natural disaster

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Tornado Wreaks Havoc in Montana

Amateur video gives up-close look at destruction

(Newser) - A tornado tore through Billings, Mont., yesterday, ripping the roof off a sports arena and several other nearby buildings. You can actually see it happen in this up-close-and-personal amateur video aired by CNN . The twister touched down at about 4:30 and hovered in place for about 15 minutes, according...

Other Natural Disasters as Weird as the Sinkhole
 Other Natural Disasters as 
 Weird as the Sinkhole 
in case you missed it
Jun 5, 2010 7:00 PM CDT

Other Natural Disasters as Weird as the Sinkhole

Fire tornadoes, asteroid strikes and more

(Newser) - As the sinkhole that swallowed a three-story building in Guatemala Monday demonstrated, natural disasters can be really weird. The Daily Beast runs through some of the strangest natural catastrophes on record:
  • The poisonous cloud: In 1986 in Cameroon, 1,700 people and 3,500 animals mysteriously dropped dead simultaneously. Scientists
...

200 Buried, Feared Dead in Rio Mudslide

Slide hits shantytown perilously built on top of landfill

(Newser) - At least 200 people, buried under the latest landslide to hit a slum in Rio de Janeiro's metropolitan area, are feared dead, authorities said today. If confirmed, the deaths would raise the toll sharply from the 153 people already known to have died this week in slides triggered by record...

Chile Quake Shifted Earth's Axis, Shortened Day

Moving masses of rock by several meters affects rotation

(Newser) - The magnitude 8.8 earthquake that hit Chile may have actually shifted the Earth's axis, shortening the length of a day, a NASA scientist says. Moving hundreds of kilometers of rock changes the earth's distribution of mass, and, in turn, changes the planet's rate of rotation. In this case, the...

Tsunami Swept Away Fleeing Bus of Retirees
 Tsunami Swept Away 
 Fleeing Bus of Retirees 
CHILE EARTHQUAKE
Mar 2, 2010 6:25 AM CST

Tsunami Swept Away Fleeing Bus of Retirees

Waves ravaged communities along Chilean coast

(Newser) - The 40 retirees enjoying summer vacation at a seaside campground knew they had to move fast after Chile's powerful earthquake struck. They didn't make it. The tsunami came in three waves, surging 200 yards into the resort town of Pelluhue and dragging away the bus they'd piled into to get...

Google Launches Chile Quake 'Person Finder'

Database allows people to seek or provide information

(Newser) - Google has launched a Person Finder for people seeking information about Chileans in the wake of today's earthquake. The tool allows people to choose between two options—"I'm looking for someone" or "I have information about someone," notes Mashable . The database is growing by the minute. Mashable...

Chile Quake Among Biggest In a Century

Only four have been bigger since 1900

(Newser) - Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake is one of the biggest recorded anywhere in the world in the last century. This one ties for fifth since 1900, notes CNN :
  1. Chile, 9.5, 1960.
  2. Prince William Sound, 9.2, 1964.
  3. Sumatra, 9.4, 2004.
  4. Kamchatka, 9.0, 1952.
  5. Ecuador, 8.8, 1906.

Tsunami Advisory Extends to Oregon, Washington

Cities on alert after earthquake in Chile

(Newser) - A tsunami advisory has been extended to include the states of Oregon and Washington and parts of Alaska, as well as coastal British Colombia. An earlier advisory covered the California coast. An advisory is the lowest level alert, meaning there is a possibility of strong localized currents but no significant...

One Thing Back on Track in Haiti: Mourning

Along with dead, Haitians mourn loss of knowledge, culture, competency

(Newser) - As the shock over the inconceivable 230,000 lost in the Haitian earthquake begins to subside, survivors have begun to shift to mourning individuals—from teachers to tax collectors, schoolchildren to elderly priests, brothers to sons. As the New York Times reports, the police chief whose daughters died on the...

Haiti Relief Puts Few Dents in 'Massive' Need

Food, shelter, medicine in short supply with government invisible

(Newser) - Relief efforts in Haiti are falling far short of the need despite the best intentions of the international response to the devastating earthquake almost a month past. The nation’s government is almost absent as US soldiers struggle to deliver nothing more than rice, and no temporary shelter besides the...

