Disasters

"A rain-triggered mudslide that shut down nine miles of Pacific Coast Highway on Sunday could be a preview of what’s potentially to come the rest of the week."

"A ProPublica analysis of federal government data adds new details to what’s known about the routes taken by trains carrying crude oil. Local governments are often unaware of the potential dangers they face."

"DuPont Co. ’s chemical plant in La Porte, Texas, for many years has gained a strong reputation among industrial-safety experts for migrating to safer chemicals. ... So when a gas leak at the plant earlier this month caused four employees—two of them brothers—to be fatally overcome by an industrial chemical called methyl mercaptan, some in the chemical safety world were taken aback."

"BUFFALO -- The area around Buffalo, New York braced on Sunday for potential flooding as warming temperatures began to melt up to seven feet (2 meters) of snow that fell in a record snow storm last week in which 13 people died."

"Western New York state braced for a fresh wave of heavy snow on Wednesday after a freakish storm swept off the Great Lakes and deposited 5 feet (1.5 meters) of powder in parts of the region, killing at least six people and stranding motorists overnight."

"As sea levels rise, as much as $1.4 trillion worth of coastal property could be threatened with flooding by 2100, by one estimate. But what will it cost to protect those properties? Now comes a hint at the enormous pricetag."

"A winter storm that has brought freezing temperatures to most of the continental U.S. has also dumped several feet of snow on Buffalo and the western parts of New York state and may break local and national records."

"Reversing oil and natural gas pipelines or switching the product they're carrying can have a 'significant impact' on the line's safety and integrity—and 'may not be advisable' in some cases, federal regulators told pipeline companies in a recent advisory."