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A Warming World, and a Stranger One: Natural disasters are a normal part of life on Earth, but 2020 layered historic levels of devastation on top of the COVID-19 pandemic. In North America, massive wildfires seared parts of the western U.S. from late summer into fall, forcing more than half a million people to evacuate in the midst of the health crisis.
(Credit: Noah Berger/AP images)
Noah Berger/AP images
A derecho — an intense windstorm sometimes referred to as an inland hurricane — pummeled parts of the Midwest in August with 100 mph winds.
(Credit: Daniel Acker/Getty images)
Daniel Acker/Getty images
Hurricanes slammed the Caribbean and southern U.S. starting in June, causing flooding and extensive damage. Meanwhile, the pandemic made disaster relief an even more precarious process. Scientists say many of the ...
