Natural disasters of 2011 (36 images)

An Arkansas National Guard service member checks on a motorists driving down a flooded road in eastern Arkansas on May 7, 2011. A total of 63 counties in Arkansas have been declared disaster areas in the wake of heavy storms and flooding that have ravaged the state since late April. UPI/Julian Johnson/DOD

A damaged spire is seen at the National Cathedral following yesterday's 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the east coast, in Washington, D.C. on August 24, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

A Sailor assigned to Naval Air Facility Misawa carries debris to a dumpsite during a cleanup effort at the Misawa Fishing Port, in Misawa, Japan, March 14, 2011. More than 90 Sailors from Naval Air Facility Misawa volunteered in the relief effort, assisting Misawa City employees and members of the community following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country. UPI/Devon Dow/U.S. Navy.

Students take cover under desks at the Carnahan High School of the Future, while (L to R) U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo) look on during an earthquake drill in St. Louis on April 28, 2011. More than 2.9 million people in 11 states are participating in the ShakeOut, making it the largest disaster preparedness drill in this area of the country. The drill is part of the bicentennial observation of the great New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12, among the largest earthquakes ever to occur in the continental U.S. UPI/Bill Greenblatt