Menu Close

Articles on Hurricane Sandy

Displaying 21 - 32 of 32 articles

In many cases, first-hand accounts from citizens can be as valuable as reports from official sources. AAP Image/Tony McDonough.

Spread the word: the value of local information in disaster response

As dozens of bushfires continue to burn across the country (not least in New South Wales) many Australians find themselves unable to return home while many others have no home to return to. While we all…
Ignoring climate change isn’t stupidity, it’s ideology. Peter Foley/EPA

A storm of stupidity? Sandy, evidence and climate change

“It’s global warming, stupid” – Bloomberg’s Businessweek cover last week left little doubt about their opinion concerning “Frankenstorm” Sandy. The accompanying tweet anticipated that the cover might “generate…
Streets are covered by debris caused by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey. How will it affect the presidential race? EPA/Michael Reynolds

Race to the White House: Tim Lynch, Nick Bisley

Welcome to part nine of our Race to the White House podcast series. Each week we’ll be talking to Australia’s top US experts on the ins and outs of the 2012 US presidential campaign. This week, we ask…
Mitt Romney stands to become the first Mormon President, but his religion has barely rated a mention in the campaign. EPA/Win McNamee

Should we be worried about a Mormon President?

There is a long and dishonourable tradition of religious prejudice in American presidential elections. Catholics running for office have borne the brunt. Democratic candidate Al Smith was subjected to…
The new normal? … Climate change will be at the forefront of discussion in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy. Wandering the World/Flickr

After the deluge, what hope the politics of climate response?

I am writing with Hurricane Sandy having brought devastation to New York and the East coast of the United States. Much has been written on the politics of climate change. But until a few days ago, a severe…
New Jersey was hit hard by the storm surge. Michael Reynolds/AAP

Losing higher ground: hurricanes and sea level rise

As I write this, the worst coastal flooding effects from Hurricane Sandy’s attack on the densely populated regions of the US northeast are almost over. Even so, the effects have been significant: record…
There’s still much to learn about predicting the effect of hurricanes. NOAA

Blow by blow: why hurricane forecasts are improving

The profound impact caused by the storm that began as Hurricane Sandy has turned the spotlight on many issues, including forecasts. In short: how well was Sandy forecast, and where do our forecasts need…
Scientists need to feel confident to speak out about the dangers of coming extreme weather. Ramin Talai/EPA

Is Australia prepared for a storm like Sandy?

Last week the global landscape of mitigating and managing disasters changed forever. We heard the news of six Italian scientists charged for manslaughter and jailed for six years each for failing to predict…
As New York City firefighters look over two houses struck by trees in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, both Republicans and Democrats worry about the impact on voter turnout. EPA/Justin Lane

Why Sandy could be the ‘October Surprise’ of the 2012 presidential election

On November 4, 1979 when Jimmy Carter’s presidency depended on gaining the freedom of the US hostages held by Iranian student militants, he was unable to achieve this goal even when it looked like the…
People stand on a pier as waves crash into the beach as the beginning effects of Hurricane Sandy are felt in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, USA, 29 October 2012. US President Barack Obama urged residents to follow warnings from local officials as hurricane Sandy barrels toward the East Coast. Many areas from the mid-Atlantic to Northeast have declared a state of emergency as Sandy is expected to bring flooding and widespread power and commuication outages. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

Frankenstorm Sandy wreaks havoc on NYC, floods cities

Superstorm Sandy has flooded seven subway tunnels in New York City and flooded cities after killing at least 69 people in the Caribbean. Known as the Frankenstorm, Sandy has been downgraded from a Category…
Recent extreme weather doesn’t tell us how the future will be. EPA/Justin Lane

Hurricane Sandy: the new normal?

Are we now experiencing the “new normal” climate? Let’s look at the recent evidence: A storm of historic proportions is moving up the east coast as a Nor’easter without precedent, since no such storm has…
Residents of Virginia have begun sandbagging against the arrival of Sandy. EPA/MIchael Reynolds

Hurricane Sandy mixes super-storm conditions with climate change

As I write this, Hurricane Sandy remains a very large, powerful hurricane. On Sunday afternoon (local time), Sandy brought winds gusting to 103km/h to coastal North Carolina. Heavy rains are already occurring…

Top contributors

More