Hurricane Hanna spared insurers potential massive losses by making a landfall Saturday on a rural area of the Texas coast, in a state where residential properties receive relatively little protection from modern building codes. Hurricane Douglas similarly averted disaster in …
U.S. protection of wetlands has expanded and contracted dramatically over the last five years, as Democratic and Republican administrations rewrote Clean Water Act rules to their constituencies’ liking. The lack of high-quality economic analysis has been a recurring theme in …
Washington is announcing a goal of retrofitting or removing all of its flood-prone buildings by 2050, the first major U.S. city to set such a policy. The proposal is part of a broader plan to protect Washington, which is home …
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Years of increasingly deadly California wildfires spurred lawmakers to consider regulations Tuesday that would toughen local governments’ requirements for approving housing developments in high-risk areas. A state Senate committee voted 8-3 Monday to advance a measure requiring …
About the photo: The sun rises through a cloud of smoke after a wildfire swept through the area in Sonoma County on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (Paul Kitagaki Jr. /The Sacramento Bee via AP) PARADISE, Calif.– …
Seven weeks after a massive earthquake rocked Alaska, aftershocks are still shattering 7-year-old Connor Cartwright’s sense of safety. They shake the earth far less than the 7.0 magnitude quake that sent a mirror, TV and dishes crashing to the ground …
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rattled Alaska’s largest city cracked roads and collapsed highway ramps, but there were no reports of widespread catastrophic damage or collapsed buildings. There’s a good reason for that. A devastating 1964 Alaska earthquake – the …
Unlike in South Florida, homes in the state’s Panhandle did not have tighter building codes until just 11 years ago; it was once argued that acres of forests would provide the region with a natural barrier against the savage winds …
Five years ago, encouraged by home builders and an anti-regulatory zeal, lawmakers in North Carolina joined other states in weakening building code requirements. It’s a decision they may regret as Hurricane Florence takes aim at the Carolinas. The Legislature in …
A Michigan family is fighting with city officials over the legality of a large wooden treehouse. A judge has instructed Ann Arbor residents Tamar Boyadjian and Greg Douglas to either bring their treehouse up to code by Friday or take …