natural disaster

GEYSERVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say they’ve ordered at least 40,000 people to evacuate as wind-driven fires rage near neighborhoods north of Los Angeles.

Rescue crews in Alabama and Georgia are searching for survivors Monday after deadly tornadoes tore through parts of the southeast, killing at least 23 people and wrecking wide-spread damage to homes and businesses. 

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday warned Hurricane Michael is the “worst storm” that the Florida Panhandle has seen in 100 years.

Dozens of people were killed in Guatemala on Sunday after the Fuego volcano erupted, the country’s largest such eruption in over a century.

The eruption of Kilauea volcano is still being felt as its “heartbreaking” destruction continues.

TEHRAN, Iran — An earthquake of at least magnitude 5.5 struck in southern Iran near the country’s sole nuclear power plant on Thursday morning, shaking countries across the Persian Gulf. There was no immediate report of damage or injuries.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – Four states have declared a “state of emergency” as the Gulf Coast prepares to be hit by Tropical Storm Nate.

LONDON (AP) — British authorities say major flash flooding has hit a coastal village in the English county of Cornwall, prompting a rescue operation.

LYON (AFP) – A late-season avalanche killed two skiers and their guide in the French Alps near the Italian border Tuesday, local officials said. The avalanche struck in the Albaron area, the mayor of nearby Bonneval-sur-Arc, Gabriel Blanc, told AFP.

TIGNES, FRANCE (AFP) – An avalanche hit a ski slope in the popular French Alps resort of Tignes on Tuesday, engulfing “many” skiers, police said.

PARIS (AP) — At least four skiers were killed in an avalanche Monday in the French Alps near the resort of Tignes, and rescuers say they are trying to dig out five others from the snow with shovels. Many in the group are reported to be related.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — An earthquake of magnitude 5.4 has jolted the island of Crete, but there no reports by authorities of injuries or serious damage.

PENNE, Italy (AP) — The final death toll from Italy’s devastating avalanche stands at 29 after the remaining bodies were pulled out of the rubble of a hotel crushed by tons of snow, firefighters said Thursday.

FARINDOLA, Italy (AP) — The death toll from an avalanche in central Italy climbed to 14 on Tuesday as hopes began to fade that any of the 15 people still missing might be found alive under a mountain resort buried by tons of snow and rubble.

Thousands of residents of numerous prefectures of Japan, including the troubled Fukushima area, evacuated their homes Tuesday morning following a magnitude 7.4 earthquake and subsequent tsunami warnings.

Just two months after a major earthquake laid waste several towns of central Italy, three more quakes came in succession Wednesday night, leaving more devastation and thousands of displaced persons.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – President Obama is being pressured by a bipartisan Louisiana congressional delegation to back a bill worth billions in federal aid for the state’s flood victims.