Haiphong, Vietnam, in the Gulf of Tonkin, was hit by a devastating typhoon in 1881 that killed an estimated 300,000 people. Little is known of what preparation or precautions may have been lacking at the time, but the city was hit again in 2005. That storm came onshore with 100 mph sustained winds, but the casualty toll in the developed industrial center was significantly less: 150 people died in the storm.

When faults let loose with a mighty rumble, the reverberations are felt across the globe. As Mother Nature takes lives and property with such minute warning, super temblors anywhere in the world remind those in quake-prone zones of the vulnerability of great metropolitan regions and remind us to be prepared with good building codes and swift emergency response. Here are the world’s worst shakers.

Hurricane Earl was barreling toward the Atlantic Coast of the United States today, and tourists have evacuated the vulnerable barrier islands of North Carolina — heading into Labor Day weekend, a key tourist time — as the Category 4 storm approaches. Federal Emergency Management Agency director Craig Fugate warned that with winds topping at 140 mph, those in the path of the storm need to take action quickly. More:

“‘This is a day of action,’ Fugate said. ‘Sunny skies in the (North Carolina) Outer Banks will deteriorate throughout the afternoon. For people further north, conditions will deterioate very quickly.’

As of 11 a.m. Thursday, the storm was located about 300 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving to the north at 18 mph.

The storm is on track to swipe the North Carolina barrier islands, where many tourists have already evacuated and residents spent the morning battening down in preparation for its arrival overnight. Further north, tropical storm force winds are expected in coastal Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticutt, said Bill Read, director of the hurricane center.

In those areas, ‘Your trees are full of leaves, power lines are above ground so you could lose power,’ Read said. ‘If someone has an emergency and roads are covered with trees, emergency vehicles have a hard time getting to them. With the high population it could have some affect.’

The hurricane center issued a hurricane warning for southeastern Massachusetts and a tropical storm warning for the coast of Long Island in New York.”

The Washington Post is also tracking the storm, which isn’t expected to hit the nation’s capital but those still on the congressional recess and waiting to enjoy the beaches through the holiday.

“In Ocean City, Md., a sprinkle of tourists lined the main drag Thursday as families and couples strolled toward the boardwalk with towels and beach chairs in tow. The soft breeze and clear blue sky was no indication of the rain and high winds expected to whip through the area within hours. Hurricane Earl will pass through, about 200 miles from the town’s coast, beginning early Friday morning and continuing until Friday afternoon.

‘It’s a fast-moving storm, hopefully it’ll just blow past,’ said town spokeswoman Donna Abbott.

A hurricane watch–meaning that hurricane conditions are expected within 48 hours– is in effect, and residents are being asked to stay indoors during the storm.

Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) have declared states of emergency, and O’Malley is advising travelers not to drive to or from Ocean City during the height of stormy weather Friday.

Beaches in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware are likely to see one to two inches of rain, winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour and gusts of up to 55 miles per hour, forecasters said. Strong waves, dangerous rip currents and possibly minor coastal flooding also are likely.”

Keep track of Earl’s latest movements at the Stormpulse tracking map.

More on hurricanes:

Storm names for the 2010 season

World’s worst hurricanes

Five years ago: When Katrina struck

(Photo by NOAA via Getty Images)

I found this explanation in the Tribune archives very helpful:

From “Sunset breaks can flame out, cast lasting glow,”July 8, 2001, by  Kathy Kristof, Tribune Media Services

Tax sunset provisions have been around since the mid-1980s, when Congress created a formula for speeding so-called reconciliation bills.

Reconciliation bills have to conform with tax and spending levels already approved in earlier budget resolutions. That often requires putting strict time limits on the bill’s provisions. In return, reconciliation bills can’t be delayed by a filibuster or loaded up with unrelated amendments–tools that foes often use to kill pending legislation.

In today’s closely divided Congress, reconciliation protection allowed the then-Republican majority to pass the new tax law in record time. The trade-off was a landmark piece of tax legislation that could disappear in a decade.

