Natural Disasters

States Use Hurricane Ida Damage to Push Infrastructure Bill

Governors of both parties are lobbying Congress to ensure resilience measures are included.

  • By Elaine S. Povich, Stateline

Why People Resist Disaster Preparedness Spending

COMMENTARY | If the New Orleans region had invested more aggressively in disaster preparedness instead of disaster relief, the total cost of Hurricane Katrina could have been just $7 billion.

  • By Sara Savat-Wustl, Futurity

Climate Change Is Already Rejiggering Where Americans Live

Some Hurricane Ida survivors may have no choice but to leave. Sooner or later, people across the country will be in the same bind.

  • By Jake Bittle, The Atlantic

Autonomous Drones Could Speed Up Search and Rescue After Flash Floods, Hurricanes and Other Disasters

COMMENTARY | Drones that do not require individual pilots could cover ground quickly and identify people in need of help.

  • By Vijayan Asari, The Conversation

We’re Hitting the Limits of Hurricane Preparedness

Cities simply don’t have enough time to run from a storm like Ida.

  • By Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic

Western States Prepare for Battle in Historic Wildfire Season

States are poised to spend hundreds of millions, even billions, in state funding while U.S. senators urged the Biden administration to provide additional relief money quickly.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

In a California Town, a Recreation Boom Kindles Wildfire Anxiety

COMMENTARY | As outdoor tourism returns, residents of Mammoth Lakes, still scarred by the 2020 fire season, are justifiably on edge.

  • By Astra Lincoln, Undark

A $26 Billion Plan to Save the Houston Area From Rising Seas

Lawmakers are poised to decide the fate of a massive project to protect the coast around Houston from rising sea levels.

  • By Eric Bender, Undark

Hurricanes, Wildfires, Tornadoes, Floods – Whatever Your Local Risk, Here’s How to be More Weather-ready

COMMENTARY | Everyone should understand what kinds of severe weather hazards could affect their family and home and be ready for them. Here are some ways to do it.

  • By Erik Salna, The Conversation

Why Hurricanes Devastate Some Places Over and Over Again – a Meteorologist Explains

COMMENTARY | Wind currents set most tropical storms on a course westward from Africa toward the Caribbean, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.

  • By Athena Masson, The Conversation

Report: Flooding has Devastating Effects on Affordable Housing

People of color, seniors and the disabled are most at risk of flooding's financial and health risks, according to academic research on coastal areas in the U.S.

  • By Brent Woodie

The 'Fingerprints of Climate Change' Are Visible in New Climate Normals, NOAA Says

The 30-year data set, to be released May 4, shows while some U.S. regions are growing warmer, others have cooler average temperatures.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram
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Analysis: One Way or Another, Texans Will Get the Bill for Fixing the Electric Grid

It's going to be expensive to make sure the state's electricity stays on during winter storms like the one that blacked out most of Texas last month, and the money will come, one way or another, from average Texans.

  • By Ross Ramsey, The Texas Tribune

A Bolder Way To Tweet About Boulders: How A Traffic Alert Typo Rocked the Internet

On Jan. 27, 2020, San Miguel, Colorado Sheriff's Office PIO Susan Lilly tweeted a warning of a highway obstruction: a "large boulder the size of a small boulder." The rest is internet history.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Coming Soon to a Snowy Road in Minnesota: 'Plowy McPlowFace'

Plowy McPlowFace was the runaway winner in an online contest to name eight Minnesota Department of Transportation snowplows.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Texas Workers Struggle to Pay for Groceries and Rent after Losing Wages During Winter Storm

Many hourly wage employees across the state lost working hours last week during the storm and power outage disaster. Now, they’re left with a choice between paying for rent or groceries.

  • By Duncan Agnew, The Texas Tribune

'I Need to Find Water, and I Need to Find it Now': A Local Official Takes Disaster Relief Into Her Own Hands

Paige Ellis, a city council member in Austin, Texas tracked down 10 pallets of bottled water and distributed it across her district after winter storms left thousands in the state without power or water.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Texans Blindsided By Massive Electric Bills Await Details of Gov. Greg Abbott's Promised Relief

Electric bills are likely to rise for everyone, experts and consumer advocates say, but some Texans on variable rate contracts have been hit with immediate, massive price spikes. Lawmakers and the governor have promised to help, but haven't said how.

  • By Shannon Najmabadi, The Texas Tribune

'One Thing After Another': Rural Texans Faced the Same Storm — With Unique Hardships

Last week's winter storm was brutal for the whole state, but rural Texans faced particular hardships, like distance from helpful neighbors. And newborn calves.

  • By Melissa B. Taboada and Sarah M. Vasquez, The Texas Tribune

One month in, How Biden Has Changed Disaster Management and The U.S. Covid-19 response

COMMENTARY | The Biden administration is re-empowering key federal agencies to return to the roles and responsibilities they were designed for within a planned national disaster management framework.

  • By Brian J. Gerber and Melanie Gall, The Conversation

Texans Running Out of Food as Weather Crisis Disrupts Supply Chain

Texans running low on food are finding empty grocery store shelves. Food pantries are running out of supplies. And the freeze has wiped out substantial portions of the state's citrus and vegetable crops.

  • By Julián Aguilar and Duncan Agnew, The Texas Tribune