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When Disaster Strikes, Facebook Lets Friends Know You're OK

October 16, 2014 • Facebook's newest tool, known as Safety Check, aims to allow people to quickly alert friends and family that they are safe after a natural disaster.

A Dozen People Killed As Typhoon Batters The Philippines

Residents wade through floods as they go back to their home while Typhoon Rammasun batters suburban Quezon city, north of Manila, on Wednesday Aaron Favila/AP hide caption

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Aaron Favila/AP

A Dozen People Killed As Typhoon Batters The Philippines

July 16, 2014 • Mass evacuations helped limit the death toll from Rammasun as it passed through densely populated areas. The government was better prepared following a killer storm last fall.

To Survive A Tornado, First Run To Shelter, Then Grab A Helmet

Tornadoes killed at least 17 people on Sunday and Monday. But some managed to stay safe in underground shelters like the one at right in Vilonia, Ark. Karen E. Segrave/AP hide caption

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Karen E. Segrave/AP

To Survive A Tornado, First Run To Shelter, Then Grab A Helmet

April 29, 2014 • In a tornado, debris flung by high-speed winds can cause deadly injuries. A sturdy shelter is the best protection, but even lying in a ditch may save your life. Or putting on a bike helmet.

Mount Everest: Avalanche Death Toll Rises To 13

Nepalese search team members rescue a survivor of an avalanche on Mount Everest on Friday. At least 13 Nepalese guides preparing routes for commercial climbers were killed by an avalanche in the most deadly mountaineering accident ever on the world's highest peak. Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Mount Everest: Avalanche Death Toll Rises To 13

April 19, 2014 • Search teams are digging through ice and snow on Mount Everest in hopes of finding Sherpa guides who are still missing. Survivors say the avalanche was like being trapped in a cloud.

Mudslides And Landslides: Widely Cited Data Is Decades Old

Volunteers unload donated supplies during heavy rains in Darrington, Wash., Friday. One week after a massive mudslide hit nearby Oso, crews are working to find and identify victims. Data about landslides' annual effects are decades old, geologists say. David Ryder/Getty Images hide caption

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David Ryder/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Mudslides And Landslides: Widely Cited Data Is Decades Old

March 29, 2014 • The official death toll in the mudslide that turned a community into a disaster area in Oso, Wash., holds steady. And it seems a figure about damage done by landslides is nearly 30 years out of date.

WHO Calls Typhoon's Medical Challenges 'Monumental'

A woman comforts a pregnant relative suffering labor pains at a makeshift birthing clinic in the typhoon-battered city of Tacloban, Philippines, on Monday. Erik de Castro/Reuters/Landov hide caption

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Erik de Castro/Reuters/Landov

Shots - Health News

WHO Calls Typhoon's Medical Challenges 'Monumental'

November 12, 2013 • As horrific as Haiyan has been, the disaster likely won't reach the same level of death and injury as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 or Haiti's 2010 quake, disaster specialists say. Better communication systems in the disaster area are one reason why.

WHO Calls Typhoon's Medical Challenges 'Monumental'

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In Emergencies, Politicians Are Expected To Master Disaster

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (center) speaks to members of the media Saturday, alongside Sens. Mark Udall (left) and Michael Bennet, after touring flood-damaged areas by army helicopter. Brennan Linsley/AP hide caption

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Brennan Linsley/AP

It's All Politics

In Emergencies, Politicians Are Expected To Master Disaster

September 17, 2013 • When politicians rise to the occasion during natural disasters, they're heroes. When they don't, it's hard for them to recover.

After Disasters, DNA Science Is Helpful, But Often Too Pricey

A Thai medic checks bodies for forensic identity in Phang Nga province in southern of Thailand on Jan. 11, 2005. Thousands of people were killed in Thailand after a massive tsunami struck on Dec. 26, 2004. Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

After Disasters, DNA Science Is Helpful, But Often Too Pricey

September 13, 2013 • For decades, DNA has been used to identify victims of crime, even victims of war crimes. But there's no international standard for using DNA analysis for identifying bodies after a disaster. So some scholars are calling for an international group with the same reach as weapons inspectors.

After Disasters, DNA Science Is Helpful, But Often Too Pricey

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Why Do People Live In Twister-Prone Oklahoma?

Tammy Wade (left) is hugged by Dana Givens in what is left of her home in El Reno, Okla., on Sunday, after it was destroyed by a tornado. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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The Two-Way

Why Do People Live In Twister-Prone Oklahoma?

June 3, 2013 • In response to our coverage of the tornadoes, online comments have asked, "Why put yourself in the path of such disaster?" But Oklahoma residents have their reasons for staying put.

Hundreds Dead, Hundreds Missing After Typhoon Slams Philippines

A woman carries a child through a flooded road on the island of Mindanao. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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The Two-Way

Hundreds Dead, Hundreds Missing After Typhoon Slams Philippines

December 5, 2012 • Rescuers are having trouble reaching many of those who were in the storm's path. Mud, fallen trees and downed electrical lines are in the way.

NPR Ombudsman

Sandy, Steve Inskeep And The Absurd On Morning Edition

November 5, 2012 • Steve Inskeep is a veteran reporter of wars and disasters with an appreciation for dark humor and the absurd. But how far can you go when you are the host of one of the largest general news shows in the country? Some listeners complained about his comments during coverage of Hurricane Sandy.

It's All Politics

South's Tornado Tragedy Joins Political Foes For Now

April 29, 2011 • Natural disasters are no respecters of political parties or any of the other numerous ways humans use to separate themselves from each other. That seems to get largely ignored until calamities strike. Then, state officials who usually pan feds as intrusive welcome help from Washington.

Picturing Pakistan's Floods: A Photographer Looks Back

A Pakistani man and boy, displaced by floods, walk through flood waters on Aug. 22, 2010 in the village of Baseera near Muzaffargarh in Punjab, Pakistan. Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images hide caption

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Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

The Picture Show

Picturing Pakistan's Floods: A Photographer Looks Back

February 19, 2011 • For six weeks photographer Daniel Berehulak relentlessly covered the 2010 floods in Pakistan, revealing the immense suffering endured by millions of Pakistanis.

Cars sit in debris in a flooded street in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on Wednesday (Jan. 12, 2011). Roberto Ferreira/AP hide caption

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Roberto Ferreira/AP

The Two-Way

Mudslides Kill Hundreds In Brazil

January 13, 2011 • Many more people are missing, local news media report. Driving rains sent earth sliding down mountains into towns in the south-eastern part of the country.