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Articles on Disaster response

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Survivors search through rubble on Oct. 7, 2023, in western Afghanistan, where a series of powerful earthquakes have killed thousands. Anadolu Agency/via Getty Images

3 powerful earthquakes strike Afghanistan in one week – here’s how people around the world prepare for disasters

One way to prevent the destruction wrought by a devastating earthquake – like the one that hit Morocco in September 2023 – is to construct resilient homes and buildings.
Destroyed homes and buildings in Lahaina on Aug. 10, 2023, in the aftermath of wildfires on western Maui, Hawaii. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

Wildfires are a severe blow to Maui’s tourism-based economy, but other iconic destinations have come back from similar disasters

Wildfires on Maui are a crippling blow to the island’s tourism industry, which generates half of its jobs. But New Orleans and Kauai show that comebacks are possible.
Neighborhood groups in Staten Island, N.Y., encouraged buyouts after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

When homes flood, who gets FEMA buyouts and where do they go? We mapped thousands of moves and found distance and race both play a role

FEMA runs the largest managed retreat program in the country, Two disaster response experts looked at the demographics of who gets those buyouts and where they go.
New satellite mapping techniques can quickly locate washed out and damaged areas. Ricardo Arduengo / AFP via Getty Images

New satellite mapping with AI can quickly pinpoint hurricane damage across an entire state to spot where people may be trapped

Artificial intelligence can spot differences in images from before and after a storm over wide areas in almost real time. It showed Hurricane Ian’s vast damage in Florida.
An army officer speaks with a firefighter amidst destroyed homes in Channel-Port aux Basques, N.L., on Sept. 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Fiona was one of Canada’s worst natural disasters, but evacuations prevented greater losses in Atlantic Canada

Evacuations can save lives, as in the case of post-tropical cyclone Fiona. As more frequent extreme weather events are set to occur, it is important to have evacuation plans in place.
COVID guidelines have changed a lot over the past few years as the pandemic has ebbed and flowed. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Tomorrow’s COVID safety guidelines will be different from today’s – but that doesn’t mean yesterday’s were wrong

The constantly changing COVID-19 rules can be frustrating. But this pandemic is like no other public health crisis in history. It is better to think of the virus and US responses the way we think about hurricanes.

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