More than 40,000 people were evacuated as typhoon Prapiroon hit southern China on August 3, pounding an already battered area with more heavy rains and winds. Till reports last received, at least six

A tsunami has once again hit the Java islands of Indonesia. Four-metre high waves, which crashed into the western and central-southern coast of the islands on July 17, were triggered by a series of

More than US $2 billion has been defrauded in Hurricane Katrina and Rita relief operations. The amount is nearly 11 per cent of the total funds spent by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on

An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hit the Indonesian island of Java in the early hours of May 27, 2006. More than 135,000 houses were destroyed and an estimated 647,000 people were

Natural disasters, mostly weather-related catastrophes, have cost the world the largest-ever financial losses of around us $200 billion in 2005. In 2004, this loss was us $145 billion and around