Latest Disaster planning and response News

Hurricane-force winds cause widespread damage in Alaska's largest city

Jan. 13, 2025 17:10 PM EST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Thousands of residents across Alaska’s largest city were still without power Monday, a day after a powerful storm brought hurricane-force winds that downed power lines, damaged trees, forced more than a dozen planes to divert, and caused a pedestrian bridge over a...

Tugboat sinks in the Mississippi River after collision with tanker ship in Louisiana

Dec. 30, 2024 17:14 PM EST

LULING, La. (AP) — The crew of a tugboat was quickly rescued when their vessel sank into the Mississippi River following a collision with a tanker ship in Louisiana. The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that it is investigating the crash and that the river remains open. St. Charles...

The body of a missing Hungarian hiker is found in Slovenia

Dec. 26, 2024 08:56 AM EST

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia's mountain rescuers on Thursday found the body of a Hungarian hiker who got lost in a blizzard in the Alps last week. A Facebook post said that a team located the man in a gorge, who was showing no signs of life, and that the transport of the...

Here's a look at the $100 billion in disaster relief in the government spending bill

Dec. 21, 2024 12:11 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is allocating more than $100 billion in emergency aid designed to address extensive damage caused by disasters after this week's scramble to find consensus on a government spending bill. The money comes after back-to-back hurricanes — Helene and Milton...

Farmers, business owners, fire survivors face uncertainty after $100B in disaster relief flounders

Dec. 19, 2024 20:38 PM EST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — American farmers, small business owners and wildfire survivors are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion in disaster aid. ...

Congress unveils funding deal with more than $100 billion in disaster aid

Dec. 17, 2024 22:52 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders have unveiled a stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government funded through March 14 and provide more than $100 billion in emergency aid to help states and local communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural...

California got millions to train workers in disaster relief, but it’s leaving money on table

Dec. 16, 2024 16:36 PM EST

In January 2023, and continuing throughout the spring, rain swelled many of California’s reservoirs and creeks, engulfing homes and businesses and killing 21 people. One federal estimate says it cost the state nearly $5 billion. Now, nearly two years later, it’s Alexis...

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes Chile but there are no reports of damage

Dec. 13, 2024 20:01 PM EST

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook central Chile on Friday but there were no immediate reports of damage and a tsunami was ruled out. The United States Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 7:38 p.m. local time (23:38 GMT) at a depth of 110 kilometers....

When fire threatened a California university, the school says it knew what to do

Dec. 10, 2024 17:59 PM EST

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — The wildfire alert came in the middle of the night as some college students in Southern California were cramming for final exams and others were woken up in their dorms. But rather than run away from the impending blaze, some 3,000 students at Pepperdine...

Landslide triggered by rain in Indonesia's Sumatra island kills 9 people in a tourist bus

Nov. 28, 2024 22:20 PM EST

SIBOLANGIT, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers recovered two more bodies from a tourist bus hit by a landslide triggered by torrential rains on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, bringing the death toll to nine, officials said. At least 20 people have died in other landslides and floods in the...