disaster

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Atop Deadly K2, Climbers Hit Perfect Storm of Tragedy

11 deaths make worst climbing incident since 1986

(Newser) - This weekend’s disaster on K2, in which 11 climbers lost their lives on the world’s second-highest peak, was one of the climbing’s greatest tragedies. Though “the weather was perfect” when climbers set off Friday, the New York Times takes a look at how the treacherous slopes,...

US Seeks to Weaken Hurricanes
 US Seeks to Weaken Hurricanes
Aug 2, 2008 1:42 PM CDT

US Seeks to Weaken Hurricanes

Scientists propose techniques to modify the weather

(Newser) - The Department of Homeland Security is hoping that weather-altering techniques can lessen the devastation caused by hurricanes, the Daily Telegraph reports. A hurricane reduction program likely to begin in October will devote $64 million to efforts such as spreading tiny salt particles in the storms to drain them of much...

Please, Media, That Was No Quake
 Please, Media,
 That Was No Quake
opinion
Aug 1, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

Please, Media, That Was No Quake

The only real damage was to one columnist's workday

(Newser) - The brouhaha over the California earthquake this week was generated as much by media as trembling ground, Joel Stein writes in the Los Angeles Times. The quake did damage Stein's workday, however, because he had to field so many calls from worried, out-of-state loved ones who saw the overhyped coverage...

Chinese Cheered by Eclipse
 Chinese Cheered by Eclipse 
Aug 1, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

Chinese Cheered by Eclipse

Nation desperate for good sign a week before Olympics

(Newser) - Finally, China had an act of nature it could celebrate. After an Olympic year of freakish natural disasters, crowds of Chinese watched a total solar eclipse along the country's ancient Silk Road on Friday, one week before the start of the Summer Games in Beijing, the AP reports.

16 Girls Killed, More Trapped in Turkey Dorm Collapse

Rescue teams dig frantically to unearth survivors

(Newser) - A three-story dormitory housing female students collapsed in central Turkey today, killing at least 16 girls, injuring at least 27, and setting off a search for a half-dozen students believed to be under the rubble. The students, between ages 8 and 16, were attending Koran courses in the city of...

Ragtag Levees Leave Midwest Soaking

Locals and towns run disorganized barrier system

(Newser) - As the Midwest battles massive flooding, the New York Times looks at the region's patchwork of homemade levees—which fail to meet federal standards and tend to spring unexpected leaks. Bill Clinton's White House advised a uniform levy system 15 years ago, but the report was read and forgotten. “...

7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan
7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan
UPDATED
Jun 14, 2008 7:21 AM CDT

7.2-Mag Quake Kills 6 in Northern Japan

(Newser) - A 7.2-magnitude earthquake jolted northern Japan today, killing at least 6 people and injuring more than 140 others, the AP reports. Landslides trapped another 100 bathers at a hot springs resort, but no tsunami warning was issued. At a nuclear power plant, 5 gallons of radioactive water splashed from...

Even As Neb. Honors Fallen Scouts, Floods Pound Iowa

Hospital evacuated in downtown Cedar Rapids, where 100 blocks are submerged

(Newser) - “We have to make sure people remember," said a 13-year-old who pulled a dead fellow Boy Scout out of the rubble left by Wednesday's fatal tornado. Last night's vigil in Omaha, Neb., was among several for the four teens killed in the Iowa maelstrom; “This is probably...

24 Trapped Ukraine Miners Rescued; 12 Still Missing

One dead in weekend explosion as rescue efforts continue

(Newser) - Rescuers have saved 24 Ukrainian miners trapped underground after a large explosion over the weekend. One miner was found dead, AFP reports. Efforts continued to rescue the remaining 12 workers as flood waters rose. Most of the survivors were found some 3,000 feet underground, their faces covered with soot...

Second Man Dead in NYC Crane Wreck
 Second Man Dead
 in NYC Crane Wreck 
UPDATED
May 30, 2008 2:31 PM CDT

Second Man Dead in NYC Crane Wreck

Both were construction workers; one was operating the crane

(Newser) - The construction crane accident in New York this morning has claimed a second life, that of a 27-year-old construction worker. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the builders were apparently up to snuff with regulations, AP reports, but added, “What has happened is unacceptable and intolerable.” The project was slapped...

