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Chile's earthquakeThe city of Concepción moved 10 feet to the west; rebuilding infrastructure will cost $1.2 billion
Chile's earthquake was the fifth most powerful quake ever measured; the powerful temblor shifts one city to the west -- and rearranges others parts of South America as well; cost of rebuilding Chile's infrastructure estimated at $1.2 billion
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Wireless communication solutions for emergency situations
At one time, traditional broadcast networks -- radio and TV -- were adequate for alert services and information dissemination during disasters and emergencies; these means do not allow communication among individuals; modern mobile devices might prove increasingly resilient in emergencies and could be the most accessible platform for the majority of people
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Engineering earthquake-resistant buildings
Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake was much more powerful that Haiti's 7.0-magnitude tremor; yet, Haiti's quake claimed an estimated 300,000 dead, while Chile's quake claimed around 800; the reason: Chile enforced building codes for earthquake-resistant structures after the 1960 9.0-magnitude earthquake; the corrupt, indifferent, and ineffective governments of Haiti never bothered to develop a meaningful building code, let alone enforce one
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Chile earthquakeChile quake occurred in zone of increased geological stress
The massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on 27 February occurred in an offshore zone that was under increased stress caused by a 1960 quake of magnitude 9.5; the earthquake, some 300-500 times more powerful than the magnitude 7.0 quake in Haiti on 12 January, ruptured at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates
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Chile earthquakeThe Chile quake was followed by a smaller tsunami than originally expected
The tsunami which followed Saturday's earthquake in Chile was smaller than originally expected because the earthquake ruptured only a relatively small segment of fault at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates -- around 350 kilometers; the length of fault rupture determines the distance at which a tsunami begins to lose energy
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Chile earthquakeChile quake will likely be followed by increased volcanic activity
Chile's problems are not over, as previous earthquakes were followed by volcanic activity: after a magnitude 8.3 in 1906 and a magnitude 9.5 earthquake in 1960, there were three or four more volcanic eruptions within about 500 kilometers of the epicenter in the following year than would normally be expected
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Smart CCTV detects brush-fire in early stage
Researchers develop a CCTV that can detect the first flames of a brush fire; a specially developed software for the CCTV analyzes video images for the characteristic flicker and color of a flame; the software looks for pixels which change from one frame to the next, and which also have a fire-like color
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The unprecedented role of SMS in disaster response
In Haiti, volunteers set up an SMS messaging system which allow individuals in earthquake-affected areas to text their location and urgent needs in real time for free; since the majority of incoming text messages were in Creole, thousands of volunteers agreed to serve as instant translators
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A new law of hurricane formation
Robert Ehrlich, a physicist at George Mason University, offers a new mathematical model of hurricane formation which appears finally to solve one of the outstanding puzzles of climate change; the model also predicts dramatic increases in the number of storms as the world warms
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Radar detection may fail to spot smaller tornadoes
Even though meteorologists use multiple radar stations to monitor thunderstorms, small tornadoes can escape the detection of radar scans. Smaller tornadoes do not level entire towns like their bigger brethren, which can be more than a half-mile wide, but the small twisters can cause widespread damage
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Private security firms eyeing Haiti contracts
Private security firms eager to gain lucrative security contracts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti; a mid-march conference in Miami would bring together security companies and Haitian officials to examine the market; critics, including some current and former Haitian officials, worry about the trend toward privatizing essential reconstruction services
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How real is the threat of cyberattack on the United States?
Some experts compare the economic impact of a major cyberincident to the 2003 Northeast blackout, which cut service to fifty million people in the United States and Canada for up to four days; economists place the cost of that event between $4.5 [billion] and $10 billion -- which they regard as a blip in the $14.2 trillion U.S. economy
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Gartner: only 6 percent of companies survive longer than two years after losing data
Gartner Group says that 43 percent of companies were immediately put out of business by a "major loss" of computer records, and another 51 percent permanently closed their doors within two years — leaving a mere six percent "survival" rate; Zenith Infotech says it can help
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How to make an organization more resilient
Small and mid-sized organizations are especially at risk when disaster strikes, since few have the resources or knowledge to develop full-scale continuity plans; CDW-Government offers seven useful tips on how to make organizations more resilient; CDW-G’s experts argue that the most important thing for an organization during a disaster is to ensure the integrity of its data, communications capabilities, and the information technology infrastructure to support both
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Companies compete for Haiti cleanup contracts
Cleaning up after the Haiti earthquake, in which some 225,000 homes and at least 25,000 government and office buildings collapsed, is big business; American clean-up companies with political muscle are vying for lucrative contracts
The Long View
Planetary securityNew ideas for deflecting Earth-threatening asteroids
As scientists use better equipment to make more accurate observations of space, they find more Earth-threatening objects loitering in Near Earth Orbit; a debate is growing as to the best method to deal with this threat
The 25 most dangerous places for offshore outsourcing
Are you thinking about outsourcing your company's back-room work to companies in Bogota, Bangkok, or Johannesburg? Think again; here is a list of the 25 worst outsourcing cities
Planetary securityNew asteroid threatens Earth
An asteroid named 1999 RQ36 and with a diameter of 560 meters, was discovered a decade ago but was not deemed worrisome since it had no chance of hitting Earth in the next 100 years; new calculations show a 1 in 1,400 chance that it will strike Earth between 2169 and 2199; trouble is, the window of opportunity to deflect it comes much sooner
Planetary safetyThe worst possible disaster the Earth could experience
Forget Texas-size asteroids hitting the earth in full force; lurking at the edge of our galaxy are giant molecular dust clouds roughly 150 light-years across; if our solar system hit one of these dust clouds, it would take 100,000 years to emerge on the other side
TrendIndia to see a large, broad growth in expenditures on domestic security
A series of terrorist attacks, culminating in the coordinated attack in Mumbai last month, convinced both government and industry in India that more security -- much more security -- is required to cope with mounting threats to domestic peace; business opportunities abound for companies in IT security, biometric, surveillance, detection, situational awareness, and more
TrendAsia 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
AnalysisEven in tough times, IT security should not be short changed
In tough economic times, IT managers -- as do other managers -- look for ways to cut costs and expenses; they should realize, though, that in tough economic times IT security may become even more important than during more normal times
