The first Kiwis to return from cyclone-ravaged Samoa have told of their narrow escapes from the devastation.

The category three tropical cyclone currently lashing Samoa could develop into a category five monster by the time it reaches Fiji.

We track deadly Cyclone Evan as he leaves Samoa and aims to take a massive and direct hit to Fiji as monster category 4 tropical storm. We have the latest maps, forecasts and tracking for this storm, which some models show will drift close to NZ in the days before Christmas.

Cyclone Evan, which has already reportedly claimed the lives of three people, continues to batter Samoa today and is expected to intensify with winds up to 145km/h. Last night there were reports of widespread flash floods, blocked roads, damaged buildings and evacuations.

Tropical Cyclone Evan is making its presence felt as it sweeps through the Pacific Islands, hitting Samoa and Fiji with winds of up to 185km/h, leaving a trail of debris behind it.

Doomsayers believe December 21, 2012, marks the end of an ancient Mayan calendar - and, therefore, the onset of world-ending natural or extraterrestrial catastrophes.

Lessons will be learned, future lives saved, but for families of Canterbury Television building earthquake victims there will never be closure.

A series of errors over 20 years led to the catastrophic collapse of the CTV building in the second major Christchurch quake, a Royal Commission has found.

A strong earthquake struck the same Japanese coast devastated by last year's massive quake and tsunami, generating small waves but no immediate reports of heavy damage.

All non-residential buildings and high-rise, multi-unit apartments in NZ will be assessed for earthquake risk and the results made public under new proposals.

Our relationship with natural heritage is second to none but our relationship with cultural heritage is not so secure, writes Alexander Gillespie.

A shock jump in the unemployment rate to 7.3 per cent would have been worse without jobs being generated from the Christchurch rebuild.

As the death toll rose and waters began to recede, Romney's campaign did try to "walk back" his old FEMA comments, writes Tracey Barnett. "Good luck with that."

Falling trees, floods and electrocution from downed power lines all play a part in deaths of scores of people in the devastating US storm.

There has been much talk of an "October surprise", writes Anne Penketh. "But nobody would have predicted that it would come from Mother Nature."

The normally bustling New York resembles a ghost town as hundreds of thousands of people flee from Hurricane Sandy, according to expat Kiwis living there.

Mark Quigley asks: Do scientists have a right to be wrong? Does state-of-the-art science really enable us to speak confidentially about "low-probability" events?

Engineers will today pack explosives into huge boulders that have closed Milford Rd in Fiordland, as residents face their fifth day cut off.

An independent weatherman has hit out at the MetService, claiming it was too slow to issue a severe weather warning for Auckland at the weekend.