Disasters

"Attack Ravages Power Grid. (Just a Test.)"

"WASHINGTON — In windowless rooms from here to California, nearly 10,000 electrical engineers, cybersecurity specialists, utility executives and F.B.I. agents furiously grappled over 48 hours with an unseen 'enemy' who tried to turn out the lights across America. The enemy injected computer viruses into grid control systems, bombed transformers and substations and knocked out power lines by the dozen."

Source: NY Times, 11/15/2013

Southern KXL Pipe Dents, Sags Show Need For More Tests: Public Citizen

"WASHINGTON -- The Keystone XL pipeline section from the oil transport hub of Cushing, Okla., to the Texas Gulf Coast is plagued by construction problems, code violations and improper inspection and shouldn't be allowed to operate until the government steps up oversight, the watchdog group Public Citizen argued in a report Tuesday."

Source: Huffington Post, 11/15/2013

"Experts: Man, Nature Share Typhoon Tragedy Blame"

"Nature and man together cooked up the disaster in the Philippines. Geography, meteorology, poverty, shoddy construction, a booming population, and, to a much lesser degree, climate change combine to make the Philippines the nation most vulnerable to killer typhoons, according to several scientific studies."

Source: AP, 11/15/2013

No Aid: "Desperate Philippine Typhoon Survivors Loot, Dig Up Water Pipes"

"Desperation gripped Philippine islands devastated by Typhoon Haiyan as looting turned deadly on Wednesday and survivors panicked over shortages of food, water and medicine, some digging up underground water pipes and smashing them open. Five days after one of the strongest storms ever recorded slammed into cities and towns in the central Philippines, anger and frustration boiled over on Wednesday as essential supplies dwindled. Some survivors scrawled signs reading 'Help us'."

Source: Reuters, 11/14/2013

"MAP: Is Your State Ready for Climate Disasters?"

"Whether it's wildfires in the West, drought in the Midwest, or sea level rise on the Eastern seaboard, chances are good your state is in for its own breed of climate-related disasters. Every state is required to file a State Hazard Mitigation Plan with FEMA, which lays out risks for that state and its protocols for handling catastrophe. But as a new analysis from Columbia University's Center for Climate Change Law reveals, many states' plans do not take climate change into account."

Source: Climate Desk, 11/13/2013

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