Disasters

"More than 60,000 people died as a result of record-breaking temperatures in Europe last summer, a study has found, raising concerns about multiple countries’ lack of preparation for extreme heat fueled by climate change."

"Torrential downpours unleashed flash floods on the U.S. Northeast on Monday that washed out roadways, overwhelmed rivers, prompted 50 swift boat rescues and killed a woman who was swept away in front of her fiancé, officials said."

"A massive Houston-area chemical fire that burned for three days in 2019 could have been prevented if proper procedures were in place at the chemical storage facility run by the Intercontinental Terminals Co., according to an investigation released Thursday by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board."

"The arrival of a climate-heating El Niño event has been declared by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with officials warning that preparation for extreme weather events is vital to save lives and livelihoods."

"During the heat wave that hit Mexico and Texas in the last two weeks, some states in Mexico saw temperatures exceed 113 degrees, and more than 20 people died from heat stroke. The record-high temperatures have put enormous pressure on the country’s electric system, increasing the electricity demand."

"Proponents say a federal disaster designation could save lives by providing vital services and reimbursing states for being proactive".

"The only break much of America can hope for anytime soon from eye-watering dangerous smoke from fire-struck Canada is brief bouts of shirt-soaking sweltering heat and humidity from a southern heat wave that has already proven deadly, forecasters say."

"As smoke from wildfires crosses state and international borders more frequently, tracking and studying it is increasingly important for shaping air quality and health measures around the world."

"For the past three years, a sinkhole in a Mooresville parking lot has released coal ash into a tributary of Lake Norman, in part because of a legal impasse about who is responsible — the property owners or Duke Energy — for repairing the damage."

"Two days after jurors in Multnomah County found that the utility PacifiCorp was to blame for wildfires in 2020, they ordered the company to pay punitive damages. That’s in addition to the more than $70 million already owed to the plaintiffs in the case."