Disasters

"U.S. EPA officials determined in 2014 that 'flooding and inundation from more intense' storms could spur Superfund sites to spew contaminants."

"PASADENA, Texas -- The U.S. government received reports of three spills at one of Houston's dirtiest Superfund toxic waste sites in the days after the drenching rains from Hurricane Harvey finally stopped. Aerial photos reviewed by The Associated Press show dark-colored water surrounding the site as the floods receded, flowing through Vince Bayou and into the city's ship channel."

"Hurricane Maria, once again a Category 5 hurricane, has its sights set on a potentially catastrophic strike on the already storm-weary Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, following a first-on-record Category 5 landfall for the island of Dominica Monday night."

"As residents of the Southeast are returning home and assessing the damage left by Hurricane Irma, Florida scientists are anxiously waiting to evaluate the storm’s impact on one of the state’s most valuable — and vulnerable — ecosystems: the Everglades."

"As if loss of air conditioning and refrigeration weren’t bad enough, widespread power outages in hurricane-battered Florida are teaming with structural failures to cause another headache: sewage overflows."

"The tiny two-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean faced its third hurricane watch in two weeks as forecasters announced on Saturday the formation of Tropical Storm Maria, which was expected to strengthen to a hurricane."

"Rising sea levels and fierce storms have failed to stop relentless population growth along U.S. coasts in recent years, a new Associated Press analysis shows. The latest punishing hurricanes scored bull's-eyes on two of the country's fastest growing regions: coastal Texas around Houston and resort areas of southwest Florida."

"When asked on Air Force One if the two recent storms have changed his view on climate change, Trump told reporters: 'We’ve had bigger storms than this.'"

"The chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, that caught fire in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey experienced a chemical spill more than a day before the fire broke out, according to a regulatory filing."