Recent Natural Disasters | Calamities | Hazards

Governor Robert Bentley has declared a State of Emergency for all Alabama counties in preparation for winter weather on Tuesday. Following the state of emergency, all state agencies are directed to take necessary actions to be prepared to respond to the anticipated winter conditions including sleet, ice and snow. Various portions of the state are expected to experience ice, sleet, snow and freezing rain beginning Wednesday morning and lasting through Thursday, the National Weather Service office in Alabama said.

Avalanches caused by a heavy winter snow have claimed lives of at least 124 people in northeastern Afghanistan, a Natural Disaster Management Authority said The Associated Press (AP). According to Mohammad Aslam Syas, the deputy director of the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority, the avalanches buried homes across four northeast provinces with worst hit to be Panjshir province, located around 100 kilometers northeast of the capital, Kabul.

At least seven suspicious craters have been spotted in Serbia including five of them in a region known as the "end of the world". "We know now of seven craters in the Arctic area with five are directly on the Yamal peninsula, one in Yamal Autonomous district, and one is on the north of the Krasnoyarsk region, near the Taimyr peninsula, " The Serbia Times has written quoting Vasily Bogoyavlensky, deputy director of Russia's Oil and Gas Research Institute.

At least 380 people have been evacuated following a huge sinkhole in Naples, Italy. Sinkhole suddenly opened up on a street in Pianura on Sunday. The junction of two residential streets collapsed at around 5 am. No damage was done to surrounding buildings but 380 people in the area had to be found emergency accommodation as a precautionary measure, The Independent has written quoting the Italian newspaper Il Mattino.

Palaszczuk Government has activated Natural Disaster Recovery and Relief Arrangements for Central Queensland. Now, the financial assistance is available for people needing urgent help after Tropical Cyclone Marcia following the activation of Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) in conjunction with the Commonwealth Government, The Queensland Government has mentioned in the media statement. “The Commonwealth Government has approved financial assistance for personal hardship, reconnection of essential services and for the restoration of essential public assets and infrastructure,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Winter weather in Tennessee has claimed lives of at least 22 people in last six days, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) confirmed. "Tennessee currently remains at a Level II-State of Emergency. The original elevation to a Level III – State of Emergency for this winter storm was at 9 p.m. on Feb. 16, 2015," TEMA mentioned in its 5 p.m. update.