Disasters

SALT LAKE CITY -- The state is asking President Barack Obama to declare a presidential disaster for Utah as a result of the Dec. 1 windstorm and cleanup in Davis County.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency team recently completed a damage estimate in Davis County, Commissioner D. Lance Davenport of the Department of Public Safety said in a news release. FEMA identified about $4.1 million in damage to public infrastructure, including municipal power systems, roads and buildings, as well as costs related to debris removal and emergency protective measures.

WASHINGTON -- Once again, Congress has delayed until the last minute approving funds to keep the federal government running. And once again, lawmakers are giving their constituents more reasons to be disgusted and alienated.

MINNEAPOLIS -- This year's torrent of natural disasters is providing a mini-windfall for Satellite Industries, a Plymouth, Minn., company that claims to be the world's largest supplier of portable toilets.

Satellite recently sold about 1,000 toilets for use in earthquake-ravaged Japan. Another 1,000 have been sent off this summer to several areas in the U.S. destroyed by tornadoes, fires and floods, including Missouri, Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico and North Dakota.

Travelers Cos. Inc. says it will pay at least $1 billion in insurance claims and suffer a second-quarter operating loss from tornadoes and hailstorms that pummeled 13 midwestern and southern states in April and May.

Allstate Corp. reported similar catastrophe losses. The two property insurers set the tone for what is expected to be a brutal year for the property insurance industry -- the worst since 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.

FARMINGTON -- A key city emergency preparedness official has issued a letter of warning and advice to residents on how to deal with the possibility of mudslides over the next six weeks, suggesting among other things that people not sleep in the basement during that time frame.

In a recent story and headline about the potential for mudslides in Farmington, the Standard-Examiner mistakenly reported that the public should consider sleeping in their basements.

City Manager Dave Millheim suggested that, during this vulnerable time, sleeping in the basement is not advisable.

With mountain snowpack at 200 percent of average and rising water levels in area rivers and reservoirs, the thought of flood insurance has crossed the minds of a few residents.

HUNTSVILLE -- A microburst toppled massive trees, snapped branches, blew down power lines and damaged homes Thursday in a four-block area of Huntsville.