Church insurance: How a perfect storm sent rates skyrocketing in the US
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports that the same factors that have caused a crisis in the homeowner’s insurance market in the US are also affecting churches, who have to choose between paying for insurance or running programs…
Haiti: Rampaging gangs leave country at risk as hurricane season starts
JOSEPH GUYLER DELVA and ANATASIA MOLONEY, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report that with gangs running amok, politics in limbo and food scarce, Haiti is ill-prepared for “extraordinary” hurricane season…
UN agency appeals for aid to help Haiti weather hurricane season
Reuters UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, appealed on Friday for international aid to help prepare violence-plagued Haiti for a dangerous Atlantic hurricane season that could be deadly for the island’s many displaced people. The hurricane season that traditionally begins in June and runs through November is forecast to be severe this year. A gang-fuelled crisis […]
Heat, hurricanes and blackouts: Cubans brace for long summer after scorching May
Havana, Cuba Reuters If May is any indication, Cuba is in for a long, hot summer, says Havana horse and buggy driver Osmel Valdes. The 52-year-old Havana resident runs a transport service through the Cuban capital’s sweltering streets. Shade is hard to come by so he lays a piece of scrap cardboard atop his horse […]
Wow! In Puerto Rico, solar power microgrids boost hurricane resilience
ANASTASIA MOLONEY, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, looks at how, as Puerto Rico seeks to improve power grid wiped out by hurricanes Maria and Fiona, solar microgrids will help keep the lights on…
Hurricane Fiona makes landfall on Puerto Rico, knocking out power to island
San Juan, Puerto Rico Reuters Most of the island of Puerto Rico was without power on Sunday as Hurricane Fiona made landfall, causing severe flooding and landslides before barreling toward the Dominican Republic, a government agency said. The center of the storm made landfall on the south-western coast of Puerto Rico near Punta Tocon at […]
Climate-fuelled disasters bring “grave” costs across the globe in 2021
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Thomson Reuters Foundation From deadly Hurricane Ida in the United States to devastating floods in China and Europe, climate change-fuelled disasters have cost the world tens of billions of dollars in 2021, with both the poor and the rich hit hard, researchers said this week. Floods, storms and drought also killed and […]
Miami building collapse puts spotlight on climate change risks
New York, US Thomson Reuters Foundation Concerns that rising sea levels and extreme weather may have played a role in the collapse of a 12-story apartment tower near Miami Beach last month could have far-reaching consequences for other coastal cities and buildings around the world. With investigations ongoing, it is too early to say what […]
More cyclones than usual forecast for east Asia by September
Singapore Reuters Half of the roughly 20 tropical cyclones expected to form in the western Pacific Ocean through September this year are predicted to hit land in east Asian nations, forecasters said on Friday, making for a season that is busier than usual. Tropical cyclones, also known as typhoons and hurricanes, can pack wind speeds […]
“Perfect storm”: Haiti COVID-19 peak set to collide with hurricanes
ANASTASIA MOLONEY, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on the crisis facing the Caribbean island nation…