Natural Disasters

The Sayler Park tornado which struck the Cincinnati area as part of the "Super Outbreak" was a category F5 storm on the Fujita scale, the highest possible rating on the scale.

How 148 Tornadoes in One Day in 1974 Changed Emergency Preparedness

The “super outbreak” flattened towns and killed and injured thousands, all with little warning and in the space of 24 hours

Marilyn Leistner, who was the last mayor of Times Beach, stands next to a caution sign erected in front of the town in 1991, not long before the town was bulldozed and buried.

How Agent Orange Turned This American Small Town Into a Toxic Waste-Ridden Deathtrap

“Walking into the houses, many of them were like people had just simply stood up, walked out and never come back”

The Azure Window in better days, 2009

Malta's Iconic Azure Window Crumbles Into the Sea

The limestone arch on the island of Gozo was expected to stand several more decades, but a vicious storm Wednesday took out the natural wonder

An 1817 illustration of a draisine.

This Wooden Running Machine Was Your Fixie’s Great-Great Grandpa

The draisine was invented as a potential replacement for the horse during a shortage

Lake Oroville's dam is in danger of breach—but California's drought is still far from over.

Despite Dam Danger, California’s Still In a Drought

Look beneath the surface for an unresolved water crisis

This Town in Iceland Is a Modern Pompeii

Iceland’s ‘Mountain of Fire’ volcano wreaked havoc with an island and the island fought back

The Louisiana wetlands are at an even greater risk today than they were when Isle Derniere was destroyed

A Hurricane Destroyed This Louisiana Resort Town, Never to Be Inhabited Again

The destruction of Isle Derniere resonates as history’s warning for our era of rising seas

New asteroids are detected every day surrounding Earth, most of which are harmless.

Sure, Earth Could Get Hit by a Deadly Asteroid—But There’s an Upside

Con: Devastating outer space impacts. Pro: Global unity!

How Pokémon Go Can Save Lives in a Hurricane

Players could mobilize by donating blood, filling sandbags and evacuating threatened areas

Scientists Just Discovered a Missing Link Between San Francisco’s Faults

Two of California's most active fault lines appear to be a 118-mile-long fault instead

Did a Comet Set Off Global Warming 56 Million Years Ago?

Tiny glass beads found in New Jersey and Bermuda suggest this dramatic warming period began with an impact

Mount Etna, Italy, erupts at night.

Predicting Chaos: New Sensors Sniff Out Volcanic Eruptions Before They Happen

How volcanologists brave lung-singeing fumes to monitor eruptions with cutting-edge sensors

Clyde R. Meyers, Denham Springs flood survivor, holds a photograph of his parents, saturated with floodwater from the 2016 historic flooding in Louisiana.

How to Save Family Heirlooms from Natural Disasters

It isn't easy to save cultural heritage from the ravages of nature, but a national task force thinks it's worth trying

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How Waffle House Uses Twitter to Help Recovery Efforts

FEMA themselves admit that they look to the omnipresent chain to see where the damage is the worst

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How Earthquakes and Volcanoes Reveal the Beating Heart of the Planet

The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program has stitched together a visual archive of the world’s earthquakes and volcanoes

A prototype shelter from The Mobile Factory

The Mobile Factory Turns Earthquake Rubble Into Bricks For Permanent Homes

The Netherlands-based company makes Lego-like blocks from debris using portable equipment that fits in two shipping containers

In an artist's interpretation, the forested and warm Late Cretaceous is abruptly destroyed by a six-mile wide asteroid.

Life Bounced Back After the Dinosaurs Perished

The devastation was immediate, catastrophic and widespread, but plants and mammals were quick to take over

The bike on display at the Harley-Davidson Museum.

The Motorcycle That Rode the Tsunami

A Harley, washed out to sea, traveled more than 4,000 miles to its current home

People sit on a roof waiting to be rescued after Hurricane Katrina

Eleven Years After Katrina, What Lessons Can We Learn Before the Next Disaster Strikes?

Author and playwright John Biguenet offers his thoughts on the narrative of destruction

Rescuers search for survivors following the earthquake that struck central Italy early this morning.

The Geology Behind Italy’s Catastrophic Quake

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook the Apennine Mountains—and given the region’s geology, that’s no surprise

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