Intense fighting raged across a wide swath of southeastern Ukraine for a second day on Friday, as Ukrainian forces attacked occupying Russian troops in multiple locations, while military analysts and U.S. officials cautioned that it was far too early to gauge the success of Kyiv’s offensive. Both sides were grappling with severe flooding caused by […]
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Dam’s Destruction Reshapes Ukraine, but Not Arc of the War
The Ukrainian soldiers sped along a dirt road, their pickup truck bouncing over ruts, lest they become an easy target for Russian tanks across the Dnipro River. Nearby, Russian howitzers fired with deafening booms, sending shells streaking over the ruins of the Kakhovka dam, the destruction of which this week unleashed a flood with far-reaching […]
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Zelensky Visits Kherson, and Russia Shells Flooded City
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visited the flood-stricken city of Kherson on Thursday, trying to rally the region’s emergency workers, who were struggling under Russian artillery fire to evacuate thousands of people from cities and settlements left submerged by the destruction of a major dam this week. Even as rescue workers took boats through flooded […]
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Kherson is hit by Russian shelling hours after a Zelensky visit.
Russian forces shelled the flood-stricken city of Kherson on Thursday, striking close to an evacuation point, only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the city to witness the aftermath of the destruction of a dam on the Dnipro River earlier this week. Hundreds of people who were gathered near an evacuation point at Ship Square, […]
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After Dam Destruction in Ukraine, Thousands Flee for Water and Shelter
KHERSON, Ukraine — Thousands of people escaped inundated homes in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, including many rescued from rooftops, a day after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam gave rise to another humanitarian disaster along the front lines of the 15-month war. Floodwaters engulfed streets and houses and sent residents fleeing with what meager belongings […]
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Ukraine Flood Deepens Misery in War Zone
Oleksiy Kolesnik waded ashore and stood, trembling, on dry land for the first time in hours, rescued on Wednesday morning after spending the predawn sitting on top of a cabinet in his flooded living room. “The water came really quickly,” said Mr. Kolesnik, who was so weak he had to be helped out of a […]
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Ukraine Dam Collapse Brings Floodwater to Kherson
KHERSON, Ukraine — Oleksiy Kolesnik waded ashore and stood, trembling, on dry land for the first time in hours, rescued after spending the predawn sitting on top of a cabinet in his flooded living room. “The water came really quickly,” said Mr. Kolesnik, who was so weak he had to be helped out of a […]
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Internal Blast Probably Breached Ukraine Dam, Experts Say (Cautiously)
Ukraine on Sunday appeared to begin a long-expected counteroffensive against Russian forces, and its officials said that Moscow blew the dam to hinder their advance by causing flooding and removing the only remaining river crossing between the enemies. It is not clear, though, whether Ukraine’s plans call for a major crossing of the lower Dnipro. […]
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Destroyed Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine Floods War Zone and Forces Evacuations
A major dam on the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine was destroyed early Tuesday, sending torrents of water cascading through the breach, flooding a war zone downstream, putting tens of thousands of residents at risk and raising the possibility of long-lasting environmental and humanitarian disasters. Ukraine and Russia quickly blamed each other for the calamity. […]
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Destroyed Dam Sends Ukrainians Fleeing for Shelter
The early morning explosion that woke Oksana Alfiorova from her sleep seemed normal enough, at least for wartime Kherson. Ms. Alfiorova, who is 57, lived through nine months of Russian occupation — “really scary” — and since then, nearly as long under the constant shelling of the Russian forces that set up camp across the […]
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At Least 42 Are Dead and Thousands Are Displaced After Flooding in Haiti
At least 42 people were dead and thousands were displaced after a weekend of heavy rainfall and widespread flooding in Haiti, the country’s disaster response agency said on Monday. The heavy rain, which fell mostly on Saturday and Sunday, flooded more than 13,000 homes, displacing people across Haiti, according to the agency. It also said […]
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Facing California’s Future of Flooding and Droughts
Since New Year’s, storm after storm had pummeled the state, dropping epic quantities of water and snow. The water made its way toward the bottom of the valley, as it always had, coursing through waterways held in by earthen levees that, during drought years, grew desiccated and weak, pocked with squirrel burrows. In some parts […]
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State Farm Stops Offering Insurance in California
The climate crisis is becoming a financial crisis. This month, the largest homeowner insurance company in California, State Farm, announced that it would stop selling coverage to homeowners. That’s not just in wildfire zones, but everywhere in the state. Insurance companies, tired of losing money, are raising rates, restricting coverage or pulling out of some […]
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The Supreme Court Is Crippling Environmental Protections. Where Is Congress?
