US disaster-response force stretched thin as hurricane season starts

FILE PHOTO: Representatives from FEMA speak with a resident of the Staten Island borough neighborhood of New Dorp Beach about registering with the agency for financial assistance to help recover from the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy in New York, NY, U.S., November 15, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo As Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida last September, the top U.S. disaster-response official ordered all hands on deck.

Trump says Coast Guard rescued people who ‘went out in their boats to watch’ Harvey

President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that a main reason the US Coast Guard was so busy rescuing people during Hurricane Harvey was that people were watching the storm on boats. The Coast Guard "saved 16,000 people, many of them in Texas, for whatever reason that is," Trump said during a visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters for a briefing on hurricane season.

Texas ‘hero’ eyes Harvey’s devastation, awaits new hurricane season

Zachary Dearing, who became a local hero for being an impromptu leader of an evacuation center during Hurricane Harvey last year, speaks dur ROCKPORT, Texas - Destroyed houses still dot Zachary Dearing's neighborhood in the Texas coastal city of Rockport, a reminder of last year's devastation from Hurricane Harvey and a warning about what could lie ahead for such communities in the new hurricane season. Dearing, a 30-year-old harbor worker and aspiring screenwriter, was trapped in a local storm shelter during Harvey last August and was later hailed as a hero for leading care for about 120 people.

Cajun Navy leader arrested on contractor fraud charge

CORRECTS SOURCE TO EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE INSTEAD OF LOUISIANA CORRECTIONS- This photo provided by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office shows Jon Bridgers. Bridgers, who founded Cajun Navy 2016, a volunteer flotilla renowned for responding to natural disasters, has been arrested on a charge he defrauded a customer who hired him to rebuild a home.

Ex-lobbyist helped plan scuttled Pruitt trip to Australia, emails show

A Washington consultant who has lobbied for foreign governments in the past helped the Environmental Protection Agency prepare for a trip that administrator Scott Pruitt and his staff were to take last year, according to emails obtained by the Sierra Club and subsequently CBS News. According to those internal EPA emails, first reported by the New York Times , Matthew Freedman, the CEO of the firm Global Impact, Inc., was closely involved in the details of planning the trip, in which Pruitt was supposed to meet with Australian officials about environmental issues.

Coal Ash Ponds Put our Waterways at Risk

Toxic ponds filled with billions of gallons of waste from coal plants across the United States pose a threat to hundreds of rivers and lakes, and millions of Americans who live near them. As the public comment period closes on the Trump administration's proposal to weaken current rules protecting waterways, Accidents Waiting to Happen: Coal Ash Ponds Put Our Waterways at Risk , a new report from Environment America Research & Policy Center, U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group, documents the toxic pollution threats from these poorly-regulated waste pits.

Hurricane Harvey recovery funds may prioritize wealthy, advocates say

Advocacy groups said Friday that Texas is poised to unfairly distribute billions in federal funding provided for housing repairs following Hurricane Harvey's devastation - prioritizing wealthy homeowners over poorer victims in ways that could constitute racial discrimination. At issue is a draft state rebuilding plan that says homeowners may only be eligible for federal assistance, regardless of income, if they suffered $8,000 in property damages.

Houston Agency Proposes New Floodpl…

In response to the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey , Houston's Department of Public Works has proposed that new structures in the 100-year and 500-year floodplains be built two feet above the levels of the 500-year floodplains. The report that led to this conclusion , released in March, indicated that current floodplain regulations, which require that structures be one foot above the 100-year flood elevation, weren't effective.

FEMA specialists to help hurricane victims

As Texans repair, build or rebuild their homes after Hurricane Harvey, home improvement stores and FEMA mitigation specialists are teaming up to provide free information, tips and literature on making homes stronger and safer. FEMA mitigation specialists will answer questions and offer tips and techniques to build hazard-resistant homes using proven methods that will prevent or reduce damage from future disasters.

Texas Senate race officially begins

Senator Ted Cruz officially announced his re-election campaign Monday, using a new "Tough as Texas" slogan, championing the efforts of Texans in response to Hurricane Harvey. Cruz now embarks on a three-day, 12-city campaign throughout Texas.

7 months after Harvey, flood-control projects’ fate unclear

Construction workers help excavate and widen Brays Bayou as part of a nearly $500 million flood control project Thursday, March 22, 2018, in Houston. The project, which will widen 21 miles of the bayou and build stormwater detention basins, has proceeded in fits and starts for more than 20 years due to inconsistent funding.

Army Corps predicted flooding lawsuits, chose not to act

In this Aug. 29, 2017, file photo, water from Addicks Reservoir flows into neighborhoods as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise in Houston. An analysis more than two decades ago by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that homeowners near two reservoirs in Houston might sue the Corps if they were flooded, as they were in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, but had little likelihood of success.