Latest Disaster planning and response News

Storm-battered South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life

May. 10, 2024 06:40 AM EDT

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (AP) — Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street. ...

Caramelo, the Brazilian horse stranded on a roof by floods, is rescued after stirring the nation

May. 10, 2024 02:10 AM EDT

CANOAS, Brazil (AP) — A Brazilian horse nicknamed Caramelo by social media users garnered national attention after a television news helicopter filmed him stranded on a rooftop in southern Brazil, where massive floods have killed more than 100 people. About 24 hours after he was...

Powerful storms kill 3 as tornadoes tear through central and southeastern US

May. 08, 2024 23:08 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (AP) — Severe storms tore through parts of the U.S. again Wednesday, spawning damaging tornadoes, producing massive hail, and killing two people in Tennessee and one person in North Carolina. A storm that rumbled across northeastern Tennessee brought high winds that...

2 young children die after being swept away by fast-flowing California creek

May. 08, 2024 19:45 PM EDT

MOUNTAIN HOME VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — Two young siblings died after being swept away by a rapidly flowing creek in Southern California's San Bernardino Mountains, authorities said. The tragedy occurred Tuesday when a mother took her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son to spend...

What is a tornado emergency and how is it different from a warning or a watch?

May. 08, 2024 18:30 PM EDT

DETROIT (AP) — The first-ever tornado emergency in Michigan was issued Tuesday, one of many called across the country in recent weeks as severe weather tears through states in the Plains and Midwest. As massive storms barrel East, homes and property have been destroyed and thousands of people...

Poland's Tusk calls secret services meeting after defection of judge to Belarus

May. 07, 2024 13:27 PM EDT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk called Tuesday for a special meeting of the secret services to discuss alleged Russian and Belarusian infiltration after a Polish judge who had access to sensitive state information defected to Belarus. ...

Rainfall allows Spain's Catalonia to ease water restrictions for 1st time during drought

May. 07, 2024 09:23 AM EDT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s Catalonia region will ease restrictions on water use for a wide area including Barcelona after recent rainfall palliated a prolonged drought, regional authorities said Tuesday. Catalonia declared a drought emergency in February when its reservoirs...

Floodwaters start receding around Houston area as recovery begins following rescues and evacuations

May. 06, 2024 20:49 PM EDT

HOUSTON (AP) — Floodwaters in the Houston area and parts of Southeast Texas began to recede on Monday, allowing residents to begin returning to their homes and assess damages after days of heavy rainfall that pummeled the area and led to hundreds of rescues — including people who were stranded...

As storms move across Texas, 1 child dies after being swept away in floodwaters

May. 06, 2024 16:40 PM EDT

HOUSTON (AP) — Storms in Texas brought additional rain Sunday to the already saturated Houston area where hundreds of people have been rescued from flooded homes and roads, while to the north in the Fort Worth area, a child died after being swept away when the car he was traveling in got stuck in...

Hundreds rescued from flooding in Texas as waters continue rising in Houston

May. 04, 2024 21:29 PM EDT

HOUSTON (AP) — High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing more than 400 people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water. Others prepared to evacuate their property. A wide region was...