disaster News

Sydney Braces for Flash Floods as Rain Disaster Moves South

SYDNEY (AP) — Sydney was preparing on Wednesday for dangerous flash flooding as population centers farther north began a massive cleanup operation after record floods that have claimed at least 14 lives along Australia’s east coast in recent days. The …

Brazil Mudslide Death Toll Reaches 105, With Dozens Missing

PETROPOLIS, Brazil (AP) — Rio de Janeiro state’s government has confirmed 105 deaths from floods and mudslides that swept away homes and cars in the city of Petropolis. But even as families prepared to bury their dead, it was unclear …

Landslides Kill at Least 24 as Rains Deluge Ecuador Capital

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A rain-weakened hillside collapsed in Ecuador’s capital, sweeping over homes and a sports field and killing at least 24 people, city officials said Tuesday. The Quito Security Department said at least 48 more people were injured, …

Study Explores Social Legacy of Frequent Wildfires

Three months after the most destructive fire in California’s history, while the residents of Paradise were sifting through the rubble of their houses, Catrin Edgeley took her notebook and recorder to the destroyed town. She wanted to understand the ecology …

Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar Count Deaths, Damage by Storm

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP)–Mozambique, Madagascar and Malawi are counting the deaths and damage by tropical storm Ana and more than a week of heavy rains across southern Africa. In central and northern Mozambique at least 11 people have died, including children …

Tropical Storm Ana Floods Madagascar’s Capital; 34 Dead

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP)–Tropical Storm Ana has caused widespread flooding in Madagascar, including in the capital city, raising the death toll from recent heavy rains to 34 people and displacing more than 55,000, officials said Monday. With torrential rains continuing, Antananarivo’s …

Terrebonne Levee System to Get $379 Million in Federal Money

HOUMA, La. (AP)–A levee system that protects Terrebonne and parts of Lafourche from Gulf of Mexico hurricanes will receive $379 million in federal money from the infrastructure bill passed by Congress, officials said Wednesday. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said …

Severe Brazil Flooding Spreads in Bahia and Beyond

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP–A total of 116 cities in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia were in a state of emergency because of flooding on Tuesday due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November. …

Forecaster Says Philippine Supertyphoon Rai ‘Exceeded All Predictions’

SINGAPORE–The rapid intensification that turned this week’s Typhoon Rai into the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year surpassed all predictions, forecasters said, leaving nearly 400 people dead and almost a million displaced. While it’s unclear exactly how global …

Typhoon Deaths in Philippines Top 140; Mayors Plead For Food

MANILA, Philippines (AP)–The death toll in the strongest typhoon to batter the Philippines this year has reached at least 146, and the governor of an island province especially hard-hit by Typhoon Rai said there may be even greater devastation that …