Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy is most terrible

The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, is the first US space disaster which actually resulted in multiple fatalities, including that of a civilian. The entire space shuttle was destroyed in 73 seconds post liftoff killing the entire crew on the spot. When surveying and analyzing the cause of this disaster it all came down to impressive as small as a faulty O-Ring seal. 

It basically allowed hot gases from the rocket inoculation to weaken the outside propellant tank and eventually the strut that held the booster in its place to the tank and caused the whole thing to fail and crumble. As a result of the disaster, the Air Force decided to cancel its plans to use the Shuttle for confidential military satellite launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, deciding to use the Titan IV in its place.

Networking Robots and Sensor Systems to Help First Responders React More Quickly

Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes -- natural disasters constantly catch us by surprise, no matter how many early-warning systems are in place. This makes it all the more significant for rescue teams to get a quick overview of the situation at hand. In SENEKA, a Markets Beyond Tomorrow project, Fraunhofer researchers are working to network the a variety of robots and sensor systems first responders use so that they can react more quickly and professionally in the case of an emergency to search for victims and survivors.

The earth is shaking, buildings are collapsing, power and usefulness lines as well as roads are destroyed. A disaster can have many causes, but frequently the outcome is the same: chaos, panic and dedicated but overtaxed first responders. The people lying buried beneath the rubble hold hopes for a speedy rescue, but sometimes it takes hours or even days to work through an entire area. To make matters worse, the work of liberate personnel can become extremely dangerous. Because every minute counts when the work of saving lives is concerned, robot-supported systems are increasingly used to go faster search operations. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the rate of growth in the use of these helpers is predictable to increase to 17 percent by 2013. The experience of the past several years also shows that the collision of special robots is very minor because individual devices and systems often cannot function with one a different in the field.

April put Alabama ahead in strongest tornadoes

Fatal tornadoes in April mean Alabama has seen more of the strongest group of twister than any other state.

The National Weather Service has upgraded an April 27 tornado in northeast Alabama's DeKalb County from the category EF-4 to EF-5. That is the highest rating on a scale used to calculate tornado damage and means winds were more than 200 mph.

The improve gives Alabama seven EF-5 tornadoes since 1950, when the Weather Service began keeping such records.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm forecast Center says Alabama had been tied with Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Kansas with six EF-5 tornadoes.

The reclassified twister was one of two EF-5 storms in a group of more than 60 tornadoes that hit Alabama on April 27, claiming about 240 lives.

Flood Surge Raises Fears of Montana Oil Spill Spread

Crews cleaning up an oil spill on the Yellowstone River faced hard conditions Tuesday as the scenic waterway rose above flood stage and stoked fears that rolling currents could push crude into unspoiled areas and back channels vital to the river's prized fishery.

Conditions on the swollen Yellowstone have disadvantaged efforts to find the cause of Friday's break in the 12-inch pipeline that spilled an estimated 1,000 barrels of crude oil.

The river has been flowing too quickly for crews to reach some oiled areas, and forecasters said mountain snowmelt was adding to high water levels. Officials speculated that the rush may push oil into areas that haven't yet been damaged.

Much of the riverbank also is enclosed with dense underbrush, making it difficult to walk the shoreline. Most observations have been made through aerial flights.

Sweat-drenched workers in hazmat suits and life-preservers slogged throughout the riverside vegetation under a blistering sun. Some raked oily muck into trash bags; others dabbed at blackened grass with absorbent pads.

Booms to collect the oil bobbed in water, and plastic kiddie pools were set up for workers to wash off their boots once they gone the water.

A few miles downriver from the broken pipe, homeowner Robert Castleberry said he had been out of his house since Saturday since of dangerous fumes from oil that the river pushed across his yard and into the crawlspace beneath his house.

Inquiry hears of Queensland flood chaos

A former army major has given Queensland's Flood Inquiry unflattering evidence about an uncoordinated and incompetent response by emergency services.

He described taking control and restoring order in the Lockyer Valley community of Murphy's Creek four days after the disaster.

The inquiry had earlier heard the area hardest hit by the floods did not have proper disaster or evacuation plans.

Annie Guest reports from Toowoomba.

ANNIE GUEST: At the bottom of the Toowoomba range, Murphy's Creek became a intense river when it was one of the first places struck by the disaster that raced through the Lockyer Valley on the 10th of January. It claimed lives and homes.

Four days later the place was still disordered and the emergency response disorganised and ineffectual, according to former Army major Peter Souter.

He'd made his way from his cut off home four kilometres along the creek and found up to 300 residents gathered at the pub.

Peter Souter described how he and an Air force Major took charge, after he witnessed separate emergency agencies not communicating, interviewing the same inhabitants up to four times and failing to make progress on necessary services.