All posts tagged "disasters"

Winter storm warnings issued as major snow storm takes aim at NYC

New Yorkers were battening down on Saturday for what is expected to be the first major winter storm of 2024, forecast to dump a snowy mix on the Big Apple and beyond through the weekend. It’s been nearly two years since New York has seen more than an inch of snow in a 24-hour time span. While it’s a near certainty the city will be hit with at least some snow, whether it will break its nearly snowless streak depends on small nuances in the storm’s track. Much of the greater New York City area is right along the storm’s rain-snow line, with meteorologists noting temperatures have been warmer in ...

Earthquake rattles Queens, may have caused Roosevelt Island explosions

NEW YORK — An earthquake rattled parts of Queens Tuesday morning and may have sparked a series of underground explosions reported on Roosevelt Island, city officials said. “The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that a 1.7 magnitude earthquake has occurred near Astoria, Queens,” Notify NYC reported. “The earthquake has reportedly been felt in the New York City area, but there are no reports of injuries or damage in New York City at this time.” Residents of both Manhattan and Queens reported hearing multiple explosions just before 6 a.m. centered Main St. in Roosevelt Island just so...

Tenants describe Bronx building collapse as ‘disaster from hell’

NEW YORK — When a seven-story Bronx apartment building partially collapsed Monday afternoon, creating a jaw-dropping scene of devastation, some residents were away on vacation, others at work and still others were at home, forced to spring into action to save themselves.

Let’s go, let’s go, just leave everything,” tenant Sadie Martinez recounted telling her brother before they snatched up her 1-year-old and the family dog. “I was scared for my baby, not me.”

Private timberland from Washington to California lost billions in value due to wildfires

A new study from Oregon State University estimates that wildfire and drought caused $11.2 billion in economic losses to privately owned timberland in California, Oregon and Washington over the past two decades. The study, which analyzed sales of private timberland over 17 years along with wildfire and drought data, found that most of the losses were not due to forests burning directly but the perception that forests could burn due to neighboring fires. "This study shows that climate change is already reducing the value of western forests," said Oregon State economist and study co-author David ...

How Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking inspired advances in storm navigation

DETROIT — The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald not only inspired an iconic ballad from Canadian crooner Gordon Lightfoot, it also led to the advancement of Great Lakes weather monitoring and forecasting that has helped ships navigate storms ever since. Forty-eight years ago, the largest freighter in Lake Superior history sank during a November storm. "Back in 1975, there were actually zero wave-monitoring buoys on Lake Superior, which is hard to even fathom," said Matt Zika, a meteorologist at the National Weather Station's Marquette office. "You take Lake Superior, which is basically the size...

No-name storm swamps South Florida with flooding, high winds

MIAMI — South Florida awoke Thursday to downed trees, roads closed due to debris and flooding, homes taking on water and massive puddles everywhere. Tens of thousands of homes were without power. The cause? A no-name storm, one that swept the region over two days and dumped up to 14 inches of rain in some spots, with gusts as high as 75 mph at Government Cut and Port Everglades. The damage was enough to rival some tropical storms that have swept the region in recent years, according to the National Hurricane Center. And it even showed a broad area of circulation on radar as it rolled past Sout...

Hawaii announces $150 million recovery fund for Maui fire victims

The state of Hawaii has announced a $150 million recovery fund for the victims and survivors of the state’s devastating wildfires from the summer. The inferno, which began Aug. 8, killed more than 100 people. Gov. Josh Green said the money would go to families of those who were killed by the blazes, as well as those who “suffered severe personal injuries.” Recipients could receive more than $1 million each. “Our message is clear — in Hawaii, during difficult times, we come together to help one another, and right now we are coming together to help those who have suffered the most,” the governor...

Washington still suffers from drought despite rain — and El Nino won't help

SEATTLE — Despite recent rainfall most of Washington still suffers from drought and climatologists say the months ahead aren't likely to offer much relief. The entire state is forecast to remain warmer than normal and much of the state east of the Cascades is likely to see below-average precipitation between now and January, according to the latest seasonal outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Around the first of the year, El Nino conditions are expected to begin pushing warm, tropical air into the Pacific Northwest, worsening the state's warm and dry spell, Washin...

Core of Hurricane Tammy on top of Caribbean islands

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Tammy gained strength before beginning its sideswipe of several Caribbean islands on Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center. As of 5 p.m., the Category 1 hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph with higher gusts, located about 50 miles north of Guadeloupe and 35 miles east southeast of Antigua moving north northwest at 10 mph. “Fluctuations in intensity are possible during the next few days, but Tammy is expected to remain a hurricane while it passes near or over the Leeward Islands,” forecasters said. It became the season’s seventh hurricane as ...

Hurricane center ups odds for next tropical system in Atlantic

ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center has increased odds a tropical wave in the Atlantic could become the busy season’s next tropical depression or storm. The system that emerged off the lower latitudes of the west of coast of Africa has been producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. “Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development, and a tropical depression is likely to form by the early to middle part of next week while it moves westward to west-northwestward across the eastern tropical Atlantic,” forecasters said. The NHC gives it a 20% chan...