Weather
Hurricane Center: Beware Of The Storm Surge
May 24, 2013 10:45 am | by JENNIFER KAY,Associated Press | News | CommentsDuring a hurricane, storm surge is one of the greatest threats to life and land, yet many people don't understand the dire warnings from forecasters to get out of its way. So this season, they hope to offer easy-to-understand, color-coded maps and change the way they talk to the public.
Ardent Sentry Preps Northcom, First Responders For Disasters
May 24, 2013 10:37 am | by American Forces Press Service | News | CommentsA perfect storm of simulated disasters is slowly unfolding across the United States, as thousands of military and Defense Department members join their interagency partners in fine-tuning their disaster-response processes just ahead of the upcoming hurricane and wildfire seasons.
Flooding Forces Evacuation Of 1,300 In ND Town
May 24, 2013 10:30 am | by BLAKE NICHOLSON & DAVE KOLPACK, Associated Press | News | CommentsA dam that threatened to give way and flood a North Dakota town was holding back the water on Wednesday, though the 1,300 residents of Cavalier were still being told to stay away from their homes. The evacuations included two or three patients at a hospital and 63 people in a nursing home and assisted living center, county Emergency Manager Andrew Kirking said.
Hurricane Forecast: Another Busy Atlantic Season
May 23, 2013 2:55 pm | by SETH BORENSTEIN,AP Science Writer | News | CommentsGet ready for another busy hurricane season, maybe unusually wild, federal forecasters say. Their prediction Thursday calls for 13 to 20 named Atlantic storms, 7 to 11 that strengthen into hurricanes and 3 to 6 that become major hurricanes.
Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims By Donating To The Red Cross
May 21, 2013 11:19 am | News | CommentsPeople who wish to make a donation can support American Red Cross Disaster Relief, which helps provide food, shelter and emotional support to those affected by disasters like the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas as well as disasters big and small throughout the United States. You can donate today by visiting www.redcross.org.
Crews Dig Through Night After Deadly Twister
May 21, 2013 9:20 am | by NOMAAN MERCHANT & TIM TALLEY, Associated Press | News | CommentsSearch and rescue crews worked through the night after a monstrous tornado barreled through the Oklahoma City suburbs, demolishing an elementary school and reducing homes to piles of splintered wood. At least 51 people were killed, including at least 20 children, and those numbers were expected to climb, officials said Tuesday.
Tornadoes Slam Plains, Midwest
May 20, 2013 12:07 pm | by SEAN MURPHY,Associated Press | News | CommentsForecasters had been warning of bad weather since Wednesday and on Sunday said conditions had ripened for powerful tornadoes. Wall-to-wall broadcasts of storm information spread the word Sunday, leaving Pottawatomie County Sheriff Mike Booth grateful.
Residents Tweeted As 5.2-Magnitude Earthquake Hit Ontario
May 20, 2013 11:43 am | News | CommentsIt was felt as far west as Toronto, Canada's largest city, but no damage was immediately reported. Twitter erupted with reports of buildings shaking in Ottawa for several seconds. Ontario's premier, who lives in Toronto, tweeted that her house was shaking.
Cuomo Proposes 3-Year Rate Freeze In LIPA Takeover
May 20, 2013 11:39 am | by MICHAEL GORMLEY,Associated Press | News | CommentsCuomo said that even if the transition from LIPA, and its currently contracted operator, National Grid, isn't done in time for the summer and fall hurricane season, Long Islanders will still be better served. Cuomo said he will end what he called the current, confusing relationship by empowering National Grid to act quickly and decisively in the event of major power outages.
Warnings About Sandy Led To Confusion
May 20, 2013 11:35 am | by SETH BORENSTEIN,AP Science Writer | News | CommentsFederal weather forecasts for Superstorm Sandy were exceptionally accurate last fall, but the warnings themselves were confusing, an internal review found. The gigantic October storm lost tropical characteristics hours before landfall in New Jersey, so the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stopped calling it a hurricane.
Mexico Sets Shelters As Volcano Shakes, Spews Ash
May 13, 2013 9:53 am | News | CommentsSeismic activity has increased at the Popocatepetl volcano near Mexico City, leading authorities to alert towns in two central states and the capital. Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Center says the white-capped volcano spewed a plume of steam more than a half mile into the sky.
$475M In Sandy Aid Released
May 8, 2013 10:49 am | by ANDREW MIGA,Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Interior Department said it is releasing more than $475 million to help repair the damage from Superstorm Sandy. The money will go for 234 projects that will repair and rebuild parks, refuges and other agency facilities damaged by the storm and help get them ready for the summer season. Some of the money will go to repairs to help the Statue of Liberty in New York reopen in time for Independence Day.
