Natural Disasters

Reuters reports: Thousands swarmed to beaches on Australia’s east coast on Tuesday to escape fierce wildfires bearing down on several seaside towns, as the government readied naval vessels and military helicopters to aid firefighting and evacuations. Government officials called for Australian military support and assistance from U.S. and Canadian fire crews as authorities confirmed two people had died overnight, taking …

Reuters reports: Australia’s most populous state declared its second emergency in as many months on Thursday as extreme heat and strong winds stoked more than 100 bushfires, including three major blazes on Sydney’s doorstep. A day after Australia recorded its hottest day on record, thick smoke blanketed the harbor city, shrouded the Opera House and brought many outdoor activities to …

NBC News reports: A volcano open to tour groups unexpectedly erupted off the coast of New Zealand on Monday, killing at least five people, authorities said. Officials were unsure of the exact number of people who were missing or injured. Search-and-rescue operations on the island have stalled because it is too dangerous to approach the island, said John Tims, deputy …

CNN reports: Veneto regional council, which is located on Venice’s Grand Canal, was flooded for the first time in its history on Tuesday night — just after it rejected measures to combat climate change. The historic Italian city has been brought to its knees this week by the worst flooding there in more than 50 years. And the council chamber …

BBC reports: Two Australian states have declared a state of emergency as bushfires bring a “catastrophic” threat to heavily populated areas of the nation’s east. At least three people are dead and thousands have been displaced by three days of dangerous weather conditions in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. But officials say the worst danger will come on Tuesday …

From a Medium post by California Gov. Gavin Newsom: For decades, PG&E failed to prioritize public safety. Their lack of safety investments left PG&E — and nearly half of Californians — with an antiquated electrical system that is vulnerable to weather events and not at all prepared for the more extreme weather associated with the climate change that has been …

ABC News reports: A wind-whipped fire erupted in San Bernardino, forcing mandatory evacuations and ravaging several homes in the area, as the blaze quickly grew to 200 acres early Thursday morning. The blaze, called the Hillside Fire, was burning at a rapid rate of spread and quickly expanded to 200 acres by about 2:30 a.m., officials said. Six homes were …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Even after several years of devastating wind-driven fires in Southern California, forecasters fear that the next two days could bring new levels of danger. “Extreme” fire weather began in the Los Angeles area at 11 p.m. Tuesday and was expected to persist for 30 hours, bringing isolated gusts of up to 80 mph. It’s an …

The Los Angeles Times reports: A growing brush fire was threatening thousands of homes in Brentwood and other Westside hillside communities, burning several homes and prompting widespread evacuations early Monday. The Getty fire broke out shortly before 2 a.m. along the 405 Freeway near the Getty Center and spread to the south and west, rapidly burning more than 500 acres …

CBS News reports: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a statewide emergency as wildfires and extreme weather conditions forced almost 200,000 people from their homes. He said in a statement Sunday that officials are deploying “every resource available” to respond to the wildfires, including a large blaze in Northern California’s wine country driven by powerful winds. Smoke from a second …

NBC News reports: Two massive wildfires are flanking Northern and Southern California, as power outages expand, almost two hundred thousand people are under evacuation orders, and tens of thousands of acres burn. North of San Francisco, new evacuation warnings were issued early Sunday as the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County scorched 30,000 acres and remains only ten percent contained. The …

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: Massive blackouts affecting more than 2 million people are expected this weekend throughout the Bay Area, Northern California and Central California, the third time this month that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will have turned off power to avert catastrophic wildfires. PG&E said about 850,000 homes and businesses in its service territory might start losing …

Courthouse News reports: California Governor Gavin Newsom excoriated the state’s largest utility provider Friday after touring the charred remnants in the path of an uncontrolled wildfire that many suspect was started by equipment negligence. Newsom said greed, decades of mismanagement and a continual prioritization of executive bonuses and shareholder dividends over the safety of PG & E’s grid has led …

The Associated Press reports: California’s biggest utility admitted its electrical equipment may have ignited a ruinous wildfire spreading across the state’s wine country Friday, despite blackouts imposed across the region to prevent blazes. The disclosure came as firefighters simultaneously battled flames in both Northern and Southern California: the fire amid Sonoma County’s vineyards, and a wind-whipped blaze that destroyed homes …

NBC News reports: Hundreds of thousands of residents of Northern California whose power will be shut off in the next two days got even worse news Wednesday: Another, even larger, blackout is likely over the weekend. The state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Corp., or PG&E, began shutting off electricity to nearly a half-million people Wednesday afternoon, the second …

NPR reports: Scientists cannot yet predict when the next deadly earthquake will strike, but emergency response authorities in California plan to unveil the first statewide quake warning system Thursday, which marks the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The warnings will be issued in two ways: a cellphone app called MyShake and the more traditional wireless notification system …

NBC News reports: A wind-whipped wildfire in the San Fernando Valley grew to over 4,000 acres overnight, hours after a blaze in neighboring Riverside County tore through a mobile home park. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in the San Fernando Valley, parts of major highways were shut down and at least 10 schools were closed Friday. In the earlier blaze Thursday, …

Politico reports: Acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ken Cuccinelli on Sunday defended the Trump administration’s decision not to grant temporary protected status to Bahamians displaced by Hurricane Dorian, saying the government there is “capable of taking care of their own.” “The Bahamas is a perfectly legitimate country capable of taking care of their own,” Cuccinelli said on …

The BBC reports: Thousands of Australians have been forced to evacuate their homes in preparation for two potentially devastating cyclones. Over the weekend, Cyclone Trevor will hit the north while Cyclone Veronica will strike the country’s west coast. Destructive winds are expected, while heavy rains and large waves threaten to cause severe flooding. Experts say a “severe impact” is likely …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to give Alabama the “A Plus treatment” on Monday after the state was hit with a devastating tornado that left at least 23 people dead. It was not immediately clear what that treatment would entail, but FEMA spokesman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan told USA TODAY that the agency is working …