Hurricane Harvey

Museum curator Teddy Reeves demonstrates a method of salvaging damaged photos at a workshop in Beaumont, Texas.

'All Is Not Lost': These Experts Help Save Hurricane-Soaked Heirlooms

3:01am October 29, 2017

by Allison Lee

Hurricane victims can replace chairs, cars, even homes. But they can't replace family photos or VHS tapes of grandma. So the Smithsonian and FEMA have dispatched a "heritage task force" to Texas.

Queue Listen Now

Yuli Gurriel will be suspended for five games in the 2018 season, and will receive sensitivity training in the off-season.

Sports

Astros' Yuli Gurriel Suspended For Racist Gesture — But Not Until After World Series

7:45pm October 28, 2017

by Maggie Penman

The Astros' first baseman Yu Gurriel will sit out five games next season without pay, and undergo sensitivity training. But the MLB stopped short of excluding him from the rest of the World Series.

Lindsay Cristides, a master's student in oceanography at Texas A&M University, anchors a research vessel in the Houston Ship Channel before taking samples of sediment left behind by Hurricane Harvey floods. The samples will be tested for contaminants incl

Digging In The Mud To See What Toxic Substances Were Spread By Hurricane Harvey

2:56pm October 23, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

Hurricane Harvey dumped 50 inches of rain on parts of Houston. Scientists are now trying to identify contaminants spread by the storm, including those in mud at the bottom of the Houston Ship Channel.

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Filled to the brim by Hurricane Harvey's rainwaters, the Addicks and Barker reservoirs are finally empty once again. In this photo from Sept. 1, days after the hurricane first made landfall, a family looks at floodwaters in the Addicks Reservoir from a cl

National

Houston Reservoirs Have Finally Discharged All Of Hurricane Harvey's Floodwater

2:29pm October 18, 2017

by Bill Chappell

In late August, Hurricane Harvey brought record rainfall to Houston. In mid-October, the city's two large federal reservoirs are finally back to empty.

This satellite image taken Friday shows Ophelia churning a path across the Atlantic Ocean, heading northeastward.

World News

Already A Historic Storm, Weakening Ophelia Draws A Bead On British Isles

11:41pm October 15, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Now a post-tropical cyclone, it is expected to bring hurricane-force winds to Ireland on Monday. As a Category 3 on Saturday, Ophelia tracked farther east in the Atlantic than any hurricane on record.

Flooded houses near Lake Houston on Aug. 30, after the storm called Harvey swept through. Sociologist Clare Cooper Marcus says our homes hold our emotional history — our memories, our hopes, our dreams and pain. In some ways our homes are who we are.

Flee A Cataclysm, Or Cling To A Doomed Home? Why People Stay May Surprise You

7:00am September 30, 2017

by Rebecca Davis

"You must leave now," thousands of Americans from Puerto Rico to Oregon to Florida, Montana, Texas and beyond were told, as floods, fire and wind threatened their lives. Some said no.

Patrick Bayou, pictured on Sept. 2, flooded when Hurricane Harvey slammed the Houston area. The bayou is a Superfund toxic waste site. A March cleanup report for the site did not include preparations for more severe flood events as a result of climate cha

An Absent EPA Climate Report, And A Tale Of Two Flooded Superfund Sites

7:12pm September 29, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

A 2014 EPA climate report warned that Superfund site cleanup and monitoring processes needed updates to prepare for more severe floods. That report is no longer located on the current agency website.

Bill Pennington in front of his Houston home, which has flooded every year for the past three years.

Episode 797: Flood Money

6:38pm September 29, 2017

Bill Pennington's house floods a lot: Three times in the last three years. And every time his house floods, the government pays to help him repair the damage. Is something wrong here?

Clockwise from top left: Flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Texas. A victim of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Rescuers search for survivors after the earthquake in Mexico. Monsoon flooding in India.

What The Pileup Of U.S. Disasters Means For The World

3:57pm September 29, 2017

by Nurith Aizenman

Fundraising shortfalls. Staff operating at full tilt. How this epic season of hurricanes in the U.S. is complicating the response to global crises.

Wily Williams, Beyoncé and J. Balvin teamed up for a remix of "Mi Gente."

Music & Culture

Beyoncé Joins J. Balvin And Willy William For 'Mi Gente' Remix

11:09pm September 28, 2017

by Otis Hart

Queen Bey is donating proceeds from the song to relief efforts in Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.