Disasters

"SEATTLE -- Washington lawmakers on Monday considered competing measures that try to address potential risks as more crude oil is shipped by rail into the state."

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When the lengthy prepared statements were over, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., opened the question-and-answer session with a predictable query: Is the drinking water supply that serves 300,000 West Virginians safe?"

"The drought has obstructed the migratory journeys of many coho salmon on California's North and Central Coast, putting them in immediate danger."

"BURROWBRIDGE, England -- Severe flooding and landslips cut off rail links to large parts of southwest England for more than 24 hours at the weekend as the government came under pressure for its handling of storms battering Britain."

"RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina's environmental agency said Sunday it wrongly declared all test results for the arsenic levels in the Dan River as safe for people after a massive coal ash spill."

"Just weeks after a TransCanada natural gas pipeline exploded and left thousands of residents without gas in sub-zero temperatures, a CBC News investigation uncovered a 2011 report, buried by federal regulators, that criticized the company “for ‘inadequate’ field inspections and ‘ineffective’ management.”"

"EDEN, N.C. – An environmental group Thursday challenged Duke Energy’s assurances that drinking water from the Dan River in North Carolina and Virginia remained safe despite a massive spill of toxic coal ash that released a deluge of murky gray sludge into the river Sunday."

"A record-number of people lost their power across the region thanks to a significant ice storm and power officials warn it could be days before everyone has their electricity back."

"ON THE DAN RIVER, N.C. — Canoe guide Brian Williams dipped his paddle downstream from where thousands of tons of coal ash has been spewing for days into the Dan River, turning the wooden blade flat to bring up a lump of gray sludge."

"SAN JOSE, Calif.—The attack began just before 1 a.m. on April 16 last year, when someone slipped into an underground vault not far from a busy freeway and cut telephone cables."