distress signal

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Fireboat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010. A Coast Guard rescue helicopter document the fire, searches for survivors of the 126 person crew. BP spill

Deepwater Horizon Disaster: Five Years Later

High-oblique view of the extra-tropical unnamed cyclone that merged with Hurricane Earl is featured in this image taken by an Expedition 24 crew member on the International Space Station (Sept. 2010).

Is the Number of Hurricanes Increasing?

tornado, digitally altered image. (storm; wind; clouds; natural disaster)

The Great Molasses Flood and 6 Other Strange Disasters

In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.

6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters

An Air Force search and rescue team in an HH-60 G Pave Hawk helicopter surveys the damage as it flies over Sendai, Japan, March 14, 2011. Japan 2011

Five Years Later: The Great Sendai Earthquake

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Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant

7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Aspirin pills.

7 Drugs that Changed the World

Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays

Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?

Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"

How Deadly Is Quicksand?

Aurochs. Bos primigenius. Skeleton. Extinct animal. Skeleton of an Aurochs, an extinct wild ox.

6 Animals We Ate Into Extinction

Cathedrale St.Jean in Lyon, France has a 14th-century astronomical clock that shows religious feast days till the year 2019; Perpetual Calendar

Ten Days That Vanished: The Switch to the Gregorian Calendar

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SOS Mayday NC Pan Pan Pan What Does SOS Mean?accident disaster signal siren railroad signal distortion signal generator semaphore carrier wave