The situation is particularly jarring with the new tax law because it affects all taxpayers and virtually every portion of the tax code. Sunset provisions used to involve a handful of narrowly targeted breaks, like research and development tax credits and tax breaks for adoption.

Nonetheless, sunset provisions do have some supporters.

“I think having a sunset provision is a good way to get rid of something that has completed its purpose or is a bad program,” said Danielle Doane, director of government relations for Citizens for a Sound Economy, a group that advocates less government.

Despite the furor that sunsets have caused in the planning community, it’s not clear whether Congress will allow these new tax breaks to expire.

“We are not worried that any of these provisions are not going to exist in 2011,” said Dan Danner, senior vice president for federal public policy at the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business advocacy group. “We think most of them will be made permanent long before that.”

That’s wishful thinking, counters Martin Sullivan, an economist who once worked on the staff of Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation and now writes a column in the weekly magazine Tax Notes. “It is going to be tremendously difficult to extend this bill,” he said. “Congress will have to figure out how to pay for it again and how to get the votes again.”

 The Senate lacked a 60-vote supermajority, but using this “legislative trick” (that they railed furiously about in 2010) the narrow Republican majority managed to pass the tax cuts (with 58 votes). One of the two Republicans voting no was John McCain.

Victor, Chantelle and Nadia have been getting ready to perform as Kandy Floss (”spelt with a K!”) in the Ultimate Big Brother house today. The trio will bring back the fictional group, who were used as the cover story for Chantelle in Celebrity Big Brother 4, for one last performance of ‘I Want It All’. How will they get on? Click ‘play’ below to hear their vocal skills:

Ultimate Big Brother continues nightly on Channel 4.

WASHINGTON — President Obama yesterday called on the leaders of Israel and the Palestinians to “walk the path of peace” and reach a comprehensive agreement that will finally end decades of bloodshed.

“Do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?” Obama asked as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sat nearby.

“When we come together, we will not be alone,” he added in comments before a private dinner with the leaders in the small Old Family Dining Room of the White House.

“We’ll be joined by the generations — those who have gone before and those who have fallen. Each of you are the heirs of the peacemakers who dared greatly.”

With Obama looking on, Netanyahu and Abbas twice shook hands.

The kickoff of the peace talks presents Obama with a golden opportunity to prove to the many critics of his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize that he is worthy of the honor.

The president’s remarks and the dinner that followed came after a day of whirlwind one-on-one meetings in the White House featuring Netanyahu, Abbas, King Abdullah of Jordan and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

Abbas urged Israel to freeze settlement construction in areas the Palestinians want as part of their projected new state, and to end its blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the terror group Hamas.

“We will spare no effort and we will work diligently and tirelessly to ensure these negotiations achieve their cause,” Abbas said.

Urging them on, Obama said, “This moment of opportunity may not soon come again.”

Each of the leaders, however, made plain that their own national interests must be satisfied.

“We do not seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror,” said Netanyahu. And he stressed the central importance of security assurances for the Jewish state as part of any land-for-peace agreement.

“We left Lebanon, we got terror. We left Gaza, we got terror. We want to ensure that territory we concede will not be turned into a third Iranian-sponsored terror enclave aimed at the heart of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

As violence back in the Middle East continued to mar the start of negotiations, Obama said he was “hopeful, cautiously hopeful, but hopeful” that a lasting agreement could be reached.

King Abdullah said, “Mr. President, we need your support as a mediator, honest broker and a partner. If hopes are disappointed again, the price of failure will be too high for all.”

Mubarak declared, “I say to Israel: Seize the current opportunity. Do not let it slip through your fingers. Make comprehensive peace your goal.

TEHRAN - An influential Iranian state-run newspaper on Tuesday reiterated and expanded on its earlier derogatory remarks about French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, spurring Iran’s Foreign Ministry to warn news media to refrain from insulting foreign dignitaries.