Weather

National

Idalia is a hurricane ahead of hitting Florida's Gulf Coast

6:07pm August 28, 2023

by Debbie Elliott

The tropical system is expected to strengthen into a "major" category 3 hurricane before coming ashore on Florida's Gulf Coast. Residents in some areas are being told to evacuate.

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Gas is pumped into a vehicle at a gas station in Miami, Florida in January. Officials are warning of a "potentially widespread" fuel contamination in the state, which could hamper evacuations from Tropical Storm Idalia.

National

Tropical Storm Idalia: Cars may stop working mid-evacuation due to fuel contamination

9:39am August 28, 2023

by Emily Olson

Florida officials reported "potentially widespread" diesel contamination in gasoline in the Tampa area Saturday, raising alarm that car engines and power generators could break as the storm nears.

A graphic from the National Hurricane Center shows a projected path of Tropical Storm Idalia.

National

Tropical Storm Idalia could reach hurricane strength before hitting Florida this week

9:30pm August 27, 2023

by Joe Hernandez

Forecasters say the storm is expected to intensify as it moves north over the Gulf of Mexico, but it's still unclear how strong it will be and what path it will take.

Activist Kekai Keahi says Native Hawaiian trauma over losing land goes back generations to when the U.S. overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Lahaina was expensive before the fire. Some worry rebuilding will price them out

5:00am August 26, 2023

by Jennifer Ludden

Since the fire residents have gotten multiple calls from realtors offering to buy their land. Activists want a role in planning, to keep developers from pushing out those who call Lahaina home.

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Ancient cave art along China's silk road is damaged in harsh rains

5:51pm August 24, 2023

by Emily Feng

Flash floods and years of unusual rainfall — likely linked to climate change — are degrading ancient cave art along China's historic silk road at a rapid pace.

The fire that devastated historic Lahaina in western Maui left a red-roofed house relatively unscathed. Its owner says he wants to open the house to the neighborhood to help the rebuilding process.

National

'Miracle house' owner hopes it will serve as a base for rebuilding Lahaina

5:00am August 24, 2023

by Bill Chappell

"There was a neighbor who sent a note to us and said, 'Oh, you won the lottery,'" Trip Millikin, whose house survived, told NPR. "And I almost wanted to throw up when I got that."

Tropical storm Hilary helps take California out of drought conditions, for now

4:36pm August 23, 2023

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with climate scientist Alex Hall about the temporary relief tropical hurricane Hilary has offered the drought in California.

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In this photo released by Rescue 1122 Emergency Department, rescue workers help a villager as he and others are being evacuate from a flooded area of Bahawalnagar district in Pakistan's Punjab province on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023.

World News

More than 100,000 people have been evacuated over 3 weeks from flooding in Pakistan

12:27pm August 23, 2023

Pakistani authorities are still struggling to overcome the damage caused by massive floods last summer that affected 33 million people and killed 1,739.

Five-year-old cousins Layla and Mila Cabanilla Okano are among the many children staying with members of their extended family at one property on Maui in the wake of the wildfires.

After the fires on Maui, one home shelters 87 people

5:00am August 23, 2023

Those displaced by the fires have found temporary quarters in hotels and with family and friends. One host opened their home to 87 evacuees, most of them from one extended family.

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Canada is in the midst of an unprecedented wildfire season, intensified by climate change. Firefighters came from all over the world to help, like this team from France, on the fire line north of Chibugamau, Quebec, in June.

Science

Some of Canada's wildfires likely made worse by human-driven climate change

5:51pm August 22, 2023

by Alejandra Borunda

Climate change intensified eastern Canada's hot, dry, windy weather this summer. That made Quebec's enormous burns about twice as likely, according to a new study.