Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters caused $186 billion in economic losses globally in 2012 and took approximately 14,000 lives, according to global insurer Swiss Re’s latest sigma study. The United States bore the brunt, about $119 billion, of that total …
As the spring sun glinted off the Atlantic Ocean at the tiny resort town of Avon-by-the-Sea, a small brown and white dog raced gleefully down the empty beach. “He’s the only one getting anything done,” muttered a scowling hard-hat worker, …
An unusual and widely felt 5.6-magnitude quake in Oklahoma in 2011 was probably caused when oil drilling waste was pushed deep underground, a team of university and federal scientists concluded. That would make it the most powerful quake to be …
A large cabinet housing flight monitors that toppled on a 10-year-old Kansas boy, killing him and seriously injuring his mother at Birmingham’s newly renovated airport, wasn’t inspected by the city after installation, the city said Tuesday. Steve Stine, an assistant …
An attorney says a disabled man was awarded $8,000 by Disneyland after the “It’s A Small World” ride broke, stranding him for a half hour while the theme song played continuously. Lawyer David Geffen says Jose Martinez didn’t medically stabilize …
The father of a 16-year-old Maine girl killed in a car crash last year has sued the driver and three others. Rebecca Mason’s father this week filed suit in Oxford County Superior Court against 19-year-old Kristina Lowe, the driver of …
A sinkhole has forced two families from their Florida duplex in the same area where another sinkhole opened under a man’s bedroom, killing him less than a month ago. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews responded to 911 call Tuesday evening. …
Johnson County has lost about half its snowplow fleet to a fire at a county building on the west side of Iowa City. Five trucks were damaged in Monday’s fire, and three more are likely a total loss. The cost …
A strong earthquake struck rural central Taiwan on Wednesday, swaying buildings, sending school children to seek cover and injuring at least 20 people. The Central Weather Bureau said the magnitude-6.1 earthquake was felt throughout the island. Buildings swayed in the …
Private, nonprofit organizations in West Virginia have until April 23 to submit disaster loan applications for damages caused by severe summer storms last year. The U.S. Small Business Administration offers economic injury disaster loans to help those organizations meet working …