Disasters

"Whipping winds look set to hinder a wildfire that forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes on the outskirts of Los Angeles."

"The fire danger in many parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties is 'about as high as it can be,' a meteorologist warned Tuesday."

[Sick orange trees are] "the new norm in the Sunshine State, where about half the trees in every citrus orchard are stricken with an incurable bacterial infection from China that goes by many names: huanglongbing, “yellow dragon disease” and “citrus greening.” Growers, agriculturalists and academics liken it to cancer. Roots become deformed. Fruits drop from limbs prematurely and rot. The trees slowly die."

"Relief agencies were sending aid to Tonga on Monday amid reports of extensive damage to low-lying islands in the South Pacific archipelago after they were battered by a strong cyclone at the weekend."

"One of BP's attempts to curb payouts for what it says are 'fictitious' and 'absurd' claims related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has failed after a legal appeal was rejected by a U.S. court."

"Four days after a coal-processing chemical leaked into the Elk River, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's administration and West Virginia American Water Company were once again unable to give a firm timeline for when water service would be restored to 300,000 residents in the Kanawha Valley."

"Sens. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are pressuring administration officials to act quickly on railway transports of crude oil in the wake of multiple explosive derailments."

"A chemical spill along a West Virginia river on Thursday triggered a tap water ban for up to 300,000 people, shutting down schools, bars and restaurants and forcing residents to line up for bottled water at stores. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency for nine counties following the spill of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, a chemical used in the coal industry."