flooding

Streets and homes flooded in Newport Beach, Calif., during a high tide in July 2020. So-called sunny day floods are getting more common in coastal cities and towns as sea levels rise due to climate change.

Science

There's Not A Cloud In The Sky, But Your House Could Still Be Underwater

1:00pm July 15, 2021

by Rebecca Hersher

Coastal areas are seeing a steady increase in high tide flooding. Scientists warn the problem is accelerating as the Earth gets hotter. And a little wobble in the Moon's orbit isn't helping.

State Sen. Ben Allen has proposed legislation that he thinks will help California deal with the threat of rising seas.

California Has A New Idea For Homes At Risk From Rising Seas: Buy, Rent, Retreat

4:08pm March 30, 2021

by Nathan Rott

Sea level rise is threatening billions in coastal property. A California lawmaker is proposing a novel way to retreat from the threat: buying and renting out properties as long as they're habitable.

A road is flooded near the breached Kaupakalua Dam in the Haiku area of the Hawaiian island of Maui on Monday.

National

Hawaii Flooding Prompts Emergency Declaration, Evacuations And Fears Of Dam Failure

3:49pm March 10, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

Damage from heavy flooding has prompted Hawaii's governor to declare a state of emergency. On hard-hit Maui, floods damaged homes and overtopped a historical dam, forcing residents to evacuate.

Alice Amonde sits on a boat on the village of Nduru Beach, Kenya. She is part of the group of women who have fought against the practice of transactional sex that was part of the fishing business. This photograph was taken in November 2019. This spring, f

Health & Safety

Life Was Improving For 'No Sex For Fish.' Then Came The Flood

2:27pm November 01, 2020

In a Kenyan fishing village along Lake Victoria, women fought the practice of fishermen demanding sex in exchange for a catch of fish to sell. They were making progress. Then came the floods of 2020.

Lachlan Barilleau, 5, enjoys catching insects in his backyard in Central, near Baton Rouge, La.

Science

Living In Harm's Way: Why Most Flood Risk Is Not Disclosed

5:33pm October 20, 2020

by Rebecca Hersher

About 15 million properties in the U.S. are prone to flooding, but patchwork and ineffective disclosure laws mean most people get little to no information about flood risk before they move.

Queue Listen Now

An aerial photo shows the extent of flooding in Guzhen Town of Lu'an City in eastern China's Anhui province on July 20.

Roads Become Rivers: Nearly 4 Million Chinese Evacuated Or Displaced From Flooding

8:00am August 09, 2020

by Emily Feng

With at least 158 dead and thousands of homes collapsed after heavy rains, experts say it's time for China to rethink its water management.

Queue Listen Now

Heavy rain has flooded in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto prefecture in Japan on Saturday.

World News

At Least 15 Feared Dead After Torrential Rains Sweep Through Southern Japan

3:12pm July 04, 2020

by Matthew S. Schwartz

Japanese officials say it's the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the region. More than 200,000 people were asked to evacuate.

Water overruns the Sanford Dam in Michigan on Tuesday. The National Weather Service called the flooding "extremely dangerous" and said it was caused by "catastrophic failures" at two dams.

National

'Catastrophic' Dam Failures In Michigan Force Thousands To Evacuate

11:33am May 20, 2020

by Brakkton Booker

The National Weather Service called the event "extremely dangerous" and said it was caused by "catastrophic failures at the Edenville and Sanford dams," located roughly 140 miles north of Detroit.

Ice flows around a small island in the Mississippi River near Dayton, Minn., on Feb. 13, 2020. Pilots take measurements to try and gauge how much water is in a snowpack.

To Forecast Spring Flooding, NOAA Planes Fly Slow And Low

5:00am March 13, 2020

by Matt Sepic

NOAA's Commissioned Officer Corps pilots fly special planes and use gamma ray detectors and other equipment to measure ice and snow that will eventually melt into streams and rivers.

Queue Listen Now

Jackson, Miss., residents use shovels to work their way through Pearl River floodwaters on Sunday.

National

Hundreds Of Homes Flooded In Mississippi As More Rain Is Expected

2:52pm February 18, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

The Pearl River crested at 36.7 feet in Jackson, Miss. — lower than feared. Flooding also hit parts of Tennessee, where one official said, "It is a chess match we're playing with Mother Nature."