Taking selfie at disaster sites is so wrong at many levels. Not only it poses risks but the action also indicates mental issues
A destroyed house in an earthquake-devastated area at Balaroa village in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 11 2018. It’s reported at least 2,045 people have died as a result of earthquakes that hit central Sulawesi and triggered a tsunami.
EPA/Hotli Simanjuntak
The flight data may only shed light on what happened. Investigators must systematically investigate other evidence to find out why JT-610 crashed.
A man tries to get his dog out of a flooded neighbourhood in Lumberton, N.C., in September 2018 in the aftermath of hurricane Florence. Many people opted to ignore evacuation warnings, suggesting a distrust of authorities.
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
A peaceful society requires us to trust our public institutions, but in order to do so, we must question them. Questions are a healthy and necessary response to a world filled with uncertainty.
A general view of a tsunami devastated mosque in Talise beach, Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, 30 September 2018.
MAST IRHAM/EPA
The damage to coal ash sites from Hurricane Florence demonstrates how a community’s vulnerability to natural disasters is closely linked to how stringent environmental regulations are.
Loading new furniture donated to Hurricane Irma survivors in Chokoloskee, Fla.
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
The billions of dollars worth of aid dispatched every year to alleviate the suffering and damage after earthquakes and hurricanes would do more good if it didn’t get clumped up.
Hurricane Florence, as seen over the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 9.
NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center/Handout via REUTERS
Large-scale emergencies can be a strain, even in one of the world’s richest countries. Population growth, income inequality and fragile supply chains may make the problem worse.
Christchurch Cathedral in New Zealand partially collapsed after a 2011 earthquake.
AP Photo/Mark Baker
Can artificial intelligence accurately simulate people’s religious tendencies in the face of disaster and tragedy?
A hand touches the monument that honours the 26 coal miners who perished in the Westray mine disaster at the Westray Miners Memorial Park in New Glasgow, N.S. On the 26th anniversary of the disaster, are we doing enough to ensure those responsible for such disasters are accountable?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
This week marks the 26th anniversary of the Westray mine disaster in Nova Scotia. There have been plenty of disasters since then but we still struggle to hold people to account when systems fail.
A man places a placard before a vigil remembering the victims of a deadly van attack at Mel Lastman Square in Toronto on April 29, 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Toronto is grappling with a new normal a week after a heinous van attack killed 10 people and left many injured. Here’s how cities recover from disasters, both emotionally and physically.
Automation could help us avoid future disasters.
US Coast Guard
China’s Tiangong-1 space station is hurtling around Earth out of control and about to come crashing down. It’s just one of thousands of pieces of space junk left orbiting our planet.
The epicenter of Mexico’s lethal September 2017 earthquake was less than 65 miles outside the nation’s capital.
Nacho Doce/Reuters
Not all earthquakes are made equal. A study on the Sept. 2017 quake that killed 300 in Mexico City found that both its location and cause were unusual.
The Venezuelans now rushing across the border to seek refuge in Brazil join millions of Brazilian migrants who’ve been displaced within their own country.
Nacho Doce/Reuters
Robert Muggah, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)
Since 2000, 8.8 million Brazilians have been displaced by disaster, development and crime, new data shows. Now Venezuelan migrants are pouring into the country. Still, Brazil has no real refugee plan.
A Westpac Little Ripper drone helped rescue two teens off the coast of Australia by dropping a flotation device to them.
Westpac Little Ripper
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.
While California’s shocking and deadly wildfires are a tragedy making headlines, future crises lurk beneath the surface elsewhere.
Gene Blevins/Reuters
From California’s fires to the Rohingya, headlines can be overwhelming these days. But that doesn’t mean we should neglect so-called ‘silent crises,’ which can quickly erupt into global disasters.