"STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST -- Perched atop a charred ridge, scientist Brad Rust stares at a tiny bead of water -- which sits, motionless, glistening like a perfect pearl in a sea of ash."

"Disaster teams in flood-ravaged foothills of Colorado narrowed their search on Friday for 82 people still unaccounted for a week and a half after torrential rains began, and officials said some of the missing would most likely be added to the death toll."

"Mexico is looking to the huge task of rebuilding after rare storms struck from east and west at the same time, killing 101 people and destroying homes, schools and roads."

"Fire consumed a chemical plant west of Oklahoma City overnight Thursday, forcing evacuations but causing no injuries and leaving surrounding areas unscathed, officials said."

"Japanese authorities, now struggling to contain leaks of radioactive groundwater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, were urged two years ago by U.S. experts to take immediate steps to prevent groundwater contamination but decided not to act on the advice."

"Property losses from flooding in Colorado will total nearly $2 billion, about half from housing and half in the commercial and government sectors, catastrophe modeling firm Eqecat said on Wednesday in the first comprehensive estimate of the disaster's economic toll."

"Colorado's richest oil field -- the Denver-Julesburg Basin -- is buried in floodwaters, raising operational and environmental concerns, as state and industry officials work to get a handle on the problem."

"There was never doubt that the deadly train derailment in Lac-Mégantic caused an environmental disaster, but a report made public this week by Quebec’s ministry of the environment details the extent of the devastation to the soil, river and lake near the disaster zone."

"MEXICO CITY -- Mexican authorities launched operations Tuesday to rescue tens of thousands of stranded tourists from Pacific resorts such as Acapulco, as deadly twin storms dissipated but the floods they spawned continued to inundate vast parts of Mexico."

"Top executives with [Canada's] insurance sector — which suffered losses of more than $2 billion in southern Alberta’s recent floods — unanimously agree Canada will see more such disasters due to intense rains caused by climate change, making comprehensive flood insurance unavailable to homeowners."