The Guardian

• Washington state flooding damage profound but unclear, governor warns

  Record rains have forced hundreds of rescues, swamped communities and left rivers high, with more storms forecast

  The extent of the damage in Washington state is profound but unclear after more than a week of heavy rains and record flooding, according to the state’s governor, Bob Ferguson.

  A barrage of storms from weather systems stretching across the Pacific has dumped close to 2ft (0.6 metres) of rain in parts of the state, swelling rivers far beyond their banks and prompting more than 600 rescues across 10 counties.

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• Trump administration to dismantle key climate research center in Colorado

  Governor Jared Polis warned that breaking up Boulder’s NCAR would put ‘public safety at risk’

  The Trump administration is breaking up a research center praised as a “crown jewel” of climate research after accusing it of spreading “alarmism” about climate change.

  Russell Vought, the director of the White House’s office and management budget, said the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, would be dismantled under the supervision of the National Science Foundation.

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• ‘Everything is worse since Drax came here’: US residents say wood-pellet plant harming their town

  Residents of Gloster, Mississippi, are suing plant that exports wood pellets to UK and Europe. Company says it is reducing emissions

  When Helen Reed first learned about the bioenergy mill opening in her hometown of Gloster, Mississippi, the word was it would bring jobs and economic opportunities. It was only later that she learned that activity came with a cost: the Amite Bioenergy mill, opened in 2014 by British energy giant Drax, emits large – and sometimes illegal – quantities of air pollutants, including methanol, acrolein and formaldehyde, which are linked to cancers and other serious illnesses.

  “When I go out, I can’t hardly catch my breath,” Reed said. “Everything is worse since Drax came here.”

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• Man found dead in submerged car in first reported death in Washington floods

  Swimmers find driver, believed to be 33-year-old man, and vehicle in about 6ft of water in ditch in Snohomish area

  A man who drove past warning signs was found dead in a car submerged in flood waters near Seattle, Washington, on Tuesday, in the first reported death following a week of heavy rain and flooding in the region.

  Governor Bob Ferguson said on Tuesday the extent of the damage in Washington state is profound but unclear as more high water, mudslides and power outages were in the forecast.

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• Atmospheric rivers – what to know about the storms inundating the Pacific north-west

  This week’s weather system dumped 5tn gallons of rain on Washington state – and another one is threatening Canada

  Just as record-level flood waters that triggered widespread evacuations begin to recede in western Washington state, residents of the Pacific north-west are bracing themselves for another strong weather system that is likely to swell rivers back to dangerous levels – again.

  An extraordinarily strong system known as an atmospheric river hit the region earlier this week, dropping more than a foot of rain and flooding rivers that stretch across the state toward Canada to dangerous levels. As a result of the nonstop rain, mudslides tore through communities, washing away homes and stranding families on rooftops as they waited for rescue.

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