Disasters

"The U.S. Forest Service made critical mistakes that caused a planned burn to reduce the threat of wildfires to explode into the largest blaze in New Mexico's recorded history, the agency said Tuesday. A new report found that employees made multiple miscalculations, used inaccurate models and underestimated how dry conditions were in the Southwest before lighting the flames."

"Phoenix is the US’s deadliest city for heat fatalities while its urban sprawl makes it a concrete heat island".

"DHAKA, Bangladesh — Army troops were called in to rescue thousands of people stranded by massive floods that have ravaged northeastern India and Bangladesh, leaving millions of homes underwater and severing transport links, authorities said Saturday."

"As punishing floods tore through Yellowstone National Park and neighboring Montana communities, the state’s governor was nowhere to be seen."

"The explosion and fire in Texas last week that shut down about one-fifth of the country’s liquefied natural gas export capacity wasn’t the first time flames have bedeviled the Freeport LNG facility."

"Yellowstone National Park officials say portions of the park may be closed for an “extended” period following catastrophic flooding that caused a park shutdown, the ejection of more than 10,000 visitors and widespread infrastructure damage whose repair will require both serious dollars and tough decisions."

"Chris Mariano became a federal wildland firefighter because he wanted to help protect the Northern California landscapes and communities he’d grown to love."

"Eight years after Congress created the program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking a first step toward offering more than $7 billion of federally backed loans to repair aging dams owned by states, local governments and private entities across the U.S."

"Massive floodwaters ravaged Yellowstone National Park and nearby communities Monday, washing out roads and bridges, cutting off electricity and forcing visitors to evacuate parts of the iconic park at the height of summer tourist season."

"The northern Arizona city of Flagstaff is synonymous with mountains — lush with ponderosa pines, meadows and hiking trails that are a respite from the desert heat. Now, parts of them are burning yet again this year, fueled by winds that grounded air resources Monday."