Natural Disasters

It's hard to resist a movie where bloodthirsty beasts fall from the sky, especially if Ian Ziering stars! How might the science behind this B movie work?

By Meisa Salaita

Only a few natural events pack the power to knock global civilization on its heels. One is a planet-killing meteor. Care to guess the other?

By Nicholas Gerbis

Nearly 90 percent of the Western U.S. is gripped by an "apocalyptical" drought that only continues to worsen. Even if you don't live in the area, it affects you — and what you do affects it.

By Joanna Thompson

Learn about Hurricane Julia's origins, its impact, and its place in the history of tropical storms and hurricanes.

By HowStuffWorks

Let's say a big one strikes the home planet. You, however, happen to be flying above the earthquake's epicenter when the natural disaster ripples through. Would you feel it?

By Robert Lamb

Smokejumpers are the men and women who specialize in fighting blazes their ground-bound peers can't reach. So who are they, and what's the "Mutilator"?

By Jessika Toothman

Researchers from Montreal's Concordia University have figured out why the air inside a tornado vortex is cooler and less dense than the surrounding air.

By Patrick J. Kiger

The Americas have been hit with some major hurricanes throughout the decades. But which were the worst ones in history?

By Chris Opfer & Sarah Gleim

It's every evil mad scientist's dream. Could it ever be a reality?

By Julia Layton