• U.S. accelerating move toward disaster insurance reform

    Premium increases, against a backdrop of increasing weather disasters and strained state finances, will focus Congress’s attention on weaknesses in the current U.S. catastrophe insurance framework; this is likely to stimulate reform, leading to the creation of a national disaster insurance/reinsurance pool and federal guarantees for certain catastrophe bonds

  • More than a third of the U.S. faces historic, possibly deadly flooding this spring

    Forecasters say wet winter, El Nino could cause major flooding; Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): “We are looking at potentially historic flooding”

  • No way to tell whether last Tuesday's L.A. earthquake was a precursor to the Big One

    Experts say it is impossible to tell whether small quakes are a sign that bigger ones may follow; thus, it is not possible to say whether or not last Tuesday’s 4.4 magnitude earthquake in California is a sign that the Big One is around the corner

  • DHS advises first responders not to get rid of their old gear just yet

    The FCC’s National Broadband Plan recommends the deployment of a dedicated broadband network for the public safety community, but DHS tells first responders they should not expect an early exodus from existing technologies, including mobile radios, just yet

  • Chilean economy faces major slowdown

    The two areas hit hardest by the 27 February quake account for 13 percent of Chile’s gross domestic product and 20 percent of its industrial output, and some sectors of the economy will have to rebuild from scratch

  • Researchers build a mini river delta, making catastrophic flooding more predictable

    Slow deposition of sediment within rivers eventually fills channels, forcing water to spill into surrounding areas and find a new, steeper path; the process is called avulsion; the result, with the proper conditions, is catastrophic flooding and permanent relocation of the river channel; researchers offer new insights into avulsion

  • Software turns laptops, PCs into earthquake early-warning system

    Harnessing the power of accelerometers — tiny devices that detect movement, allowing, for example, iPhones to flip from vertical to horizontal and Wii devices to function as tennis rackets — and embedding them in laptops and PCs would create a local, regional, or even global network of “quake catchers” who would use their computers to map tremors

  • Worry: gravitational force would cause nuked asteroids to reform

    The only way to prevent large asteroids from hitting Earth is to use nuclear weapons to blast them to pieces; scientists find that this is not good enough: the gravitational force among the asteroids fragments would cause the asteroid to reform, “Terminator”-like, within hours

  • National insurance for natural disasters: a necessity or "beach house bailout"

    Supporters of national disaster insurance program say it is better to plan ahead than do a bailout after a natural disaster; opponents say it would be a subsidy for owners of coastal mansions and encourage people to live in disaster-prone areas

  • Washington State, federal officials in dam-related disaster resilience exercises

    Officials from the Tri-Cities area of Washington State, neighboring areas, and federal agencies participate in a exercise aiming to develop a strategy to improve disaster resilience and preparedness in the event of severe flooding along the Columbia River, flooding which leads to overtopping and subsequent breaching of levees in the Tri-Cities area

  • The 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • FCC's new public safety proposal receives mixed response

    FCC relaunches the 700 MHz public/private safety initiative; original 2008 auction for Block D failed to reach its reserve price; new FCC plan puts up to $16 billion and more spectrum behind the proposals; public safety organizations disappointed, carrier community remains undecided

  • Chile 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