natural disasters

GUATEMALA CITY – Rain is gradually returning to Guatemala after an extended drought in the middle of rainy season brought tragedy to some of the poorest regions of the country. But many agricultural workers say it’s too late to save their harvests.

Four international agencies reported the global average temperature was 0.2 to 0.21 Celsius (0.36 to 0.38 Fahrenheit) above the 1981 to 2010 average, making 2013 the second- to sixth-warmest year ever.

The earthquake shook a large part of the country, including the the Central Valley for several seconds. No significant damage or injuries have been reported.

POTOSÍ, Bolivia – Cerro Rico, the fabled peak towering over the Bolivian city of Potosí that supplied silver to fund Spain's colonial empire, is at risk of collapse from overmining, putting thousands of workers in jeopardy.

PALENQUE, Mexico – A strong, magnitude-6.9 earthquake rocked parts of southern Mexico and Guatemala on Monday, killing at least two people and injuring more than 40 others.

One family’s debris from a massive tropical storm can become another family’s luxury furniture.

Experts from the National Emergency Commission (CNE) last week conducted aerial inspections of nine sites in the San José metropolitan area where ground conditions are prone to landslides during the rainy season. The inspections found that while active displacement of ground material is occurring, most of the land is currently stable.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Powerful tornadoes killed at least 17 people as they flipped cars, ripped up homes and uprooted trees across south-central United States, emergency officials reported Monday.

Several communities were without power Thursday afternoon after a storm fell trees and dropped power lines.

Neighborhoods were thrashed by a tornado that, six days ago, touched down and slashed through homes, schools, a hospital and the lives of thousands.