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The Case for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure
Climate change is making weather harder to predict, and creating new risks in places that never faced them before. And as hurricanes, floods, extreme heat and wildfires intensify, most infrastructure will need to be retrofitted or designed and built anew for future climate resilience.
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Nationwide Flood Models Poorly Reflect Risks to Households and Properties, Study Finds
Government agencies, insurance companies and disaster planners rely on national flood risk models from the private sector that aren’t reliable at smaller levels such as neighborhoods and individual properties.
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Quantifying Global Earthquake Risk to Mineral Supplies
Earthquakes could impact the supplies of mineral commodities like copper and rhenium around the world. A new scientific mechanism for assessing the potential risk to worldwide mineral commodity supplies from seismic activity has been developed by USGS scientists.
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Climate Change Has Forced America’s Oldest Black Town to Higher Ground
Princeville, North Carolina, is relocating with help from a new federal grant. Hurricane Matthew, which submerged the town under more than 10 feet of water, was the final straw. The town has just received millions of dollars in new funding from FEMA to build a new site on higher ground.
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How AI Can Aid Decision Making in Mass-Casualty Events
EMTs and paramedics are sometimes confronted with a series of life-and-death questions and dilemmas at the scene. Researcher Omer Perry says his team’s study on paramedic behavior during high-stress situations helped them develop a potentially lifesaving algorithm.
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Nature-Based Solutions to Disaster Risk from Climate Change Are Cost Effective
Nature-based solutions (NbS) are an economically effective method to mitigate risks from a range of disasters—from floods and hurricanes to heatwaves and landslides—which are only expected to intensify as Earth continues to warm.
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Tornadoes Are Deadly. These New Building Codes Will Save Lives.
Because of its unique geography, the United States has more tornadoes, and more intense tornadoes, than any other country. Tornadoes are deadly, but until recently there were no building codes designed to protect communities from tornadoes. Tornado winds push and pull on buildings in unique ways that require special safety designs. NIST research led to the first building code provision for tornado resilience.
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Disaster Recovery: What Community-Driven Relocation Could Look Like
Over the past forty years, the Gulf Region has experienced devastating hurricanes and flooding, costing 232 billion dollars. The gut reaction after any disaster is to rebuild and protect-in-place, but sometimes communities have to consider relocation — but the conversations around rebuilding versus relocation continue to be challenging for policymakers and the communities impacted by disasters.
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Scientists Call for ‘Major Initiative’ to Study Whether Geoengineering Should Be Used on Glaciers
A group of scientists has released a landmark report on glacial geoengineering—an emerging field studying whether technology could halt the melting of glaciers and ice sheets as climate change progresses. Their report finds many questions remain around technology to address glacier melting and sea-level rise.
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Future Climate Change Will Impact Opportunities for Prescribed Fires
Prescribed burning is one of the most effective tools to prevent catastrophic fires. Some locations in the United States are facing a future where safe conditions to burn are fewer and farther between.
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More Than 100 Texas Counties Lack Plans to Curb Damage from Natural Disasters
The plans, which are required by the federal government to access certain grants after a natural disaster, are laborious to assemble — especially for rural counties.
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Hurricanes Are Getting Stronger
Atlantic hurricane seasons have only been getting worse. Ocean warming is creating stronger tropical storms. Hurricane Beryl strengthened to Category 3 as it approached Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.
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52% Jump in days over 35°C (95 F) in World’s Biggest Capital Cities
New analysis looking at the 20 most populous capital cities shows that there is an overall rise in the number of days of extreme heat. The world’s biggest capital cities have experienced a 52% increase in the number of days reaching 35°C over the past three decades.
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Climate Change Is Increasing Stress on Thousands of Aging Dams Across the U.S.
There are more than 91,000 dams across the U.S., in all 50 states, with diverse designs and purposes. The average dam age is 57 years, and more than 8,000 dams are over 90 years old. The most recent report card of the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that 70% of U.S. dams will be more than 50 years old by 2030. Overall, the report gave U.S. dams a “D” grade and estimates that more than 2,300 are high hazard dams which could cause loss of life or serious property damage if they fail.
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Is the EU Doing Enough to Prepare for Wildfires?
Europe faces more intense wildfires due to climate change, prompting the EU to expand its response. Experts stress the need for preventive actions and sustainable forest management.
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The long view
Huge Areas May Face Possibly Fatal Heat Waves if Warming Continues
A new assessment warns that if Earth’s average temperature reaches 2 degrees C over the preindustrial average, widespread areas may become too hot during extreme heat events for many people to survive without artificial cooling.
Trump’s Cuts to Federal Wildfire Crews Could Have “Scary” Consequences
President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the federal workforce have gutted the ranks of wildland firefighters and support personnel, fire professionals warn, leaving communities to face deadly consequences when big blazes arrive this summer. States, tribes and fire chiefs are preparing for a fire season with minimal federal support.