disaster

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Ship Owner Blames Captain's 'Human Error'

Francesco Schettino seen drinking at onboard bar

(Newser) - The captain of the Costa Concordia is likely guilty in a disaster that has claimed at least five lives, the ship's owner says. "Preliminary indications are that there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship's master, Captain Francesco Schettino, which resulted in...

Captain Detained in Cruise Disaster

Police consider charges of manslaughter, abandoning ship

(Newser) - Italian police today detained the captain of a cruise ship that ran aground last night , killing at least three and triggering a massive overnight evacuation off Italy's west coast, CNN reports. Authorities say they may charge captain Francesco Schettino for manslaughter and abandoning ship. They also want to know...

Senators Make Deal to Avoid Government Shutdown

Lawmakers freed up to act on gridlocked legislation

(Newser) - Ending weeks of political brinkmanship, Congress finessed a dispute over disaster aid tonight and advanced legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown this weekend. The breakthrough came hours after the Federal Emergency Management Agency indicated it had enough money for disaster relief efforts through Friday. That disclosure allowed lawmakers to...

After Irene: 25 Dead, 4M Without Power

Flooding, fallen trees, downed power lines snarl many communities

(Newser) - With Irene gone, cleanup crews began pumping water out of soggy subway tunnels, fixing traffic lights in the nation's capital, and clearing debris from hundreds of roads as the East Coast readied for the workweek. While early indications were that the damage was not as bad as feared, the...

Woman 7th to Die in Indiana Stage Collapse

Cheerleading coach Meagan Toothman was 24

(Newser) - An Ohio cheerleading coach has become the seventh fatality in the Indiana State Fair stage collapse. Meagan Toothman, 24, died Saturday night from injuries sustained in the disaster, police said. She worked as a coach at her old high school while pursuing a master’s degree in counseling, the Indianapolis ...

Children's Bodies Found in Volga River Disaster

About 50 people, mostly children, discovered in interior room

(Newser) - A tragic confirmation from the Russian Volga river disaster : Divers searching the sunken cruise ship discovered the bodies of about 50 people, mostly children, in one of the ship's recreation areas. The children were known to have been brought to the interior area minutes before the ship went down...

Cruise Ship Catastrophe Death Toll Hits 100

Including many, many children

(Newser) - The death toll from the sinking of a Russian cruise ship in the Volga River has ballooned to more than 100, and a great many of those were children. Minutes before the boat sank, the children had been brought together in an interior play area, the New York Times reports,...

41 Dead, 80 Missing After Russia Cruise Ship Sinks

80 rescued thus far in Volga disaster

(Newser) - The numbers are getting worse: 41 people, including five children, are dead, with more than 80 still missing after an overpacked cruise ship sank on the Volga River in Russia yesterday afternoon. An official now says the Bulgaria was carrying 208 people—far more than the 120 it was licensed...

Madoff Family's New Gig: High-End Disaster Planning

Catherine Hooper and Andrew Madoff run 'Black Umbrella'

(Newser) - Are you prepared in the event of a disaster? Well, if you have tons of excess cash, don’t worry: The Madoff family can help. After his father was arrested, Andrew Madoff helped fiancée Catherine Hooper launch a high-end disaster planning service, ABC News reports. Dubbed “Black Umbrella,...

Swarm of Mild Quakes Rattles Arkansas

Fracking, or natural gas mining, might be to blame

(Newser) - Arkansas residents are dealing with a new rash of minor earthquakes, the AP reports. The quakes—30 since Sunday, with the largest at 3.8 magnitude—have not caused serious damage, but have understandably unnerved the populace. "Now when it happens, people say, 'Well, there's another one,'" says...

40 Killed in Israel Forest Fire
 40 Killed in Israel Forest Fire 
Dec 2, 2010 10:23 AM CST

40 Killed in Israel Forest Fire

Bus overturns; crews unable to stop flames

(Newser) - A forest fire in northern Israel has killed at least 40 people after a bus overturned in the flames, the Jerusalem Post reports. The fire, which began this morning near a village, has spread across some 1,400 acres. Fire crews battled the flames as a kibbutz and a prison...

'Solar Katrina' Could Blindside Us
 'Solar Katrina' 
 Could Blindside Us 
OPINION
Aug 17, 2010 12:05 AM CDT

'Solar Katrina' Could Blindside Us

Senate needs to act to protect power grid

(Newser) - America is woefully underprepared for a looming natural disaster with the potential to be much worse than Hurricane Katrina, warns disaster expert Lawrence E. Joseph. Scientists believe a solar storm of a size not seen since 1921 is likely to hit the earth after solar activity picks up in 2012,...

Arkansas Flash Floods Kill at Least 20

Victims were near popular campgrounds in Little Rock area

(Newser) - Floodwaters that rose as swiftly as 8 feet an hour rushed into a remote Arkansas valley early today, killing at least 20 people, many of them campers who became trapped by a devastating wall of water. Dozens more are missing and feared dead. Around dawn, floodwaters barreled through a campground...

Execs Found Guilty 25 Years After Bhopal Disaster

Union Carbide bosses guilty of death by negligence

(Newser) - More than a quarter-century after one of the worst industrial disasters in history, the verdicts are in. An Indian court has found 8 former executives at Union Carbide's Indian subsidiary guilty of causing death by negligence for their role in 1984's Bhopal disaster, CNN reports. A leak at the chemical...

President's Body Returns to Poland

Lech Kaczynski will lie in state at presidential palace in Warsaw

(Newser) - Mourners filled the streets of Warsaw today as the coffin bearing the body of president Lech Kaczynski returned to the presidential palace, where he will lie in state for a week. Earlier, Vladimir Putin attended a memorial service for Kaczynski, his wife, Maria, and the 94 other victims of yesterday's...

Last 4 Miners Found Dead
 Last 4 Miners Found Dead 
Apr 10, 2010 2:18 AM CDT

Last 4 Miners Found Dead

Death toll makes explosion worst coal-mining disaster in 40 years

(Newser) - Dashing hopes that they had survived the massive explosion that killed 25 of their colleagues, four coal miners were found dead early this morning in a mine in Montcoal, W. Va., making Monday's incident the worst coal-mining disaster in over a generation. The head of the Mine Safety and Health...

Coal Mines Blow Off Safety Fines

US operations have almost $90m in unpaid

(Newser) - US coal mining operations have racked up plenty of safety regulations in recent years, but they simply haven’t bothered to pay thee resulting fines. Of the $113 million in major penalties the federal government has dished out over the past 3 years, coal companies have paid just $8 million,...

Mine Had 50 Safety Violations Last Month Alone

West Virginia site has spotty record on ventilation

(Newser) - The West Virginia mine where an explosion killed at least 25 men has a checkered safety record, with more than 50 violations last month and 3 deaths since 1998. The violations include ventilation issues, which may be relevant if speculation about a methane explosion proves true, notes Andrea Stone at...

Miner's Family: He Knew the Risks

Family honors Benny Willingham, one of the 25 killed in mine blast

(Newser) - The family of one of the 25 men killed in Monday's coal mine explosion in West Virginia says he went to work every day fully aware of the risks. "He thanked the Lord for watching over him in the mines for over 30 years," the sister of 62-year-old...

25 Dead in West Virginia Mine Explosion

Blast is worst mine disaster in US in 25 years

(Newser) - At least 25 coal miners were killed and 4 still missing in a West Virginia explosion that marked the worst US mine disaster since 1984. Some 21 were injured in the late afternoon explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine, 30 miles south of Charleston, reports AP . The mine...

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