Wildfires force evacuations in central Florida

By (AP)

As the bloated bodies rise and fall with the current, women scrub clothes along the river bank, villagers bathe to cool themselves and a lone child sits on a dock staring aimlessly into the water.

But with little aid getting through to desperate cyclone survivors, the dead have largely been forgotten _ left to decay where the brackish waters carried them or waiting to be pulled out to sea by the rising tides.

\"The first few we saw, we were all very shocked,\" said U Pinyatale, a monk from the area who has prayed for the dead. \"After a while, there were just too...

By SHEILAH MILLER (AP)

Many have fled this depressed, pollution-scarred mining town. Those who have chosen to stay or have not yet relocated face a new heartache.

A tornado ripped through a 20-block swath of Picher late Saturday afternoon, killing at least seven people. The same storm system then moved into southwest Missouri where tornadoes took the lives of at least 12 others, authorities said.

On Sunday, storms rumbled across Georgia, killing at least one person in Dublin, about a 121 miles southeast of Atlanta, authorities said. Weather officials had not yet confirmed whether the storms...

By ROGER NOMER (AP)

Many have fled this depressed, pollution-scarred mining town. Those who have chosen to stay or have not yet relocated face a new heartache. A tornado ripped through a 20-block swath of Picher late Saturday afternoon, killing at least seven people. The same storm system then moved into southwest Missouri where tornadoes took the lives of at least 12 others, authorities said.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown said Picher\'s victims included an infant. He said at least three people were confirmed missing.

\"We\'ve seen homes that were completely leveled to the...

By Marc F. Henning (AP)

Many have fled this depressed, pollution-scarred mining town. Those who have chosen to stay or have not yet relocated face a new heartache.

A tornado ripped through a 20-block swath of Picher late Saturday afternoon, killing at least seven people. The same storm system then moved into southwest Missouri where tornadoes took the lives of at least 12 others, authorities said.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown said Picher\'s victims included an infant. He said at least three people were confirmed missing.

\"We\'ve seen homes that were completely leveled to the...

By ROGER NOMER (AP)

A tornado that spun across the Oklahoma-Missouri border killed at least 18 people as severe storms raked the nation\'s heart Saturday, injuring many and mangling buildings in the storm-weary region.

At least 12 people were killed after severe storms spawned tornadoes and high winds across sections of southwestern Missouri, the State Emergency Management Agency said. Ten of the dead were killed when a twister struck near Seneca, near the Oklahoma border.

At least six people were killed as the tornado flattened the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher, authorities...

By Marc F. Henning (AP)

A tornado that spun across the Oklahoma-Missouri border killed at least 18 people as severe storms raked the nation\'s heart Saturday, injuring many and mangling buildings in the storm-weary region.

At least 12 people were killed after severe storms spawned tornadoes and high winds across sections of southwestern Missouri, the State Emergency Management Agency said. Ten of the dead were killed when a twister struck near Seneca, near the Oklahoma border.

At least six people were killed as the tornado flattened the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher, authorities...

By Marc F. Henning (AP)

Thunderstorms and tornadoes tore across the nation\'s heartland Saturday evening, killing at least 11 people, mangling buildings and trapping people in the rubble of their homes in areas still reeling from other recent bouts with severe weather.

A twister killed at least six people in the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher on Saturday and left widespread destruction, authorities said.

The death toll could go higher, said Oklahoma Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten. The tornado caused major damage in a 20-block area, she said.

\"I know they are going...

By RYAN MOORE (AP)

A line of severe storms swept across the Southeast on Thursday, damaging homes and businesses in at least four states. One person was killed and three were injured by a tornado in North Carolina, authorities said.

An apparent tornado wrecked a shopping area in Mississippi and strong winds flipped a mobile home in Alabama. In south-central Tennessee, at least four homes and a few barns were damaged.

A tornado touched down late Thursday on the outskirts of Greensboro, N.C., blowing three tractor-trailers off Interstate 40, authorities said. One person was killed and two were...

