More flood disasters
Local reports claim thousands dead in the Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian
By Nick Barrickman, 11 September 2019
While the Bahamian government has sought to minimize the scope of the disaster, the Trump administration has blocked refugees from entering the United States.
By Dan Conway, 7 September 2019
Death toll mounts in Bahamas as Hurricane Dorian lingers off Carolina coast
By a reporter, 6 September 2019
The scenes of devastation on Grand Bahama and Abaco islands have astonished observers and drawn comparison to areas levelled by saturation bombing in wartime.
Puerto Rico weathers threat from Hurricane Dorian
By Julio Patron, 29 August 2019
Two years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the island was once again on the brink of another social disaster due to Hurricane Dorian.
Millions displaced and hundreds killed by monsoonal floods in South Asia
By Rohantha De Silva, 31 July 2019
South Asian governments have responded with apathy and indifference toward the poverty-stricken people severely impacted by the floods.
Historic flooding devastates US Midwest
By Genevieve Leigh, 4 June 2019
The Plains and Midwest have seen the most extreme, record-breaking weather in the US so far this year, setting records for cold, snow, flooding, and tornadoes.
005 Arkansas flooding
3 June 2019
Massive flooding in New Orleans as five pumps go offline
By Aaron Murch, 18 May 2019
The breakdown of the city’s pumping system following an evening of heavy rains exposes the continued neglect of infrastructure in a city devastated due to the failure of levees in 2005.
US Gulf Coast still devastated six months after Hurricane Michael
By Matthew Taylor, 20 April 2019
Those left homeless in the aftermath of one of the strongest storms in US history have been forgotten by the media.
Record flooding continues to inundate US Midwest
By Jonas Boquist, 25 March 2019
Record flood levels have been registered at 42 locations across six states and the effects are still being felt across the central US.
Historic humanitarian disaster unfolds in southeast Africa in the wake of Cyclone Idai
By Niles Niemuth, 22 March 2019
The powerful storm has tragically exposed the dire social and economic conditions facing millions in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Madagascar.
Historic flooding across US Midwest leaves thousands homeless, four dead
By Jacob Crosse, 21 March 2019
At least four people have died, thousands remain in emergency shelters or trapped in their homes, and states of emergency have been declared in four states.
Australia: 2,000 homes submerged in Townsville as floodgates open
By Martin Scott, 5 February 2019
Thousands forced to seek emergency accommodation in overcrowded evacuation centres.
Death toll rises from Indonesian tsunami
By Richard Phillips, 27 December 2018
Heavy monsoonal rains have made some roads impassable, holding up the delivery of heavy machinery and desperately needed relief supplies to isolated areas.
Death toll from Hurricane Michael reaches 36 as residents struggle to recover
By Matthew Taylor, 20 October 2018
Thousands are homeless one week after the category four storm made landfall.
Dozens missing in Hurricane Michael as death toll rises
By Patrick Martin, 16 October 2018
President Trump’s visit to the devastated area Monday was a cynical and empty display, under conditions where there will be little federal aid to rebuild the region.
Death toll from Hurricane Michael continues to climb
By Matthew Taylor, 15 October 2018
Hurricane Michael is now considered to be the third most powerful storm to impact the US.
Hurricane Michael brings death, devastation to US Southeast
By Kate Randall, 13 October 2018
Mexico Beach, Florida, known for its pristine beaches, fishing and boating, now resembles a war zone, with 95 percent of its structures uninhabitable.
Hurricane Michael leaves trail of death and destruction in southeastern US
By Daniel de Vries, 12 October 2018
The death toll, which currently stands at six, will almost certainly rise as emergency personnel gain access to more communities laid to waste by the storm.
Indonesia’s earthquake catastrophe
By Tom Peters, 6 October 2018
The disaster has been made immeasurably worse by poverty, social inequality and the refusal of the Indonesian and international ruling elites to ensure the protection of the population.
Impact of Hurricane Florence continues to be felt throughout the Carolinas
By Matthew Taylor, 29 September 2018
Two weeks after Hurricane Florence made landfall, residents throughout the Carolinas continue to suffer from its effects.
As new flooding forces evacuations in South Carolina
Hurricane Florence unleashes coal ash, hog waste pollution
By Ed Hightower, 26 September 2018
The areas around Conway and Georgetown in coastal South Carolina continue to see massive flooding as rivers surge from last week’s record rains.
