Flood Threat

2010-03-19T12:45:46Z

National Guard troops patrol the perimeter of flood waters along the Red River, Friday, March 19, 2010, in Fargo, N.D. The projected crest of the Red River at Fargo, N.D., has dropped a half-foot, which is good news for a city braced for flooding. The National Weather Service revised ...

Chileans' quake knowledge saved thousands of lives

2010-03-19T14:45:27Z

<div><p>SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chileans' knowledge of earthquakes, combined with the abnormally long time it took for the February 27 quake to reach its crescendo, saved thousands of lives, a leading geophysicist said on Thursday.</p><p>Experts have been investigating why Chile's 8.8-magnitude quake, the world's fifth strongest recorded earthquake since 1900, killed r...

Many tools but no guarantees in forecasting floods

2010-03-19T13:45:37Z

<div id="subtitle">Never the same river twice: Forecasting how much the Red River will rise is tricky business</div><div><p>A year ago, weather forecasters changed their estimate late in the game of just how high the Red River would rise, stoking an 11th-hour sandbagging flurry in Fargo that proved unnecessary in the end because the new prediction was wrong.</p><p>Now, as the Red swells again toward an expected crest on Sunday, tens of thousands of Fargo resid...

APTOPIX Flood Threat

2010-03-19T12:45:34Z

National Guard troops patrol the perimeter of flood waters along the Red River, Friday, March 19, 2010, in Fargo, N.D. The rising waters of the Red are expected to crest in Fargo on Sunday. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

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Haiti Earthquake

2010-03-19T12:01:39Z

A man holding a child walks at a homeless earthquake survivors' camp during heavy rains in Port-au-Prince, Friday, March 19, 2010. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12, killing and injuring thousands and leaving more than a million people living in makeshift camps. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

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Making preparations

2010-03-19T02:16:06Z

<div id="subtitle">Earthquakes should be a reminder to be ready for a natural disaster</div><div><p> The massive earthquakes in Haiti and Chile should have a sobering effect on Americans, particularly those of us living in the seismically active West. Earthquakes can happen anywhere at any time, and because of the variables involved, it is difficult to say how the

Japan to boost Haiti aid to $100 mln: report

2010-03-18T23:15:21Z

<div><p>Japan will boost its aid to quake-hit Haiti to 100 million dollars, a report said Friday as the country's foreign minister prepared to visit the impoverished Caribbean nation this weekend.</p><p>Japan, which has already pledged 70 million dollars in emergency aid and for long-term reconstruction, will raise the total sum by 30 milli...

Fargo residents learn from mistakes in flood fight

2010-03-18T18:15:37Z

<div id="subtitle">From chopping down trees to torching ice, Fargo residents use new methods in their flood fight</div><div><p>Before this flood season, officials in Fargo asked homeowners to clear paths in their yards so that firm and straight walls of sandbags could be placed to protect their homes. One resident cut down his tree. Another went so far to use a torch to melt the ice off his ground.</p><p>Last year, Fargo wasn't so prepared. Homeowners put sand...

APTOPIX Red River Flood

2010-03-18T14:31:31Z

Mark Houglum works on a 40 foot flood wall used to protect his Moorhead, Minn. residence from the swollen Red River on Thursday, March 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Jay Pickthorn)

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RED RIVER FLOODING

2010-03-18T13:31:29Z

Graphic shows flood levels at major cities along the Red River since March 12 to present

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Clinton and Bush head to Haiti on Monday

2010-03-18T08:45:27Z

<div id="subtitle">Clinton, Bush traveling together to Haiti on Monday to assess recovery needs</div><div><p>Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who are spearheading U.S. fundraising for Haiti, will make their first joint visit to the

Ex-presidents George W. Bush, Clinton to visit Haiti

2010-03-18T08:16:12Z

<div><p>Former US presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are to visit Haiti next week in support of relief efforts in the quake-stricken Caribbean country.</p><p>"Presidents Clinton and Bush will meet with ...

Some Fargo residents refuse to move despite floods

2010-03-18T06:45:27Z

<div id="subtitle">Some Fargo, ND, residents determined to stay despite floods, but 1 has a canoe just in case</div><div><p>Mac Butler believes he'll beat the bloated Red River and save his home again this year. But a canoe and kayak are tied up outside his house just in case he's wrong.</p><p>Butler and his wife, Jane, are among the final holdouts in an already flood-ravaged Fargo neighborhood where some three dozen homeowners have opted to accept government ...

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush to visit quake-devastated Haiti

2010-03-18T06:30:27Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will visit Haiti on Monday to discuss the impoverished country's long-term recovery after a January earthquake killed hund...

Flood Threat Holdouts

2010-03-18T01:16:27Z

Mac Butler places sandbags outside his Fargo, N.D. home to protect from the rising Red River Wednesday, March 17, 2010. Butler is no stranger to spring flooding since he has lived at the same residence for more than 25 years and is now preparing for his fourth flood. (AP photo by Jay Pickthorn)

Avalanche kills eight in Tajikistan

2010-03-17T22:15:08Z

<div><p>DUSHANBE (Reuters) - An avalanche killed eight people on a mountain road in the Central Asian state of Tajikistan, the emergencies committee said Thursday.</p><p>The avalanche hit several cars on a busy road between the capital Dushanbe and Khujand, the la...

New North American avalanche danger scale unveiled

2010-03-17T17:15:28Z

<div><p>The Canadian government unveiled a new North American avalanche danger scale to warn backcountry skiers and others entering avalanche terrain of dangers.</p><p>The scale also provides the first international standard for the use of icons in avalanche warnings.</p><p>"This is the most comprehensive and complete avalanche warning system designed to date," Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice s...

Canada, U.S. set new avalanche danger warning system

2010-03-17T16:15:19Z

<div><p>VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada and the United States have adopted a unified warning system to better advise skiers and snowmobilers about the avalanche danger, Canadian officials said on Wednesday.</p><p>Canada unveiled the new warning system just days...

APTOPIX Haiti Earthquake

2010-03-17T13:01:05Z

Mirtho Bellefleur, 21, whose right leg was amputated due to injures sustained in the earthquake, walks up from the makeshift camp set up in the Petionville Golf Club in Port-au-Prince, Wednesday, March 17, 2010. Two months after the quake, many homeless victims still have received no food and only 60 percent of the 1.3 million homeless have got plastic sheets or t...

Family of Chile quake victims sues government

2010-03-17T10:32:06Z

<div><p>SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The family of two victims of Chile's massive quake accused the government of manslaughter in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, saying officials failed to warn them of a deadly tsunami set off by last month's tremor.</p><p>The suit by relatives of Nancy and Eliana Lema Morales targets an...

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