-
Ripple Effect: Lessons from the Tonga Eruption
An eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in the South Pacific Ocean on January 15, 2022 created a rare event never before detected with modern instruments. A powerful tsunami raced forward, leaving an untold number of lives hanging in the balance.
-
-
Identifying “Double-Hazard” Zones for Wildfire in the West
Rapidly growing communities in the American West’s forests and shrublands are nestled in zones where local soil and plant traits amplify the effect of climate change on wildfire hazards and lead to bigger burns.
-
-
Survivors of Weather-Related Disasters May Suffer Accelerated Aging
What is the toll on the long-term health of the population of the stress caused by major natural disasters? And could exposure to extreme weather events accelerate the aging process? A new study offers sobering insights.
-
-
Disaster News on TV and Social Media Can Trigger Post-Traumatic Stress in Kids Thousands of Miles Away – Here’s Why Some Are More Vulnerable
Natural disasters are typically accompanied by a flood of gruesome images on TV and social media. These images can have a powerful psychological impact on children – whether those children are physically in the line of danger or watching from thousands of miles away.
-
-
U.S. Army Releases Its Climate Strategy
The U.S. Army announces the release of its first Climate Strategy that guides decision making in response to threats from climate that affect installation and unit sustainability, readiness, and resilience. The strategy directs how the Army will maintain its strategic advantage through deliberate efforts to reduce future climate impacts and risks to readiness and national security.
-
-
Disaster Expert Testifies in Congress Regarding Future Pandemics
“The severity, the disruptions, the politicization of the response, the inequities, and the pandemics’ persistence were all predicted in various reports, studies, and historical records of prior pandemics. The shortage of ventilators, personal protective equipment, and healthcare system capacity was the subject of numerous reports, including from the federal government…. We didn’t want to spend the money on what was needed, so we are dealing with the consequences now. And our response is a lot more expensive and a lot less effective as a result”: Colombia University’s Jeffrey Schlegelmilch.
-
-
When Water Is Coming from All Sides
When hurricanes hit, it is not solely the storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean that led to flooding. Inland sources, like rain-swollen rivers, lakes and suburban culverts, also contributed significantly. Researchers have developed and tested the world’s first 3D operational storm surge model, which takes these factors, which were missed by many computer models at the time, into account.
-
-
Losing a Hectare of Wetlands Could Cost $8,000 Per Year in Flood Damages
A new study finds that the loss of a hectare of wetlands — an area of land roughly the size of two football fields — costs society an average of $1,900 in flood damages per year. In developed areas, that figure jumps to more than $8,000.
-
-
Germany needs to invest in nature to defend against floods
Wednesday, 2 February, is the first international World Wetlands Day. It should prompt action to restore these vital ecosystems to protect communities, biodiversity, and prevent future disasters
-
-
The Resilience and Safety of Nuclear Power in the Face of Extreme Events
As the prospect of extreme global events grows — from natural disasters and intensifying climate change-driven weather patterns that could affect a nuclear plant, to a rise in infectious diseases that could affect its workforce — nuclear power plants’ adaptable workforces and robust designs will be essential to staying resilient and contributing to a low carbon path to the future.
-
-
Functionally Graded Material Resistant to Blasts, Fire in buildings
When a bomb goes off or fire breaks out, a building constructed or retrofitted with an engineered composite currently confined to special applications could buy the surviving occupants extra time to get out. Functionally graded material (FGM), a recently developed composite characterized by the gradual variation of material properties across its thickness, is an effective bomb-resistant material in structural uses.
-
-
Assessing Bridge Support Repairs After Earthquakes
Steel-reinforced concrete columns that support many of the world’s bridges are designed to withstand earthquakes, but always require inspection and often repair once the shaking is over. Engineers simulate restoration strategies for reinforced concrete columns.
-
-
Repeated Exposure to Major Disasters Has Long-Term Mental Health Impacts
New study found Houston residents who experienced two or more hazardous events in the past five years had a reduction in mental health scores.
-
-
New Federal Wildfire Plan Is Ambitious – but the Forest Service Needs More Money and People to Fight the Growing Risks
As foresters who have been working on wildfire and forest restoration issues in the Sierra Nevada for over a quarter of a century, the main lesson we gather from how wildfires have burned is that fuels reduction and forest restoration projects are our best tools for mitigating wildfire impacts amid a changing climate, and not nearly enough of them are being done.
-
-
A Small City’s Hurricane Recovery Could Help Other Communities Bounce Back
In September 2018, a North Carolina city’s long road to recovery from Hurricane Matthew two years earlier became even longer. Lumberton, a small but diverse city of 21,000 people, 96 kilometers (60 miles) inland from the coast, unfortunately found itself in Hurricane Florence’s sights.
-
The long view
Trump Aims to Shut Down State Climate Policies
President Donald Trump has launched an all-out legal attack on states’ authority to set climate change policy. Climate-focused state leaders say his administration has no legal basis to unravel their efforts.