming Mexico's costliest tropical cyclone. Last year, Hurricane John hit Michoacán and Guerrero states in September, including Acapulco, triggering widespread flooding and mudslides. The hurricane and its remnants were blamed for 29 deaths in the country. -Wake-Up Call For U.S. Two Years Ago: The Southwest is the U.S. region that occasionally sees impacts from Eastern Pacific storms. The storms themselves typically fall apart well to the south, but sometimes the weather pattern allows the leftover moisture and energy to spread into the region and fuel flooding rain. An extreme example of this happened in August 2023, when former Hurricane Hilary caused $900 million of damage in the U.S. after its remnants swirled into California and other parts of the West, triggering significant flooding. -Long Treks To Hawaii Can Happen: Hurricane Iniki in 1992 might be the most serious example of the impacts storms originating in the Eastern Pacific can generate in Hawaii. Kauai was hit especially hard by damaging winds and storm surge when Iniki made landfall there at Category 4 intensity. Recent close calls for Hawaii include Hurricane Douglas in July 2020 and Hurricane Lane in August 2018. -Cold Waters Protect U.S. West Coast From Hurricane Landfalls: Sea-surface temperatures drop off dramatically north of Mexico's southern Baja Peninsula. When powerful hurricanes track northward in the direction of the West Coast and hit that colder water they lose their fuel, causing them to weaken quickly and fall apart. -California Has Seen Extremely Rare Landfalls: On Oct. 2, 1858, the only known hurricane to hit Southern California slammed into San Diego. Sustained hurricane-force winds resulted in extensive property damage. A tropical storm with 50-mph winds also hit Long Beach in September 1939. As in 1858, any hurricane would have to be moving fast enough, over waters just warm enough, to maintain its intensity on the way northward to have a California landfall. -East Pacific Is Home To Western Hemisphere's Strongest Storm: Hurricane Patricia in October 2015 had maximum sustained winds of 215 mph off of Mexico's Pacific Coast, far above the Category 5 threshold of 157+ mph winds. No other hurricane on record in the Western Hemisphere (Atlantic and Eastern Pacific combined) is known to have had winds that high. Patricia eventually made a Category 4 landfall in a sparsely populated area north of Manzanillo. Two small villages - Emiliano Zapata and Chamela - suffered the most extreme damage. Chris Dolce has been a senior digital meteorologist with for nearly 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hawaii condo insurance relief on horizon
JAMM AQUINO /JAQUINO @ A skyline of condominiums and single family homes in the foreground are seen on Monday, May 8, 2023, in Honolulu. 1 /2 JAMM AQUINO /JAQUINO @ A skyline of condominiums and single family homes in the foreground are seen on Monday, May 8, 2023, in Honolulu. COURTESY OF STATE LEGISLATURE Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole 2 /2 COURTESY OF STATE LEGISLATURE Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole JAMM AQUINO /JAQUINO @ A skyline of condominiums and single family homes in the foreground are seen on Monday, May 8, 2023, in Honolulu. COURTESY OF STATE LEGISLATURE Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole Relief for many Hawaii condominium owners paying sky-high insurance premiums may be available soon under a state program. Administrators of the state's dormant Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund are preparing to begin offering hurricane insurance policies in June to one or more types of condo association properties. HHRF's planned coverage would be less expensive than what is currently offered by 'surplus ' insurance carriers that many condo associations have had to rely on to obtain full coverage in instances when three regulated insurers, which serve the local market with lower premiums, decline to insure the full value of a condo project. In addition to HHRF's plan, the nonprofit Hawaii Property Insurance Association is preparing to offer insurance to condo associations for other perils if it can share a loan from the state to HHRF pending approval at the Legislature. However, some state lawmakers are raising concerns over parameters of the two plans, fearing that much of the benefit could go to wealthy condo owners or condo projects that are easier to insure because they have lower risks. HHRF and HPIA leaders briefed a pair of House and Senate committees Thursday on their efforts to give condo owners new options for more affordable coverage. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. The hurricane fund, which operated from 1993 to 2000 in response to insurance market distortions after Hurricane Iniki, has about $170 million in leftover funding that would be used to buy enough reinsurance to cover roughly $10 billion in condo projects statewide. Paul Eaton, an executive with insurance firm Aon advising HHRF, told the committees that such insurance could support at least 300 of the state's roughly 2, 000 condo properties. 