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Risk of Volcano Catastrophe “A Roll of the Dice”: Experts
While funding is pumped into preventing low-probability scenarios such as asteroid collision, the far more likely threat of a large volcanic eruption is close to ignored – despite much that could be done to reduce the risks, say researchers.
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Sensors Help Fight Wildfires
As climate change leads to larger and more frequent wildfires, researchers are using sensors, drones and machine learning to both prevent fires and reduce their damage to the electric grid. Engineers are honing technology to remotely sense electrical arcing and faulty equipment, as well as the direction of spreading fires.
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Risks of Megafloods in California Increase
California is currently contending with historic drought, but climate change is sharply increasing the risk of a catastrophic megaflood that could submerge large swaths of the state and displace millions of residents. The frequency of catastrophic deluges increases as temperatures rise.
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World's Biggest Ice Sheet Could Cause Massive Sea Rise Without Action
A new study shows that the worst effects of global warming on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) could be avoided. That depends upon temperatures not rising by more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
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More Than 107M Americans Will Soon Live inside an Emerging “Extreme Heat Belt” with Temperatures above 125 F
Fifty U.S. counties, home to 8.1 million residents, are expected to experience temperatures above 125°F in 2023, the highest level of the National Weather Services’ heat index. By 2053, 1,023 U.S. counties are expected to exceed this temperature, an area that is home to 107.6 million Americans and covers a quarter of the U.S. land area.
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Prediction of Human Movement During Disasters Allows More Effective Emergency Response
The COVID-19 pandemic, bigger and more frequent wildfires, devastating floods, and powerful storms have become facts of life. With each disaster, people depend on the emergency response of governments, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector for aid when their lives are upended. But there is a complicating factor: people tend to disperse with such disasters, making aid delivery more difficult.
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Wealthiest Homeowners Most at Risk of Wildfire Hazard
The top 10 cent most valuable homes in the western United States are 70% more likely to be in high wildfire hazard areas than median-value properties, measured by county.
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Support for Carbon Capture and Sequestration Key to Greener, More Reliable Grid
Existing fossil-fuel capacity can play a significant role in reaching net-zero with both current and modified “Section 45Q” tax incentives for carbon capture and storage (CCS).
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For Advance Drought Warning, Look to the Plants
Among the extreme weather impacts resulting from climate change, drought is a growing problem around the globe, leading to frequent wildfires, threats to water resources, and greater food insecurity. Researchers find signals in vegetation can help forecast devastating ‘flash’ droughts.
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Evacuating Outside the Lines
Researchers at the University of Tsukuba show how extending evacuation options to shelters outside the borders of a city can help increase the efficiency of flood responses, which may reduce the disruption caused by natural disasters.
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Flood Maps Show U.S. Vastly Underestimates Contamination Risk at Old Industrial Sites
Floodwaters are a growing risk for many American cities, threatening to displace not only people and housing but also the land-based pollution left behind by earlier industrial activities. For communities near these sites, the flooding of contaminated land is worrisome because it threatens to compromise common pollution containment methods, such as capping contaminated land with clean soil. It can also transport legacy contaminants into surrounding soils and waterways, putting the health and safety of urban ecosystems and residents at risk.
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Bringing Disaster Risk, Vulnerability Down to Community Level
A comprehensive update to NOAA’s Billion Dollar Disasters mapping tool now includes U.S. census tract data – providing many users with local community-level awareness of hazard risk, exposure and vulnerability across more than 100 combinations of weather and climate hazards.
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Climate Change Is Making Flooding Worse: 3 Reasons the World Is Seeing More Record-Breaking Deluges and Flash Floods
Although floods are a natural occurrence, human-caused climate change is making severe flooding events more common. I study how climate change affects hydrology and flooding. In mountainous regions, three effects of climate change in particular are creating higher flood risks: more intense precipitation, shifting snow, and rain patterns and the effects of wildfires on the landscape.
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Using Historical Weather Data to Optimize Power Grid
With the record-breaking heat and drought conditions states across the U.S. are currently facing, finding a solution to the growing need for reliable power from the electric grid is at an all-time high. Information about past outlier conditions could provide valuable context to help operators better manage the grid during extreme weather.
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U.S. Senate Approves Bill Containing Texas’ “Ike Dike” Coastal Protection Project
The U.S. Senate voted to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning for a massive coastal barrier project in Galveston Bay meant to protect against hurricanes’ storm surge. Funding is not yet secured.
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The long view
The Surprising Reasons Floods and Other Disasters Are Deadlier at Night
It’s not just that it’s dark and people are asleep. Urban sprawl, confirmation bias, and other factors can play a role.
Why Flash Flood Warnings Will Continue to Go Unheeded
Experts say local education and community support are key to conveying risk.