Weather, Natural Disaster | featured news

On April 10, 2011, tornadoes ripped across Wisconsin, tearing roofs off houses, toppling trees and snapping power lines. In many places, the high winds were greeted with silence as some Cold War-era warning sirens failed because of lost power and other issues — just when they were needed the most.

Middle America was overwhelmed by weather Thursday, with snow in the north, tornadoes in the Plains, and torrential rains that caused floods and transportation woes - and a sinkhole in Chicago.

Iran has been struck by its most powerful earthquake for more than 50 years, with tremors felt across Pakistan, India and the Middle East. The epicentre of the 7.8-magnitude quake was near the south-eastern city of Khash, close to Pakistan.

A vast storm system that spawned tornadoes and killed three people marched toward the East Coast on Friday, delivering spring snow and ice to New England and promising to drench some of the country’s most populous cities. On Thursday, storms tore through the Great Plains, Midwest and South.

A destructive storm system draped itself across half the country Thursday, from the Gulf Coast to Canada and with a wingspan from Maine to the Dakotas.

Geologists and engineers are assessing the stability of a scenic Puget Sound area after a large landside thundered down a hillside, knocking one house off its foundation and threatening others.

In this aerial photo, a landslide is shown near Coupeville, Wash.

After a man was swallowed by a sinkhole in Tampa, Fla., there seemed to be new ones opening up all over the place, but experts say that’s just what sinkholes do.

Sensors gave 30 seconds' warning before Monday's desert temblor was felt at Caltech. Scientists hope to get funds to expand the pilot project into a statewide network. In the seismic annals of California, Monday's magnitude 4.7 earthquake was little more than a footnote. It gave Southern California a small morning jolt but caused no damage and was largely shrugged off by noon.

Emergency officials in Mississippi are assessing damage after a tornado ripped through a populated area near the University of Southern Mississippi.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a strong but deep earthquake has shaken western Colombia. The agency says the quake struck at 9:16 a.m. (1606 GMT) Saturday and had a magnitude of 7.0. it was located about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from Pasto.