estimated

Yousef Birzeit, an economics professor at Birzeit University, says the cost to rebuild Gaza will be far greater than the UN, European Union and World Bank estimate of about $50bn.

At least 100,000 people descended on Belgrade for a mass rally seen as a culmination of months-long protests against Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.

Large crowds of flag-waving protesters clogged the downtown area of the capital on Saturday despite occasional rain, with people hardly able to move.

Following apparent sporadic incidents between protesters and the police, university students – who have been leading the peaceful protests for the past four months – abruptly called for an end to the demonstration, saying they could no longer guarantee safety at the rally.

Most of the protesters dispersed, but thousands remained on the streets as tensions surged.

Police said the crowd reached 107,000 at the peak of the protest. Serbian independent media described the rally as the biggest ever in the country, saying the numbers were much higher. All public transport in Belgrade was cancelled as protesters streamed into the city from various directions.

The rally was part of a nationwide anticorruption movement that erupted after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Serbia’s north in November, killing 15 people.

Almost daily demonstrations that started in response to the tragedy have shaken Vucic’s firm grip on power in Serbia like never before, in his past 13 years in charge. Many in Serbia blamed the crash on rampant government corruption, negligence and disrespect of construction safety regulations, demanding accountability for the victims.

Before the demonstration, Vucic repeatedly warned of alleged plans for unrest while threatening arrests and harsh sentences for any incidents.

Several reporters from neighbouring Croatia as well as Slovenia have been turned back from Serbia’s border, with the explanation that their presence at the rally “represents a security risk”.

Vucic has rejected earlier proposals for a transitional government that would organise an early election. He has claimed that Western intelligence services were behind the almost daily student-led protests, with the aim to remove him from power. He has presented no evidence for his claims.

A wind gust of 83 mph was reported at San Francisco International Airport.

A National Weather Service damage survey determined an EF1 tornado touched down in Scotts Valley at 1:39 p.m. and traveled about 30 yards, with the most severe damage on the city’s main street and retail district, the survey found. An EF1 ranges from 86-110 mph.

NWS Bay Area posted that tornadoes are “actually not that uncommon” in California.

Scotts Valley Police Department posted photos that showed cars strewn on and around the road. There were bent utility poles and extensive property damage, Police Capt. Scott Garner said.

He said five people, most in vehicles, suffered injuries, but none were major. Three were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and two refused treatment at the scene, he said.

The weather service office in Monterey described “a rather potent frontal passage” for the unsettled weather associated with the tail end of the atmospheric river. It included hail, ripping winds and nearly 2 inches of rain in places, along with snow inland.

In the small city of Mill Valley, about 14 miles north of San Francisco, floodwaters stranded several vehicles, police said. In Novato, about 28 miles north of San Francisco, residents were urged to stay home amid a citywide power outage in a post on X.

On Saturday afternoon, customers without power rose to roughly 225,000 across California, according to PowerOutage.US. That number has come down to just over 60,000 customers Sunday morning.

“Residents across the region still cleaning up from any wind damage or those starting to restore power to their homes and businesses can face another round of active weather as the weekend comes to a close,” Accuweather.com meteorologist Alyssa Glenny said.

North Carolina lawmakers have passed almost $900m in disaster relief, but that’s still way short of the likely cost.

Lawmakers in the state of North Carolina have passed almost $900m in aid spending for Hurricane Helene disaster relief, but they say that is only a preliminary figure as the final bill is still being calculated.

State legislators unanimously passed $604m in additional funding on Thursday, on top of $273m that was previously approved.

But the catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina last month likely caused at least a record $53bn in damages and recovery needs, the state’s Governor Roy Cooper announced a day earlier.

If confirmed, this figure would make Helene the 10th costliest weather disaster in the United States since 1980, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The estimate only includes damages in North Carolina, but Helene devastated parts of multiple states in the US Southeast, killing 214 people, so the final cost could rank higher.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation estimated that Hurricane Helene caused $13.4bn in insured losses in the state as of October 17.

Cooper said he has requested an initial $3.9bn package to start rebuilding efforts, particularly involving critical infrastructure, homes, businesses, farms and schools in North Carolina damaged by Helene.

‘A good start’

“Helene is the deadliest and most damaging storm ever to hit North Carolina,” Cooper said on Wednesday while unveiling his spending request to the state General Assembly.

“These initial funds are a good start, but the staggering amount of damage shows we are very much on the front end of this recovery effort,” he added.

Cooper told reporters the state’s previous record for storm damage was $17bn from Hurricane Florence, which struck eastern North Carolina in 2018.

Helene and its aftermath caused 1,400 landslides and damaged more than 160 water and sewer systems, at least 9,650 kilometres (6,000 miles) of roads, more than 1,000 bridges and culverts and an estimated 126,000 homes, the budget office said.

Some 220,000 households are expected to apply for federal assistance.

The damage report projects $48.8bn in direct or indirect damages, along with $4.8bn of anticipated mitigation expenses. The budget office estimates the federal government will cover $13.6bn, with private and other sources covering $6.3bn.

Most of the losses will never be recovered, legislators say, because so few homeowners and farmers in the disaster areas had flood or crop insurance.

Close to 93 percent of homes with flood damage verified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lacked flood insurance, the report said.

Cooper’s request includes $475m for a recovery programme for businesses in the hardest-hit areas, $225m for grants to farmers for uninsured losses; and $100m for public school and community college capital needs.

Cooper also wants $325m to help homeowners and renters with rebuilding and minor repairs immediately while a larger programme dependent on federal funds is implemented.

Death toll reduced

North Carolina state officials have reported 96 deaths from Helene, which brought historic levels of rain and flooding to the mountains in late September.

The death toll was reduced after one of the worst-hit counties discovered it had overcounted fatalities by as many as 30. Buncombe County, which previously reported 72 deaths, reduced its count to 42.

As a result, The Associated Press adjusted its multistate tally for Helene to 214 deaths.