Natural Disasters News

A noted hurricane researcher has revised his Atlantic forecast upward and now calls for a total of nine hurricanes this season - an increase of one.

Tropical Storm Edouard is hitting the Texas Gulf coast east of Galveston with strong winds and rain.

CHENGDU, China - The final Olympic torch parade in homage to victims of China's earthquake was completed Tuesday after the route was changed amid worries about security in a region where Tibetan protests ...

A brush fire briefly burned on the Mineral Wells Trail in Griffith Park. The L.A. City Fire Department was on the scene quickly, and was joined by the L.A. County Fire Department.

With the 2008 Atlantic storm season in full swing as Edouard nears landfall, disaster experts say there are ways to prepare ahead to minimize damage and costs.

A freak tornado ripped through France late last night, killing at least three people and injuring up to nine others.

California fire officials say firefighters should have a huge wildfire burning in the mountains outside Yosemite National Park completely surrounded within a day.

The Olympic flame will be carried Monday around the track of a stadium that just weeks ago housed thousands of Chinese earthquake victims, as muted celebrations begin in one of the final stages of the global torch relay.

The arrival of the flame in Sichuan province's shattered town of Mianyang seemed to help raise the spirits of survivors, and torchbearers said they hoped it would give people courage.

'It's a way to encourage the victims to rebuild. The torch is a symbol of strength and will encourage them to carry on the tenacious struggle,' said Hu Lu, 27, a businesswoman and one of the 88 torchbearers.

Authorities say a wildfire that burned about 250 acres of private and state parkland in Chimney Rock Park is almost totally contained.

SAGIRIN, Turkey: Firefighters have brought a major forest fire under control in all but one area after it engulfed 4,000 hectares of woodland in Turkey's tourism heartland, the local governor said yesterday.

Forecasters said a tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of the Louisiana coast as a tropical depression formed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Seismologists at the University of Thessaloniki in Greece say a 5.3-magnitude earthquake has struck in the northern Aegean Sea.

The earthquake, with an epicenter about 87 miles southeast of Thessaloniki, caused no casualties or damage, authorities said.

There have been several aftershocks, with the strongest measuring 4.4, the scientists said.

Greece lies in one of the most earthquake-prone regions of the planet and strong tremors are a common occurrence.

Crowds roared with delight and waved hundreds of Chinese flags in welcome as the Olympic torch began an emotional tour of Sichuan on Sunday, three months after a powerful quake devastated large swaths of the ...

An Indonesian factory worker died of bird flu, bringing the death toll in the country worst hit by the virus to 112, a top health official said Sunday.

OMAK, Wash. - A wildfire has burned more than three square miles of timber and rangeland near Omak, and another fire has blackened nearly six times as much rangeland about five miles west of Coulee Dam.

Firefighters said Saturday they were getting closer to containing a 53-square-mile wildfire that had destroyed more than 20 homes in the mountains outside Yosemite National Park.

The blaze was about 80 percent contained Saturday morning and all evacuation orders had been lifted.

Firefighters were focused on building fire lines on the blaze's north flank and said they didn't expect it to grow much more.

The fire had destroyed 21 homes, forced the evacuation of 350 other houses and spread a smoky haze over the national park since it was sparked by a target shooter last week.

Aug. 02 - A thousand firefighters battle huge fires spreading across Turkey. Fire fighters worked through the night to bring under control a forest fire which engulfed 10,000 hectares in the Turkish tourism ...

At least 56,000 people become infected with the AIDS virus every year in the United States -- 40 percent more than previous estimates, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The huge wildfire near California's Yosemite National Park is now 60 percent contained.

Colorado's heat wave is set to intensify Friday. Temperatures are forecast to reach at least 100 along the Front Range and in the Plains.