A state of emergency has been declared in New South Wales as Australian firefighters battle bushfires that have already destroyed more than 200 homes.

Have you seen “Seconds before disaster” aired on the National Geographic? Well, it certainly shows the moments that are captured right before the disaster takes place. The beauty of those moments is that the person involved in the disaster might be noticed smiling...

Here are the biggest real-life disasters in spacefaring history, as well as a few near-misses

According to some estimates, Californians face a 99 percent likelihood of experiencing a major earthquake within the next three decades — and odds are good that it'll strike in the vicinity of either Los Angeles or San Francisco. Unfortunately, experts warn that California and the rest of the US are woefully unprepared for such a devastating temblor — even though technology to drastically enhance that preparedness already exists.

At least nine people have been killed in a fire at a clothing factory near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, emergency officials say.

At least eight people have been killed and dozens injured at a show in Mexico after a modified pick-up known as a monster truck crashed into spectators.

At least 130 African migrants have died and many more are missing after a boat carrying them to Europe sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

One of history's great disaster mysteries may be solved—the case of the largest volcanic eruption in the last 3,700 years. Nearly 800 years ago, the blast that was recorded, and then forgotten, may also have created a "Pompeii of the Far East," researchers suggest, which might lie buried and waiting for discovery on an Indonesian island.

A business jet crashed into a hangar at the Santa Monica Airport on Sunday. No one survived the crash and subsequent fire, but authorities did not immediately determine how many were on board.

Tuesday, following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake, there were reports that a small island had emerged off the coast of Gwadar, Pakistan. Despite initial skepticism from some quarters, the evidence seems to suggest it's real.

A new device will help search and rescue teams scan wreckage for survivors following disasters such as earthquakes, scientists say.

A major earthquake struck southwestern Pakistan killing over 100 people, collapsing building and houses, and injuring many more. The quake had such an effect that a small island formed in the sea off Pakistan's coastline.

More than 15,000 residents have fled a volcano that rumbled to life less than a week ago in Indonesia and local airlines have been warned to avoid flying near the mountain as thick ash continues to spew from its crater, an official said Thursday.

Floodwaters have ravaged a Connecticut-size area of Colorado, killing at least seven people, destroying thousands of homes, and blocking hundreds of roads and bridges. Colorado's Front Range, a 415-square-mile expanse and gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park has been completely transformed by flooding, caused by unusually heavy showers over several days. The aerial photos below so the extent of the damage and the long road ahead.

Manuel, a Category 1 hurricane, made landfall Thursday in the northern part of the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

A double-decker bus and a passenger train collided in Ottawa on Wednesday morning, killing six people and injuring at least 30 others, authorities said.

Shortly after an EF5 tornado flattened Moore, Oklahoma, this past May, the Department of Homeland Security called Jim Lux at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. "We were asked to come out with our machine," Lux says. The machine in question unfortunately wasn't ready. It will be next time.

Engineers in Italy have succeeded in setting the cruise ship Costa Concordia upright, 20 months after it ran aground off the island of Giglio.

In the late summer of 2005, the waters loosed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina laid siege to New Orleans. At Memorial Medical Center, the power and then the backup generators failed, creating a silence one doctor described as the “sickest sound” of his life.

Colorado residents kept a wary eye on the sky as more rain is forecast for Sunday, and with it more fears of gushing rivers and cascading mudslides.