Japan’s response to a tsunami threat following major earthquake shows it has learned much from past events, including the deadly quake and tsunami that disabled the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Small earthquakes can point to a region where larger, destructive and potentially deadly quakes may occur.
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Potentially deadly and dangerous earthquakes can strike at any time. But can authorities get some early warning from monitoring the hundreds of small quakes that usually go unnoticed?
Motorway sign warning of Tsunami, Wellington after a 7.5 earthquake based around Cheviot in the South island shock the New Zealand capital.
AAP Image/SNPA, Ross Setford
The threat of any tsunami following an earthquake can take time to assess, so it’s important people who live in risk zones are ready for any event.
Local residents Chris and Viv Young look at damage caused by the earthquake, along State Highway One near Ward on New Zealand’s South Island.
ReutersAnthony Phelps
Why do some people evacuate ahead of disasters while others stay put? The rising death toll from Hurricane Matthew shows that often the poor and vulnerable are least able to move.
Tropical Cyclone Carlos approaches Western Australia in February 2011.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Flickr
Conservative commentators accused government officials last week of hyping risks from Hurricane Matthew. A meteorologist explains why this is impossible in the internet era.
Politicians are still debating whether climate change is real, but military planners call it a serious threat. A retired rear admiral explains how climate change affects U.S. national security.
In part two of our podcast on rebooting, we explore what would happen if humanity was wiped out, take a look at a political comeback in France, and get a taste of a revamped US institution.
Houses are destroyed by tsunami floods following the magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011.
Reuters/EPA
We can’t predict or prevent tsunamis you can improve your chances of staying safe by understanding the risk, being prepared and acting quickly when disaster strikes.
Huge swathes of Tasmania have burned this year.
Warren Frey/Tasmania Fire Service
A comprehensive analysis of Tasmania’s natural disaster risks has identified bushfire as the biggest threat, alongside emerging issues such as disease epidemics and heatwaves.
Aerial view of the Pentagon, September 14, 2001.
Wikipedia
The National Incident Management System (NIMS), created after 9/11, has helped government agencies respond to large-scale emergencies, including mass shootings and the Boston Marathon bombing.
Residents walk through rubble in central Italy.
Reuters/Remo Casilli
Recent floods in southeast Louisiana were the most severe U.S. natural disaster since 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Suburban sprawl and slow execution of flood control projects worsened the damage.