catastrophic News

Crews in Southern Spain Face ‘Complex’ Wildfire For 5th Day

MADRID (AP) — Firefighting crews near southern Spain’s Costa del Sol were hoping for much-needed rainfall Monday to help them extinguish a major wildfire that has ravaged 7,700 hectares (19,000 acres) in five days and forced the evacuations of 2,600 …

Ida Knocks Out Power to Nearly All of Louisiana, More Deaths Feared

NEW ORLEANS — At least one person has died and power is out across Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday as officials warned residents against venturing out on roads littered with downed power lines and debris from Ida, which remains a …

Heat, Winds Fuel Destructive Northwest Wildfires

SALEM, Ore. — Strong winds and high temperatures continued to fuel catastrophic fires in many parts of Oregon on Wednesday, forcing thousands of people to flee from their homes. Huge wildfires also continued to grow in neighboring Washington state. Oregon …

U.S. ‘Dangerously Insecure’ in Preparing for Major Cyber-Attacks

The U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission — a bipartisan body of lawmakers, intelligence officials and others — warned that the nation is “dangerously insecure in cyber,” and recommended a series of actions intended to avert damaging attacks on critical infrastructure and …

Australia Counts Wildfire Devastation After Calamitous Weekend

Hundreds of properties were destroyed across southeastern Australia after searing temperatures and strong winds exacerbated catastrophic wildfires Saturday in one of the worst days of the weeks-long crisis. Dozens of communities, from small towns on the south coast of New …

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Dispute Over 2007 California Wildfire Payouts

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas & Electric Co to recover $379 million from customers related to damages it was forced to pay out in litigation after the deadly …

Feds Make Slow Progress on Flood Levee in Louisiana

More than six years after Hurricane Katrina’s rampage, authorities have taken only halting steps toward identifying weaknesses in a nationwide patchwork of levees intended to protect millions of Americans’ lives and property during potentially catastrophic floods. The U.S. Army Corps …