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Natural Disasters

A plume of ash and gas rises from Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily on Monday. The eruption also featured lava fountains and a pyroclastic flow.

Mount Etna’s Spectacular Monday Eruption Marks the Volcano’s Most Intense Activity in Years

The explosion was the strongest since 2021, expelling ash, dust, lava and a pyroclastic flow, but no injuries or deaths were reported

A bed frame shoved against the door served as a makeshift barricade.

New Research

By Shoving a Bed Frame Against the Door, This Pompeii Family Tried to Survive Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption

Archaeologists are learning new details about the four individuals’ futile attempt to hide inside an ancient residence called the House of Helle and Phrixus

Environmental toxicologist Danielle Stevenson spreads soil and wood chips inoculated with fungi at a polluted lot in Los Angeles.

Can Scientists Harness the Magic of Mushrooms to Clean Up Polluted Landscapes?

Researchers and grassroots activists are working with fungi to restore damaged environments

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There's More to That

Looking Back on the L.A. Wildfires Through the Lens of Two Photographers

As wildfire becomes an increasingly lethal force that’s remaking broad swaths of California, people and animals alike are in the hot seat

A Schaus’ swallowtail (Papilio aristodemus) rests on a plant.

Why Does This Endangered Butterfly Thrive After Hurricanes?

For Schaus’ swallowtail butterflies, the powerful storms mean clear skies and bright futures

Miami's skyline in November 1925, at the height of the Florida land boom

How Dreams of Buried Pirate Treasure Enticed Americans to Flock to Florida During the Roaring Twenties

1925 marked the peak of the Florida land boom. But false advertising and natural disasters thwarted many settlers’ visions of striking it rich in the land of sunshine

People gather on Kaanapali Beach, a popular tourist destination near Lahaina, Hawaii, in August 2024.

Destinations Hit by Natural Disasters Need Tourists Back—but Maybe Not in the Same Way as Before

Places like Maui and Asheville, North Carolina, rebuilding after wildfires and hurricanes, are doing so with a mind to sustainable tourism

Gopher tortoises are disappearing from Florida, primarily because of habitat destruction that's often tied to residential development.

A Hurricane Swept These Tortoises Across Miles of Ocean to a New Home in Florida—and Now, They’re Thriving

Park rangers say at least 84 gopher tortoises are now living at Fort de Soto Park near St. Petersburg. Prior to Hurricane Helene in September, the local population was around eight

The Myanmar Fire Services Department conducts emergency search and rescue operations after the March 28 earthquake.

Death Toll Passes 2,000 After Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Hits Myanmar, Among the Most Powerful Quakes in the Region Since 1900

The natural disaster compounds humanitarian concerns in a country already in the throes of a devastating civil war

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A Peculiar, Short-Lived Office at the Smithsonian Once Explored Reports of Bizarre Natural Phenomena

From surprising squirrel migrations to islands popping up out of nowhere, the organization’s scientists tracked strange events as they happened

The Barry Arm landslide in Alaska’s Prince William Sound

Studying This Slow-Moving Alaskan Landslide May Help Avert Future Disaster

If the landslide at the Barry Arm fjord collapses, its falling ice and rock could generate a devastating 650-foot-high tsunami

Crater Peak (photographed here on February 7, 2025) is the most likely site of a future Mount Spurr eruption.

‘Volcanic Unrest’ at Alaska’s Mount Spurr Suggests 50-50 Chance an Eruption Could Be Coming

Volcanologists are closely monitoring the 11,070-foot-tall stratovolcano, located roughly 75 miles from Anchorage, after a recent uptick in earthquakes

The coast horned lizard (Phrynosoma blainvillii) depends on chaparral habitat to survive. It has declined across much of its range due to habitat loss, whether from development or invasion of non-native grasses. After fires, non-native grasses often fill in habitat and create problems for the species.

Here’s How the Los Angeles Wildfires Are Affecting Animals, From Fish to Snakes to Birds

While scientists were able to save and move some creatures in the aftermath, researchers are worried about the prospects for other species

Embers from the Eaton Fire fly down a residential street in Altadena, California, on January 8.

How A.I. Can Help Humans Battle Wildfires, From Advanced Camera Systems to Forecasting Models

A variety of new technologies aim to improve wildfire detection and help map the spread of blazes

A firefighter works as the Hughes Fire burns north of Los Angeles on January 22.

Welcome to the Pyrocene

Human use of fire has produced an era of uncontrolled burning

The Knickerbocker Theater's roof collapsed under the weight of snowfall, resulting in 98 deaths.

On This Day in History

Nearly 100 Washingtonians Died When a Theater Collapsed in One of the Largest Snowfalls Ever to Hit D.C.

The Knickerbocker Theater disaster, which took place on this day in 1922, killed 98 moviegoers and injured another 133

The Douglas C-54D Skymaster vanished during a routine transit flight from Anchorage to Great Falls, Montana, on January 26, 1950.

The Enduring Mystery of a Plane That Vanished in the Icy Canadian Wilderness With 44 People On Board

Seventy-five years ago, a Douglas C-54D Skymaster disappeared en route from Alaska to Montana. No trace of its crew and passengers, including a pregnant mother and her young son, has ever been found

The frame of the house stands where former Australian child star Rory Sykes died in a neighboring cottage during the Palisades Fire on Rambla Pacifico Street. Sykes was 32 years old and had cerebral palsy. 

A Los Angeles Photographer Captures the Devastating Fires Threatening His Beloved Community

Ivan Kashinsky has traveled the world for Smithsonian magazine, but when disaster struck earlier this month, he rushed home to point his lens at his own neighborhood

A view of the Palisades fire on January 9. The strong Santa Ana winds that fueled much of the L.A. wildfires’ destruction are expected to relax for a few days.

L.A. Fire-Fueling Winds Slow Down, Offering a Short Reprieve. What Are the Santa Ana Winds, and Why Do They Fan the Flames?

The seasonal gusts have exacerbated the deadly fires, and they’re expected to pick back up next week

The exhibition includes a re-creation of Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 C.E.

What Was Life Like in Pompeii Before Mount Vesuvius Erupted Nearly 2,000 Years Ago?

An immersive new exhibition in Australia uses artifacts, sounds and projections to recreate the ancient Roman city

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