Natural disasters

Texas’ power outage is not just a wake-up call for the state. It also points to the vulnerabilities of the U.S. power grid.

Nearly half of the continental U.S. is in a drought that’s forecast to grow more severe and persistent, NOAA researchers announced on Thursday.

Climate disasters across the country have sparked concern about the safety of homes.

President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Houston, Texas, on Friday, after a deadly winter storm struck the state last week.

While the IRS had said it has no plans to extend the standard April 15 filing deadline, taxpayers in declared disaster areas will get a reprieve.

As power resumes for most of Texas, some households now face utility bills as high as $10,000.

“It would have been three miserable days without the truck,” Jerry Hall, 73, of Kerrville, Texas, said in a phone interview.

President Joe Biden plans to visit Texas next week as millions of residents there continue struggling with power outages after a major winter storm.

Sen. Ted Cruz went on vacation to Cancun, Mexico, as people in Texas dealt with electrical power outages and very cold weather.

Extreme winter weather in the South and resulting power outages increase demand for generators, Generac CEO Aaron Jagdfeld said.

This year’s first major snowstorm has left cities buried in snow.

Extreme rainfall fueled by climate change has caused nearly $75 billion in flood damage in the U.S. in the past three decades, a new study shows.

The six costliest disasters of 2020 occurred in the U.S., topped by Hurricane Laura’s devastation, which caused $13 billion in damage after hitting Louisiana.

U.S. experts have calculated the riskiest and safest counties in the country for disasters, and Los Angeles is on the shakiest ground