Natural Disasters
Five killed as Typhoon Roke batters tsunami-ravaged Japanese coast
A powerful typhoon is wreaking havoc across Japan having already killed at least five people as it approaches the country's tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast and the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
Irene leaves estimated $7b in damages, kills 21 in US
Stripped of hurricane rank, Tropical Storm Irene spent the last of its fury yesterday, leaving treacherous flooding and millions without power - but an unfazed New York and relief that it was nothing like the nightmare authorities feared.
Once-a-century 5.8 mag quake rocks US East Coast
A strong earthquake rattled the East Coast on Tuesday, sending tremors as far as Canada, damaging well-known buildings in the nation's capital and sending scared office workers into the streets.
Powerful Hurricane Irene heads toward Bahamas, US
A rapidly strengthening Hurricane Irene roared off the Dominican Republic's resort-dotted northern coast on Monday, whipping up high waves and torrential downpours on a track that could see it reach the U.S. Southeast as a major storm by the end o...
6.7 mag quake shakes Japan awake
A magnitude-6.7 earthquake rattled northeast Japan early this morning in the same area where a massive quake triggered a deadly tsunami in March. There have been no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Authorities have ordered the evacuation of some 12,000 people from the city of Minot, North Dakota, and surrounding areas because of expected record flooding, officials said Tuesday.
Quake-Hit New Zealand City Hit By New Shocks
The New Zealand city of Christchurch has been rocked by another series of strong tremors, four months after 181 people were killed in a catastrophic earthquake which damaged thousands of buildings.
'Horrific' Arizona fire blankets towns in smoky fog
One of the biggest wildfires ever in Arizona grew even larger Sunday and authorities ordered more people in White Mountain communities to abandon their homes as the 287-square-mile blaze burned closer to buildings.
The toll from the tornado that ripped through Joplin soared to 116 on Monday, a city official said, tying it for the single deadliest twister to ever hit American soil since the National Weather Service began keeping records 61 years ago.
Tornadoes batter central US, kill unknown number
A massive tornado that blasted its way across southwestern Missouri on Sunday slammed into this city with apocalyptic force, tearing into a hospital, upending dozens of cars and scrubbing entire neighborhoods to the earth, leaving only a forest of...
Farmers Along Mississippi See Crops Washed Away
In an agonizing trade-off, Army engineers said they will open a key spillway along the bulging Mississippi River as early as Saturday and inundate thousands of homes and farms in parts of Louisiana's Cajun country to avert a potentially bigger dis...
Italians evacuate Rome over 'big one' fears
Italians are fleeing Rome todayover fears a giant earthquake is coming following a seismologist's 1915 prediction that "the big one" will strike on May 11, 2011.
Mississippi floods force evacuations near Memphis
The rising Mississippi river lapped over downtown Memphis streets on Thursday as a massive wall of water threatened to unleash near record flooding all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
A record 226 tornadoes recorded over 24 hours last week in US
According to the National Weather Service, 226 tornadoes were recorded from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning, and that's a record for a 24-hour period.
US tornadoes toll rises over 350, thousands homeless
The death toll from the second deadliest U.S. tornado outbreak on record rose above 350 on Saturday as thousands of stunned survivors camped out in the shattered shells of their homes or moved into shelters or with friends.
Tornadoes devastate US South, killing at least 297
Firefighters searched one splintered pile after another for survivors Thursday, combing the remains of houses and neighborhoods pulverized by the nation's deadliest tornado outbreak in almost four decades. At least 297 people were killed across si...
At Least 72 Dead as US Storms Pound South for Second Day
Another devastating, deadly tornado outbreak that started in Mississippi Wednesday afternoon continues across the Southeast with more tornadoes touching down. The tornadoes and severe thunderstorms have killed at least 72 people across the South o...
At least 34 twisters reported in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee; Residents preparing for extensive damage
An extremely dangerous outbreak of tornadoes will endanger many lives and property from northeastern Texas into Arkansas, northern Louisiana, northwestern Mississippi and western Tennessee into Wednesday.
Wildfire roars out of West Texas canyons to menace homes
Gale-force winds whipped flames from a stubborn wildfire in West Texas out of deep mountain canyons and back in the direction of populated areas on Tuesday, prompting an evacuation of some nearby homes.
10 dead from storms in Arkansas
Residents in several states endured a second straight night of violent weather Tuesday, a day after a series of powerful storms in Arkansas killed 10 people in flooding and a tornado that twisted a tractor-trailer like a wrung dish rag.