Disasters

"Myriad agencies have investigated BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but the owner of the rig that exploded and sank wants to draw the line at the one designated by Congress to probe disasters involving deadly chemical blasts and releases."

T"he U.S. Chemical Safety Board, which investigates chemical explosions in the same manner the National Transportation Safety Board investigates airplane crashes, launched its first offshore investigation shortly after the 2010 explosion killed 11 workers and allowed more than 4 million barrels of crude to foul the gulf.

"Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market, has become the first major business organisation to raise its voice about huge potential environmental damage from oil drilling in the Arctic."

"An 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia on Wednesday, sending residents around the region scurrying from buildings and raising fears of a huge tsunami as in 2004, but authorities said there were no reports suggesting a major threat."

"Houses trembled a half mile away when a natural gas explosion rattled a compressor station near Springville, a hotbed of Marcellus Shale development in northern Pennsylvania. Just two hours after the March 29 blast, a gas safety inspector from the state Public Utility Commission was on the scene to begin an investigation into possible violations of gas safety rules. But he did not get far."

"Texas tornadoes that hit the Dallas area Tuesday resulted in no fatalities, in part due to timely warnings. But a new model could improve tornado warning times dramatically."

"TORONTO -- More than 130 large dams built, under construction, or proposed in western China's seismic hazard zones could trigger disasterous environmental consequences such as earthquakes and giant waves, finds a new report from the Canadian watchdog group Probe International."

"The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season will be 'below average' with 10 tropical storms, four of which will strengthen into hurricanes, Colorado State University forecasters predicted on Wednesday."

"MEXICO CITY — Two years after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, Mexico's state oil company is about to test its hand at drilling at extraordinary depths in the Gulf of Mexico."

"TOKYO — The damage to one of three stricken reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant could be worse than previously thought, a recent internal investigation has shown, raising new concerns over the plant’s stability and complicating the post-disaster cleanup."