According to current forecasts, California has a 93 percent chance of an earthquake with magnitude 7 or greater occurring by 2045. Early warning systems, now in development, could limit casualties and damage.
Drones and unmanned aerial vehicles are already saving lives in search and rescue operations, but they still need improvements if they’re to be widely used in the most dangerous situations.
A. Joshua West, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
While the Montecito, California mudslides took 20 lives, landslides kill far more people in developing countries. Tighter construction standards and early warning systems could help reduce their toll.
Australia’s scorching summers aren’t just inconvenient: heatwaves are deadly. Yet new research has found many vulnerable people don’t have a plan for extreme heat.
In response to mudslides that have killed at least 20 people in Southern California, a geologist calls for more resources to study and map landslide hazards so residents can understand the risks.
The governor of Puerto Rico has ordered a recount of the official death toll for Hurricane Maria. The real number is likely higher by the hundreds. What happened?
What decisions can we make today to reduce the future risk of hazards like floods and fire? Particularly in a time of climate change, modelling various plausible futures helps us plan for uncertainty.
Fire is part of the ecology in much of California, but recent wildfires have caused much more damage than past burns of similar size. A fire ecologist points to two key factors: winds and population growth.
A Puerto Rican librarian with a personal relationship to hurricanes describes the brutal reality of life on this Caribbean island more than a month after Maria and Irma left their mark.
The media and policymakers often say a ‘perfect storm’ of environmental factors cause wildfires but that ignores the role of irresponsible urban planning and development in raising fire risks.
Epidemiologists study disease outbreaks in populations to determine who gets sick and why. In the wake of this year’s hurricanes, they are assessing impacts from mold, toxic leaks and other threats.
Insurance-linked securities aim to shield insurers and governments from huge costs following disasters. But they bear eerie similarities to the securities that caused the 2008 financial meltdown.