"Fire officials said on Monday they had effectively stopped the uncontrolled spread of the largest wildfire in Los Angeles history, with a little help from cooler weather, but were still working to contain it."
Disaster cleanup from Hurricane Harvey is now bound up in Washington's brewing budget-related brouhaha, as Congress tries to fix the National Flood Insurance Program before authorization runs out at the end of September. The latest TipSheet explains, plus offers ideas and resources for localizing flood insurance stories.
"Hurricane Harvey is sure to add more crushing debt to the National Flood Insurance Program, which is already $25 billion in the red. So when Congress resumes on Tuesday, will it immediately act to fix this troubled program? Don’t count on it."
"The French company that says its Houston-area chemical plant is spewing "noxious" smoke — and may explode — successfully pressed federal regulators to delay new regulations designed to improve safety procedures at chemical plants, according to federal records reviewed by International Business Times."
"In addition to widespread suffering and devastation, Hurricane Harvey has brought a plague of floating fire ants to the Houston region."
"Hundreds dead in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, while millions have been forced from their homes and 18,000 schools shut down across the region".
"Police and firefighters responding to an explosion at a flooded Arkema chemical plant in Texas would have known more about the facility’s risks under an updated chemical safety rule shelved by the Trump administration, critics contend."
"Gasoline futures surged on Wednesday to a two-year high while crude oil was down, as flooding and damage from Tropical Storm Harvey shut nearly a quarter of U.S. refinery capacity, curbing demand for crude while raising the risk of fuel shortages."
"Top U.S. EPA officials are calling efforts to link Hurricane Harvey and climate change 'misplaced' and politically motivated."
"President Trump could request a package of emergency funding to deal with the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey as soon as next week, a senior administration official said, reshuffling the political agenda as the White House scrambles to deal with devastation left by the storm."