Majority Opposes Letting More Haitians Into US
 Majority Opposes Letting 
 More Haitians Into US 
GALLUP POLL
Jan 26, 2010 10:29 AM CST

Majority Opposes Letting More Haitians Into US

But following earthquake, 63% think US should do all in its power to help

(Newser) - While Americans are securely behind the nation’s ongoing relief efforts in Haiti, a majority is against allowing more Haitians into the US in the wake of the calamitous earthquake. Responses break down along party lines, according to Gallup , which conducted the poll. 53% of all Americans oppose increased immigration,...

After Haiti Quake, Immigration Debate Rumbles

Advocates want US to soften its stance

(Newser) - The disastrous situation in Haiti has sparked calls for the US to soften its stance on Haitian immigration, particularly in respect to severely injured children and those with family members here. Though the US will allow Haitians already in the country illegally to stay for 18 months and will fast-track...

600 Audio Bibles Sent to Haiti
 600 Audio Bibles Sent to Haiti 
Jan 20, 2010 12:50 PM CST

600 Audio Bibles Sent to Haiti

'The Proclaimer' speaks Haitian Creole and is powered by the sun

(Newser) - A New Mexico ministry has sent 600 talking, solar-powered Bibles to Haiti to bring disaster victims the “hope and comfort that comes from knowing God has not forgotten them through this tragedy.” The “Proclaimer,” Reuters reports, reads the good book aloud in Haitian Creole and is...

6.0 Quake Shakes Guatemala, but No Damage

Quake also hit El Salvador

(Newser) - A strong earthquake has rocked Guatemala and parts of El Salvador, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in either country. The US Geological Survey says the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.0, and hit this morning about 60 miles southwest of Guatemala City, where...

Obama Reiterates Haiti Support
 Obama Reiterates Haiti Support 
Jan 15, 2010 2:56 PM CST

Obama Reiterates Haiti Support

5,000 troops to arrive in nation over the weekend

(Newser) - President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to relief in Haiti, telling the survivors of the massive earthquake "that we will do what it takes to save lives and help people get back on their feet." Obama spoke this afternoon—his third public statement in as many days—following a...

Hey, Media: Don't Call It 'Looting'
 Hey, Media:  
 Don't Call It 'Looting'
haiti earthquake
Jan 15, 2010 1:05 PM CST

Hey, Media: Don't Call It 'Looting'

Desperate, hungry people are just trying to feed their families

(Newser) - Reports of "looting" in Haiti are surfacing, and Jerry Lanson isn't happy about it. He's not upset with the so-called looters, but with the reporters who are using the term. He cites one story in which the New York Times said "officials reported looting at a collapsed grocery...

Haiti Quake Cleanup Is Only First Step
 Haiti Quake Cleanup 
 Is Only First Step 
BILL CLINTON
Jan 14, 2010 10:46 AM CST

Haiti Quake Cleanup Is Only First Step

Quake will delay but must not stop ongoing development efforts

(Newser) - Before “one of the great humanitarian emergencies in the history of the Americas” struck, Haiti had a "bright future," Bill Clinton writes. The 42nd president is a UN special envoy to the perennially troubled nation, where he has helped spearhead development efforts. Today, “what Haiti needs...

Hundreds of Thousands Feared Dead in Haiti

Haitian senator says toll could be 500K, but admits no one knows

(Newser) - Haiti's prime minister says several hundred thousand could have perished in yesterday’s earthquake. “I hope that is not true, because I hope the people had the time to get out,” Jean-Max Bellerive tells CNN . He said it was difficult to discern where the masses crowding the streets...

Major Quake, Aftershocks Rattle Haiti
 Major Quake, 
 Aftershocks Rattle Haiti 
UPDATED
Jan 12, 2010 6:14 PM CST

Major Quake, Aftershocks Rattle Haiti

Huge death toll likely from 7.0 temblor; Obama promises aid

(Newser) - Scores of buildings have collapsed in Haiti after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the capital, Port-au-Prince, today, and was followed by a number of strong aftershocks, with two measuring 5.5 or higher. There’s no yet word on what’s expected to be a high death toll. An...

20K Flee Filipino Volcano

 20K Flee 
 Filipino 
 Volcano 
mother nature
Dec 15, 2009 10:30 AM CST

20K Flee Filipino Volcano

Lava flows, plumes of ash sent into sky

(Newser) - The Philippines' most active volcano oozed lava and shot up plumes of ash today, forcing more than 20,000 people to evacuate their homes and face the possibility of a bleak Christmas in a shelter. State volcanologists raised the alert level on the cone-shaped, 8,070-foot Mayon volcano overnight to...

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