Tropical Storm Florence inundates toxic manure ponds, coal ash dumps in the Carolinas
By Ed Hightower, 19 September 2018
The storm’s devastating impact demonstrates the immense costs of deregulation on the one hand and the need for socialist planning and public ownership of industry on the other.
Thirty-one dead as Hurricane Florence continues to ravage the Carolinas
By Matthew Taylor, 18 September 2018
Cities cut off from aid, police guarding storefronts against desperate displaced residents, widespread power outages—this scene is now routine during America's Hurricane season.
Typhoon Mangkhut kills dozens in the Philippines, leaves trail of destruction in China and Hong Kong
By Oscar Grenfell, 18 September 2018
As in previous natural disasters, the poor and workers in low-paid precarious industries have been the hardest hit.
Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina
By Patrick Martin, 14 September 2018
A storm surge of as much as 11 feet of water was accompanied by winds approaching 120 miles per hour.
Hurricane Florence exposes disastrous state of US infrastructure
By Tom Hall, 13 September 2018
Trump’s self-congratulation for his response to last year’s devastation of Puerto Rico, even as Carolina residents brace for one of the worst Atlantic storms in history, sums up the callousness and criminality of the American ruling class.
“Monster” Hurricane Florence approaches South Carolina
By Ed Hightower, 13 September 2018
A major regional energy firm warned that up to 75 percent of its 4 million customers in North and South Carolina could lose power during the storm.
India: Kerala residents face ongoing impact of floods
By Arun Kumar, 11 September 2018
Over a million people remain in 2,780 relief camps, with little hope of returning to normal life in the near future.
One of America's deadliest disasters
Puerto Rico raises Hurricane Maria death toll from 64 to 2,975
By Bill Van Auken, 30 August 2018
The estimate of nearly 3,000 deaths attributable to the storm is a searing indictment of the criminal negligence of both the US ruling establishment and the island’s own authorities.
Unprecedented monsoonal floods kill over 370 in southwest India
By Sathish Simon, 20 August 2018
While heavy monsoonal rain is normal at this time of the year, the disastrous levels of flooding in Kerala are unprecedented and not a “natural” event.
A year after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, victims still face long recovery
By Trévon Austin, 16 August 2018
Federal assistance has been slow and ecological issues in Houston make future flooding more likely.
Ellicott City, Maryland hit by major flood, one reported dead
By Matthew Taylor, 1 June 2018
The Baltimore suburb was still recovering from a similar flood two years ago when it was inundated by heavy rains on Sunday.
A social crime and cover-up exposed
Five thousand deaths in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria
By Genevieve Leigh, 31 May 2018
A Harvard study estimating nearly 5,000 deaths of Puerto Ricans in the aftermath of Hurricane María is a damning exposure of the official cover up of death and devastation on the island.
“The government has done nothing”
Months after hurricane, Puerto Rican workers face worsening jobs crisis
By Genevieve Leigh and Zac Corrigan, 28 December 2017
The economic devastation of Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria continues to escalate three months after the storm made landfall in late September.
Typhoon ravages southern Philippines
By John Roberts, 28 December 2017
A significant factor in the deaths and injuries was the failure of the authorities to evacuate people from the most vulnerable areas.
Puerto Rico governor orders review of official hurricane death toll
By Niles Niemuth, 19 December 2017
The review comes amid growing anger on the island and media reports that the true death toll from Hurricane Maria could exceed 1,000.
“The poverty is no longer hidden by the trees”
Hurricane Maria exposes the conditions of life for the working class in Caguas, Puerto Rico
By Genevieve Leigh and Zac Corrigan, 18 December 2017
Workers and youth from Caguas, Puerto Rico, spoke to WSWS reporters about life without power, electricity and running water, nearly 100 days after Hurricane Maria.
Puerto Rican unions propose to partner with the Wall Street’s financial control board
By Rafael Azul, 8 December 2017
With social anger growing against the criminal indifference of the Trump administration and new demands for austerity measures, the trade unions are desperately trying to block the eruption of working-class struggle.
017 Puerto Rico
7 December 2017
Undocumented workers in Houston face hazardous conditions and unpaid wages
By Trévon Austin, 1 December 2017
The wage theft and abysmal working conditions facing undocumented relief workers in Houston is part of the criminality and negligence of the American ruling class’s response to natural disasters.
