Natural disasters

University of California-Berkeley prepare for the Big One
Cal students train in disaster response and are equipped with the supplies that are necessary to help
- Read more
Scientists: weight of water in reservoir may have triggered China quake
The May 2007 magnitude-7.9 quake in Sichuan province killed 70,000 and forced 5 million to be relocated; Just 550 yards from the fault line and 3.5 miles from the epicenter stands the 511-foot-high Zipingpu dam; scientists say that the immense weight of Zipingpu reservoir’s waters — 315 million tons — likely affected the timing and magnitude of the quake
- Read more

Napolitano orders immediate review of Katrina recovery
FEMA was stung by Katrina, and new DHS chief wants a review of that event and the response to it
- Read more
2008 natural disasters cause record loss of life, damage
More than 220,000 people died in events like cyclones, earthquakes and flooding; overall global losses totaled about $200 billion, with uninsured losses totaling $45 billion
- Read more

Virulent strain of bird flu hits Vietnam poultry farms
Until recently Vietnam led the world in H5N1 infection, but drastic measures by the government helped contain the disease; a recent outbreak, coupled with a cold and wet winter, may set back that effort
- Read more
Asia at risk of era of mega-disasters
Asian countries are heading toward an era of mega-disasters; cities in the Himalayan belt, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines could experience earthquakes where the death toll could top one million
- Read more

Political squabbles hobble H5N1 research
Indonesia has had the most cases of human H5N1 flu since 2005; it refuses to share the virus samples with Western pharmaceutical companies unless these companies agree to share with Indonesia the profits from the vaccine these companies develop — and also guarantee Indonesia access to a vaccine in case of a pandemic
- Read more
Sun Belt residents more likely to die in natural disasters
People who live in the U.S. Sun Belt — that is, in the southern part of the country — are much more likely to die of natural disasters than their fellow countrymen on live in the north; “small” disasters such as heat waves, floods, and ice storms kill many more people to headline-grabbing hurricanes and tornadoes
- Read more

Economic downturn to hurt medical emergency preparedness
Progress made better to protect the United States from disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and bioterrorism is now at risk, due to budget cuts and the economic crisis
- Read more
U.K. launches dedicated network for emergency communication
The U.K. government has contracted with BT to develop the National Resilience Extranet — which will enable the secure exchange of information in response to civil emergencies such as floods and outbreaks of agricultural diseases
- Read more

Day of smart grid nears
Major blackouts may be a thing of the past: the world’s first high-voltage Li-ion system can connect to the grid, without a transformer, and immediately turn on if there is a disruption in power
- Read more
Experts call for establishing near-earth asteroid surveillance network
Scientists have identified almost 6,000 near-earth objects (NEOs) whose orbits intersect with the Earth’s; five-hundred to 1,000 NEOs have a diameter of over 150 kilometers
- Read more

Seattle successfully tests emergency response policy
Can local public health providers can handle a major earthquake, pandemic flu, or some other really big disaster? King County, Washington, says it is ready
- Read more
Can China's future earthquakes be predicted?
To predict earthquakes, China relied on GPS data, which showed movements of two millimeters per year in certain areas of Szechwan province where a May 2008 earthquake killed 70,000 people (20,000 are still missing) and destroyed more than eight million homes; scientists examine a better way to predict disasters
- Read more
1918 U.K. Spanish flu records help in solving future pandemics
The 1918-19 Spanish flu killed more than fifty million people worldwide; Aussie scientists study record of the flu out break in the United Kingdom in search for answers about the pandemic quick spread and lethality
- Read more

The long view

Protecting the U.S. power grid
The U.S. power grid is made up of complex and expensive system components, which are owned by utilities ranging from small municipalities to large national corporations spanning multiple states. A National Academy of Sciences report estimates that a worst-case geomagnetic storm could have an economic impact of $1 trillion to $2 trillion in the first year, which is twenty times the damage caused by a Katrina-class hurricane.
- Read more
More than 143 million Americans at risk from earthquakes
More than 143 million Americans living in the forty-eight contiguous states are exposed to potentially damaging ground shaking from earthquakes, with as many as twenty-eight million people in the highest hazard zones likely to experience strong shaking during their lifetime, according to new research. The research puts the average long-term value of building losses from earthquakes at $4.5 billion per year, with roughly 80 percent of losses attributed to California, Oregon, and Washington. By comparison, FEMA estimated in 1994 that seventy-five million Americans in thirty-nine states were at risk from earthquakes. In the highest hazard zones, the researchers identified more than 6,000 fire stations, more than 800 hospitals, and nearly 20,000 public and private schools that may be exposed to strong ground motion from earthquakes.
- Read more
A large Ventura Fault quake could trigger a tsunami
Earthquake experts had not foreseen the 2011 magnitude-9 Japan earthquake occurring where it did, so soon after the disaster, scientists in Southern California began asking themselves, “What are the big things we’re missing?” For decades, seismic experts believed the Ventura fault posed only a minor to moderate threat, but new research suggests that a magnitude-8 earthquake could occur on the fault roughly every 400 to 2,400 years. The newly discovered risk may even be more damaging than a large earthquake occurring on the San Andreas Fault, which has long been considered the state’s most dangerous. Unlike the Ventura fault, the San Andreas Fault is so far inland in Southern California, that it does not pose a tsunami risk. A large earthquake on the Ventura fault, however, could create a tsunami that would begin “in the Santa Barbara Channel area, and would affect the coastline … of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, down through the Santa Monica area and further south.”
- Read more
Coastal communities can lower flood insurance rates by addressing sea-level rise
City leaders and property developers in Tampa Bay are urging coastal communities to prepare today for sea-level rise and future floods in order to keep flood insurance rates low in the future. FEMA, which administers the National Flood Insurance Program(NFIP), is increasing flood insurance premiums across the country, partly to offset losses from recent disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Cities can reduce insurance premiums for nearly all residents who carry flood coverage by improving storm-water drainage, updating building codes to reflect projected rise in sea-levels, moving homes out of potentially hazardous areas, and effectively informing residents about storm danger and evacuation routes.
- Read more
California drought highlights the state’s economic divide
As much of Southern California enters into the spring and warmer temperatures, the effects of California’s historic drought begin to manifest themselves in the daily lives of residents, highlighting the economic inequality in the ways people cope. Following Governor Jerry Brown’s (D) unprecedented water rationing regulations,wealthier Californians weigh on which day of the week no longer to water their grass, while those less fortunate are now choosing which days they skip a bath.
- Read more

University of California-Berkeley prepare for the Big One

Scientists: weight of water in reservoir may have triggered China quake

Napolitano orders immediate review of Katrina recovery

2008 natural disasters cause record loss of life, damage

Virulent strain of bird flu hits Vietnam poultry farms

Asia at risk of era of mega-disasters

Political squabbles hobble H5N1 research

Sun Belt residents more likely to die in natural disasters

Economic downturn to hurt medical emergency preparedness

U.K. launches dedicated network for emergency communication

Day of smart grid nears

Experts call for establishing near-earth asteroid surveillance network

Seattle successfully tests emergency response policy

Can China's future earthquakes be predicted?

1918 U.K. Spanish flu records help in solving future pandemics

More headlines

Who's online

The long view

Protecting the U.S. power grid

More than 143 million Americans at risk from earthquakes

A large Ventura Fault quake could trigger a tsunami

Coastal communities can lower flood insurance rates by addressing sea-level rise

California drought highlights the state’s economic divide