Natural Disasters Storyboard

Prime minister to visit worst-hit areas as red weather alert extended in Emilia Romagna region More than 36,000 people have now been forced from their homes by deadly floods in northeast Italy,... regional officials have said, as rising waters swallowed more houses and fresh landslides isolated hamlets. Violent downpours earlier this week killed 14 people, transforming streets in the cities and towns of the Emilia Romagna region into rivers.

People in Malawi and Mozambique picking up the pieces after fierce storm swept through at the weekend The death toll from Cyclone Freddy in Malawi and Mozambique has risen past 200 on Tuesday, after... the record-breaking storm triggered floods and landslips. Rescue workers warned that more victims were likely as they scoured destroyed neighbourhoods for survivors even as hopes dwindled.

The UN's delay in sending aid to Syrian victims of last month's quake was unjustified, some experts say.

The pooch, a husky named Alex, was pulled out from the piles of concrete and building debris near Antakya in the Hatay province of Turkey.

Police continue search as forecaster says two tropical cyclones may form this week, though risk of direct impact on New Zealand is 'relatively low' New Zealand police are searching for eight people... still missing, two weeks after Cyclone Gabrielle struck, as the nation's weather forecaster said it was tracking two potential cyclones in the region and warned of "localised tornadoes" in parts of the North Island. Police said early on Sunday: "The remaining number of people includes those who, for a variety of reasons, do not engage with authorities. Regardless, getting in touch with those remaining eight remains a priority for police, and our staff are exploring all avenues to try and locate them."

Reopening of Bab al-Salam border and Erdoğan's promises to deport refugees exacerbate tensions between Turks and Syrians When a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook southern Turkey and northern Syria... on 6 February, Murat Naomi rushed out of his home in his running gear. His mother, who normally covers her hair with a hijab, fled their first-floor apartment without one, fearing the building could collapse. Mother and son went to a large central square in Kilis, a southern Turkish town that hugs the Syrian border and the nearby Bab al-Salam crossing into the north-west of a country they once called home. Over the border is Jisr ash-Shugur, where Naomi's father, sister and fiancee still live.

Dozens missing in south-eastern São Paulo state as rescue crews search for bodies in the rubble of homes Search and rescue teams raced to find dozens of people that remained missing after heavy... rains devastated coastal areas of Brazil's south-eastern São Paulo state, as the official death toll rose to 48. "We are currently working with a tally of at least 38 missing people," the São Paulo governor, Tarcísio de Freitas, told reporters on Wednesday, as weather forecasters cautioned more rain was on its way.

In the third week of a grueling effort, emergency workers battle exhaustion as the hope of finding more earthquake survivors dwindles. A powerful new quake has complicated their task.

Fatma Gungor, 77, was among multiple people extricated from rubble in Turkey Tuesday, more than 200 hours after the devastating earthquake on Feb. 6.

The decision is the first time that President Bashar al-Assad has agreed to the cross-border delivery of humanitarian aid to opposition-held territory since the civil war began.

Former al-Nusra Front chief keen to show scale of crisis in Idlib province and play down past links to al-Qaida A Syrian rebel leader with a $10m (£8.3m) US government bounty on his head has... appealed for urgent international aid to help the north-west province of Idlib after the earthquakes that have killed thousands and brought the last opposition-controlled area to its knees. "The United Nations needs to understand that it's required to help in a crisis," said Ahmed Hussein al-Shara, better known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, amid a humanitarian crisis that had already reached critical levels in Idlib before the twin earthquakes last week.

Demand for extra border crossings into north-west Syria amid diminishing prospects of finding survivors The death toll from the catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria has climbed over... 35,000 as UN aid officials push for more aid access to rebel-controlled north-western Syria, where only one crossing from Turkey is open. As search and rescue teams began winding down their work on Monday amid diminishing prospects of recovering people alive from the rubble, the focus turned to the humanitarian situation in Syria where, according to some estimates, millions of people are homeless through a combination of the earthquake and the long-running civil war.

A seven-month-old baby and 12-year-old girl are among those pulled from the rubble.

But Andrew Mitchell admits helping the nation is "difficult", amid criticism of the global response.

A top U.N. official said that aid efforts in neighboring Syria had "failed" so far. More than 28,000 people have died in the two countries.

As the death toll in Turkey and Syria neared 25,000, daunting challenges loomed to care for hundreds of thousands of homeless people amid the wreckage.

Five members of the same family have been pulled alive from the rubble of their home in Turkey - 129 hours after the catastrophic earthquake.

In place of damaged or destroyed hospitals, a series of field clinics have sprung up in Turkey, with doctors and nurses from around the world.

Turkey says it is working to open two more border crossings; girl and father pulled alive from rubble in Antakya Turkey and Syria earthquake - latest news updates The first convoy of humanitarian... assistance for victims of Monday's earthquake has crossed into north-west Syria, as the death toll in Turkey and Syria climbed to more than 21,000 amid fading hopes of finding survivors under rubble in freezing weather. Six trucks passed through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing from Turkey carrying tents and hygiene products, as Turkey said it was working to open two more border crossings with Syria to allow in more humanitarian aid.

In the Turkish city of Antakya, dozens of people scrambled for aid in front of a truck distributing children's coats and other supplies.

With thousands dead and many more left homeless in Turkey and Syria, people struggling to unearth victims, bury the dead and provide for millions of survivors are pleading for more aid.

Turkey's president has admitted there have been "shortcomings" in his country's reaction to the devastating earthquake that has killed over 12,000 people.

Shoveling snow and rubble, emergency crews worked across hundreds of miles in Turkey and Syria to save people in the aftermath of the most powerful quake in the region in decades.

The World Health Organization reportedly said the toll could rise eightfold given the severity of the disaster as rain, snow and continuing seismic activity hampered rescue efforts.

At least 2,921 have died in Turkey, while Syria toll stands at 1,444; WHO says deaths could pass 20,000 Shellshocked survivors join hunt for missing in Turkey-Syria earthquake Turkey and Syria... earthquake: what we know so far Have you been affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria? My colleagues Ben Doherty and Mostafa Rachwani have this report on the earthquake survivors joining the search for the missing: "There is a family I know under the rubble," Omer El Cuneyd said, standing amid the chaos of the shattered city of Sanliurfa. The first quake struck as people slept, and measured magnitude 7.8, one of the most powerful quakes in the region in at least a century. It was felt as far away as Cyprus and Cairo. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said preliminary data...