By RYAN MOORE (AP)

A line of severe storms swept across the Southeast on Thursday, damaging homes and businesses in at least four states. No injuries were reported.

An apparent tornado wrecked a shopping area in Mississippi and strong winds flipped a mobile home in Alabama. In south-central Tennessee, at least four homes and a few barns were damaged, and an apparent tornado blews cars off the road in North Carolina.

In Alabama, at least 15 school systems released students early, while others held students late as squalls passed. Winds blew a piece of metal roofing off Hamilton High School,...

By (AP)

The United Nations says Myanmar\'s refusal to give visas to relief experts is \"unprecedented\" in the history of humanitarian work.

A spokesman of the World Food Program says the organization has submitted 10 visa applications around the world, including six in Bangkok, Thailand, and none of have been granted.

Spokesman Paul Risley said Friday \"the frustration caused by what appears to be a paperwork delay is unprecedented in modern humanitarian relief efforts.\"

Myanmar\'s military government said more than 62,000 people died or are missing in a cyclone that hit the...

By (AP)

After snubbing a U.S. aid offer, Myanmar\'s isolationist regime indicated Friday that it wants foreign relief supplies but not foreign workers to help recover from a devastating cyclone.

The statement came a day after Myanmar\'s military government allowed in the first major international aid shipment amid fears the death toll from last weekend\'s cyclone could hit 100,000.

\"Currently Myanmar has prioritized receiving emergency relief provisions and making strenuous effort delivering with it with its own labor,\" the Foreign Ministry said in the state-owned New Light of...

By (AP)

Myanmar\'s military regime allowed in the first major international aid shipment Thursday, but it snubbed a U.S. offer to help cyclone victims struggling to recover from a tragedy of unimaginable scale.

Five days after the storm, the junta continued to stall on visas for U.N. teams and other foreign aid workers anxious to deliver food, water and medicine to survivors amid fears the death toll could hit 100,000.

Among those stranded in Thailand were 10 members of the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team. Air Force transport planes and helicopters packed with supplies also...

By RYAN MOORE (AP)

A line of severe storms swept across the Southeast on Thursday, damaging homes and businesses in at least three states. No injuries were reported.

An apparent tornado wrecked a shopping area in Mississippi and strong winds flipped a mobile home in Alabama. In south-central Tennessee, at least four homes and a few barns were damaged. Portions of Alabama remained under tornado watches until early Thursday evening.

In Alabama, at least 15 school systems released students early, while others held students late as squalls passed. Winds blew a piece of metal roofing off Hamilton...

By Lawrence Jackson (AP)

Protests from moderate Democrats and a revolt by opposition Republicans prompted House Democratic leaders Wednesday night to delay a planned vote on a $195 billion measure to pay for the war in Iraq and provide education help to veterans as well as relief for the jobless.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., promised to deal with the concerns of some of her more conservative members, who were upset that the war funding bill is carrying new benefit programs _ especially a boost in GI education benefits _ without paying for them with offsetting cuts to other programs.

At the...

By (AP)

Disease outbreaks spread by mosquitoes, dirty water and poor sanitation were among the World Health Organization\'s biggest concerns after a devastating cyclone hit Myanmar, home to one of the world\'s shoddiest health care systems.

WHO was waiting Tuesday for permission from the country\'s ruling junta to send in medical teams but demolished infrastructure would likely hamper early efforts, said Vismita Gupta-Smith, spokeswoman for WHO\'s regional office in New Delhi.

\"The communications are broken down and the roads are not operational,\" she said. \"But the officers are...

By (AP)

Showers, thunderstorms and potential tornadoes threatened residents of the central U.S. early Tuesday, while storms rattled the Pacific Northwest.

Strong to severe storms were expected over portions of the upper Midwest to the central and southern Great Plains, with the main threat being large and damaging hail and severe winds. Also, a few tornadoes may erupt across the central Plains.