Over 100 killed after typhoon batters Vietnam
By Kayla Costa, 10 November 2017
Typhoon Damrey, the biggest storm to have hit Vietnam in two decades, led to widespread suffering and the destruction of infrastructure.
Five years after Superstorm Sandy, millions remain vulnerable to future catastrophes
By Philip Guelpa, 1 November 2017
Preparations to protect against the predicted increase in the frequency and scale of future storms are completely inadequate to address the threat.
CVS and Aetna reportedly in talks for $60 billion merger
By Tom Hall, 31 October 2017
The merger between the CVS pharmacy chain and the insurance giant is reportedly in response to Amazon’s imminent entry into the prescription drug business.
060 Sanders in Puerto Rico
28 October 2017
Montana company with ties to Trump cashes in from Puerto Rico disaster
By Rafael Azul, 25 October 2017
Whitefish Energy, a tiny Montana company with virtually no experience in infrastructure repair, has secured a $300 million contract to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s electrical grid.
Puerto Rico power blackout the biggest in US history
By Rafael Azul, 24 October 2017
Some 3 million people are without electricity and there are predictions that some remote parts of the mountainous island will not see power restored until next June.
Weeks after hurricanes in Texas and Florida: Government aid scarce, tens of thousands still displaced
By Tom Hall, 24 October 2017
Residents in both states attempting to piece their lives back together confront indifference and neglect from the federal government.
Estimated death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria rises to 450
By Rafael Azul, 20 October 2017
Amidst a systematic cover-up of the true scale of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, Trump declared yesterday that the response of the US government was a “10.”
Floridians line up for food assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma
By Matthew Taylor, 17 October 2017
Hundreds of thousands of residents affected by Hurricane Irma have lined up at parks, convention centers and parking lots to receive vouchers for emergency food assistance.
Hurricane Ophelia’s tail hits Ireland and UK
By Margot Miller, 17 October 2017
Three lives were reported lost and winds of up to 109 mph left 360,000 homes and businesses without power in the Republic of Ireland.
“Extreme emergency” declared for New Orleans’ drainage system
By J. L'Heureau, 16 October 2017
A series of recent storms which brought heavy rains has pushed the city’s antiquated flood control infrastructure to the breaking point.
President Trump threatens to pull the plug on Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 13 October 2017
In Twitter messages, the president blamed the US territory for its crisis and said that federal disaster relief had to be limited.
Trump, local officials lie about real extent of Puerto Rico disaster
By Rafael Azul, 10 October 2017
Three weeks since the devastating storm hit, there is a concerted campaign by the Trump administration and local government authorities to conceal the full scope of the disaster.
WSWS reader describes ongoing human catastrophe in Puerto Rico
By Tom Hall, 9 October 2017
Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Maria hit the island millions remain without power and the real death toll is still not known.
Puerto Rico continues to languish as tropical storm Nate threatens US Gulf Coast
By Rafael Azul, 7 October 2017
The current hurricane season in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico is proving to be one of the most destructive on record.
Wall Street demands Puerto Rico pay up
By Rafael Azul, 5 October 2017
Budget Director Mulvaney: “Puerto Rico’s going to have to figure out how to fix the errors that it has made for the last generation on its own finances.”
Trump’s photo-op in Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 4 October 2017
Trump, who is proposing the largest tax cut for corporations and the rich in history, complained that the recovery effort was costing too much.
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey flooding
“Chemical coast” residents to be tested for toxic exposures in Houston, Texas
By Gary Joad, 4 October 2017
Houston area residents are being tested for petrochemical and Superfund toxic poisoning in the wake of recent severe Hurricane Harvey flooding.
Trump visits Puerto Rico as anger grows over government response
By Rafael Azul, 3 October 2017
In contrast to the indifference of the Trump administration, people across the United States are volunteering to help residents of the hurricane-ravaged island.
Puerto Rico faces health catastrophe as Trump tweets “We have done a great job”
By Andrea Lobo, 2 October 2017
Almost two weeks after Hurricane Maria laid waste to much of Puerto Rico, many towns are still cut off from all relief efforts.
