Natural Disaster

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Michael was still strengthening as it closed in on the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday with the threat of catastrophic surges of sea water and roof-shredding winds, and was expected to be the worst hurricane ever recorded in the region. Michael caught many by surprise with its rapid intensification as it…

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Florida Governor Rick Scott warned state residents that "this storm could kill you" Powerful Hurricane Michael is set to make landfall in Florida later on Wednesday, forcing mass evacuations in the southern US state. A category three storm with winds near 125mph (200km/h), Michael is expected to strengthen further…

Enlarge / A firefighter in a Verizon ad touting the carrier's commitment to public safety. VerizonVerizon is touting its commitment to firefighters and public safety in a new ad, released weeks after Verizon throttled the Santa Clara County fire department while it was fighting California's largest-ever wildfire. "From coast to coast and everywhere in between,…

PALU, Indonesia (Reuters) - International efforts to help survivors of Indonesia’s devastating earthquake and tsunami gathered pace on Thursday as concern grew for hundreds of thousands with little food and water, six days after disaster struck. A ship is seen stranded on the shore after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area in Wani, Donggala,…

DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers on Tuesday posted a hefty drop in U.S. new vehicle sales for September, caused in part by a decline in sales in areas hit by Hurricane Florence and a tough comparison to the previous September when consumers rushed to replace vehicles damaged by Hurricane Harvey. FILE PHOTO: Cars sit in…

JUST after 5:30pm on September 28th, a three-metre-high tsunami struck Palu and Donggala, two cities on Sulawesi, an island in the east of Indonesia. It had been triggered by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake out at sea 30 minutes earlier. The wave was devastating. Bridges were smashed, homes toppled and cars swept away. An eight-storey hotel, with…

PEOPLE living on opposite sides of the planet have in recent days felt the disastrous consequences of distant rumblings in the deep ocean. In America, they are still suffering the devastation left by Hurricane Florence, which made landfall in North Carolina on September 14th. Less than 12 hours later super-Typhoon Mangkhut tore into the Philippines,…

KINSTON, N.C. (Reuters) - The major coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina remained cut off by floodwaters from Hurricane Florence on Thursday and more than 200 roads across the state were closed or blocked as residents struggled to recover from the epic storm. Though Florence has moved to the northeast and largely dissipated since making…

President Donald Trump argued this week that Puerto Rico’s death toll after Hurricane Maria was exaggerated in order to make him look bad, sparking criticism from a number of politicians. U.S. House Democratic candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is one of the latest to respond, disclosing a personal connection with the natural disaster. “My…

The first rains of Hurricane Florence have begun to lash North Carolina on Thursday, with the storm growing in size, packing sustained winds of up to 105 miles an hour and driving a storm surge that could reach 13 feet in places. As rain and wind spread across the Outer Banks, officials warned of the…