Last week, a chemical company poisoned a major West Virginia water supply so thoroughly that FEMA has been dispatched to clean things up. » 1/11/14 5:02pm 1/11/14 5:02pm

Researchers working on "the next big thing in disaster response" have figured out how to put a tiny backpack on a cockroach and then remote-control it through collapsed buildings to locate survivors. The roach can be equipped with a small video camera or a microphone, which can then transmit information to human… » 9/14/12 6:30pm 9/14/12 6:30pm

Here's tear-inducing video of the grand reunion between Ban, the dog rescued from a pile of debris in the Pacific Ocean last week, and her loving owner. Despite being adrift in the ocean for the three weeks after the tsunami, the dog had plenty of energy to happily wag her tail after finally returning to her owner's… » 4/04/11 1:43pm 4/04/11 1:43pm

President Obama has promised to launch a rescue effort for the people of Haiti. "We are reminded of the common humanity that we all share," he said. Want to help? Put links to aid agencies in the comments. [AP, Time] » 1/13/10 11:20am 1/13/10 11:20am