New York City workers collecting aid express anger at Trump’s response to Puerto Rico disaster
By a WSWS reporting team, 2 October 2017
Working people at a South Bronx event to collect aid for people in the US territory spoke to the WSWS about their anger over the Trump administration’s lack of response to the devastation of Hurricane Maria, which struck nearly two weeks ago.
Trump to Puerto Rico: Your lives don’t matter
By Eric London, 30 September 2017
The Trump administration’s callous and incompetent response to the social disaster in Puerto Rico expresses the worldview of a financial oligarchy that sees the lives of working people as expendable.
As popular anger builds, US sends military to Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 29 September 2017
The purpose of the military occupation is to contain the masses and to protect the profit interests of banks and corporations.
Puerto Rican people still without aid a week after Hurricane Maria
By Rafael Azul, 28 September 2017
Puerto Rico is already under a 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. Increasingly, the question raised is whether the island will be placed under martial law.
Trump to devastated Puerto Rico: Wall Street must be paid!
By Bill Van Auken, 27 September 2017
The brutal and ignorant tweet from the US president expresses the real attitude of America’s ruling oligarchy toward a population of 3.5 million confronting a humanitarian catastrophe.
UK government moves to prop up super-rich tax haven operations in British Virgin Islands
By Jean Shaoul and Robert Stevens, 27 September 2017
The BVI is known as a tourist location, but the island’s raison d’être for the ruling elite in Britain and globally is as a site for financial swindling on a vast scale.
Puerto Rico confronts the devastation wrought by hurricanes and Wall Street
By Rafael Azul, 25 September 2017
Puerto Rico is reeling not only from the catastrophic effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria, but from the predatory ravages of Wall Street.
Puerto Rico devastated by Hurricane Maria
By Rafael Azul, 22 September 2017
As in Texas and Florida, the human suffering caused by the hurricane was exacerbated by the absence of any serious evacuation plan and the lack of public resources.
Hurricane Maria devastates Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 21 September 2017
The suffering caused by the hurricane was made worse by the absence of any serious official evacuation plan and the lack of resources due to the financial plundering of the US territory
Catastrophic Hurricane María heads for Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 20 September 2017
The Category Five storm is the largest to hit the island territory in nearly 90 years.
“You can't depend on our government anymore to help”
Watch: Hurricane Harvey victims applying for federal aid encounter government indifference
By Tom Hall and Charles Abelard reporting from Houston, 18 September 2017
WSWS reporters spoke to people leaving a FEMA assistance center in Houston, where the government is making local residents shoulder the costs of the recovery.
Two million in Florida still without power nearly a week after Hurricane Irma
By Trévon Austin, 16 September 2017
In Highlands County in south Florida, an area with a 19.4 percent poverty rate, nearly three-quarters of residents were still without power Friday.
Jacksonville area staggered by flooding, power outages from Hurricane Irma
By Matthew Taylor, 15 September 2017
The storm knocked out power for 60 percent of the city, some 288,000 homes, according to the Jacksonville Electrical Authority, the utility company that provides power for the region.
A social crime: Eight elderly dead in Florida nursing home after days without air conditioning
By Niles Niemuth, 14 September 2017
Police evacuated 115 remaining residents from a nursing home north of Miami after they spent days in suffocating heat after the power was knocked out by Hurricane Irma.
Evacuees, volunteers describe inadequate services, police harassment at Houston convention center
By Tom Hall reporting from Houston, 14 September 2017
Houston’s business community is eager to move evacuees out of the city’s convention centers as quickly as possible in order to resume their lucrative tourist operations.
After Irma, Wall Street pushes for austerity and privatization in Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 14 September 2017
Hurricane Irma came in as a godsend to the hedge fund managers who want to privatize the island’s public electric company.
From hurricanes to tax cuts: The ruling class gets down to business
By Joseph Kishore, 13 September 2017
Even as the destruction caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma is still being tallied, the US political establishment is moving rapidly to push through a massive handout for the corporate and financial elite.
Officials estimate one quarter of homes in Florida Keys destroyed by Hurricane Irma
By Niles Niemuth, 13 September 2017
Millions remained without power across Florida and Georgia on Tuesday as officials surveyed the damage in the Florida Keys in Irma's aftermath.
South Asian floods: Death toll climbs to 1,300
By Arun Kumar, 13 September 2017
Despite countless warnings, India’s government and state administrations were totally unprepared for the floods.
