Disasters

FEMA Staff Warn Trump Cuts Could Expose US To Another Hurricane Katrina

"Donald Trump’s attacks on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) risk exposing the US to another Hurricane Katrina, staff at the agency have warned Congress in a withering critique that also takes aim at its current leadership."

Source: Guardian, 08/26/2025
September 3, 2025

Prep Your Climate Coverage: Autumn Extreme Weather

Join Covering Climate Now for a one-hour discussion on how to prepare yourself and your newsroom to be responsive to climate-driven extreme weather this autumn. Noon ET.

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Climate Change May Spread an Asian Bat and the Deadly Disease it Carries

"A vaccine in development may slow the spread of Nipah virus, which kills up to 75 percent of the people it sickens, but reducing the environmental disruptions that bring people, livestock and bats together could be more effective." 

Source: Inside Climate News, 08/25/2025

Aging US Railroad Bridges Are Self-Inspected And Findings Are Kept Secret

"The fire burned for about nine hours, billowing smoke and scorching the wooden trestles of a nearly 75-year-old railroad bridge that spans the Marys River in Corvallis, home to Oregon State University."

Source: Howard Center, 08/25/2025

"FEMA Now Requires Disaster Victims to Have an Email Address"

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will now require disaster survivors to register for federal aid using an email address—a departure from previous policy where email addresses were optional. The move, FEMA employees tell WIRED, puts people across the US with little to no access to internet services at risk of losing out on crucial federal financial assistance after disasters."

Source: WIRED, 08/21/2025

As Hurricane Season Collides With Immigration Agenda, Undocumented Worry

"If a major hurricane approaches Central Florida this season, Maria knows it’s dangerous to stay inside her wooden, trailer-like home. In past storms, she evacuated to her sister’s sturdier house. If she couldn’t get there, a shelter set up at the local high school served as a refuge if needed. But with accelerating detentions and deportations of immigrants across her community of Apopka, 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Orlando, Maria, an agricultural worker from Mexico without permanent U.S. legal status, doesn’t know if those options are safe."

Source: AP, 08/21/2025

"Many Towns Are Unprepared To Handle Train Derailments And Hazmat Spills"

"A train derails and spills at least 1,000 gallons of hazardous materials in the U.S. about once every two months. Nearly half of those derailments resulted in evacuations; more than a quarter resulted in a fire or explosion since 2015, an analysis of federal derailment data showed. And many communities along the rail lines aren’t prepared to keep people safe when it happens."

Source: Howard Center, 08/21/2025

"Wildfire Fighters, Unmasked in Toxic Smoke, Are Getting Sick and Dying"

"The smoke from the wildfires that burned through Los Angeles in January smelled like plastic and was so thick that it hid the ocean. Firefighters who responded developed instant migraines, coughed up black goo and dropped to their knees, vomiting and dizzy."

Source: NYTimes, 08/20/2025

Erin To Churn Up Dangerous Swells And Winds From Florida To New England

"Hurricane Erin churned slowly toward the eastern U.S. on Tuesday, stirring up treacherous waves that already have led to dozens of water rescues and shut down beaches along the coast in the midst of summer’s last hurrah. While forecasters remain confident the center of the monster storm will remain far offshore, the outer edges are likely to bring damaging tropical-force winds, large swells and life-threatening rip currents into Friday."

Source: AP, 08/20/2025

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