Despite improvements in disaster response management since the Abbotsford floods of 2021, long-term animal welfare remains woefully underappreciated in B.C.
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
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.
Where + what = geospatial intelligence.
Peter Steffen/picture alliance via Getty Images
The combination of data and maps is useful for a lot more than just helping you get from point A to point B. Think natural disasters, global supply chains and climate change.
Thousands of Maui’s cats, dogs and other companion animals went missing or were injured.
Maui Humane Society
Animal shelters and other organizations that support pets and their owners after disasters will still need help months after the media has moved on.
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 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
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.
Without power or phone coverage, some communities resorted to more traditional forms of communication.
Getty Images
Ulrich Speidel, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Too many New Zealanders were cut off without phone or internet access after Cyclone Gabrielle hit. Here are some of the back-up options we need before the next disaster strikes.
A cholera outbreak, a harsh winter, ten years of civil war and obstruction from the Syrian government are some of the difficulties faced by aid agencies.
Devastation: the town of Kahramanmaras in southeastern Turkey on February 8.
EPA-EFE/Abir Sultan
If Twitter were to go dark, with it would go a valuable source of data as well as a means of sharing information relied on by activists, journalists, public health officials and scientists.
New satellite mapping techniques can quickly locate washed out and damaged areas.
Ricardo Arduengo / AFP via Getty Images
Zhe Zhu, University of Connecticut e Su Ye, University of Connecticut
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
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.
Climate change is a game changer and our disaster response is no longer sufficient. We must begin to address the underlying causes that make some communities more vulnerable than others.
While well-meaning, it’s unclear whether the benefits of training community members to respond to disasters outweigh the risks.
A medical worker looks through the debris of a medical lab in Port-au-Prince, Haiti following an earthquake in January 2010.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Again, thousands of residents in Western Sydney face a life-threatening flood disaster. Obviously, nature is a major culprit – but other drivers are also at play.
The federal election presents an opportunity to promote plans for improving national disaster governance and resilience. But the silence on these issues in political debates has been remarkable.
COVID guidelines have changed a lot over the past few years as the pandemic has ebbed and flowed.
AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
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.
Thinking carefully about people’s health during and after disaster is crucial to building disaster resilience. Ensuring access to medicines is a core part of that goal.