Governor Wants Disaster Loans For Indiana Counties
May 8, 2013 10:42 am | News | CommentsGov. Mike Pence is asking federal officials for low-interest disaster loans for central Indiana counties following recent flooding. Pence requested the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide disaster loans for Grant, Howard and Tipton counties because of severe storms and flooding April 17-23.
Continuity Q&A: Bob Boyd On Agility
May 7, 2013 2:29 pm | Articles | CommentsContinuity Insights sat down with Bob Boyd, president and CEO of Agility Recovery Solutions, a former division of General Electric (GE), to find out more about what he enjoys most about the BC/DR field, how his company operates, the biggest challenge Agility has faced, and what he sees for the future of disaster preparedness.
Sculptures To Mark Evacuation Points In New Orleans
May 6, 2013 2:28 pm | News | CommentsMore than a dozen sculptures that will be used to call attention to evacuation points around New Orleans are arriving in the city. The statues are simple larger-than-life stick figures that appear as though they are poised to hail a bus.
Even With Reams Of Data, Flood Predicting Is Tough
May 6, 2013 1:35 pm | by DAVE KOLPACK & STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press | News | CommentsPerched in a boat drifting slowly along the Red River, Dan Thomas kept one eye on a laptop and the other on a $60,000 piece of floating hardware that beamed sound waves deep into the flooding river. As the signal bounced off water molecules and returned, the laptop sorted it into data on the river's depth and speed.
NYC To Add 640K People To Evacuation Zones
May 6, 2013 1:30 pm | by JENNIFER PELTZ,Associated Press | News | CommentsHurricane evacuation areas would encompass 640,000 more city residents, and the number of zones would double, under new plans. Details on the new zones won't be released until June, but the changes could mean neighborhoods around the city might newly be told to clear out ahead of future storms.
It's Business, Just Not As Usual, After Tornado
April 29, 2013 10:08 pm | by HASKEL BURNS,The Hattiesburg American | News | CommentsIn keeping with the traditional Mississippi never-say-die attitude, many Hattiesburg-area business owners affected by the Feb. 10 tornado are getting back on their feet — and back in business. Employees at Carlstedt's Florist had to work out of refrigerated trucks after the EF4 tornado tore off the back of the building.
Judge Chides Army Corps Over New Orleans Levees
April 17, 2013 4:30 pm | News | CommentsThe Army Corps of Engineers built a "tragically flawed" levee system for New Orleans — but isn't liable for claims that excavation work by a government contractor weakened a floodwall and caused it to breach in two places during Hurricane Katrina, a federal judge has ruled.
Spring Storm Spawns 12 Tornadoes; Three Dead
April 14, 2013 4:32 pm | by HOLBROOK MOHR,Associated Press | News | CommentsA powerful spring storm unleashed tornadoes and winds strong enough to peel the roofs from homes in the Deep South and heaped snow and ice on the Midwest, killing three people and leaving thousands without power. The National Weather Service confirmed Friday that the storm system spawned 12 tornadoes in six states in recent days.
Audit Says Katrina Aid May Have Been Misspent
April 8, 2013 10:30 am | by ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press | News | CommentsFederal investigators said Wednesday that as much as $700 million in federal aid intended to help some 24,000 Louisiana families elevate their homes after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 may have been misspent. "The state did not have conclusive evidence" that $698.5 million in disaster recovery aid was used to elevate homes, the auditors wrote.
Sandy Criticism Prompts Change In Storm Warnings
April 8, 2013 10:11 am | by JENNIFER KAY,Associated Press | News | CommentsResponding to criticism after Superstorm Sandy, the National Hurricane Center said it would change the way it warns people about tropical storms that morph into something else. At the height of Sandy, as the hurricane knocked on the Northeast coast, forecasters at the center stopped issuing advisories and warnings.
Utility Seeks $414M For Cleanup Costs From Five Storms
March 29, 2013 9:31 am | News | CommentsConnecticut's biggest utility asked regulators Thursday to allow it to charge customers $414 million for costs related to five destructive storms last year and in 2011, a request that would increase the typical customer's bill $3 a month.
Massive Snowstorm Costs Jobs In Connecticut
March 28, 2013 3:14 pm | News | CommentsLast month's massive snow storm disrupted business and transportation, leading to a loss of 5,700 jobs, the Connecticut Labor Department said Thursday. But still, the unemployment rate fell to 8 percent in February, from 8.1 percent in January.
Google Adds Street Views Inside Japan’s Nuclear Disaster Zone
March 28, 2013 10:56 am | by YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsConcrete rubble litters streets lined with shuttered shops and dark windows. A collapsed roof juts from the ground. A ship sits stranded on a stretch of dirt flattened when the tsunami roared across the coastline. There isn't a person in sight.
