Along with climate change and drought, invasive grasses are promoting wildfires across the US, even in areas that don’t normally burn.
In an emergency, like a bushfire, making sure you have enough of your regular medication can mean the difference between life and death. But there are many ways to prepare.
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During bushfire season, managing medication as well as respiratory conditions should be part of any emergency plan.
Dale Palmer prepares his home in NSW for the bushfires. The decision to stay and defend one’s property requires a person to be mentally, as well as physically, prepared.
AAP/Darren Pateman
In catastrophic fire conditions, leaving early is the only safe option. But in other conditions, one thing that’s often overlooked in decisions to stay or go is how mentally tough you need to be.
It’s difficult to recall what you might need as you’re preparing to evacuate, so have your kit ready to go.
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Babies are particularly vulnerable in emergencies, especially in hot weather. Here’s what your emergency kit needs to ensure they stay hydrated if you have to evacuate or you lose power or water.
Women and children are 14 times more likely than men to die in a disaster.
AAP Image/Darren Pateman
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.
A helicopter drops water while battling the Saddle Ridge Fire in Porter Ranch, Calif., on Oct. 11, 2019.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
The gravity and force of this Category 5 hurricane that lashed the Florida Panhandle and other Southern states may never have fully registered on the public’s radar.
Climate change is expected to increase the severity of natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region, straining Australia’s ability to respond through humanitarian missions and fuelling more climate migration.
Vlad Sokhin/UNICEF handout
A Senate report recommended several measures the government should take to prepare for climate-fuelled migration, natural disasters and conflicts. The response so far has been underwhelming.
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.
Typhoon Faxai left many people without power and other services for several days when it hit the greater Tokyo region in September.
NASA/Worldview
Talk of moving people out of Japan’s cities into rural areas is changing after the recent cyclone hit near Tokyo. Smarter, more connected cities may be a safer way to go.
People who have been affected by extreme weather events might experience mental health issues.
From shutterstock.com
When we think about the health impacts of climate change, the effects of rising temperatures on physical health are often front of mind. But climate change affects people’s mental health, too.
Lahaina, Hawaii, was a wasteland of burned-out homes and obliterated communities after wildfires ripped through the town.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
David Campbell, Binghamton University, State University of New York
After a hurricane strikes or an earthquake makes shockwaves, try to support nonprofits that are clear about what they do and how they will spend your money.
High surf in Vero Beach, Fla. in advance of Hurricane Dorian.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Social media make it easier to push information out quickly during disasters, but also create challenges for public information officers, who have to judge which reports are credible enough to share.
Shoppers prepare ahead of Hurricane Dorian in Pembroke, Florida.
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
While forensic scientists mostly use fingerprints, dental records and DNA to identify human remains, they have many other techniques in their forensic toolkit. How many have you heard of?
Surf threatens beach houses on Dauphin Island, Alabama, September 4, 2011 during Tropical Storm Lee.
AP Photo/Dave Martin
‘Building back better’ refers to making communities more disaster-proof and resilient after they take a hit. But instead, some US owners are building back bigger homes in vulnerable places.
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.
A Monmouth County, N.J. home in 2015.
Jack L. Harris
Jack L. Harris, State University of New York at New Paltz
Getting everyone whose lives were thrown off-track back takes a lot of personal effort, paired with work done by a constantly shifting mix of nonprofits and governmental agencies over many years.