disaster

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Conservative Group Warns of Nuclear 'EMP' Attack

A bomb could wipe out US electronics

(Newser) - If the threat of conventional attacks by terrorists aren't enough for you, consider the EMP scenario. Bad guys detonate a nuclear weapon high above US soil, triggering an electromagnetic pulse that knocks out all electronics and renders the US helpless. The conservative Heritage Foundation is so worried it's calling on...

In One Chilean City, Quake Causes Flashbacks

Valdivia suffered strongest quake in history in 1960

(Newser) - For some Chileans, the massive earthquake that struck Saturday was terrifyingly familiar. Almost 50 years ago, Valdivia was rocked by a 9.5-magnitude quake, the biggest in recorded history. “We were sleeping, and then the house began to rise up,” says one Valdivia resident, recalling how the quake...

Haiti Observes Day of Mourning

Tens of thousands honor quake victims

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Haitians united today to mourn the victims of the earthquake that devastated the nation 1 month ago. At Champs de Mars, a tent city outside the collapsed National Palace, a 3-day memorial service began. "Haiti has just experienced the biggest tragedy of our history,''...

Official: No One Trapped in Conn. Power Plant Rubble

Everyone accounted for after explosion

(Newser) - The deputy fire marshal of Middletown Conn., where a power plant explosion killed five people yesterday, says that no one is believed buried in the rubble, meaning the death toll from the blast will likely stand at five. The town's mayor also released a statement saying that everyone assigned to...

Conn. Power Plant Blast Death Toll Climbs to 5

About 50 people were working at Middletown facility before explosion

(Newser) - The natural gas explosion that destroyed a Connecticut power plant today killed at least 5 people and injured at least 14, officials said. Police dogs are searching the rubble of the Kleen Energy Systems plant, where about 50 people—not 100, the initial figure—were working, the Hartford Courant reports....

Deadly Power Plant Explosion Rocks Conn. Town

At least 2 dead, dozens injured in Middletown blast

(Newser) - An explosion at a power plant in Middletown, Conn., has killed at least two people and injured dozens, according to officials in the Hartford suburb. "There are bodies everywhere," said a witness. A gas leak appears to have caused the blast, which was felt more than 10 miles...

Fireworks Blast Kills 100 at Russian Nightclub

140 injured as celebration turns deadly

(Newser) - An explosion and fire caused by fireworks killed more than 100 and injured at least 140 overnight at a nightclub in Russia’s sixth-largest city. The Lame Horse in Perm was celebrating its eighth anniversary, one official says, and “there were fireworks launched at the scene, and one hit...

Army Corps' Negligence Led to Katrina Flooding: Judge

Feds could be on the hook for billions in damages

(Newser) - In an opinion that could open the federal government to billions in damage claims, a judge ruled today that the failure of the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain an outlet channel led directly to disastrous flooding in and around New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005....

Landslides Wipe Out 4 Indonesian Villages

Another 640 people feared dead in remote areas

(Newser) - At least four Indonesian villages were obliterated by earthquake-triggered landslides that buried as many as 644 people under mountains of mud and debris. Most of the victims were members of a communal wedding party. It's not clear exactly when the landslides occurred, but the full extent of Wednesday's 7.6-magnitude...

Miracle Rescue Lifts Hopes for 3,000 Trapped in Quake

Hopes dim as new emergency teams arrive in Indonesia

(Newser) - Rescue teams racing to find earthquake survivors in Indonesia pulled a young woman alive from the rubble of a collapsed school today, a rare glimmer of hope in the 2-day-old search. More than 1,000 people are reported dead, and difficult conditions in Padang are making it hard to reach...

Indonesia Quake Toll Passes 1,000

Samoa tsunami cleanup effort begins in earnest

(Newser) - The death toll in Indonesia has reached 1,100 and is expected to keep rising. Rescue workers are scrambling to find earthquake survivors under trapped buildings, with "many hundreds more" injured or missing, says a top UN relief official. Rescue efforts have been hung up over a shortage of...

Samoa Tsunami Toll Hits 150
 Samoa Tsunami Toll Hits 150 
Oct 1, 2009 8:39 AM CDT

Samoa Tsunami Toll Hits 150

Villagers describe terror of being trapped underwater

(Newser) - Stunned Samoans combed through the sodden wreckage of their lives and told of the terror of being trapped underwater or flung inland by a tsunami that ravaged towns and killed at least 150 people in the South Pacific. Officials expect the death toll from Tuesday's disaster to rise as more...

More Quakes Slam Indonesia, Still Counting Its Dead

Witness describes crumbled, burning wreckage in Padang

(Newser) - Indonesia, still counting the dead and searching for the missing from yesterday’s 7.6 earthquake, was rattled by two more earthquakes this morning local time. The US Geological Survey recorded a 6.8 quake 140 miles from Padang, the western Sumatran city nearest yesterday’s epicenter; just 20 minutes...

Tsunami Toll Reaches 100, Obama Sends Disaster Aid

Second earthquake near Indonesia triggers new wave warnings

(Newser) - The death toll from the tsunami triggered by last night's 8.3-magnitude earthquake near Samoa has risen to more than 100, with fatalities reported across a number of islands. Barack Obama declared American Samoa a disaster area and has pledged "swift and aggressive" aid to the territory, where at...

240 Dead, 375K in Shelters After Philippines Floods

Minister appeals for more international help as toll continues to rise

(Newser) - At least 240 people are now confirmed dead in flooding in the Philippines after more than 90 new deaths were reported in Manila. Moreover, 375,000 have been displaced by the disaster, more than double earlier official figures. As government officials appeal for international help, a BBC correspondent says getting...

20 Killed in Turkish Floods
 20 Killed in Turkish Floods 
Sep 9, 2009 7:11 AM CDT

20 Killed in Turkish Floods

Downpour leaves 20 injured, more stranded

(Newser) - Flash floods gushed across a major highway and a commercial district in Istanbul today, killing at least 20 people and stranding dozens in cars or on rooftops, AP reports. Eight people are missing. Fueled by the worst rain in decades, waters rose more than 3 feet high in the city's...

LA Wildfire Strands Evacuation Holdouts

(Newser) - The so-called Station Fire is closing in on Los Angeles residents who refused to evacuate with their neighbors over the weekend and are now trapped and in danger, KTLA reports. Five people are stranded in a canyon, according to the AP. "Those people were told to get out two...

Calif. Wildfire Doubles Size to 85K Acres

10K evacuated as soot covers parts of Los Angeles

(Newser) - A southern California wildfire almost doubled in size overnight, reaching a whopping 85,760 acres, NBC Los Angeles reports, calling the speed of the fire’s spread “staggering.” A blanket of soot covers parts of the city as locals are warned to stay indoors, and heavy winds are...

Firefighters Battle Blazes Near Athens

(Newser) - Fire crews outside Athens are scrambling to exploit a lull in high winds as they fight massive wildfires that broke out Friday and have razed about 58 square miles north of the Greek capital. The flames are still spreading, and a dozen nuns had to be rescued from a convent...

Typhoon Toll Hits 500 as Taiwanese Are Buried Alive

(Newser) - Flooding and mudslides caused by Typhoon Morakot killed over 500 people in Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou said today in the country's first firm estimate of casualty figures. Some 400 people are believed to have been buried alive in a single village, the BBC reports. The military has now reopened a...

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