natural disaster

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Another Big Iceland Volcano May Blow

Katla would make last year's eruption look 'small'

(Newser) - Another Icelandic volcano has begun to grumble—and if it erupts, it could make last year's ash cloud look like a joke, experts say. The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokul was "small," according to a scientist; it didn't seem that way to the airlines that lost $2...

Italian Scientists on Trial Over Earthquake Deaths

Group met six days before L'Aquila quake, but raised no alarm

(Newser) - Predicting earthquakes is shaky business at best, but that detail isn't stopping Italian officials from prosecuting a group of prominent scientists over their failure to do exactly that. Six scientists and one government official face charges of manslaughter for allegedly failing to provide adequate warning of imminent disaster to...

Texas Bastrop Wildfire Burns 500 Homes
 Texas Wildfire Is 'Worst Ever' 
Sep 6, 2011 7:48 AM CDT

Texas Wildfire Is 'Worst Ever'

Nearly 500 homes destroyed; 3.5M acres charred this year

(Newser) - Wildfires continued to ravage Central Texas yesterday as firefighters battled the most devastating single fire in Texas history, the Los Angeles Times reports. As of yesterday, 476 homes had been destroyed in Bastrop County, east of Austin; firefighters battled the flames as they tore through thousands of acres. With 40...

Cantor Holds Line on Cuts to Pay for Disaster Relief

Same goes for earthquake in his district

(Newser) - Eric Cantor took some heat after he demanded spending cuts to pay for disaster relief in Joplin, but he looks to be holding the line when his own district is involved: Congress "will find the monies" to cover earthquake damage in Mineral, Va. , but “those monies will be...

Quake Survivors Return $78M in Found Cash

Nearly 6,000 safes have washed ashore in Japan

(Newser) - In the five months since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the east coast of Japan, honest citizens have returned $78 million in cash—$48 million found in thousands of wallets, and $30 million from some 5,700 safes that turned up onshore, reports ABC News . One safe had $1...

13 Killed by 6.1 Earthquake in Uzbekistan

Kyrgyzstan-centered earthquake rocked eastern Uzbek city

(Newser) - A powerful earthquake killed 13 people and injured dozens in a heavily populated part of Uzbekistan today, emergency officials said. The magnitude-6.1 temblor centered in neighboring Kyrgyzstan struck shortly after midnight in a mountainous area some 20 miles away from the eastern Uzbek city of Ferghana, which has a...

18 Students, 1 Teacher Killed by Uganda Lightning

Strikes have killed at least 34 in recent weeks

(Newser) - Eighteen students and a teacher died after lightning struck their school in Uganda's midwest, police say. An additional 51 students between the ages of 7 and 16 were injured in yesterday's incident at the Runyanya primary school, about 160 miles west of Uganda's capital. Another school 200...

Japan's Big Roadblock: 25M Tons of Debris

Before the nation can fully rebuild, it has years of cleanup ahead

(Newser) - A giant kiln at a cement factory in Japan finally returned to action today and incinerated 10 tons of debris from the March earthquake. Which sounds like a handsome total until you consider that an estimated 25 million tons remain, reports the Wall Street Journal . The nation is now grappling...

Lethal Fungus Compounds Joplin Misery

Three fatalities linked so far to contaminated soil that got under skin

(Newser) - As if recovering from the devastation of last month's tornado weren't enough, Joplin is facing a new threat: A fungal infection that has been linked in the deaths of at least three people. Murcomycosis is linked to fungal spores that live in the soil, usually inhaled; in Joplin'...

Natural Disasters Displaced 42M in 2010

Reported natural disasters have doubled in past two decades

(Newser) - If it's felt like Mother Nature has been a little angrier lately, you're not imaging things. More than 42 million people around the world were forced to flee their homes because of natural disasters in 2010, more than double the number during the previous year. More than 90%...

Mass. a 'Blast Zone' After Tornadoes

Powerful pair of tornadoes rip through Central Massachusetts

(Newser) - Central and western Massachusetts today surveyed the widespread damage after at least two late-afternoon tornadoes shocked emergency officials with their violence and caused the state's first tornado-related deaths in 16 years. Sens. John Kerry and Scott Brown joined Gov. Deval Patrick on a helicopter tour of the damaged areas,...

