Disasters

"Washington state will impose a fire-resistant building code in high-risk areas. Wildfire-prone areas are being excluded, some say."

"The Trump administration is defending a flood policy imposed by the Biden administration and supported by environmental groups against efforts by Republican-led states to overturn it in court."

"The Trump administration pushed out thousands of veteran U.S. Forest Service staff. An ‘extraordinary’ fire season is testing those who are left."

"Hurricane Lala skirted Hawaii’s Big Island Saturday without making landfall and is expected to gradually weaken after lashing the region with strong winds and drenching rain that flooded roads and turned rivers into raging torrents."

"U.S. citizens in San Juan, Puerto Rico, are spending hours waiting for water trucks after water rationing went into effect amid drought on the island archipelago. Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González declared a state of emergency in late July as the water in key dams dropped below levels that can support communities."

"Tropical Storm Lala formed Thursday in the Pacific Ocean and a hurricane watch has been issued for the Big Island of Hawaii, where it could bring heavy rain and flooding this weekend, forecasters said."

"While we think of predators as being dangerous, an otherwise harmless deer meandering into the road is far more likely to take you out than a bear or a wolf or a mountain lion is to stalk and eat you. Occasional news stories about pumas (Puma concolor) might suggest that they are a significant threat to humans. They are not—only around 30 deaths have been recorded since official record-keeping began in 1868."

"As a wildfire in May approached the site of one of the worst nuclear meltdowns in U.S. history, state and local officials scrambled to respond to the blaze and to establish proper real-time radiation and air monitoring to protect Southern California families, internal emails show."