Disasters

"Tourists on a North Carolina vacation destination island were preparing to board the ferries and head for the mainland early Wednesday and more evacuations could be on the way as powerful Hurricane Earl threatened to sideswipe the East Coast."

"The company that runs the trans-Alaska pipeline remains under federal investigation and is in the middle of major changes after an internal probe this summer raised serious concerns about how it handled a major pipeline leak and emergency shutdown in May."

"India's supreme court has reopened the Bhopal  toxic gas leak case in response to a government petition seeking harsher punishment for officials from Union Carbide, the chemical company responsible."

"Pinpointing the amount of oil lingering in the Gulf of Mexico continues to be a source of frustration for journalists and scientists alike, with multiple, contradictory — if not necessarily 'dueling' —research reports having been published on the subject over the last few weeks."

"With prayers and the solemn tolling of bells, but also with second-line parades and the drumming of Mardi Gras Indians, New Orleanians throughout the region on Sunday took stock of their rebuilt lives in the five years since the worst event in the region's history, and promised each other to keep the recovery going."

"The U.S. National Hurricane Center was monitoring three tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, and computer models still showed all three steering clear of key oil and gas producing areas in the Gulf of Mexico."

"A release of of toxic anhydrous ammonia from a refrigeration plant in Theodore, Alabama that sent more than 130 people to hospital has drawn investigators from three federal agencies and several state agencies to the scene."

"Flood-ravaged Pakistan ordered nearly half a million people to evacuate towns Thursday as the United Nations vowed to forge ahead with relief operations despite threats against foreign aid workers."

"A critical device at the center of an investigation into the Gulf oil rig explosion didn't undergo a rigorous recertification process in 2005 as required by federal regulators, a worker responsible for maintaining the equipment told investigators Wednesday."

"New Orleans is about to get hit with another storm, this one made up of administration officials showering attention on city's recovery on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In a well-organized campaign to play up what the administration has done for the city and for the state of Louisiana, President Obama will cap the parade of top officials visiting the area from today to Sunday."