DISASTERS

Fading Titanic needs protection, explorer says

Titanic resurfaces in its extraordinary way over this week with TV specials timed to the 100th anniversary of its sinking this month. Deep-sea explorer Bob Ballard, who in 1985 found the luxury liner's dismembered corpse strewn across acres of the North Atlantic's floor, brings one of the best for those intrigued by the disaster in “Save the Titanic” (9 p.m. Monday, National Geographic Channel).

By Mark Washburn , April 09, 2012

Titanic’s legacy defined by fascination with disasters

Epic disasters — the anguished cries, the stories of heroism — are the central narratives of our age, both enthralling and horrifying. And our obsession began a century ago, unfolding in just 160 terrifying minutes, on a supposedly unsinkable ship, as more than 1,500 souls slipped into the icy waters of the North Atlantic. And the band played on. It was the Titanic. And ever since, we’ve been hooked on disasters, in general — but the tale of the great luxury liner, in particular. And the approaching 100th anniversary of the sinking has merely magnified the Titanic’s fascination.

By Seth Borenstein , April 08, 2012

UPDATE: Powerful quake hits central Chile; coast empties because of tsunami risk

A magnitude-7.2 earthquake has struck just off the coast of central Chile, prompting an emergency evacuation order for people living near the ocean in case it spawns a tsunami.

By Eva Vergara , March 25, 2012

UPDATE: Strong, lengthy 7.6 quake, aftershock shakes parts of Mexico

A strong 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit southern Mexico on Tuesday, damaging some 800 homes near the epicenter and swaying tall buildings and spreading fear and panic hundreds of miles away in the capital of Mexico City.

By Katherine Corcoran , March 20, 2012

Japan marks 1 year since quake, tsunami disaster

With moments of silence and prayers, Japan on Sunday was remembering the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the nation one year ago, killing just over 19,000 people and unleashing the world's worst nuclear crisis in a quarter century.

By Malcolm Foster , March 11, 2012

Backbone of U.S. safety net: Volunteer 'disaster junkies'

Rebuilding after storms is becoming a growth industry as the United States is slammed by more natural disasters, and leaders of the response efforts say the nation's recovery network functions as well as it does because of a backbone of volunteers nicknamed "disaster junkies."

By Jay Reeves , March 02, 2012

Man who warned of equipment quirk before Challenger disaster dies

Roger Boisjoly, who died at 73, had written an ominous memo to his supervisors at Morton Thiokol six months before the shuttle launched on Jan. 28, 1986. He told the company that cold weather could compromise the seals connecting sections of the rocket boosters they manufactured. Boisjoly and four other engineers pleaded with supervisors for a delay the night before the launch, as temperatures dipped below freezing.

By Associated Press , February 07, 2012

Philippines quake death toll rises to 15

Rescuers digging for survivors among dozens of people buried by earthquake-triggered landslides on a central Philippine island have found only bodies. The death toll climbed to 15 on Tuesday, and at least 73 people were still missing.

By Hrvoje Hranjski , February 06, 2012

Family of Minnesota couple in cruise disaster says pair still missing

The children of Jerry and Barbara Heil of White Bear Lake, Minn., say they continue to be "overwhelmed" by all that the U.S. Embassy in Italy and the Italian authorities have done in searching for the missing passengers.

By Associated Press , January 20, 2012

Minot, Ward County getting $77 million in federal flood relief funds

The federal government has agreed to $77 million in new flood relief funds for North Dakota, the state’s congressional delegation announced Thursday. This represents about 20 percent of the total disaster-relief funding nationwide.

By Herald Staff Report , January 19, 2012

PHILIPPINES: Landslide kills 25, buries dozens more

VIDEO: Bottom of article
A landslide tore through a tiny gold-mining village in the southern Philippines Thursday, killing 25 people and burying dozens more, months after the government warned residents the mountain was certain to crumble.

By Oliver Teves , January 05, 2012

Flood disaster aid from feds, state nears $450 million

The Federal Emergency Management Agency also says more than 1,900 families are now living in temporary housing the agency has set up.

By Associated Press , December 10, 2011

N.D.'s Dickey, Sargent counties among 9 in Dakotas newly eligible for fed disaster aids

Farmers in those counties are eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the federal government, as well as help through other programs.

By Associated Press , November 25, 2011

Radioactive waste disposal presents growing crisis for Japan

Goshi Hosono, the country's nuclear crisis minister, said today that Japan has yet to come up with a comprehensive plan for how to dispose of the irradiated waste that has been accumulating since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people. Cleaning up the area and compensating residents is expected to cost trillions of yen -- tens of billions of U.S. dollars.

By Mari Yamaguchi , November 04, 2011

Flood-stressed Ramsey County asks North Dakota for road funding

Devils Lake damages more roads than county can afford
The Ramsey County Commission committed the county to completing an estimated $7.6 million worth of flood-related road-raise construction projects.

By Kevin Bonham , November 01, 2011