Ahead of this year’s hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin, research released Monday suggests that wetlands could serve as better and more cost-effective protection from such storms than engineered solutions such as sea walls and levees.
Read more
Plagued by a spate of plant explosions and fires, Texas petrochemical producers stepped into unchartered waters in a Houston courtroom Thursday with state prosecutors urging jurors to send a CEO to prison for a chemical meltdown that damaged the lungs of two sheriff’s deputies.
Read more
A petrochemical company’s criminal trial over air pollutants released during Hurricane Harvey that sickened first responders was pushed back three days Monday when a state judge sanctioned prosecutors.
Read more
A federal judge dismissed the claims of Houston residents seeking to hold the government liable for flooding their homes with Hurricane Harvey storm water released from two dams, finding there is no constitutional right to “perfect flood control.”
Read more
Among a list of the most extreme weather events in the last decade, Hurricane Harvey – which ravaged Texas and Louisiana in 2017 – stood out as the most severe from the group, according to a study released Tuesday.
Read more
A flurry of newly released emails from scientists and top officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration illustrates the consternation and outright alarm caused by President Trump’s false claim that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama. A top NOAA official called Trump’s behavior “crazy.”
Read more
At least 15 natural disasters linked to climate change this year caused damage of over $1 billion and seven of them cost at least $10 billion, British charity Christian Aid said Friday.
Read more
The government is liable for flooding Houston homes with Hurricane Harvey runoff that backed up behind two dams, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting claims the risk was clearly laid out in public documents years before the storm hit.
Read more
Hurricane Harvey cost more than $125 billion in damages and filled more than 80,000 homes with at least 18 inches of water. But monitoring efforts failed to fully assess the effect of hundreds of tons of hazardous air pollutants industrial facilities released during the natural disaster, a federal watchdog reported Monday.
Read more
Property owners argued in the Houston federal courthouse Wednesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers knew it would flood downstream homes and businesses when it released water from two dams in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Read moreThe Port Arthur Community Action Network et al. sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, et al. in federal court, claiming they discriminated against poor, minority renters by letting only property owners apply for $5.6 billion in HUD recovery money after Hurricane Harvey.
Read moreDid President Donald Trump and White House officials force federal meteorologists to alter their hurricane maps to bolster Trump’s prediction that Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama when in fact it was never going to come anywhere near the Heart of Dixie? Inquiring minds – and FOIA complainant Ecological Rights Foundation – want to know.
Read more
The tropical storms swamping Houston are child’s play compared to what a hurricane could unleash from the sea: A 25-foot surge ripping up the ship channel, pushing 200,000-barrel oil storage tanks like they were marbles, an expert said Thursday.
Read more
A year after Hurricane Michael, the Florida county hardest hit by the Category 5 storm is still in crisis: Thousands in Bay County are homeless, medical care and housing are at a premium, domestic violence has become a problem and severely diminished mental health services are overwhelmed.
Read more
Japan is bracing for a super typhoon to hit central and eastern regions over the weekend, with sport events and domestic flights canceled and sandbags given away to reduce damage from torrential rains and strong winds.
Read more
Tropical Depression Imelda gave Houston a needed reprieve Thursday night after a chaotic day that saw first responders rescuing hundreds of drivers stranded by floodwaters.
Read more
Hurricane Humberto rushed past Bermuda, lashing the British Atlantic territory with powerful winds for hours before moving away early Thursday, as new Hurricane Lorena swirled in the Pacific, threatening resorts on Mexico’s southwestern coast, and Houston escaped major damage from Tropical Storm Imelda.
Read more