Topic: Natural Disasters

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

Golden Gate Bridge 75th anniversary: Take a knowledge challenge

The bridge that some experts once thought could never be built – San Francisco’s Golden Gate – on Sunday officially celebrates 75 years since its opening. How much do you know of the bridge’s story?
Spurs and Thunder star in NBA’s Western Conference Finals: 10 extra dimensions

The clash of the Spurs and Thunder in the NBA’s Western Conference finals may fly a bit under the national radar when it opens Sunday. Here are 10 factors that make this showdown intriguing.
6 famous dissidents in China

The surprising escape of a blind legal activist from house arrest is buoying China's embattled dissident community, even as the government cracks down on those who helped him.
'The Presidents' Club': 10 stories about relationships between American presidents

From Truman to Obama, 10 stories of friendships and feuds between US presidents.
Milan Kundera: 10 quotes on his birthday

To celebrate the 83rd birthday of Milan Kundera, here are some favorite quotes from the novelist.

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Two earthquakes in two weeks test Italians' morale

Workers had just returned to a biomedical factory in Medolla when the second quake hit, causing their building to collapse. Some unions have criticized what they say is a lack of safety concern.
Enormous forest fire in New Mexico sets state record for acres burned (+video)

For the second year in a row, New Mexico is battling a huge, record-setting forest fire. The Whitewater-Baldy fire, triggered by lightning strikes, has torched more than 170,000 acres.
Woman rescued from rubble after earthquake in Italy (+video)

A woman in Cavezzo, Italy, was pulled alive from the rubble of her home Wednesday. The death toll from Tuesday's northern Italy earthquake has risen to 17.
Powerful Italy quake leaves at least 15 dead (+video)

The 5.8 magnitude quake added to the misery being felt in the Emilia Romagna region of towns north of Bologna, one of Italy's most agriculturally and industrial protective areas.
Tropical storm Beryl gives South hurricane prep test

Tropical storm Beryl dumped much needed rain in the South, and caused some power outages. Jacksonville, Fla. officials say Beryl was a 'dry run' for the hurricane season which starts Friday.
Northern Italy struck by another earthquake (+video)

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck northern Italy Tuesday, killing at least 10 people. It's the second major quake to strike northern Italy in 9 days.
Golden Gate Bridge 75th anniversary: Take a knowledge challenge

The bridge that some experts once thought could never be built – San Francisco’s Golden Gate – on Sunday officially celebrates 75 years since its opening. How much do you know of the bridge’s story?
Spurs and Thunder star in NBA’s Western Conference Finals: 10 extra dimensions

The clash of the Spurs and Thunder in the NBA’s Western Conference finals may fly a bit under the national radar when it opens Sunday. Here are 10 factors that make this showdown intriguing.
Subtropical Storm Beryl: Dixie beachgoers batten down for big Memorial Day soak

It’s not the way Memorial Day event organizers from South Carolina to Florida wanted the unofficial summer kickoff to go, with Subtropical Storm Beryl bearing down, threatening beach barbecues, but sparing the big NASCAR race.
Duck Lake fire sweeps across Michigan's Upper Peninsula

The vast Duck Lake fire, likely sparked by a lightning strike and unusually high temperatures, hits at what's typically the end of the Michigan wildfire season.
Mexico Pacific resorts brace for hurricane Bud

Hurricane Bud is now a Category 2 hurricane, and a hurricane warning is up for Mexico's Pacific coast. Hurricane Bud is heading toward Mexico's the coast south of Puerto Vallarta.
Four to eight hurricanes in 2012 NOAA forecast

The US will see nine to 15 tropical storms and four to eight of those will become hurricanes, says NOAA in its 2012 Atlantic hurricane forecast. It's a 'near normal' year. Only one to three will likely become major, Category 3, hurricanes.
Tornado arrives as uninvited guest at Kansas wedding (+video)

A video of a tornado at a Kansas wedding has gone viral. Who invited that tall, dark guest to the wedding, anyway?
Change Agent
Community radio cuts disaster risk in flood-prone Bangladesh

Radio stations that broadcast in local dialects along Bangladesh’s coast warn residents about storms and help farmers cope with erratic weather.
Deadly Joplin tornado remembered, one year later (+video)

Residents of Joplin, Missouri awoke Tuesday morning with memories still fresh in their minds of the deadly twister that struck their city one year ago.
Joplin seniors graduate after year of tragedy and triumph

A year ago, the deadliest tornado in six decades leveled Joplin, Missouri; President Obama commemorated that anniversary with a speech to the high school graduates who persevered.
One year later, Joplin is on the mend

On the anniversary of a tornado that claimed 161 lives, the people of Joplin have made big strides towards rebuilding - but there is work left to be done.
Hope, resiliency, and unity mark the Joplin tornado anniversary

One the worst tornadoes in US history hit Joplin a year ago. The Missouri city has good reason to now celebrate its path to recovery.
A tropical storm in May? How unusual is Alberto?

Tropical storm Alberto is packing 40 m.p.h. winds while riding the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, but it should dissipate and perhaps end up as rain in New England. It's not the earliest tropical storm on record.
Italy earthquake: modern buildings, not ancient ones, pose biggest threat (+video)

The Italy earthquake suggests that danger lies not so much in ancient monuments as in the many buildings constructed between the late 1940s and the early 1970s.
Tropical Storm Alberto expected not to make landfall

On its current track, Alberto is expected to stay offshore of the Carolinas and Georgia coast.
Northeast Italy shaken by biggest quake there since the 1300s

The 6.0-magnitude temblor left at least four dead and cracked bell towers, crumbled church facades, and caved in roofs in the region around Bologna early Sunday.
Twice as many mega rainstorms in Midwest in past 50 years

Wisconsin saw the biggest rise (203 percent) in extreme rainstorms – 3 inches of rain or more in a day, new study says. Climate change is behind more Midwest flooding, say scientists.
Change Agent
Mangroves reduce disaster risk, boost incomes in Vietnam

Planting mangrove forests on Vietnam's coasts creates living storm barriers as well as rich new fishing grounds.
Lady Antebellum charity concert for tornado-struck Henryville, Ind. (+video)

Lady Antebellum played at a mini-prom for Henryville, Ind. Wednesday night. Lady Antebellum helped raise $235,000 to help rebuild the town struck by a tornado.