HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.—A vehicle plowed into a suburban Chicago highway toll plaza early Thursday, engulfing it and the plaza in flames and killing the motorist, police said. Illinois State Police said troopers responded to the scene after receiving a report that a vehicle had struck the Barrington Road Toll Plaza along westbound Interstate 90 in […]
The governing board of New York City’s public transportation network has approved a much-debated congestion pricing plan, which includes charging $15 for motorists entering Manhattan during high traffic hours. At its meeting on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board voted 11 to 1 to charge most commercial and passenger vehicles that would drive into […]
DERNA, Libya—Search teams combed streets, wrecked buildings and even the sea Wednesday to look for bodies in a coastal Libyan city where the collapse of two dams unleashed a massive flash flood that killed at least 5,100 people. The Mediterranean city of Derna has struggled to get help after Sunday night’s deluge washed away most […]
KAHULUI, Hawaii—The death toll from the Maui wildfires reached 96 on Sunday as relatives of the missing frantically searched for signs their loved ones may still be alive, while survivors grappled with the scale of the disaster and sought solace at church services. Days after the inferno destroyed much of the historic resort town of […]
At least 21 people were killed and six others are missing from the mudslide triggered by heavy rain on the outskirts of the northwestern Chinese city of Xi’an, local authorities said on Sunday. The mudslide and a flash flood Friday evening also damaged a highway and knocked out power to 900 households, the Xi’an Emergency […]
People driving vehicles in some of the freeways in Los Angeles may soon be required to pay extra charges according to a policy said to focus on resolving existing traffic congestion. By summer, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to release a blueprint for its congestion pricing scheme where people pay to […]
ANKARA—The death toll in Turkey from last month’s major earthquakes has risen to 48,448, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday, as authorities rush to set up container cities to house for the longer-term those left homeless by the disaster. The combined death toll including those killed in Syria has climbed to more than 54,000. […]
ANTAKYA/ANKARA, Turkey—Turkey has begun work to rebuild homes following this month’s devastating earthquakes, a government official said on Friday, as the combined death toll in Turkey and Syria surpassed 50,000. More than 160,000 buildings containing 520,000 apartments collapsed or were severely damaged in the Feb. 6 earthquakes that killed tens of thousands in Turkey and […]
ANTAKYA, Turkey—Rescuers pulled more survivors from the rubble on Sunday six days after one of the worst earthquakes to hit Turkey and Syria, as Turkish authorities sought to maintain order across the disaster zone and began legal action over some building collapses. With chances of finding more survivors growing more remote, the toll in both […]
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States remained “focused” on aid and relief efforts in Turkey and Syria, as the deadly earthquake killed more than 11,000 people and injured tens of thousands. Many children are feared to be among the dead. As the scale of the disaster unfolds, officials anticipate the […]
KAHRAMANMARAS/ANTAKYA, Turkey—Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visited southern Turkey on Wednesday to see first-hand the destruction wrought by a massive earthquake as anger grew among local people over what they said was a slow government response to the rescue and relief effort. The combined confirmed death toll from Monday’s quake, which struck a swathe of southern […]
BUFFALO, N.Y.—Buffalo residents hovered around space heaters, hunted for cars buried in snow drifts and looked for more victims Monday, after 28 people died in one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit western New York. The rest of the United States also was reeling from the ferocious winter storm, with at least another […]
TOKYO—Recent heavy snow in Japan’s north and elsewhere have killed 13 people injured more than 80 and left more than 10,000 households without power, the authorities said on Saturday. Snowstorms and high waves in northern Japan and along the Sea of Japan coast could cause snow as deep as 60 cm (two feet), the Meteorological […]
CIANJUR, Indonesia—The death toll from an earthquake that struck Indonesia’s Java island early this week rose to 310 after rescuers found more bodies under landslides, an official said. At least 24 people remain missing. In devasted towns in western Java, residents gathered near badly damaged mosques for Friday prayers. Others held prayers along with rescuers […]
NEW YORK—The rate of deaths that can be directly attributed to alcohol rose nearly 30 percent in the United States during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new government data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had already said the overall number of such deaths rose in 2020 and 2021. […]
CREESLOUGH, Ireland—Ten people, including two teenagers and a younger girl, were killed in an explosion at a petrol station in the Irish county of Donegal, police said on Saturday, adding that the incident appeared to be “a tragic accident.” The police said no more casualties were expected from the explosion which happened shortly after 3 […]
LUCKNOW—Rescuers in northern India recovered 12 bodies of trainee mountaineers on Thursday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 16 from an avalanche in the Himalayas, the state-run Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said. Dozens of people participating in a training course run by the institute were caught up in the avalanche that swept down the slopes […]
MIAMI—The death toll from Hurricane Ian climbed past 80 on Sunday as embattled residents in Florida and the Carolinas faced a recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. The death toll was expected to keep rising as floodwaters receded and search teams pushed farther into areas initially cut off from the outside world. […]
At least 106 people have died and 10 are still missing in Brazil, the government said on Tuesday, as heavy rains tore through urban towns in the northeastern part of the country for a sixth consecutive day. The governor of the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Paulo Camara, in an interview with local media, said the […]