Japan's PM Beats Censure, Hints He'll Resign

Naoto Kan acknowledged 'shortcomings' after earthquake

(Newser) - Prime Minister Naoto Kan defeated a no-confidence motion today over his handling of Japan's triple disasters, but the victory may be short lived—he said he is willing to resign once the country's recovery kicks in. Kan, who has been criticized for delays in the construction of temporary...

Tornado Hits Sprinfield, Mass.
 Mass. Tornadoes Kill 4 
Jun 2, 2011 4:50 AM CDT

Mass. Tornadoes Kill 4

Tornado warning issued for some Boston suburbs

(Newser) - At least four people were killed and dozens more injured as tornadoes ripped through Massachusetts yesterday. A tornado in Springfield, the state's third-largest city, tore the roofs off buildings and tossed cars in the air, eyewitnesses tell the Boston Herald . As the state braces for a possible second wave...

Joplin Confronts Tornado's Toxic Wake

Liquid chemicals, asbestos, burning pollutants all threats of disaster cleanup

(Newser) - As residents confront a gigantic cleanup following the tornado that savaged Joplin, environmental dangers could lurk amid the mountains of debris, and even in the water and air. But EPA teams are saying the damage could’ve been much worse—they’ve turned up no serious pollution issues in the...

Missing Joplin Teen Found Dead

FindWillNorton Facebook page had attracted national attention

(Newser) - A charismatic Joplin teenager whose disappearance in Sunday's tornado captured national attention has been found dead, reports CNN. Will Norton was driving home from his high school graduation with his father when the violent storm snapped his seat belt and pulled him through the sunroof of his Hummer H3....

Joplin Toll Rises to 139
 Joplin Toll Rises to 142 
May 28, 2011 2:06 PM CDT

Joplin Toll Rises to 142

That gives 2011 the highest recorded death toll for tornadoes

(Newser) - The death toll from the monster tornado last week in Missouri has risen by seven to at least 142, city spokeswoman Lynn Onstot said today. That makes this the deadliest year for tornadoes in the US since 1950, based on an assessment of figures from the National Weather Service. The...

How to Live Through a Tornado
 How to Live Through a Tornado 
May 26, 2011 4:40 PM CDT

How to Live Through a Tornado

For one thing, don't open the windows

(Newser) - The tornadoes that have rampaged through the South and Midwest this year didn't need to be as devastating as they were: NPR talks to experts and finds that an ounce of prevention can make the difference between life and death, even when 200mph-winds are involved. Some things you can...

Joplin: 232 Still Missing
 Joplin: 232 Still Missing 
May 26, 2011 2:06 PM CDT

Joplin: 232 Still Missing

But first woman on the list still alive

(Newser) - Joplin officials have released a list of 232 people still unaccounted for in the wake of the deadliest tornado ever recorded in the US. Search and rescue teams haven’t found any new survivors of the disaster since Tuesday, but Joplin officials tell the AP that they don’t think...

Joplin Tornado Killed 11 at Single Nursing Home
 Joplin Tornado Killed 
 11 at Single Nursing Home 
Toll reaches 122
May 24, 2011 5:28 PM CDT

Joplin Tornado Killed 11 at Single Nursing Home

NWS says it was a rare and powerful 'multivortex' tornado

(Newser) - At least 11 people were killed at one Joplin nursing home by the tornado that devastated the southwest Missouri city, the home's operator said today. Bill Mitchell, who operates Greenbriar nursing home on the city's south side, said 10 residents and a staff member were among the victims...

Smashed Midwest Faces 2nd Round of Tornadoes

As Joplin struggles with the aftermath, more bad weather likely

(Newser) - Even as rescue crews continue to search for survivors in devastated Joplin, Missouri, residents of the Midwest must steel themselves for more severe weather to come. Weather forecasters say the area could see a repeat of the April tornadoes that killed more than 300 people in the South over a...

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