Japan issues a tsunami advisory for remote islands south of Tokyo after a strong earthquake.

Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan issues a tsunami advisory for remote islands south of Tokyo after a strong earthquake.

Latest stories

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘they’ control the weather after Hurricane Helene kills 215 in the US

    At least 33 people are dead in Georgia due to the second-deadliest hurricane in US history

  • About 100 rescued elephants escape flash floods at popular sanctuary in northern Thailand, two killed in evacuation

    Flash floods swept through a popular elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand on Thursday, killing two elephants and forcing the evacuation of about 100 more alongside dozens of tourists, amid urgent pleas for help.

  • Taiwan cleans up after Typhoon Krathon batters south

    Workers removed felled trees and swept up shattered glass in southern Taiwan on Friday as Typhoon Krathon was downgraded to a tropical depression after killing two people and injuring hundreds more.Across the island, two people were killed, one was missing and nearly 700 were reported injured, with more than 70,000 homes still without power as of Friday afternoon.

  • About 100 rescued elephants escape flash floods at popular sanctuary in northern Thailand

    Flash floods swept through a popular elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand on Thursday, forcing the evacuation of about 100 elephants and trapping dozens of tourists, amid urgent pleas for help.

  • Thai animal rights group defends zoo against PETA’s Moo Deng abuse claims

    The Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TSPCA) is defending Khao Kheow Open Zoo against the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) accusation of animal abuse against Moo Deng, an internet-famous baby pygmy hippo. In multiple Facebook posts, PETA alleged that the zoo based in Chonburi province has been exploiting the 2-month-old female hippo for entertainment and profit. What PETA is saying: In a Sept. 20 post, PETA Asia published a statement from its senior vice president, Jason Baker, who condemned Moo Deng’s captivity and called on zoos to prioritize conservation efforts that protect animals in nature.

  • My wife and I lost our multimillion-dollar home in a landslide — but the bank still chases us for our mortgage

    They want us to keep paying $6,950 a month. Don’t we get forgiveness if our home is destroyed?

  • Thousands of uninsured homes were in Helene’s path

    In Buncombe County, N.C., where an entire town disappeared beneath floodwaters, less than 1 percent of households had flood insurance. In Unicoi County, Tenn., where dozens of residents were stranded atop a hospital roof as waters rose, it was under 2 percent. On average, just a tiny fraction of households in the inland counties hit hardest by Hurricane Helene and its remnants had flood insurance, according to a Washington Post analysis of recent data from the National Flood Insurance Program. A

  • After Helene: in North Carolina, most find they're uninsured

    STORY: Few of the North Carolina victims of Hurricane Helene will have help from federal insurance to rebuild.A Reuters analysis of government data shows only around 1 in 200 people in the state’s flood-stricken west are covered by the National Flood Insurance Program.That’s a far lower rate than the coastal or riverside areas it’s meant to serve.The Brosseaus, living near Asheville, weren’t among the insured."It came up to here. I'm surprised it didn't come through the windows. I mean it was pretty close, and the water was coming up from that way, which nobody would have expected that."Pamela Brousseau and her husband were beginning a long clean-up job on Thursday."I cried. I still cry. You walk into a place that you know what it looks like and then it's not there. It's pretty hard, but thankful that we had, you know, ourselves here to take care of things, to assess it, and I don't know, it was pretty hard."When they first moved in, the two were required to have flood insurance. But after three years, Libre, Pamela’s husband, said the flood maps were redrawn and their home was no longer required to have it.“…we were no longer included in the flood plain, the 100-year flood plain. There was mention of a thousand-year flood plain. But at any rate, the requirement of the bank was no longer mandatory to have the flood insurance. We're not wealthy people, so we opted out of that coverage."The insurance wasn't required because the federal program is mostly focused on the flood risks posed by rising seas and swelling rivers.It doesn’t anticipate the threat posed by the sort of extreme rainfall brought on by Helene.Asheville is the largest city in the area.It had actually gotten a reputation as a climate refuge in recent years – with people moving there from storm-prone areas.The federal government even moved its national data center for environment records there.And private insurance companies see the area as relatively safe. The industry asked state regulators earlier this year to approve a 99% rate increase for coastal areas, but only asked for a 4% hike for some of the mountain counties that Helene went on to hit.Yet as the storm approached, insurance was very much on the Brosseaus’ minds. "Yeah, it is. It was probably one of the first things we discussed as the storm was coming. Like holy crap. But if it's $600 a month and you have a mortgage on top of that, it's just really hard to do.”Heavy rainfall events like Helene are likely to be even more damaging with climate change, since warmer air can hold more moisture.According to the Environmental Protection Agency, since 1900 precipitation in the U.S. has increased as temperatures rise, and rain and snow are increasingly falling in intense bursts.

