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.
South Louisiana before the arrival of Hurricane Laura.
EPA-EFE/Dan Anderson
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.
Evacuations during Hurricane Laura could increase the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Disaster preparation and evacuation procedures weren’t made for social distancing. The pandemic means response decisions are now fraught with contradictions.
Extreme wildfires can fuel tornadoes, creating erratic and dangerous conditions for firefighters.
David McNew/Getty Images
Massive landslides can trigger destructive and deadly tsunamis, and climate change could make them worse.
The 2018 Camp Fire north of Sacramento burned everything in its path: cars, power lines, and buildings – and contaminated local drinking water.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Buildings aren’t the only things at risk in wildfires. Recent disasters in California have left local water system contaminated with toxic chemicals afterward, slowing return and recovery.
A derecho moves across central Kansas on July 3, 2005.
Jim Reed/Corbis via Getty Images
Hurricane and tornado winds spin in circles, but there’s another, equally dangerous storm type where winds barrel straight ahead. They’re called derechos, and are most common in summer.
COVID-19 mitigation could open new opportunities for agroecological innovation, here a multifunctional landscape in Ethiopia.
Michael Hauser (ICRISAT)
Kai Mausch, Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF); Michael Hauser, CGIAR System Organization; Todd Rosenstock, Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), dan Wanjiku Gichohi-Wainaina, CGIAR System Organization
It’s time to redesign food systems that deliver healthy foods, allow farming families to make a good living, and support thriving societies.
Extreme weather events prompt people to move, a trend that could accelerate in a warming climate. But the ability to migrate internally in the US depends largely on economic status.
Parents and family must consciously support children in completing a few hours of school work during this period.
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Despite the best efforts of governments, schools and parents there’ll be learning losses across the board and worsened educational outcomes for the poor.
It’s hard to avoid close contact during a hurricane evacuation and recovery.
Mehdi Taamallah/AFP/Getty Images
The US faces a high risk of hurricanes and other disasters this year that could leave thousands of people in need of shelter. COVID-19 will make those disasters more dangerous to manage.
Australian emergency services are using social media for a number of purposes during disasters. What they are not doing well is analysing social media data in real time to improve disaster management.
When deadly tornadoes struck the Southeast in April, residents in Prentiss, Mississippi, struggled to keep up coronavirus precautions while salvaging what they could from their damaged properties.
AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
If the forecasts are right, the US could be facing more natural disasters this year – on top of the coronavirus pandemic. Local governments aren’t prepared.
Ruins of the Tower of St Roch, or Tower of the Patriarch, following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake by Jacques-Philippe Le Bas.
Wikimedia Commons
The big questions don’t get much bigger. After the Lisbon earthquake killed thousands, philosopher Voltaire took aim at Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and skewered his view that God is good.