Flooding hot spots: Why seas are rising faster on the U.S. East Coast – “These coastal areas are more vulnerable than they realize to short-term rapid acceleration of sea level rise”

By Jim Morrison 24 April 2018 (Yale E360) – Seen from a pedestrian footbridge overlooking Myrtle Park — a sliver of land that Norfolk, Virginia is allowing to revert to wetlands — the panorama of surrounding homes illustrates the accelerating sea level rise that has beleaguered this neighborhood along the Lafayette River. A grey house, […]

“Freak” dust storms in northern India kill at least 100 people – “Dust storms are usually not this intense nor do these systems cover such a large area”

By Michael Safi 3 May 2018 DELHI (The Guardian) – Severe dust storms across northern India have killed more than 100 people, destroyed homes and left hundreds without electricity.Billowing clouds of thick dust and sand frequently blow across the region during the dry season, but the death toll from this week’s storms has been unusually […]

U.S. infections from tick, fleas, and mosquito bites have tripled since 2004 – As climate warms, “it enables these ticks to expand to new areas”

1 May 2018 (E360 Digest) – The number of people in the United States infected by mosquito, tick, and flea-transmitted diseases have tripled, increasing from 27,388 cases in 2004 to 96,075 in 2016, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control. Since 2004, nine insect-borne diseases have also been discovered or introduced […]

Climate change making California’s drought-flood cycle more volatile – “These are actually huge changes occurring – they’re just on opposite ends of the spectrum”

By David Colgan 23 April 2018 (UCLA) – California is headed for a future of precipitation extremes.Research by UCLA climate scientists, published today in Nature Climate Change, projects that the state will experience a much greater number of extremely wet and extremely dry weather seasons — especially wet — by the end of the century. […]

A Hawaiian island got about 50 inches of rain in 24 hours. Scientists warn it’s a sign of the future – “Our communities are scaled and built for a climate that no longer exists”

By Heidi Chang 28 April 2018 (Los Angeles Times) – Since the 1940s, the Hawaiian island of Kauai has endured two tsunamis and two hurricanes, but locals say they have never experienced anything like the thunderstorm that drenched the island this month. “The rain gauge in Hanalei broke at 28 inches within 24 hours,” said […]

Harvey recovery funds may prioritize wealthy, advocates say – “It’s absolutely a civil rights issue”

AUSTIN, Texas, 27 April 2018 (AP) – Advocacy groups said Friday that Texas is poised to unfairly distribute billions in federal funding provided for housing repairs following Hurricane Harvey’s devastation — prioritizing wealthy homeowners over poorer victims in ways that could constitute racial discrimination. At issue is a draft state rebuilding plan that says homeowners […]

Heavy rainfall trends across the U.S.

11 April 2018 (Climate Central) – With flooding in parts of the Mississippi Valley and a strong Pacific storm coming into the Northwest, we examined the trend in the number of days each year with heavy precipitation at 244 individual sites in the U.S. This expands our nationwide-averaged heavy precipitation analysis from earlier this year, […]

Between Trump and a devastated place: Undocumented immigrants reel from hurricanes, fires, and the Trump administration – “It was really heartless for him to do that after a national tragedy”

By Justine Calma 24 April 2018 (Grist) – Seven months after Juan and Jonathan Leija were forced to evacuate their flooded homes during Hurricane Harvey, the cousins face challenges that go beyond just recovering their lives. Building back isn’t easy for anybody, but the Leijas are doing it as looming policy decisions threaten to uproot […]

Early rains expose risks for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, warns UN agency – “The worst is yet to come when cyclone and monsoon seasons hit in the coming weeks”

20 April 2018 (UN News) – The arrival of pre-monsoon rains in southern Bangladesh has revealed an alarming level of risks for Rohingya refugees, United Nations humanitarian agencies said on Friday, warning that they do not  have the funds needed to protect hundreds of thousands of desperate people once the rainy season begins in earnest.“The […]

Historic rain inundates Kauai, cutting off Hawaii residents and tourists with floods and mudslides– “This has been the worst flood event I’ve ever seen my 49 years here on Hanalei”

By John Hopewell 17 April 2018 (The Washington Post) – A historic torrent of rain pounded the Hawaiian island of Kauai this weekend, with more than two feet of rain lashing the tropical paradise in 24 hours. According to the National Weather Service in Honolulu, the rain gauge in the town of Hanalei collected 27.52 […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial