Latest Disaster planning and response News

A Los Angeles County firefighter extinguishes hot spots at a scorched residence while battling the Lake Fire in the Angeles National Forest, Calif., north of Santa Clarita on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. Light winds and scattered thundershowers early Thursday helped calm the flames of a huge wildfire that prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles, and firefighters hoped to rein in the blaze before temperatures spike later in the day. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Crews try to tame California wildfire as heat wave arrives

Aug. 14, 2020 12:24 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews scrambled to protect homes from a huge wildfire that prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles, and officials warned the blaze could flare up again Thursday as a blistering heat wave descended on California. The fire exploded in size within hours after it broke out in dense forest...

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a ruling party meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Aug. 13 2020. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads:

North Korea lifts lockdown in city, rejects flood, virus aid

Aug. 13, 2020 11:53 PM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lifted a lockdown in a major city near the border with South Korea where thousands had been quarantined for weeks over coronavirus worries, state media said Friday. But Kim, during a key ruling party meeting on Thursday, also insisted the North...

Emergency services attend the scene of a derailed train in Stonehaven, Scotland, Wednesday Aug. 12, 2020. Police and paramedics were responding Wednesday to a train derailment in northeast Scotland, where smoke could be seen rising from the site. Officials said there were reports of serious injuries. The hilly area was hit by storms and flash flooding overnight. (Ross Johnston/Newsline-media via AP)

3 dead, 6 in hospital after train derails in Scotland

Aug. 12, 2020 4:07 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Three people were killed and six others injured Wednesday when a passenger train derailed in northeast Scotland after heavy rain and flooding hit the area. The train driver was believed to be among the dead, British Transport Police said. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said that the...

This photo provided by the French Army shows oil leaking from the MV Wakashio, a bulk carrier ship that ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius, Tuesday Aug.11, 2020. Thousands of students, environmental activists and residents of Mauritius were working around the clock trying to reduce the damage to the Indian Ocean island from an oil spill after a tanker ran aground on a coral reef. An estimated 1 ton of oil from the Japanese ship's cargo of 4 tons has already escaped into the sea, officials said. (Gwendoline Defente, EMAE via AP)

Urgent pumping removes oil from ship grounded near Mauritius

Aug. 11, 2020 1:50 PM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — In a race against tides and time, workers pumped tons of fuel on Tuesday from a Japanese bulk carrier ship grounded in the shallow waters of Mauritius to try to prevent a renewed oil spill from further fouling the island's eastern lagoons and shore. The Japanese ship, MV Wakashio, ran...

Debris covers the beach after a storm from the opposite island of Evia, as an elderly couple sits on a bench in Chalkoutsi village, about 60 kilometres north of Athens, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. Seven people, including an elderly couple and an 8-month-old baby, have been found dead as a storm hit the Greek island of Evia, authorities said Sunday. One person was still missing and dozens of others were trapped by floodwaters in their homes and cars. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Greece: Missing man's body found after deadly storm; 8 dead

Aug. 10, 2020 12:24 PM EDT

BOURTZI, Greece (AP) — The body of a man missing after a storm sparked flash floods on the Greek island of Evia over the weekend was recovered Monday near the Greek mainland, Greece's coast guard said, bringing the death toll from the storm to eight. Rescue crews had been searching for the 72-year-old...

President Donald Trump signs an executive order during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Trump's pandemic relief orders are limited in scope

Aug. 9, 2020 7:29 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's new executive orders to help Americans struggling under the economic recession are far less sweeping than any pandemic relief bill Congress would pass. Trump acted Saturday after negotiations for a second pandemic relief bill reached an impasse. Democrats...

A woman carries sack of wheat and household goods while she wades through a flooded area of Dadu, a district in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. Three days of heavy monsoon rains triggering flash floods killed at least dozens people in various parts of Pakistan, as troops with boats rushed to a flood-affected district in the country's southern Sindh province Sunday to evacuate people to safer places. (AP Photo/Pervez Masih)

3 days of heavy monsoon rains kill 58 people across Pakistan

Aug. 9, 2020 12:59 PM EDT

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Three days of heavy monsoon rains triggering flash floods killed at least 58 people in various parts of Pakistan, as troops with boats rushed Sunday to evacuate people from flood-affected districts in the country's southern Sindh and southwestern Baluchistan provinces. Every year,...

In this satellite image provided by 2020 Maxar Technologies on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, an aerial view of the MV Wakashio, a bulk carrier ship that recently ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius. The prime minister of Mauritius says the government is appealing to France for help with a brewing environmental disaster after a ship that ran aground almost two weeks ago off the Indian Ocean island nation began leaking oil. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said Friday that the leak “represents a danger for Mauritius

Mauritius declares emergency as stranded ship spills fuel

Aug. 8, 2020 5:30 AM EDT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has declared a “state of environmental emergency” after a Japanese-owned ship that ran aground offshore days ago began spilling tons of fuel. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced the development late Friday as satellite images...

A dog of the French rescue team searches for survivors at the scene of this week's massive explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Three days after a massive explosion rocked Beirut, killing over a hundred people and causing widespread devastation, rescuers are still searching for survivors and the government is investigating what caused the disaster. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The Latest: Trump says US help on way for Beirut disaster

Aug. 7, 2020 7:25 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The latest on the explosion in Beirut (all times local): 2:20 a.m. President Donald Trump has spoken about the explosion in Beirut during calls with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump said Friday that he told Aoun that three large aircraft filled with...

Rescuers work at the site of a mudslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain in Idukki district, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. A mudslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain and flooding killed at least 15 people and buried 20 homes of tea plantation workers in southern India on Friday, police said. (AP Photo)

Monsoon flood, mudslide kill 15 in India, disaster team sent

Aug. 7, 2020 10:57 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — A mudslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain and flooding killed at least 15 people and buried 20 homes of tea plantation workers in southern India on Friday, police said. Twelve people have been rescued, said police officer Eldhose Madhai, adding that more than 50 people were unaccounted...

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