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.
Burning invasive, nonnative grasses on federal land at Lower Table Rock, Oregon.
BLM
Some Californians want to ban people from living in wildfire-prone areas. Behavioral economics offers a less heavy-handed approach to reducing the costs and risks.
The South Pacific was rocked by two nearly simultaneous earthquakes and a devastating tsunami.
AAP Image/Tamara McLean
A devastating quake and tsunami in the Pacific Ocean prompted a new kind of post-disaster research. Ten years on, we need these lessons to prepare for a precarious future.
Montserrat’s Soufriere Hills Volcano erupts in 2009.
Jonathan Stone
As Hurricane Dorian approaches Florida, we share three articles on predicting hurricanes’ paths and evacuating from harm’s way.
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources fire rangers wade through floodwaters as they deploy pumps in Pembroke, Ont., in May 2019. Too many authorities involved in fighting flood risks can often paralyze flood management efforts.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Canadian history and international relations theory gives us perspective on why co-ordinating flood management has proven so difficult in Canada and what can be done about it.
Heavily built-up areas can experience more disastrous damage in an earthquake.
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Engineers know how and where to build to minimize earthquake damage. But laws don’t always reflect that wisdom. A new study suggests it’s because of a mismatch between risk perceptions and reality.
Cyclone Idai hit poor countries the hardest and shows why disaster resilience is a necessity.
Devastation from Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida, Oct. 12, 2018. Residents whose homes have suffered major damage in multiple storms could eventually be offered buyouts, but the process can take several years.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Government agencies spend millions of dollars yearly to buy and demolish homes sited in floodplains. But the program is slow, cumbersome and doesn’t always help those who need it most.
Floodwaters surround farm equipment in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence near Trenton, N.C., on Sept. 16, 2018.
(AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Donald Trump claims his administration has carried out an “all-out effort” in preparing for the effects of climate change. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Wildfires in the US have drawn thousands of firefighters. Meanwhile, Indonesia is struggling to rebuild in the wake of earthquakes. What’s the difference? Poverty and access to resources.
Thousands of houses has been destroyed by earthquakes in Indonesia.
ADI WEDA/EPA
While disaster insurance would go a long way in averting losses, demand for cover is still lower than expected.
Searching for victims after a rain-triggered mudslide that blanketed a village and killed at least 178 people in north China’s Shanxi province, Sept. 13, 2008.
AP Photo/Andy Wong
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.
If more people live in the Adelaide Hills, they are more likely to be exposed to bushfires.
David Mariuz/AAP
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.
Water from Addicks Reservoir flows into Houston neighborhoods following hurricane Harvey in August. Allstate expects US$593 million in insurance losses for August due to the hurricane.
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
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.
A satellite image of Hurricane Irma spiraling through the Caribbean.
NOAA/AP
Levi Gahman, The University of the West Indies: St. Augustine Campus e Gabrielle Thongs, The University of the West Indies: St. Augustine Campus
The Caribbean is facing its second deadly hurricane in as many weeks. This isn’t just bad luck: the region’s extreme vulnerability to disaster also reflects entrenched social inequalities.