  • Weather: Hurricane Kirk remnants to batter UK with heavy gales, rain and snow

    Thundery showers have been forecast for London with snow set to fall in other parts of the UK

  • Cities across Taiwan deal with aftermath of heavy rain from Typhoon Krathon

    Trees were brought down by high winds and roads were flooded in Kaohsiung, prompting the closure of schools and businesses, while a landslide in Keelung City triggered a large emergency service response. (AP video shot by Johnson Lai)

  • Solar power companies are growing fast in Africa, where 600 million still lack electricity

    Companies that bring solar power to some of the poorest homes in Central and West Africa are said to be among the fastest growing on a continent whose governments have long struggled to address some of the world's worst infrastructure and the complications of climate change. The often African-owned companies operate in areas where the vast majority of people live disconnected from the electricity grid, and offer products ranging from solar-powered lamps that allow children to study at night to elaborate home systems that power kitchen appliances and plasma televisions. Central and West Africa have some of the world’s lowest electrification rates.

  • Deep Floodwater Swamps Streets in North Thailand

    Crews worked to transport residents and tourists affected by flooding in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Friday, October 4, as the Ping River continued to rise, according to the Chiang Mai Municipality.Water levels in parts of the Ping River reached critical levels in a rainy Chiang Mai province, according to local reports, citing Thailand’s Department of Water Resources.This footage by X user @Talatletle shows high floodwater in Chiang Mai.Water levels in the city were expected to peak at 5.2 meters (roughly 17 feet) on Friday, according to the Chiang Mai Municipality.There were no injuries or deaths reported due to the floods at the time of writing. Credit: @Talatletle via Storyful

  • Hurricane Helene Exposed Major Problems With FEMA. Now Homeowners Will Foot the Bill.

    FEMA’s flood maps are incomplete and outdated. The result: Many Americans don’t have the insurance they need.

  • Northern Lights possible as solar storms gather

    The largest solar flare since 2017 has been spotted erupting from the Sun’s surface.

  • Opinion: Helene destroyed my hometown. I don't want climate change stories of false hope

    The hurricane leveled Asheville and other towns in western North Carolina. The push for optimism about our climate future rings hollow right now.

  • Sharks found to eat sea urchins as large as their heads in accidental discovery by Australian researchers

    Researchers tethered 50 long-spined and 50 short-spined urchins outside lobster den and sharks were observed ‘smashing the whole thing’

  • French pensioner attacked by vulture

    An 86-year-old French woman was left severely injured by a vulture in what is thought to be the first recorded case of the bird attacking a human.

  • Work and travel resumes across Taiwan after Typhoon Krathon finally dissipates

    Work, classes and flights resumed across Taiwan on Friday after Typhoon Krathon brought torrential rainfall to the island but finally dissipated over a mountain range. A heavy rain advisory remained in place for the northern coast and mountainous areas, where two landslides occurred early Friday. Krathon had brought much of the island to a standstill for three days but weakened to a tropical depression early Friday.

  • Nibi the 'diva' beaver to stay at rescue center, Massachusetts governor decides

    The question of whether a 2-year-old beaver named Nibi can stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild was resolved Thursday when the Massachusetts governor stepped in to protect Nibi. The state issued a permit to Newhouse Wildlife Rescue for Nibi to remain at the rehabilitation facility and serve as an educational animal. “Nibi has captured the hearts of many of our residents, mine included,” Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said Thursday.

  • Rescuers save Tennessee dog stranded 20 feet high in tree after Hurricane Helene floods

    The dog’s family says her rescue ‘brought a light at the end of the tunnel’