“Natural disasters” on The Daily Caller

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pushed by an ill-timed trough of low pressure, Hurricane Earl is heading uncomfortably close to an area relatively few hurricanes tend to go: the Northeast coastline. (more)

BUXTON, N.C. (AP) — The last ferry left for the mainland and coastal residents hunkered down at home as Hurricane Earl closed in with 105 mph winds Thursday on North Carolina’s dangerously exposed Outer Banks, the first and perhaps most destructive stop on the storm’s projected journey up the Eastern Seaboard. (more)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A powerful Hurricane Earl threatened to sideswipe much of the East Coast just ahead of Labor Day, worrying countless vacationers who planned to spend the traditional last week of summer at the beach. (more)

MIAMI (AP) — Forecasters say Earl has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane as it barrels toward several islands in the eastern Caribbean. (more)

Danielle, blowing north from southeast of Bermuda, was maintaining strength after being downgraded early today to a Category 2, or minor hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. (more)

Five years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf region, killing nearly 2,000 and displacing more than 250,000 others from Louisiana to Florida. This week, in a series titled “Hurricane Katrina: Five Years After,” FoxNews.com looks back on the costliest natural disaster ever to strike the United States. (more)

COPIAPO, Chile (AP) — Singing the national anthem in a full-throated chorus, 33 miners trapped deep underground thanked their rescuers and settled in for a long wait until a tunnel wide enough to pull them out can be carved through a half-mile of solid rock. (more)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Singer Wyclef Jean’s high-profile bid for Haiti’s presidency ended after election officials on the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean nation disqualified his candidacy. (more)

LEOGANE, Haiti (AP) — Street star. Scandal-plagued aid director. Ex-Fugees hip hop frontman. The moment he filed his candidacy, Wyclef Jean became the most famous — and thus potentially most powerful — candidate in Haiti’s critical post-earthquake presidential election. (more)

SUKKUR, Pakistan (AP) — Stormy weather grounded helicopters carrying emergency supplies to Pakistan’s flood-ravaged northwest Friday as the worst monsoon rains in decades brought more destruction to a nation already reeling from Islamist violence. (more)

KALAM, Pakistan (AP) — U.S. Army choppers flew their first relief missions in Pakistan’s flood-ravaged northwest Thursday, airlifting hundreds of stranded people to safety from a devastated tourist town and distributing emergency aid. (more)

Hurricane season is in full swing and it is on the minds of many citizens in South Mississippi and along the Gulf Coast just what exactly is the plan of action in the unfortunate happenstance that a tropical storm or hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall while oil is on the surface of the Gulf.  The potential for oil to be pushed ashore by storm surge or even to be rained down is extremely worrisome. With the now impending threat of Tropical Storm Bonnie, our worries will be tested and our worst fears could come to life. (more)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — After three long months, the bleeding from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico has been finally, mercifully stanched. But in so many ways, the prognosis remains uncertain. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Earthquakes are so rare in the Washington area that even a geology student wasn’t quite sure what was going on when a minor one hit early Friday. Was it a truck passing by? A low-flying plane? (more)

BEIJING (AP) — Workers raced to build waterways to drain overflowing reservoirs in southeastern China and thousands were evacuated following torrential rains that triggered flash floods on Wednesday. (more)

BEIJING (AP) — Hope of finding survivors of a landslide that trapped at least 107 people was diminishing Tuesday as rescuers used heavy machinery including bulldozers to move debris in rain-hit southwestern China. (more)

DRAGUIGNAN, France (AP) — At least 19 people were killed in flash floods that hit the back hills of the French Riviera on Wednesday and turned streets into rivers of surging, muddy water, officials said. (more)

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan officials say the death toll from Tropical Storm Agatha has risen to 172. (more)

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Flooding and landslides from the season’s first tropical storm have killed at least 150 people and made thousands homeless in Central America, officials said. (more)

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Torrential rains brought by the first tropical storm of the 2010 season pounded Central America and southern Mexico, triggering deadly landslides. The death toll stood at 15 Sunday but authorities said the number could rise. (more)