Links

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/breathing-fire-wildfire-smoke-smaller-newborns-more-er-visits-21917
Aug. 21, 2018
Climate change is advancing. Snowpack is decreasing, and summers are hotter and drier. A century’s worth of fire suppression is leaving forests overloaded with fuel. All of that is creating the conditions for wildfires to spread quickly and widely and burn huge trees along with the underbrush. Fire seasons are now 105 days longer in the western U.S. than they were in the 1970s. And longer wildfire seasons means more smoke pouring into cities and towns.
So even while air quality has generally been improving across the U.S. since the passage of the Clean Air Act, air quality is getting worse in large swathes of the West during fire season. That is a major threat to public health, because air pollution aggravates conditions like asthma and emphysema, and it can also harm those who were previously healthy.
People with lung conditions are more likely to refill their prescriptions, go to the doctor, and be hospitalized during wildfire smoke events. Researchers with the EPA say that, between hospital admissions, emergency room visits, and premature deaths, wildfire smoke exposure costs the U.S. between $11 billion and $20 billion per year.
People with pre-existing conditions aren’t the only ones who are affected. Children are also vulnerable because their lungs are developing. Low-income people are at risk as well, in part because they’re less likely to have well-sealed homes and air conditioning.
When pregnant mothers are exposed to wildfire smoke, there’s a “small but significant decline in birth weight,” says Colleen Reid, a geography professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder who researches the public health effects of wildfire smoke.


https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/global-warming-impacts/floods#.W3y0sLiQw2w
2018
Floods in inland areas are the most common type of natural disaster in the United States, and one of the most harmful to people and property. In 2017 alone 25 people lost their lives trapped in floods, and more than 3 billion dollars were lost in property damages and ruined crops.
Global warming is shifting rainfall patterns, making heavy rain more frequent in many areas of the country. With human alteration of the land—like the engineering of rivers, the destruction of natural protective systems, and increased construction on floodplains—many parts of the United States are at greater risk of experiencing destructive and costly floods.   


https://www.cnet.com/news/how-microsoft-spotted-another-russian-hacking-attempt/
Aug. 21, 2018
Microsoft said Monday that it had identified yet another attempt to hack political organizations, and that the attack came from what it suspects is a group of professional hackers working for the Russian government. The tech giant spotted and neutralized websites that were attempting to impersonate the sites of conservative think tanks.
If this all sounds familiar, that's because Microsoft recently stopped similar attempts to collect login information from staffers of Democrats running for office, including someone working for Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill. It's all part of what US intelligence officials and cybersecurity experts say is an ongoing attempt to influence US elections by hacking politicians and sparking discord online.


https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin/articles/2018-08-21/heavy-rain-floods-madison-area-1-man-missing
Aug. 21, 2018
Searchers on Tuesday recovered the body of a man who was wrenched away from would-be rescuers during flash flooding that forced evacuations around Wisconsin's capital city and cut power to many homes.
More than 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain fell overnight in places in or around Madison, according to the National Weather Service. The worst of the weather seemed to have passed by midday Tuesday, with the forecast calling for dry conditions Tuesday night and sunshine on Wednesday and Thursday.


https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/20/europe/italy-flooding-intl/index.html
Aug. 21, 2018
At least 10 people died Monday in flooding caused by heavy rain in the southern Italian region of Calabria, a spokesman for the Italian Civil Protection told CNN.


https://wgntv.com/2018/08/21/beach-hazard-warning-on-heels-of-storms-flooding/
Aug. 21, 2018
Monday’s storms and heavy rain created problems in the Chicago area.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2018/08/21/heavy-afternoon-rain-floods-roadways-across-the-washington-area/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2a89282af5ff
Aug. 21, 2018
Storms swept through the Washington region yet again ahead of the evening commute, forcing several roads to close because of floods.
As much as an inch and a half of rain fell inside the Beltway on Tuesday afternoon, with heavier pockets dumping up to three inches of water along Interstate 66, around Centreville and Clinton, according to The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.


https://www.postguam.com/news/local/governor-activates-guam-national-guard-in-response-to-flooding/article_70ad45e8-a501-11e8-9ea6-4f6470cd6baf.html
Aug. 21, 2018
Governor activates Guam National Guard in response to flooding


https://www.ksl.com/article/46379121/storms-cause-flooding-threats-of-flooding-in-central-and-southern-utah
Storms throughout central and southern Utah are causing flooding and flash flood warnings for roads and recreation areas Tuesday afternoon.
Utah Emergency Management officials tweeted that flash flooding was likely for many parts of southern and central Utah Tuesday.


A lot of floods going on around the world.
http://floodlist.com/
https://watchers.news/category/floods/