Damage to septic tanks is one of the major health hazards people face when they return to their bushfire-affected homes. It was simply dumb luck a disease outbreak didn’t happen last summer.
Disaster preparation and evacuation procedures weren’t made for social distancing. The pandemic means response decisions are now fraught with contradictions.
Buildings aren’t the only things at risk in wildfires. Recent disasters in California have left local water system contaminated with toxic chemicals afterward, slowing return and recovery.
Hurricane and tornado winds spin in circles, but there’s another, equally dangerous storm type where winds barrel straight ahead. They’re called derechos, and are most common in summer.
Kai Mausch, Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF); Michael Hauser, CGIAR System Organization; Todd Rosenstock, Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), and Wanjiku Gichohi-Wainaina, CGIAR System Organization
It’s time to redesign food systems that deliver healthy foods, allow farming families to make a good living, and support thriving societies.
Extreme weather events prompt people to move, a trend that could accelerate in a warming climate. But the ability to migrate internally in the US depends largely on economic status.
Despite the best efforts of governments, schools and parents there’ll be learning losses across the board and worsened educational outcomes for the poor.
The US faces a high risk of hurricanes and other disasters this year that could leave thousands of people in need of shelter. COVID-19 will make those disasters more dangerous to manage.
Australian emergency services are using social media for a number of purposes during disasters. What they are not doing well is analysing social media data in real time to improve disaster management.
If the forecasts are right, the US could be facing more natural disasters this year – on top of the coronavirus pandemic. Local governments aren’t prepared.
The big questions don’t get much bigger. After the Lisbon earthquake killed thousands, philosopher Voltaire took aim at Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and skewered his view that God is good.
Wildfire smoke makes it harder for firefighters’ bodies to fight off viral invaders. But firefighting conditions make the usual protective measures nearly impossible.
Philanthropy in the form of financial donations is not a solution to the natural disasters caused by climate change. A new philanthropy of social change is needed.
In the Southeast US, tornadoes strike at night more often than in other regions. This poses special challenges for getting early warnings to the public.