Floods paralyze Jakarta, heavy rains continue – ‘In 30 years of my life here it has never flooded, ever. This is the very first time.’

By Fergus Jensen and Rieka Rahadiana, with additional reporting by Michael Taylor and Janeman Latul; Writing by Jonathan Thatcher; Editing by Robert Birsel17 January 2013 JAKARTA (Reuters) – Heavy monsoon rain triggered severe flooding in large swathes of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on Thursday, bringing the city to a halt with many government offices and […]

Time for action as disaster risks rise, insurer says

By Peter Hannam, Carbon economy editor8 January 2013 (Sydney Morning Herald) – Australia’s exposure to natural risks is on the increase and governments at all levels should step up joint efforts to limit the losses and prevent insurance costs from spiralling higher, one of the country’s biggest insurers says. Modest investments in flood or fire […]

Climate Central: Hurricane Sandy tops list of 2012 extreme weather and climate events

By Andrew Freedman, Michael Lemonick, and Dan Yawitz27 December 2012 (Climate Central) – From unprecedented heat waves that shattered “Dust Bowl” era records from the 1930s, to Hurricane Sandy, which devastated coastal New Jersey and New York, 2012 was the year Mother Nature had it out for the U.S. No country on Earth rivaled the […]

2012 another year of record-breaking extreme weather – ‘The normal has changed. The normal is extreme.’

By Seth Borenstein20 December 2012 WASHINGTON (MSN News) – As 2012 began, winter in the U.S. went AWOL. Spring and summer arrived early with wildfires, blistering heat, and drought. And fall hit the eastern third of the country with the ferocity of Superstorm Sandy. This past year’s weather was deadly, costly and record-breaking everywhere — […]

Record-high tides in Seattle wash in prospects for more in future

By Jack Broom and Alexa Vaughn, Seattle Times staff reporter18 December 2012 Following Monday’s highest tides ever recorded in Seattle, which sent waves spilling onto 100 properties in West Seattle, city climate-change watchers say the area could be in for more of the same — or worse — in years to come. “Yesterday’s tide would […]

Video: Philippine toll from typhoon above 700 and likely to rise, authorities say

By Jethro Mullen11 December 2012 (CNN) – The death toll from the destructive typhoon that savaged the southern Philippines last week has climbed above 700, authorities said Tuesday, warning that the final number may be much higher. Nearly 900 people are still unaccounted for in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha, the strongest and deadliest storm […]

Protecting New Jersey from future storms will cost billions

By James M. O’Neill, staff writer9 December 2012 (The Record) – The price of protecting New Jersey from rising sea levels and the devastation of future storms is breathtaking, making it seem at times that the problem is insurmountable. Some options that have been floated include $7.4 billion to buy all 13,300 structures in the […]

Hundreds of fishermen missing after Philippine typhoon – Philippines climate negotiator appeals for action at Doha

By Bullit Marquez9 December 2012 NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) – The number of people missing after a typhoon devastated parts of the southern Philippines jumped to nearly 900 after families and fishing companies reported losing contact with more than 300 fishermen at sea, officials said Sunday. The fishermen from southern General Santos city and nearby […]

Typhoon Bopha makes U-turn, threatens Philippines again

NEW BATAAN, Philippines, 8 December 2012 (CBS/AP) – A typhoon that killed nearly 600 people and left hundreds more missing in the southern Philippines has made a U-turn and is now threatening the country’s northwest, officials said Saturday. The weather bureau raised storm warnings over parts of the main northern island of Luzon after Typhoon […]

Philippines typhoon deaths rise as president declares state of calamity

By Liz Neisloss and Jethro Mullen8 December 2012 Montevista, Philippines (CNN) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has declared a state of national calamity as the death toll from Typhoon Bopha, the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in decades, continues to climb. At least 459 people have died since the typhoon, known locally […]

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