Archive for the 'Catastrophes' Category



Powerful earthquake strikes off Chile

A mighty 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern Chile late Tuesday, triggering small landslides, cutting power and generating a tsunami. Four men and one woman died – two who suffered heart attacks and three who were crushed – said Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo. About 300 prisoners escaped from the northern port city of […]

Florida resort and sinkhole

A Florida time-share resort where a sinkhole devoured a building Sunday night said that it is open for business and next week’s guests should “come on down.” Paul Caldwell – the general manager of Summer Bay Resorts, which is located 6 miles from Walt Disney World – made the pitch to guests at a news […]

4.7 earthquake in Southern California

A modest earthquake left Southern California with the jitters Monday but no serious damage as the temblor caused swaying and rolling from the desert to the coast, sending children scrambling under their desks and office workers running for the door. The 9:55 a.m. quake had an estimated magnitude of 4,7, said Nick Scheckel, seismic analyst […]

Hurricane Sandy menaces US coast

As mammoth storm system Hurricane Sandy conspired to assault the most populous part of the United States, hundreds of thousands of people moved to higher ground and cities announced shutdowns that typically occur after several feet of snow. The Washington region’s entire public transit system (Metro, Virginia Railway Express and the Maryland Transportation System) ceased […]

Powerful 7.6 Costa Rica earthquake

A powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook Costa Rica and neighboring countries on Wednesday, sending panicked people into the streets and briefly triggering a tsunami alert, but causing little damage. Authorities reported one confirmed death. A wall at the University of Costa Rica’s school of electrical engineering is damaged after an earthquake in San Jose, Costa Rica, […]

Hurricane Isaac 2012 and GOP convention

The approach of Hurricane Isaac is having more of an impact on the Republican National Convention here than just the postponement of most of the gathering’s first day. Buried under the avalanche of concern and attention directed at the storm is the ongoing controversy surrounding Missouri congressman Todd Akin and his comments about rape victims […]

Hurricane near GOP convention‎

Tropical Storm Isaac may grow into a hurricane on a path toward the west coast of Florida, where the Republican Party holds its national convention next week. The National Hurricane Center’s tracking map shows the system crossing Haiti on Friday and striking Cuba before arriving at the Florida coast below Cape Coral on Monday. That’s […]

Fire at Tyler Perry’s studios

Atlanta fire officials say they have put out a 4-alarm blaze at filmmaker Tyler Perry’s studio that damaged a building at the complex. Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jolyon Bundrige says there were no reports of injuries from the fire that started before 9 p.m. Tuesday at Tyler Perry Studios. Officials said in a news […]

Wichita, Kansas tornado damages

Wichita was under a tornado emergency late Saturday as a large twister, part of a series of severe storms in the Great Plains, moved through south-central Kansas and threatened to destroy homes. The “confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado was located just east of Conway Springs and moving northeast at 35 mph” – toward the […]

Indonesia’s quake

The massive earthquake off Indonesia surprised scientists: Usually this type of jolt isn’t this powerful. The biggest earthquakes tend to occur in subduction zones where one plate of the Earth’s crust dives under another. This grind produced the 2004 magnitude-9,1 Indian Ocean disaster and the magnitude-9 Japan quake last year. Wednesday’s magnitude-8,6 occurred along a […]