'That's a significant amount of capacity deployed, ' he said. Eaton estimated that about 60 % of Hawaii condo associations have had to rely on more expensive surplus carriers for at least partial coverage. He also said some associations are not insuring their properties against total loss, which has made those condos harder to sell because many lenders require full coverage. HHRF also is seeking legislative approval for a potential $200 million state loan to expand coverage if demand exceeds what it can supply using its current capital. Senate Bill 1044, which would provide the extra funding, is being considered by lawmakers. However, several members of the two legislative committees briefed Thursday expressed reservations about the types of properties HHRF and HPIA intend to cover. Mike Nonaka, HHRF board vice chair, said coverage for an initial phase expected to start in June aims to prioritize well-maintained reinforced concrete high-rises, and that the amount of insured value would be up to $350 million per property. HPIA's planned expansion has the same focus. Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, said it seems like the relief is being aimed at a safer segment of the market. 'Why are we starting with those guys ?' he asked. 'Those are likely not the buildings that are going to fall over in a hurricane event.' Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-Kailua ) also is concerned that the $350 million maximum insured value per condo project caters more to luxury condo owners whose finances aren't being affected as much by insurance costs compared with owners of less pricey condos. 'I'm hoping that you're going to be able to say that you're not building this program to begin by providing gap insurance for the richest people in the state in the fanciest high-rises in the state first, ' he said. Eaton said the program is intended to be available to 99 % of all condo properties in the state without regard to the income of owners or value of individual condo units. Eaton also said designing an insurance product for condo associations based on demographics of individual unit owners would be problematic. Scot Sterenberg, an HPIA administrator, told committee members that some high-rises in Honolulu built more than 50 years ago have values around $350 million, and that they are among the most challenging to insure because they don't have fire sprinkler systems. Still, Rep. Scot Matayoshi, chair of the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, suggested that the upper limit for insurance value coverage be reduced so that luxury condo associations can't use up a lot of the limited relief coverage in the works. 'Setting the cap at a lower rate will prevent those larger, more expensive condos—the luxury condos, frankly—from eating up all of your capacity and not leaving anything for the rest of them, ' said Matayoshi (D, Kaneohe-Maunawili ). Jerry Bump, the state's acting insurance commissioner and an HHRF board member, said the board can consider suggested adjustments. Eaton also said that all types of condo properties, including wood-frame townhomes, may be able to purchase hurricane insurance from HHRF when initial coverage becomes available in June as planned. Condo property coverage through HPIA is a longer-term prospect because it relies on an appropriation from the Legislature passed through HHRF. Currently, HPIA has about 2, 200 policyholders statewide for various types of residential property insurance other than condo association master policies. But the nonprofit, founded in 1991 to initially provide insurance to owners of homes in the highest-risk lava zones on Hawaii island, has only enough capital to maintain the coverage it has now. HPIA seeks $20 million to $50 million of the $200 million loan sought by HHRF to buy more reinsurance to start covering condo projects. The $200 million loan would come from reimbursable state general obligation bonds that HHRF could sell over the next two fiscal years if demand for insurance exceeds what it plans to provide using the $170 million it has now. Premiums paid by policyholders would repay the bonds at no expected cost to taxpayers. Property insurance rates in Hawaii have spiked in recent years mainly due to higher costs for reinsurance driven by a rise in catastrophic damage incidents globally. The Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfire disaster, which caused an estimated $3.3 billion in insured losses, also made Hawaii a higher-risk state for coverage. As a result, fewer companies are writing policies, while others have reduced how much coverage they provide on high-value properties like condo projects. In August, Gov. Josh Green signed an emergency proclamation to help the HHRF and HPIA sell policies to Hawaii condo associations struggling with insurance costs and coverage. Premium prices have somewhat subsided since then but remain high. SB 1044 was passed by the Senate in a 25-0 vote on March 4, and is expected to be voted on by the 51-member House soon, after clearing two House committees in March. However, an agreement on final terms of the bill could be subject to a joint House and Senate committee.