In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson told a room full of governors and state officials that he found the filthy river flowing a mile from the Capitol “disgraceful.” Now the Potomac River runs much cleaner, thanks to the landmark Clean Water Act of 1972 — and that adjective employed by Johnson serves as an apt description […]
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In Flood-Stricken Area of Italy, Residents Fear This Won’t Be the Last of It
When the floods hit in the northern Italian town of Lugo this past week, overflowing a local watercourse and sending water gushing into streets and the surrounding fields, Irinel Lungu, 45, retreated with his wife and toddler to the second floor of their home. As rescue workers navigated submerged streets in dinghies to deliver baby […]
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Floods in Northern Italy Kill at Least 14
Eleven years ago this month, back-to-back earthquakes struck the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, which this week was devastated by another disaster: Widespread flooding that has caused at least 14 deaths and left thousands more homeless. On Friday, rescue workers continued to clear streets of mud, while towns in the Ravenna area remained submerged. Hundreds […]
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‘Catastrophic’ Floods in Italy Leave 8 Dead and Thousands Homeless
Widespread flooding in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna killed at least eight people and forced another 5,000 to abandon their homes, officials said on Wednesday as rescue efforts continued to assist those stuck on the upper stories of buildings. Some of the worst-hit areas received almost 20 inches of rain in 36 hours, about […]
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‘Catastrophic’ Congo Flooding Kills More Than 400 People
The death toll of last week’s deadly floods and landslides in the Democratic Republic of Congo climbed to more than 400 people, the government said on Monday, as rescue workers and family members searched through debris and mud for victims and survivors of the disaster. The flooding began on Thursday, as heavy rains pushed rivers […]
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The Hidden Cost of Rebuilding After a Flood
When rising floodwater surrounded her home the morning of July 29, Carolyn Combs felt a sense of déjà vu. The year before, floodwater had filled the first floor of her family’s home in Jackson, Ky., damaging living spaces, storage and her two teenage children’s bedrooms. Ms. Combs, her husband and their children spent months living […]
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In Pakistan, Economic Crisis Mutes Ramadan Celebrations
The crowds begin to form at dawn. They swell through the day as hundreds of men and women swathed in bright purple and pink scarves wait outside the charity’s gates in Karachi, Pakistan. Many sit for hours, desperate to collect enough flour, rice, sugar and cooking oil to break their daily fast for the holy […]
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Winter Showers (and Showers and Showers) Bring a Bounty of Wildflowers
LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — Torrential downpours this winter sent California residents fleeing from floods and mudslides. Blizzards dumped snow in the mountains, trapping locals in their homes for weeks. Hulking trees crashed into homes and severed power lines. After such a disastrous start to the year, it may be a while before nature can fully […]
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See What California’s Record Snowpack Looks Like, Up Close
Up and down the high slopes of the Sierra Nevada, the barrage of heavy storms that deluged California this winter also left behind a giant frozen reservoir, one whose thawing will shape the next phase of what has already been a remarkably wet year for the drought-weary state. Snow, huge imposing walls of it, has […]
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Tulare Lake Returned in the Central Valley After California Storms
CORCORAN, Calif. — It is no secret to locals that the heart of California’s Central Valley was once the largest body of freshwater west of the Mississippi River, dammed and drained into an empire of farms by the mid-20th century. Still, even longtime residents have been staggered this year by the brute swiftness with which Tulare […]
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Venice Is Saved! Woe Is Venice.
By Jason Horowitz and Emma Bubola Photographs and Video by Laetitia Vancon Jason Horowitz and Emma Bubola reported from Venice over years of floods, visiting MOSE’s headquarters and speaking with numerous officials and experts. April 1, 2023 In the middle of the night, as the tide rose, winds whipped and waves grew, an engineer in […]
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Severe Storms and Tornadoes Are Expected in Midwest and South
A large tornado was spotted near Little Rock, Ark., on Friday afternoon, prompting meteorologists there to evacuate as the National Weather Service declared it an “emergency.” The tornado is part of a complex and dangerous storm system that is poised to hit the Upper Midwest and South, forecasters said. Images from the city showed debris […]
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Eastern Kentucky Needs Flood Relief, Not Another Federal Prison
Along the riverbanks of Eastern Kentucky, the redbud trees are just starting to bloom, their branches still lumbering under the weight of last summer’s catastrophic flood: Lawn chairs, trampolines, twisted gutters and school backpacks remain high in the treetops, each item a persistent and disorienting sign of how life here was turned upside down last […]
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Tornado Strikes Mississippi, Causing Damage
Emergency workers were surveying the damage from a large tornado that whipped through rural Mississippi on Friday night, flattening homes and trapping some residents. The tornado caused damage in Silver City and Rolling Fork, Miss., the National Weather Service office in Jackson said on Twitter. The agency issued rare tornado emergencies for parts of the […]
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An Australian River Choking on Fish Corpses, and a Community Full of Anger
“Welcome to dead fish central,” said Graeme McCrabb, a local resident, as he navigated his speedboat through fields of rotting fish carcasses bobbing in the acid-green water of the river that runs through his town. Millions of fish have died in the Darling River near his town, Menindee, in outback New South Wales, their bodies […]
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Five Dead After Winds Pummel a Weather-Beaten California
At least five people were killed and several others were injured on Tuesday by falling trees in California, where heavy rain and snow have repeatedly walloped weather-fatigued residents, officials said. Strong winds and precipitation associated with this week’s rush of dangerous storms were expected to subside on Wednesday before moving into the Southwest, the National […]
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Scenes From Recent Atmospheric Rivers in California
SAN FRANCISCO — California residents piled sandbags outside their homes and anxiously watched stream levels as the season’s 12th atmospheric river arrived on Tuesday morning, threatening to bring another round of flooding and chaos to the beleaguered state. An unrelenting series of storms this winter have already shattered some weather records in California and prompted […]
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Biden Warns That Climate Change Could Upend Federal Spending Programs
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will warn on Monday that a warming planet poses severe economic challenges for the United States, which will require the federal government to reassess its spending priorities and how it influences behavior. Administration economists, in an annual report, will say that reassessment should include a new look at the climate-adaptation […]
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