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Articles on Disaster management

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The scene in Nice the morning after the July 14 terror attack – during which an emergency-warning app failed to give timely notice. Michel Abada

When disaster-response apps fail

The solution to emergency communications: redundancy, redundancy, redundancy.
Throw another one on. Researchers tested plant flammability using a blow torch and barbecue. Sarah Wyse

Low flammability plants could help our homes survive bushfires

You might think having trees around your home is the worst idea during a bushfire, but some plants can actually help repel fire.
The earthquake shattered buildings and communities, with many residents left feeling even more powerless by the government’s approach to recovery. Reuters/Simon Baker

Christchurch five years on: have politicians helped or hindered the earthquake recovery?

By removing elected officials and installing a powerful command-and-control agency, the government’s approach to recovery has left many of the city’s people feeling disenfranchised and excluded.
Around 20% of Australians are not insured against disasters, and even a quarter of those who do may be under-covered. AAP Image/Jason Webster

Properties under fire: why so many Australians are inadequately insured against disaster

As the fire season returns, insurance claims against disasters will only increase. But new research suggests that under-insurance is a major problem facing many Australian households.
A view from above the burst Samarco dam in Brazil. Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

Who should we blame for the Brazil mining dam disaster?

Six people are dead and more than 20 missing following the Samarco mine disaster in Brazil. But in the rush to blame we must consider the complexity of such failures.
Children from a village in Papua New Guinea’s Western Highlands Province stand in one of countless sweet potato gardens destroyed by frost across the country, August 2015. Kud Sitango

As Papua New Guinea faces worsening drought, a past disaster could save lives

Papua New Guinea is now facing a drought and frosts that look set to be worse than 1997, when hundreds of people died. So how can memories of 1997 save lives over the next few months?
People in Vanuatu were quick to make the most of the resources they had after Cyclone Pam hit their homes – including these boys, Manu and Leo, photographed a week after the cyclone at a school housing residents evacuated from Teouma. AAP/NEWZULU/Jeff Tan

100 days since Cyclone Pam, people across Vanuatu pause to reflect on loss and resilience

This Sunday marks 100 days since Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu, with ceremonies in villages across the nation to mourn the 11 people who died. Meanwhile, islands left brown in the aftermath are green again.
With many people in need of shelter and schools only now re-opening, Nepal is not yet ready to restart the lucrative tourism industry that will help its recovery. EPA/Narendra Shrestha

What can tourists do to help, not hinder, Nepal’s quake recovery?

While some operators have prematurely suggested it’s safe for tourists to return, Nepal’s recovery from the earthquake has barely begun. In the longer term, though, tourism will be vital to this process.

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