Disasters

"Lax regulation, austerity and climate change are setting the stage for another catastrophe."

"Pigeon Creek flows through a narrow mountain hollow along a string of coal mining communities, its water trickling under the reds and yellows of the changing fall foliage. The tranquil scene belies the devastation the creek delivered one night a decade ago as heavy rain fell on soggy soil and thousands of acres of nearby strip mines."

"The Environmental Protection Agency weakened a rule Thursday governing how companies store dangerous chemicals. The standards were enacted under President Barack Obama in the wake of a 2013 explosion in West, Tex., that killed 15 people, including 12 first responders."

"A bill approved by the House of Representatives could improve the nation's disaster-resilience by requiring communities to use stronger building codes when they spend federal funds to restore damaged structures."

"The Great Recession put millions of homeowners underwater on their mortgages. Since then, the Congress has required periodic “stress tests” on large financial institutions to see whether they could withstand another economic blow."

"Legislation that would create heftier penalties for unsafe pipeline operation and new requirements for gas and hazardous liquid pipelines made its way out of the House Energy committee on the strength of the Democratic majority Nov. 19."

"At least 60 percent of U.S. Superfund sites are in areas vulnerable to flooding or other worsening disasters of climate change, and the Trump administration’s reluctance to directly acknowledge global warming is deterring efforts to safeguard them, a congressional watchdog agency says."

"'Venice is on its knees,' Mayor Luigi Brugnaro says as the lagoon city suffers through some of the worst flooding in its history. The highest tide in 50 years has brought seawater that is threatening monuments and works of art in the historic city."

"Cheap and plentiful, they’ve long been a menu staple in New Orleans and beyond. But recent months have brought a crisis that worries fishermen and chefs."

"Everyone agrees that hurricanes in the United States are causing increasing damage. ... A study published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says climate change is partly to blame and uses a novel approach to measure hurricane damage."