There were so many tropical storms in 2020, forecasters exhausted the list of names and started using Greek letters. And that’s only one reason 2020 was extreme.
New legislation would give the ADF more power to respond to future bushfires and other disasters. But questions remain about the scope of this involvement and how ADF personnel would be deployed.
California was thought to be an exception, a place where oil field operations and tectonic faults apparently coexisted without much problem. Not any more.
If only 1% of the Pacific’s population was permitted to work permanently in Australia, this would bring more benefits to the region than Australia’s annual aid contribution.
Jeanie Chin, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
In an era of climate change and extreme weather, a microgrid — a self-sufficient, energy-generating distribution and control system — puts communities on the path to self-reliance.
A storm-driven chlorine gas release in a vulnerable community is the type of worst-case scenario that scientists and engineers have warned about for decades.
Laura went from a tropical storm to a major hurricane in less than 24 hours, sending coastal residents scrambling to prepare. Hurricanes Harvey and Michael exploded in strength in similar ways.
Damage to septic tanks is one of the major health hazards people face when they return to their bushfire-affected homes. It was simply dumb luck a disease outbreak didn’t happen last summer.
Disaster preparation and evacuation procedures weren’t made for social distancing. The pandemic means response decisions are now fraught with contradictions.