The devastation to Vanuatu left in the wake of Cyclone Pam shows small islands in the Pacific need a climate insurance scheme, similar to what has been achieved in the Caribbean.
Destruction caused by Cyclone Pam is visible on the outskirts of Port Vila.
AAP Image/ Care Australia, Tom Perry
We now have more people, infrastructure and assets exposed where tropical cyclones make landfall.
During natural disasters, specific needs of people with disability are often unmet, leaving them vulnerable and unprotected.
from Florin C/www.shutterstock.com
A growing number of researchers are looking to grief to understand how people will respond to climate change.
Surging tides from Cyclone Marcia hit Main Beach in Yeppoon, Queensland, with the storm packing wind gusts close to 300 kilometres an hour.
AAP Image/Karin Calvert
Emergency services are using social media to help spread warnings as two tropical cyclones batter Australia. It can also help them with relief efforts once the worst of the severe weather has passed.
Popular friends on social media could give enough warning to make plans to reduce damage some natural disasters.
Flickr/Rob Gross
You may think your social media friends are only good for keeping you up with all the latest gossip and trends but research published today has found they can also help save you in the event of any natural…
Kinglake Road after Black Saturday Fires.
Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC
This summer has seen a predictable share of fires in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia, flooding in Queensland, and several severe thunderstorms. However, there are already…
January 12 2015 marks five years since Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake. Countless victims were killed, homes destroyed, and vital infrastructure reduced to debris. Already one of the world’s…
Bushfire in the Adelaide hills has already burned through more than 12,000 hectares.
David Mariuz/AAP
The fires that have swept through South Australia over the past few days have destroyed at least 12,000 hectares and up to 38 homes, in what have been described as the worst South Australian conditions…
Do no harm? Volunteers after the 2004 tsunami.
EPA/Steffen Schmidt
On December 26, 2004, a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. This earthquake triggered the most destructive series of tsunamis ever recorded. The tsunamis lashed out across the…
Banda Aceh, Indonesia: then and now.
EPA/Hotli Simanjuntak
The 2004 tsunami devastated thousands of communities in countries bordering the Indian Ocean. Both urban and rural areas were destroyed along thousands of miles of coastline. But, in the tsunami’s aftermath…
Alice Springs has been prone to severe flooding.
NT Police/AAP
The announcement yesterday by the Northern Territory government that it is selling the Territory Insurance Office’s insurance assets to Allianz Australia for A$236 million has many worried their premiums…
Emergencies can happen at the zoo. Staff train to be prepared.
Yuriko Nakao/Reuters
You need only look at the papers or television news to see the reports. Infectious disease outbreaks, weather emergencies and disasters both natural and man-made. They’re all not just threats to human…
Can social media keep you safe from disasters?
Flickr/Jim
Given the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, it’s not surprising so many people use social media in crises such as floods, fires and earthquakes. Facebook has introduced Safety Check, a new tool for users…
The city of Tacloban after Typhoon Haiyan, November 2013.
EPA/Dennis M. Sabangan
On November 8 2013, Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines. One of the largest tropical storms ever to make landfall, it killed more than 10,000 people and left millions homeless. The vast recovery effort…
Five years on, the bush and people are recovering well from the Black Saturday fires.
AAP Image/Joe Castro
Five years on from the devastating Black Saturday fires that swept through central Victoria in February 2009, research shows that people and communities are largely recovering well. In the first major…
The LGBTI community has unique needs that are often overlooked during the response and recovery stages of a natural disaster event.
euphoriadev via Flickr
When natural disasters strike, the impact varies significantly across different social groups, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities are poorly accounted for in disaster…
Traces of submerged lands are visible today, if you know where to look.
Richerman
When scientists from Imperial College released a simulation of a tsunami, triggered by a vast undersea landslide at Storrega off the coast of Norway around 6000 BC, it probably came as a surprise to many…
Most have heard of the Battle of Waterloo, but who has heard of the volcano called Tambora? No school textbook I’ve seen mentions that only two months before Napoleon’s final defeat in Belgium on June…