Natural Disasters

Twenty years ago today a magnetar’s epic tantrum made our planet ring like a bell from tens of thousands of light-years away

As wildfires grow in severity and frequency, they’re not only threatening lives but also our visual connection to the cosmos

Communities are thinking big and relying on smaller energy systems called microgrids to gain reliable energy autonomy

Dry weather and an extreme Santa Ana wind event have contributed to the explosive growth of the Franklin Fire in Malibu, Calif.

A man scouring Google Earth found a mysterious scar in the Australian outback. And now scientists know what caused it

Torrential rain, made worse by climate change, has lashed Spain, with Valencia bearing the brunt of the floodwaters

A small number of fast-moving wildfires cause almost all the property damage by forcing firefighters to focus on saving lives

Damage from Hurricane Helene forced the only abortion clinic in western North Carolina to shutter, disrupting health care for pregnant people across a large region

A potable water shortage and a toxic stew of sewage and other pollutants that Hurricane Helene’s flooding left behind have prompted a race to avert a public health crisis in North Carolina

Observations from a retrofitted spy plane hint at a connection between powerful gamma-ray flashes and a thunderstorm’s lightning

The Small Business Association has announced that loans to those affected by hurricanes and other disasters have been halted to wait for more money from Congress. But the House speaker says nothing will happen until after the presidential election

Hurricane Helene devastated a North Carolina facility that produces peritoneal dialysis fluid, which is used by about 80,000 people nationally