Disasters

"A filthy brown sea, a slurry of mud, debris, chemicals and waste, has overtaken miles of rural counties in North Carolina. Against the drab water, the shiny metal roofs of hog houses are impossible to miss, visible from the air, as are the rectangular and diamond-shaped outlines of massive lagoons constructed just feet away."

"A pair of storms brought strong winds and heavy rain to parts of Washington state and Oregon this weekend."

"Hurricane Nicole plowed directly into Bermuda on Thursday, causing widespread damage and knocking out power to most homes and businesses while apparently sparing the tiny Atlantic island chain any severe injuries or fatalities, government officials said."

Parts of coastal North Carolina battered by floods from Hurricane Matthew will take a long time to recover. Damage to facilities for clean drinking water is a main obstacle.

"At least tens of thousands of chickens, hogs and other livestock are feared dead in floodwaters that washed over factory farms and towns in eastern North Carolina following Hurricane Matthew."

"Forest fires are burning longer and stronger across the western United States, lighting up the landscape with alarming frequency. Residents are forced to flee, homes are incinerated, wildlife habitats are destroyed, lives are lost. Last year, the Forest Service spent more than half its annual budget fighting fires."

"LUMBERTON, N.C. -- With floodwaters from Hurricane Matthew on the rise, at least one North Carolina city appeared near chaos Monday, its police station shuttered and sporadic gunfire in the air, and authorities worried that more communities could end up the same way."

"(MSNBC Video) Rachel Maddow reports on devastating and deadly flooding in North Carolina following Hurricane Matthew and notes concerns by environmentalists and flooded rivers that wash through farms and coal ash sites could spread toxins through miles of waterways."

"ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Joan Galasso walked through the empty wreck of the waterfront seafood restaurant she and her husband started a quarter-century ago and was horrified."

"The number of people killed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti rose rapidly into the hundreds on Thursday, mainly in villages making contact with the outside world days after the cyclone ripped through the impoverished nation's picturesque western peninsula."