By Adam Sobel28 October 2013 (CNN) – Many of our immediate responses to Hurricane Sandy were successful. Scientists accurately forecast the storm; authorities ordered the proper actions; many people heeded the orders; and there was a massive government response in the aftermath. What went most wrong, and continues to go wrong, is our handling of […]
By DAVID B. CARUSO26 October 2013 NEW YORK (AP) – A year after Superstorm Sandy catastrophically flooded hundreds of miles of eastern U.S. coastline, thousands of people still trying to fix their soaked and surf-battered homes are being stymied by bureaucracy, insurance disputes, and uncertainty over whether they can even afford to rebuild. Billions of […]
By Craig Brown20 October 2013 (The Scotsman) – Rising sea levels are threatening the existence of Orkney’s famous Stone Age village of Skara Brae, according to an official report. A draft management plan for the protection of the World Heritage site describes coastal erosion as “a threat to the long-term survival” of the subterranean village. […]
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ and CAMPBELL ROBERTSON12 October 2013 MIAMI (The New York Times) — Sharp increases in federal flood insurance rates are distressing coastal homeowners from Hawaii to New England and are starting to hurt property values and housing sales in areas just beginning to recover from the recession, according to residents and legislators. In […]
13 October 2013 (AP) – People in India began sorting through the wreckage Sunday after Cyclone Phailin roared ashore, flooding towns and villages and destroying tens of thousands of thatch homes, but officials said the country had been spared the widespread loss of life that many had feared. About 18 hours after the storm — […]
KENDRAPARA, India, 11 October 2013 (UPI) – Rough seas forced fishing vessels to return to port Friday as Typhoon Phailin bore down on India’s Bay of Bengal, officials said. Four fishermen were rescued a day after their ship capsized near the Gahirmatha and Bhitarkanika marine sanctuaries, Paradip marine fisheries officer Ranjit Keshari Dash told Press […]
By Bryan Walsh 1 October 2013 (TIME) – Thousands of homeowners in flood-prone parts of the country are going to be in for a rude awakening. On Oct. 1, new changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which offers government-subsidized policies for households and businesses threatened by floods, mean that businesses in flood zones […]
By Miranda Leitsinger3 September 2013 TOMS RIVER, N.J. (NBC News) – Thousands of homeowners in New York and New Jersey impacted by Hurricane Sandy are facing a tough choice that may thwart their efforts to rebuild: Comply with costly new federal construction guidelines or prepare to pay annual flood insurance rates that could top $20,000. […]
By Richard Ingham 25 August 2013 (AFP) – A leaden cloak of responsibility lies on the shoulders of UN scientists as they put the final touches to the first volume of a massive report that will give the world the most detailed picture yet of climate change. Due to be unveiled in Stockholm on September […]
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ24 August 2013 FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (The New York Times) – With inviting beaches that run for miles along South Florida’s shores, it is easy to put sand into the same category as turbo air-conditioning and a decent mojito — something ever present and easily taken for granted. As it turns out, though, […]
