Natural Disasters

The Associated Press reports: Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in a quarter century rocked the island during the morning rush hour Wednesday, damaging buildings and highways and leaving nine people dead. Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency said the quake was 7.2 magnitude while the U.S. Geological Survey put it at 7.4. It struck about 18 kilometers (11.1 miles) south-southwest of Hualien and was …

The Texas Tribune reports: Xcel Energy on Thursday acknowledged its involvement in the Smokehouse Creek fire, which started last week and quickly became the largest wildfire in state history, burning more than 1 million acres. “Based on currently available information, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in an ignition of the Smokehouse Creek fire,” the …

The Guardian reports: Ferocious winds continue to thwart firefighters across a broad swathe of Texas on Sunday where the second largest wildfire in US history is only 15% contained after six days. As of Sunday morning the Smokehouse Creek Fire has so far scorched almost 1.1m acres – 1,700 sq miles – across the Texas Panhandle in the north of …

ABC News reports: Several large wildfires continue to tear through the Texas Panhandle, including one that has grown into the largest blaze in state history. At least two people have died in the blazes so far, as the fire threat is expected to continue into the weekend. The largest of the blazes — the Smokehouse Creek Fire — covers an …

USA Today reports: The second-largest wildfire in Texas history continued to rip across the Texas Panhandle along with other major blazes on Wednesday, prompting evacuations, school closures and a temporary shut down of the nation’s primary nuclear weapons facility. The blazes began on Monday but spread quickly the following day as strong winds, dry conditions and unseasonably high temperatures, which …

Tampa’s Fox affiliate reports: As daylight broke along Florida’s panhandle, residents in Panama City Beach got a glimpse of the damage left behind after a tornado touched down Tuesday morning. Video shot by Chris Keefe showed the path of destruction the tornado left in its wake on the east end of Panama City Beach. The video shows toppled trees, flipped …

The Washington Post reports: Japan issued tsunami warnings for several regions after an earthquake with an estimated 7.6 magnitude erupted off the country’s western coast around 4:10 p.m. local time Monday, prompting authorities to urge those in vulnerable areas to evacuate or run to higher ground. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings or advisories for almost all of its …

The BBC reports: A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity. About 4,000 people were earlier evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik and the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa was closed. The region around the capital Reykjavik has been experiencing an increase in earthquake activity since late October. Images and …

The Associated Press reports: A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck Saturday off the coast of the southern Philippines island of Mindanao and Philippine authorities issued a tsunami warning. The quake struck at 10:37 p.m. and was measured at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles). The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on the magnitude and …

Bloomberg News reports: The people of Iceland are bracing for what could be the country’s most devastating volcanic eruption in 50 years, with a small fishing town at risk of being destroyed. There’s a significant likelihood of magma busting to the surface over the coming days at Grindavik, home to over 3,600 people, the Met Office said on Sunday. More …

CNBC reports: The U.S. has suffered the highest number of billion-dollar weather disasters on record this year with wildfires and severe storms wreaking havoc from Hawaii to Florida, according to a report released by the federal government Monday. The nation has been hit by 23 such disasters so far in 2023, the highest number since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric …

The Associated Press reports: A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing more than 800 people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech. But the full toll was not known as rescuers struggled to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages hit hardest. People woken by the quake …

The Washington Post reports: At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles. Major insurers say …

CNN reports: Millions of people in Mexico have been warned to prepare for a possible evacuation after increased activity from the country’s most dangerous active volcano, which has been spewing ash into several nearby towns since last week, according to authorities. Ash from Popocatépetl volcano, which is in a central part of the country, has delayed flights in Mexico City …

CNN reports: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today announced $100 million in disaster relief aid for Turkey and Syria as the countries grapple with the aftermath of a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has killed at least 46,000 people. The top US diplomat, who took a helicopter tour Sunday of some of the hardest-hit areas alongside Turkish foreign minister …

The Guardian reports: A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake has hit Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, terrifying those left in a region devastated by powerful twin earthquakes two weeks earlier. The quake, less powerful than the initial 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes which tore a path of destruction through southern Turkey and northern Syria on 6 February, albeit threatened yet more …

NPR reports: As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struggles to defend his response to last Monday’s devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake, videos from a few years back have emerged showing him hailing some of the housing projects that crumbled, killing thousands of people. The videos have fueled public outrage over slow efforts to help residents in the aftermath of the massive …

NBC News reports: Natural disasters forced an estimated 3.4 million people in the U.S. to leave their homes in 2022, according to Census Bureau data, underscoring how climate-related weather events are already changing American communities. The overwhelming majority of these people were uprooted by hurricanes, followed by floods, then fires and tornadoes. Nearly 40% returned to their homes within a …

Politico Europe reports: The death toll from a massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria is likely to “double or more” from its current level of 33,000, United Nations relief chief Martin Griffiths told Sky News. “I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble, but I’m sure it will double or more,” said …

The New York Times reports: With anger swelling in Turkey on Saturday over the government’s slow response to Monday’s devastating earthquake and what critics say was shoddy construction, the government began detaining building contractors across the country who it blamed for some of the collapses that have helped drive the death toll above 21,000. More than 100 people were detained …