Disaster_Accident

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Tornado damage is seen from a bird's-eye view in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on May 7. America's wild weather year hit a new high: a devastating dozen billion-dollar disasters.

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A Japanese dive bomber goes into its last dive as it heads toward the ground in flames after it was hit by Naval anti-aircraft fire during surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo)

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Afghan policemen pick up debris after a motorcycle bomb Tuesday in Kandahar killed a civilian. Unlike other explosions Tuesday, police said this one did not target Shiites. (Associated Press)

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Smoke and dust rises at the scene of a suicide bomb attack Tuesday that killed 56 during a Muharram procession outside the Abul Fazl shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan. "It was a very powerful blast. ... Everyone was crying, shouting," said Mahood Khan, who is in charge of the shrine near the presidential palace. "It is a disaster." (Associated Press)

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Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis (83) is tackled by New York Jets outside linebacker Calvin Pace (back) and free safety Eric Smith (33) during fourth quarter. (Preston Keres/For The Washington Times)

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New York Jets running back Shonn Greene (23) scores in the fourth quarter in front of Washington Redskins free safety Reed Doughty (37) to give his team a 27-16 lead. (Preston Keres/For The Washington Times)

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Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall (23) and free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (20) run on the field before the start of the game at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., on Sunday, December 4, 2011. (Preston Keres/For The Washington Times)

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Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis (83) is tackled by New York Jets outside linebacker Calvin Pace (back) and free safety Eric Smith (33) during fourth quarter action at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., on Sunday, December 4, 2011. (Preston Keres/For The Washington Times)

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A Detroit-based auto analyst who has driven the Chevy Volt says battery-fire concerns are more media hype than a real problem for General Motors. An OnStar safety system notifies GM after a wreck, and the automaker sends out a team within 48 hours to drain the Volt's battery, said Dan Akerson (left), CEO of GM. (Associated Press)

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A minibus damaged by a blast Sunday sits outside the British Embassy compound in Manama, Bahrain. A canister containing explosive material blew apart the front of a minibus. There were no reported injuries or other serious damage. (Bahrain News Agency via Associated Press)

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Keith Curo of Pasadena, Calif., stops to look over the damage caused by a fallen tree at a Shell gas station on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Pasadena. Some of the worst winds in years blasted through California overnight, with gusts up to 97 mph. (AP Photo/Bret Hartman)

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Miller and Smith is building 60 single-family homes on 5,084-square-foot sites at the Manor Homes at Madison Crescent in Gainesville. The Sydney model, with 2,765 square feet, is priced from $374,990.

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D.C. Fire and EMS Chief Kenneth Ellerbe said Wednesday that his staff-scheduling plan "will not reduce services one bit," adding that "safety is not an issue." (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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David Barfield checks the drought-stricken saplings at his Christmas tree farm in New Caney, Texas. Only a handful of the 500 saplings he planted have survived this year's drought and summer heat wave. (Associated Press)

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David Barfield checks a dying tree Nov. 8, 2011, at his Christmas tree farm in New Caney, Texas. This year's historic drought has killed thousands of trees on Barfield’s farm and across Texas and Oklahoma. (Associated Press)

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John Kinder, a member of the Posse of Pinal County Sheriff Department, secures a road on Nov. 24, 2011, while a search and rescue team works around the clock at the Superstition Mountains east of Apache Junction, Ariz., where small plane crashed the previous evening. All passengers aboard were killed, including a pilot father and his three children traveling for Thanksgiving. (Associated Press/The Arizona Republic)

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A brush fire burns at the scene of an aircraft that crashed in the Superstition Mountains in Apache Junction, Ariz., on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011. The small plane with three adults and three children on board crashed into the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix on Wednesday, and there was no sign of survivors, authorities said. (AP Photo/Tim Hacker East Valley Tribune)