Tornadoes Leave 2 Dead in Midwest

More than 20 twisters strike Kan., Okla.

(Newser) - Kansas authorities uncovered two bodies from a crumpled car today after nearly 20 tornadoes whipped through the state yesterday, the AP reports. Several more twisters landed in the countryside of northwestern Oklahoma, leveling a few barns, and Colorado residents are returning to the town of Windsor today after twisters damaged...

6 Die in 5.7-Mag Colombia Quake
 6 Die in 5.7-Mag
 Colombia Quake 
updated
May 24, 2008 6:29 PM CDT

6 Die in 5.7-Mag Colombia Quake

Bogota shakes, 33 miles from epicenter

(Newser) - At least six people died and eight were injured during an earthquake in Colombia today, Reuters reports. The 5.7-magnitude temblor also razed 10 homes, damaged buildings, and sent people running into the streets of Bogota. Three of the quake's fatalities were trapped in landslides, and three others, including a...

Visiting UN Chief Pushes Burma to Accept Aid

Junta refuses US supplies waiting nearby

(Newser) - UN chief Ban Ki-Moon witnessed cyclone damage in Burma today, on a trip to bring the devastated country a “message of hope” and push the junta to allow international aid for the millions left destitute, Reuters reports. “I'm quite confident we will be able to overcome this tragedy,...

Quake Toll Could Top 50K
 Quake Toll Could Top 50K 
May 15, 2008 12:39 PM CDT

Quake Toll Could Top 50K

China says 20,000 confirmed dead, and at least 25,000 still trapped

(Newser) - The death toll from China’s devastating earthquake could ultimately top 50,000, Reuters reports. Some 20,000 have been confirmed dead, but Chinese officials fear for tens of thousands trapped under rubble, as rescuers contend with landslides, destroyed roads, and collapsed bridges. But even among those above ground, the...

China Quake Toll Tops 13,000
 China Quake Toll Tops 13,000 
UPDATED
May 13, 2008 3:10 PM CDT

China Quake Toll Tops 13,000

Death toll expected to rise, may end up in six figures

(Newser) - The official death toll for the Chinese earthquake shot past 13,000 today and is expected to jump sharply after the full extent of the devastation is accounted for, Reuters reports. In one town with a prequake population of 12,000, only 2,000 survived; in all, 60,000 are...

Grief Turns to Fury For Quake Survivors

Anger flares among parents whose children lie in rubble

(Newser) - As rescue efforts continue in western China, the mood among survivors of the earthquake has transformed from grief to fury: at the military, at builders, and above all at the government. In Dujiangyan, where several hundreds pupils died when a school collapsed, the Guardian reports that residents tried to push...

Volcanic Plume Blankets S. America

Ash from Chile eruption closing in on Beunos Aires

(Newser) - A mammoth plume of ash and smoke from a newly erupted volcano in Chile is slowly working its way across South America and now poses a health risk to the 8 million residents of Beunos Aires, AFP reports. Thousands of residents of southern Chile were evacuated Tuesday, with ash coating...

Chilean Volcano Keeps Rumbling

Area evacuated as lava flies 12 miles into the sky from long-dormant Chaiten

(Newser) - The southern Chilean town of Chaiten has been totally evacuated after a volcano, active since Friday, belched molten lava and ash more than 12 miles high, the AP reports. Around 4,000 people have already left the area since the volcano—believed dormant for thousands of years—began acting up,...

First Lady Steps Up for Cyclone Relief

Bush blasts Burmese junta, presses nation to accept US aid

(Newser) - First Lady Laura Bush took a rare turn in the spotlight today and pressed Burma to let a US disaster response team into the country, CNN reports. In a press conference, she also slammed the junta for its "failure to meet its people's basic needs" after a cyclone killed...

Bush Salutes Tornado Town in Speech to Kansas Grads

US communities 'stronger than any storm,' he boasts

(Newser) - President Bush returned to praise Greensburg residents yesterday to mark the first anniversary of the day the Kansas town was struck by a devastating tornado that killed 11. Bush applauded the community's resilience and determination in a speech to the town's high school graduating class of just 18 students, reports...

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