Latest Disaster planning and response News

A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace

Mar. 29, 2024 05:54 AM EDT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea. On Friday, over a...

Named for 'Star-Spangled Banner' author, Francis Scott Key Bridge was part of Baltimore's identity

Mar. 26, 2024 18:59 PM EDT

The bridge that collapsed into a Maryland river after a ship strike Tuesday was iconic — erected almost five decades ago, named after the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and part of the very fabric of Baltimore. Built near the spot where Francis Scott Key witnessed the...

Search for 6-year-old girl who fell into rain-swollen creek now considered recovery, not rescue

Mar. 24, 2024 15:53 PM EDT

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — The search for a 6-year-old girl who was swept away in a rain-swollen southeastern Pennsylvania creek has become a recovery mission rather than a rescue mission, authorities said Sunday. Authorities in Chester County said the child was reported missing at about...

Heavy rains kill at least 7 in Rio de Janeiro state, 4-year-old rescued after 16 hours under mud

Mar. 23, 2024 17:59 PM EDT

PETROPOLIS, Brazil (AP) — Heavy rains in Rio de Janeiro state have killed at least seven people, authorities said Saturday, while a 4-year-old girl was rescued after more than 16 hours under mud. The girl was pulled out alive in the city of Petropolis, 69 kilometers (43 miles)...

Fugitive Catalan chief Puigdemont pledges he will return to Spain if he can be restored to power

Mar. 21, 2024 16:50 PM EDT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of the Spanish region of Catalonia who fled the country after a failed secession attempt six years ago, said Thursday that he will return to Spain if he has a viable chance to be restored as regional president following upcoming...

Weeping, weak and soaked, dozens of Rohingya refugees rescued after night on hull of capsized boat

Mar. 21, 2024 07:56 AM EDT

MEULABOH, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian search and rescue ship on Thursday located a capsized wooden boat that had been carrying dozens of Rohingya Muslim refugees, and began pulling survivors who had been standing on its hull to safety. An AP photographer aboard the rescue ship...

Man dies, woman injured after vehicle goes over cliff at adventure park

Mar. 19, 2024 11:55 AM EDT

STANTON, Ky. (AP) — A man died and a woman was injured when they lost control of their vehicle at an off-road adventure park in eastern Kentucky and it fell off an 80-foot cliff, officials said. Crews responded to a report that a utility task vehicle crashed Saturday evening at...

Bulgaria's foreign minister to form the next government in power-sharing deal

Mar. 18, 2024 09:35 AM EDT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Monday tapped the largest group in parliament, the center-right GERB-UDF coalition, to form the country’s new government. Radev handed the mandate to Maria Gabriel, the prime minister-designate under a...

Bodies of 2 men recovered from river in Washington state

Mar. 17, 2024 15:34 PM EDT

INDEX, Wash. (AP) — Rescue crews along a river in Washington state on Sunday recovered the bodies of two men a day after they fell into the water at a popular swimming area known as Eagle Falls. Search and rescue personnel, including rescue swimmers and drone operators, responded...

Ohio governor declares emergency after severe storms that killed 3

Mar. 17, 2024 14:39 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s governor has declared a state of emergency in 11 counties across central Ohio struck by severe weather last week. Gov. Mike DeWine also activated the Ohio National Guard to help officials in one county, Logan County, where three deaths were confirmed,...