Disasters

Disasters happen. Being prepared is almost always the ideal, but rarely the reality. A disaster training facility in Texas is trying to change that.

Three years later, Hurricane Katrina has had lasting effects on New Orleans. It's also taught America some lessons about how to react to natural disasters -- and how not to.

The 5-4-7 Arts Center in Greensburg, Kansas gets a LEED platinum designation- evidence that the town, which was 95% destroyed by a tornado in May, 2006, is making good on its sustainable rebuilding plan.

Parkersburg, IA, reeling from a recent tornado that devastated the town, could look to nearby Charles City for a silver lining.

Mark Kingwell observes the sharp -- and deadly -- contrast between shining Shanghai skyscrapers and the poorly-built prefab concrete structures in China's rural areas that proved to be deathtraps in the recent earthquake.

As rescue work continues in the aftermath of the earthquake in China's Sichuan province, many -- including the state-run media -- are asking questions about why so many buildings collapsed, and blame corruption and shoddy construction methods.

A year after a tornado destroyed the city of Greensburg, Kansas, the city and its residents are bounding back in an economically and environmentally sustainable way.