Disasters

Global warming will cause storms to intensify
Daniel Bernoulli’s eighteenth-century equation basically says that as wind speed increases, air pressure decreases; his equation leaves out variables that were considered difficult to deal with such as friction and energy sources; Wolverines researchers now include these additional variables and find that for every 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit that the Earth’s surface temperature warms, the intensity of storms could increase by at least a few percent
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Worry: Pandemic mutations in bird flu revealed
Despite the ability of H5N1 avian influenza virus to spread, it cannot be transmitted efficiently from human to human, indicating it is not fully adapted to its new host species, the human; new research, however, reveals mutations in the virus that may result in a pandemic
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Internet crawling helps in tracking infectious disease outbreaks
New Web crawling tool helps identify and locate outbreaks of disease around the world
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Data leaks top concern for corporate computer users
New study shows that data leaks are becoming a leading source of headaches for U.S., U.K., German, and Japanese companies
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Rising sea level threatens U.K. coastal rail lines
Andrew McNaughton, Network Rail’s chief engineer: “The effects of climate change, and in particular sea level rise, are likely to increase the severity of the wave, tidal and wind effects on coastal defenses”
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September to be U.S. National Preparedness Month
DHS says that more than 1,200 national, regional, state, and local businesses and organizations have pledged their support for the department’s initiative
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U.K. critical infrastructure vulnerable
New report says last summer’s flood showed infrastructure’s vulnerability; funding for flood defenses was not sufficient or secure, undermining industry confidence, and there were not enough skilled engineers to deliver the protection from flooding needed
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Israeli government prepares for major earthquake in north
In one three-month period this year, around 500 small tremors were recorded in northern Israel; Israeli government health officials urge hospitals, municipalities to prepare for worst
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Scientists probe mysterious 1908 Siberian mystery
On 30 June 1908 an explosion equivalent to 15 megatons of TNT occurred approximately 3-6 miles above the Stony Tunguska River in a remote area of central Siberia; 80 million trees felled by the explosion over an area of some 2,100 square kilometres; the night sky was lit up across Europe and Asia and the shock waves were detected as far away as Britain; to date, there is no agreed explanation of the event
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Business continuity in a globalized economy
Organizations are evolving their focus from reactive to proactive to adaptive as they prepare for and respond to crises and disruptions
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CDC investigates possible non-tomato salmonella sources
Continuing discovery of salmonella cases cause the FDA and CDC to suspect that fresh unprocessed tomatoes are not necessarily causing the outbreak that has sickened hundreds across the United States
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U.S. intelligence agencies: Climate change threatens national security
Climate change could threaten U.S. security in the next twenty years by causing political instability, mass movements of refugees, terrorism, or conflicts over water and other resources in specific countries
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New Indian Point siren system scores high in full test
Test of new alarm siren system in the four counties surrounding the Indian Point nuclear plants in New York produce good grades
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Is flooding really as big a risk to Britain now as terrorism?
In 2007 the U.K. saw disastrous summer flooding in Yorkshire and the Severn valley around Gloucester and Tewkesbury. These floods caused the largest peacetime emergency in Britain since the Second World War
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Protecting IT infrastructure
The U.S. National Weather Service says that 910 storms had already been recorded by mid-May, a considerable number when compared with 1,093 confirmed tornadoes for all of 2007; U.S. business had better be prepared
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