Disasters
Sago Anniversary
On the anniversary of the Sago Mine explosion, The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette continues to probe safety issues behind the blast that killed 12 miners. Ken Ward Jr. reports that “the Sago disaster might not have happened if regulators and the coal industry had heeded the warnings… from a series of other lightning-induced explosions in the…
Read MoreDeath at Memorial Hospital
Following the announcement of murder charges against a New Orleans doctor and two nurses on duty in the wake Hurricane Katrina, CNN continues its Emmy-nominated investigative series, “Death at Memorial Hospital” with exclusive interviews with siblings of the accused Dr. Anna Pou, who maintains her innocence. “In October, CNN reported exclusively that after deteriorating conditions…
Read MoreIncome not checked for emergency food stamps
Kathleen Chapman of The Palm Beach Post investigated the emergency food-stamp program in Florida after Hurricane Wilma and found that nearly 700,000 Floridians, many of whom were not really too poor to buy food, got in line for the stamps. “Florida didn’t require proof of income to get the payments, and the state hasn’t completed…
Read MoreDam threats in Hawaii underassessed
Karen Blakeman, staff writer with The Honolulu Advertiser, used National Inventory of Dams data from IRE and NICAR for a story about the deadly failure of a privately owned dam on the Hawaii island of Kaua’i. Two bodies have been found and five others are missing. Blakeman reported that state safety inspections of dams across…
Read MoreStates make little use of provision to help hurricane victims
Jenni Bergal of The Center for Public Integrity reviewed health records to find that states have barely used $2 billion provided in an emergency bill passed by Congress to help low-income hurricane victims scattered across the country. “Any state that took in Katrina evacuees could tap into the money to offer cash to those who…
Read MoreRetrofits offer limited earthquake protection
Thomas Peele and Jessica Guynn of Contra Costa Times found that despite houses being retrofitted to keep them safe during an earthquake, less than a third of the houses inspected would survive a major earthquake. In an investigation of 35 retrofitted houses, the newspaper found that in 24 of the 35 homes , residents might…
Read MoreHurricane shutter company failed to deliver
Mc Nelly Torres of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reviewed bankruptcy records, county licensing records and complaints filed with the local consumer affairs division to show that Palms West Shutter & Screen Inc., a company supplying hurricane shutters, had taken about $1.5 million in deposits from 672 Palm Beach residents before it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy…
Read MoreNation’s mine rescue system falling short
Ken Ward Jr. reports in the Charleston, W.Va., Sunday Gazette-Mail “the nation’s miners face a mounting risk because of a rescue system that is growing ever short on personnel and is in major need of reforms.” From 2000 to 2002, the number of safety teams approved by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration dropped…
Read MoreGa. hotel bill for Katrina evacuees tops $19 million
Yolanda Rodriguez of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, with assistance from Craig Schneider, Leon Stafford and database editor David A. Milliron, used a FOIA request to show that “Georgia hotels have billed taxpayers more than $19 million to house evacuees who fled after hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast last year.” The agency has paid…
Read MoreCorps ignored reports about levee problems
Bob Marshall of The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reports the Army Corps of Engineers knew about “engineering mistakes that led to the canal levee failures that flooded most of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina” but dismissed them. “Documents, obtained by The Times-Picayune and provided to forensic engineers studying the levee breaches, show project engineers made a…
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