Death Toll, Natural Disaster | featured news

Rescue and relief efforts continue in seven states in the South as hundreds of thousands remain without power. University of Alabama ends school year early. The death toll from this week's tornadoes continued to climb Saturday morning, making the storms fueled by record winds the second worst in history.

Public and private assistance -- in the form of food, tarps and hugs -- began arriving Thursday in storm-battered Southern communities that lost nearly 300 people and saw once-familiar neighborhoods reduced to piles of debris.

From remote rural communities to the state's second-largest city, thousands of residents hit by the worst tornado outbreak in nearly 30 years ...

Japan hoped power lines restored to its stricken nuclear plant may help solve the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami that also left more than 21,000 people dead or missing.

An explosion at a nuclear power station Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor amid fears that it could melt down after being hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami.

Disaster officials say the death toll from a tsunami that barreled into several remote Indonesian islands one week ago has climbed to 449.

The death toll from Typhoon Megi rose to 11 on Saturday as it cut a deadly path into Asia, triggering mudslides and leaving tourists stranded in Taiwan.

The massive flooding that has covered about one-fifth of Pakistan has claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people, authorities said Saturday.

The death toll climbed to more than 1,300 in Pakistan on Wednesday as the nation's military and emergency services struggled to cope with the flood waters that have washed across the landscape.

The government has had difficulties getting aid to the affected area, and at times receiving accurate information. On Sunday, officials reduced the number of dead to 730, saying that earlier reports on Sunday, reaching as high at 1,100, were not credible.