Disasters

"A lawsuit stemming from Flint's lead-contaminated water was filed Monday on behalf of the city's residents against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder as well as other current and former government officials and corporations."

"An indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon took at least eight public officials hostage to demand help from the central government after an oil spill polluted its lands, authorities said Monday."

"Almost 16 million people face hunger in Southern Africa because of a drought exacerbated by an El Nino weather pattern and that number could climb to almost 50 million, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday."

"The Senate has approved a bill overhauling federal energy pipeline rules and reauthorizing the main agency overseeing pipeline safety in a vote Thursday."

"Mining company Samarco and its owners, BHP Billiton and Vale SA, reached a deal with the Brazilian government on Wednesday to pay an estimated 20 billion reais ($5.1 billion) in damages over 15 years for a deadly dam spill in November."

"All 22 of the early-warning buoys Indonesia that were deployed after the 2004 tsunami disaster were inoperable when a massive undersea earthquake struck off the country's coast on Wednesday, a national disaster mitigation agency official said."

"Rick Snyder previously said he became aware of severity of the lead problem on 1 October, but emails show he initially aimed to avoid a disaster declaration"."

"Two top advisers to Gov. Rick Snyder urged switching Flint back to Detroit’s water system in October 2014 after General Motors Co. said the city’s heavily chlorinated river water was rusting engine parts, according to governor’s office emails examined by The Detroit News."

"NEW ORLEANS — A former BP rig engineer was found not guilty Thursday on a charge that his negligence in interpreting a critical test contributed to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill."

"The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a long-awaited plan to reform the nation’s chemical plant safety standards, with a proposal that would require companies to weigh potentially safer alternatives in the design and operation of manufacturing facilities."