Disasters

"The federal government declared a major disaster in Louisiana Sunday after torrential rain inundated the state killing at least four people, flooding thousands of homes and prompting thousands of water rescues."

"Several wild fires broke out in various parts of southern France on Wednesday, causing a major firefighting operation in which four firemen were injured, three of them seriously, the interior ministry said in a statement."

"Significant progress was made against a forest fire threatening homes in California's San Bernardino Mountains, while up the coast firefighters sought to prevent a 107-square-mile blaze near Big Sur from encroaching on Highway 1, authorities said Wednesday."

"A wildfire burning out of control in mountains and foothills east of Los Angeles mushroomed more than 50 percent overnight, forcing authorities to order three school districts to cancel classes due to heavy smoke and dangerous conditions."

"Nearly six years after a defective natural gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes, a federal court jury convicted Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Tuesday of obstructing the federal probe of the blast and of violating pipeline safety laws both before and after the disaster."

"One year ago — on Aug. 5, 2015 — an EPA crew at the Gold King Mine in southwest Colorado accidentally unleashed 3 million gallons of orange water filled with mercury and arsenic."

"A Southern California wildfire has surged in size and put thousands of homes in potential peril. Smoke plumes roiling from flaming ridges of the San Bernardino Mountains blew all the way across the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas as the blaze on Monday forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes."

"The clandestine group’s goal was clear: Obtain the building blocks of a radioactive 'dirty bomb' — capable of poisoning a major city for a year or more — by openly purchasing the raw ingredients from authorized sellers inside the United States."

"Hurricane Earl is forecast to weaken to a tropical storm later Thursday morning and to a tropical depression by Friday morning as it moves farther inland over Belize, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Thursday."

"Being underwater will soon mean exactly what it says. Especially in Florida."