Today’s building codes were implemented as a result of devastating natural disasters that resulted in the loss of human lives and billions of dollars. But they aren’t retroactively applied.
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Articles on Natural disasters
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More than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and that share is growing. Rapid climate change could make many cities unlivable in the coming decades without major investments to adapt.
As climate change amplifies the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, evacuations are likely to become increasingly common and costly – in human and economic terms.
If rural communities plan carefully – and some already are – they can reinvent themselves as the perfect homes for people fleeing wildfire and hurricane zones.
Two forest researchers whose own communities were threatened by fires in 2021 explain how historic policies left forests at high risk of megafires.
Foreign trade outsources both emissions and environmental hazards.
Australia has expansive areas of flat land — usually agricultural land — and it’s over these large, flat areas that tornadoes like to form.
When a disaster strikes, you may be stuck for days without power or safe running water. Or you might only have time to grab a bag and go.
Building even more power poles and transmission lines won’t avert outages when major disasters strike.
In 1989, Newcastle was hit by Australia’s deadliest earthquake, but high-rise development in the city’s CBD has continued nonetheless. Australia needs a consistent planning code for earthquake risk.
As the state copes with hurricanes and climate disasters, it is figuring out how to manage the slow-motion loss of its coastal land. But its plans could endanger the cultures that define the region.
Overlooking people with disability in disaster preparations and responses makes them even more vulnerable. A new partnership has shown they can play meaningful and active roles.
Hurricane Ida left the entire city of New Orleans in the dark and renewed discussion of burying power lines. But there’s no way to completely protect the grid, above ground or below.
The COVID-19 pandemic and a growing global refugee crisis have shone a light on the ever-increasing need for new approaches to mental health treatment.
By mimicking the human brain, autonomous drones could locate victims in hard-to-reach places and alert responders to their location within seconds.
The New Orleans region is likely to see a hurricane about every seven years and a major hurricane about every 20.
Water-related hazards are exceptionally destructive, and the impact of climate change on extreme water-related events is increasingly evident, a lead author of the new report warns.
Current building codes do not include the most efficient way to keep houses standing and intact during tornadoes.
Residents of flood-prone areas have been counting on local knowledge and community support to deal with floods for centuries. Can scientists work with them to better understand floods?
Catastrophic floods in north-western Europe have shown how badly early warning systems can fail.
Top contributors
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Honorary Professor of Hazards and Disaster Risk Sciences, University of Sydney
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Professor Emeritus of Geography, Louisiana State University
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Scientia Professor and Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney
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Associate Professor of Earthquake Science, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Researcher, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
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Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Urban Affairs and Director, Security and Resilience Program, Northeastern University
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Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York
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Sr. Associate Vice President for Research and Research Professor, University of Oregon
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Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Wollongong
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Risk Scientist, Risk Frontiers Natural Hazards Research Centre, Macquarie University
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Associate Professor, Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience, University of Florida
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PERL Research Fellow, University of Wollongong
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Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University
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Associate Professor, University of Sydney
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Professor of Disasters and Health, UCL
