Natural Disasters

Natural Disasters Are Widening the Health Equity Gap, Now’s the Time to Address It

COMMENTARY | As natural disasters become more frequent and more destructive, the gap in health equity will continue to widen. We must dramatically increase investments in public health infrastructure and put equity at the center of our disaster preparedness and management systems.

  • By Chauncia Willis and Emmie Mediate

Report: States Most Vulnerable to Climate Change Are Among the Least Prepared

New research suggests that states that are most vulnerable to the health effects of climate change—including flooding, food shortages and heat-related deaths and illnesses—have done the least to prepare to handle them.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Updated Building Codes Prevent Billions in Disaster Damages. Many Localities Don’t Have Them in Place.

Almost two-thirds of local governments haven’t adopted modern building codes.

  • By Bill Lucia

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season Was a Record-Smasher

COMMENTARY | It’s raising more concerns about climate change.

  • By James H. Ruppert Jr. and Allison Wing, The Conversation

House Bill Would Create NOAA-Led National Database to Help Coastal Communities Confront Rising Seas

The hope is to ready them up to face future weather threats.

  • By Brandi Vincent

Disasters Are Inevitable; Government’s Inadequate Response Is Not

COMMENTARY | New research analyzing the responses of hundreds of local leaders identified common obstacles and proven ways to overcome them.

  • By John Kamensky

NOAA Partners with Google to Boost Weather Forecasts with AI

The roughly $10 million deal will also incorporate new hands-on training opportunities for both entities’ personnel.

  • By Brandi Vincent

Land Managers Can’t Burn the West Fast Enough

Prescribed burns, which create buffers against larger fires, can do only so much.

  • By Amanda Monthei, The Atlantic

As Wildfires Burn, Assigning Blame Is Complicated

COMMENTARY | Climate change has made environmental catastrophes more frequent and severe. But government missteps are also at fault.

  • By Eve Driver, Undark

As Californians Get Older and Less Mobile, Fires Get Hotter and Faster

For many older people who no longer drive, escaping quickly can be a particular challenge.

  • By Rachel Scheier, Kaiser Health News

Another Hurricane Barrels Toward Gulf Coast

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Hospital capacity concerns in Nebraska … ‘Ticking bomb’ septic tanks in Florida … Oklahoma jail workers charged after making inmates listen to ‘Baby Shark’.

  • By Bill Lucia

Homes Are Flooding Outside FEMA’s 100-Year Flood Zones and Racial Inequality Is Showing Through

COMMENTARY | New risk models show nearly twice as many properties are at risk from a 100-year flood today than the government's flood maps indicate.

  • By Kevin T. Smiley, The Conversation

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First Came the Floods. Then Came the Polling Place Changes.

Baton Rouge's 2016 floods offers 2020 coronavirus parallels.

  • By Matt Vasilogambros, Carrie Levine and Pratheek Rebala, Stateline

Oregon Expects Reopening and Repairing Roads Damaged by Wildfires Will Take Months

Over 200 miles of Oregon roads were closed as of last week due to the catastrophic blazes. The state’s transportation department is dealing with problems like hazardous trees and rockslide risks.

  • By Bill Lucia

CDC Pulls Updated Guidance on Coronavirus Spread, Saying it was Posted By Mistake

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | Barges came ashore during Florida hurricane ... Maryland lab stopped using coronavirus tests acquired by governor after false positives ... Pennsylvania inmate finds noose in bed.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Tough to Tell COVID From Smoke Inhalation Symptoms — And Flu Season’s Coming

Up and down the West Coast, hospitals and health facilities are reporting an influx of patients with problems most likely related to smoke inhalation.

  • By Mark Kreidler, Kaiser Health News

Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration

Wildfires rage in the West. Hurricanes batter the East. Droughts and floods wreak damage throughout the nation. Life has become increasingly untenable in the hardest-hit areas, but if the people there move, where will everyone go?

  • By Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica

Death Toll Rises as Wildfires Burn Across West Coast

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | A federal appeals court says ex-felons will need to pay fines and restitution before they can get their voting rights back … Minneapolis City Council balks at temporary police precinct … Des Moines schools start virtual in violation of state order.

  • By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman

The Climate Crisis Is Happening Right Now. Just Look at California’s Weekend.

Record high temperatures. Record fires. Record smoke. ProPublica reporter Elizabeth Weil spoke to former California Gov. Jerry Brown about the state’s converging apocalypses.

  • By Elizabeth Weil, ProPublica

Wildfires in Oregon and Washington Consume Small Towns, While Paradise in California Again Threatened

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | Arizona school system putting as many as 70 students in virtual classrooms … Pennsylvania officials warn voters about robocalls with misinformation … Georgia could investigate people who voted twice in primaries.

  • By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman

California Wildfire Sparked by Gender Reveal at Park

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | People in hurricane-devastated Louisiana feel forgotten … Officers suspended in death of Rochester, New York man while in police custody … Nevada governor ponders allowing bigger religious gatherings.

  • By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman