Pre-emptively announcing a state of emergency for prime eclipse-viewing areas in Canada’s Niagara Region is an example of prudent planning.
(Shutterstock)
A million people are anticipated to head to the Niagara Region to experience the total solar eclipse on April 8. Keeping large crowds of spectators safe may pose a challenge for the region.
The North Queensland floods remind us of the need to build community resilience to disasters – during the event, in the immediate aftermath and beyond.
Trucks parked in front of the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa during the protest against COVID-19 restrictions.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
As the “freedom convoy” and occupation of Ottawa drags on, the potential for a violent stand-off between protestors and police increases, which in turn decreases the chances of a peaceful resolution.
Researchers are using mixed reality technologies to investigate how people behave in in emergency situations. The findings are helping shape disaster responses.
Mark Poindexter puts a tarp on the damaged roof of his home in Gulf Breeze, Louisiana, on Aug. 29, 2020, in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Federal weather scientists are pushing to make the US more ‘weather-ready,’ which could mean prepping for fires, flooding or storms depending on where you live. The common factor: thinking ahead.
It’s difficult to enforce social distancing in refugee camp settings.
Philippe Desmazes/AFP via Getty Images
Since the Cold War, Americans have shifted from engaging in active self-rescue to passively waiting for help from a centralized, bureaucratic federal emergency response.
Members of the Maryland Air National Guard arrange medical supplies for shipment from the Strategic National Stockpile.
Master Sgt. Christopher Schepers/Maryland Air National Guard
Andrew Lakoff, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The paradox of the stockpile is that it’s meant to protect against future threats, but is limited by today’s imagination about what those threats might be.
A health-care worker prepares for the opening of the COVID-19 Assessment Centre in Ottawa, during a media tour on March 13, 2020.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)
We don’t need to send in the army every time there’s a natural disaster, or create a national fire fighting force. We need to think practically about working together in emergencies.
Is it possible to plan for the unforeseen? Some basic principles allow careful preparation to be reconciled with quickly shifting circumstances.
Aaron Rowe of the Architect of the Capitol’s office, which is not affected by the partial government shutdown, shovels snow left by a winter storm on the U.S. Capitol’s plaza.
REUTERS/Mike Theiler
While emergency drills may help schools feel safer, they contain underlying and often unintended moral messages about the nature of school and life itself.
Fires break out across San Francisco after the April 18, 1906 earthquake.
USGS
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.
Older people are most at risk during and after natural disasters like Hurricane Irma, which slammed into the coast of Florida last week.
AAP Image/NEWZULU/Julian Leek
Evacuating nursing home residents during a disaster can be even more dangerous than staying put.
Isiah Courtney carries his dog Bruce through flood waters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Beaumont Place, Houston, Texas, U.S., on August 28, 2017.
REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman
In the wake of natural disasters, pets are be stranded, lost or abandoned. There are simple guidelines that can help keep your whole family safe.
Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Jansen Schamp rescues two dogs after floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey reached the grounds of a shelter in Vidor, Texas, Aug. 31, 2017.
Christopher LIndahl/U.S. Navy
During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, some people died rather than evacuating without their pets. Now emergency managers are required to include animals in their response plans.
Libraries are a good place for kids to hole up during emergencies.
Daria Chichkareva/Shutterstock.com
With a little advance planning and creativity, librarians can help keep kids and teens busy and safe during emergencies.
Brenda Bradley, 72, and her husband Jimmie, 78, survey flooding from Hurricane Harvey in their neighborhood in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, August 28, 2017.
AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
Evacuations and disruptions to health care during and after disasters like Hurricane Harvey are serious threats for older adults, who may need support well after relief operations end.