It’s appealing to say that disaster relief should be left to states and localities. The less appealing reality is that they aren’t up to the job.
The state’s largest current fire has encompassed nearly all 41,000 acres of the Ishi Wilderness, which hadn’t seen significant fire since 1990. No one from Cal Fire has been able to set foot in the wilderness area since the Park Fire began.
A study found that earthquakes before 2017 in Texas’ Delaware Basin originated at shallow depths that correspond to where wastewater from fracking was disposed. Nearly 2,000 earthquakes hit West Texas in 2021.
The MyShake App is a free tool that delivers alerts to users as soon as ground sensors detect significant shaking in their hometown.
Last year’s Lahaina wildfire killed 102 people and forced thousands to flee. But more than 90 percent of 1,478 residential lots have been cleared of fire-related debris and a historic settlement will resolve 450 lawsuits.
Fire authorities wish people would stop doing stupid stuff like burning toilet paper, igniting smoke bombs or tossing cigarette butts out of cars. People, not nature, are responsible for most wildfires.
Mark Twain famous aphorism, “History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes,” reminds us that while exact circumstances may be unique, patterns do in fact repeat. That is true meteorologically this year as the U.S. navigates through another summer of extreme weather.
On Monday, July 15, Chicago issued 16 tornado warnings, the most sent on a single day since 2004. In an average year, the state only experiences 50 tornadoes annually. But as the air becomes more humid, tornadoes will become more common.
The water was being siphoned at the top of an old coal ash pond for reuse at the Boswell Energy Center in Cohasset, Minn., but escaped after an underground pipe broke. Experts say the risk is low to local drinking water.
Heavy rains on Tuesday threatened failure of the 89-year-old Nashville, Mo., City Reservoir Dam, forcing about 200 people to evacuate their homes. More rain is expected across the region.
The state’s power grid maintained service throughout a nearly three-weeklong record-setting heat wave. Officials are crediting investments in clean energy, particularly in 10,000 megawatts of battery storage.
People associate climate effects more with California and Florida, but Florida has seen flooding, wildfires and devastating thunderstorms in addition to this week's hurricane.
Before making landfall, Hurricane Beryl had already made history as the fastest-growing hurricane to form this early in the season. But experts recommend treating Beryl as the new normal for this upcoming hurricane season.
Homeowners are being squeezed out of affordable coverage. Sustainable intergovernmental partnerships with the insurance industry offer a solution. And there may be a role for state and local pension funds.
The vast majority of calls are about distress, not violent crime. Dispatching social workers and other professionals rather than law enforcement can improve outcomes in many cases.
The Florida county has begun using a drone to spray hard-to-reach areas to control mosquito populations more efficiently. Already in 2024, there have been seven cases of locally- acquired dengue virus.
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