Farther north, a low pressure system was expected to move east from the Northern Rockies, producing light to moderate rain along its path. This system also could spark showers and...

By Mike Wintroath (AP)

Just before the tornado sirens sounded, school superintendent Floyd Marshall got the warning from police _ a twister was coming right for the town\'s elementary and high school.

But Marshall had a weapon of his own: Unlike most other schools in Arkansas, the two Carlisle schools have specially designed interior hallways _ dubbed tornado-safe rooms _ where 750 students cowered until the storms passed by Friday.

\"You may never need it, but that one time that you do that you don\'t have it, it\'s something you can\'t recover from,\" Marshall said.

The tornado eventually...

By Mike Wintroath (AP)

Meteorologists were planning an aerial survey of the destruction caused by at least 10 tornadoes late last week.

Friday\'s tornadoes killed seven people, damaged or destroyed about 400 homes and knocked out electrical and telephone service in nearly 20 counties.

The National Weather Service was planning to survey the region by air on Monday, meteorologist Brian Smith said. Ten tornadoes were confirmed, up from an earlier count of eight.

One tornado may have traveled 45 miles, meteorologists said.

The severe weather follows tornadoes that killed 13 Arkansans on...

By (AP)

Snakes wouldn\'t be at the top of most people\'s favorite critter list. They\'re feared and misunderstood and often, killed. That\'s a shame, said Jason Lewis, a wildlife biologist at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge near Puxico. The refuge is a major migration and wintering area for migratory waterfowl.

\"Snakes serve a very important role in the ecosystem,\" he said. \"Snakes are designed to control pest populations and they eat a lot of frogs, turtles (and) fish.\" Reptiles and amphibians, Lewis added, are \"very sensitive to disturbance, and can be used as indicators of...

By (AP)

Nearly half of the 21 people killed by a tornado that smashed parts of Oklahoma and Missouri over the weekend died in cars, troubling experts who say vehicles are among the worst places to be during a twister.

\"It\'s like taking a handful of Matchbox cars and rolling them across the kitchen floor,\" said Sgt. Dan Bracker of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, surveying the damage in Newton County near the Oklahoma line, the hardest hit area. \"This is devastating.\"

Among those killed were a woman who took shelter in a broken-down car outside someone\'s home; three people who...

By (AP)

A look at some of the deadliest natural disasters around the world in the past 40 years:

_ May 2008: Earthquake (magnitude 7.8) hits Sichuan province in central China. Thousands are killed.

_ May 2008: Cyclone Nargis strikes Myanmar, killing more than 30,000 and leaving an additional 30,000 missing.

_ October 2005: Northern Pakistan earthquake (magnitude 7.6) kills about 78,000 people.

_ August 2005: U.S. Gulf Coast Hurricane Katrina kills at least 1,600 people in Louisiana and Mississippi.

_ December 2004: Indian Ocean tsunami (triggered by magnitude 9.0...

By (AP)

Authorities say at least 10 people are dead in Missouri and Oklahoma after severe weather that included tornadoes.

Oklahoma Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten says six people died Saturday in Picher. She says the death toll could go higher.

She says the tornado caused major damage in a 20-block area.

The National Weather Service says three people died after a tornado near Seneca in southwestern Missouri. Meteorologist Bill Davis says a fourth person died near Carthage.

Storms also caused damage in parts of Arkansas.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS...

By (AP)

Tornadoes tore across the nation\'s heartland Saturday evening, killing at least five people, mangling buildings and trapping people in the rubble of their homes in areas still reeling from other recent bouts with severe weather.

At least four people died in southwestern Missouri after storms plowed through, the National Weather Service said. Three died after a tornado hit near Seneca in Newton County, said meteorologist Bill Davis.

A twister left a half-mile-wide path of destruction in Oklahoma, killing at least one person and devastating the northeastern towns of Picher,...