Thirteen million without power, seven dead after Hurricane Irma wreaks havoc in Florida
By Niles Niemuth, 12 September 2017
Some areas of the state are expected to be without power for weeks, as significant sections of the state’s power infrastructure will have to be rebuilt.
Petrochemical giants dumped deadly carcinogens during Hurricane Harvey
By Gary Joad, 12 September 2017
As Hurricane Harvey bore down on Texas, scores of plants owned by ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and other corporations released deadly toxins into the atmosphere.
Millions face devastation from Hurricane Irma in southwest Florida, Tampa metro area
By Patrick Martin, 11 September 2017
The destruction accompanying the huge storm is not merely a natural disaster, but a measure of the crisis of American society.
Caribbean islands devastated by storm surge, winds, rain
By our reporter, 11 September 2017
The worst impact of Hurricane Irma was in Lesser Antilles and the US and British Virgin Islands.
Why was American capitalism unable to prepare for Hurricane Irma?
By Niles Niemuth, 11 September 2017
As Hurricane Irma wreaks havoc on Florida, the failure to adequately prepare for the storm and protect those in its path has exposed the irrationality of American capitalism.
Hurricanes Irma and Harvey: Natural disaster and political breakdown
By Patrick Martin, 9 September 2017
In its response to Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma and other natural disasters, American capitalism has demonstrated its bankruptcy as a social system.
Why aren’t trains evacuating people from the path of Hurricane Irma?
By Jeff Lusanne, 9 September 2017
Hundreds of thousands need to flee the path of Hurricane Irma. Instead of fleets of trains carrying them away, residents are left to fend for themselves in their own cars on congested roads.
Hurricane Irma heads towards Florida after tearing through the Caribbean
By Matthew Taylor, 8 September 2017
Florida residents are bracing for Hurricane Irma, which has already killed at least 14 people and left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean.
Miles of devastation along Braes Bayou in Houston
A Hurricane Harvey diary: Part 3
By Charles Abelard, 7 September 2017
A reader who has lived in Houston for four decades surveys some of the damage left behind by unprecedented flood waters along the Braes Bayou.
Long-term threats to public health follow in Hurricane Harvey’s wake
By Gary Joad, 7 September 2017
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina points to the long-term threats to public health which will follow in Hurricane Harvey’s wake in the greater Houston area and throughout southeast Texas.
020 Houston interviews
6 September 2017
Civil engineers’ reports on US flood preparedness: Lessons of Katrina and Sandy ignored
By Don Barrett, 6 September 2017
The two reports portray a system in complete chaos, with dozens of local and federal agencies struggling even to maintain levees and pumping stations.
Media and political establishment begin to move on as Houston residents return to devastated city
By Tom Hall, 5 September 2017
As the floodwaters begin to recede, the ruling class is moving to bury the social disaster that has only begun to unfold in Southeast Texas.
Hurricane Harvey to be costliest US natural disaster
By Patrick Martin, 4 September 2017
With published estimates approaching $200 billion, Hurricane Harvey may have caused damage greater than Katrina and Sandy combined.
“The working class has organized to save the working class”
A Hurricane Harvey diary: Part 2
By Charles Abelard, 4 September 2017
A reader who has lived in Houston for four decades describes the impact of the storm, the rescue efforts organized by workers and runaway real estate development that has left the city vulnerable to flooding.
Fetid floodwaters in the “chemical coast” carry toxins and disease
The incalculable human health consequences of Hurricane Harvey
By Gary Joad, 2 September 2017
The flooding in Houston, the acknowledged petrochemical capital of the world, has unleashed a toxic soup of chemicals, carcinogens and bacteria, posing a grave threat to human life.
A Hurricane Harvey diary
Part one
By Charles Abelard, 2 September 2017
The author is a member of the Socialist Equality Party who lived in Houston proper for 38 years and still lives in the area.
Who will pay for the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey?
By Joseph Kishore, 2 September 2017
The consequences of what by some measures is the greatest natural disaster in American history will be far-reaching, not only for the millions of people directly affected, but for social and political stability in the United States .
Death toll expected to rise as chemical explosions add to devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey
By Niles Niemuth, 1 September 2017
Officials at every level of government continue to congratulate themselves on their response to the storm, while the endless media commentary avoids any discussion of those responsible for the disaster.
008 Harvey sidebar
1 September 2017
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