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Articles on Natural disasters

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Neighborhood groups in Staten Island, N.Y., encouraged buyouts after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

When homes flood, who gets FEMA buyouts and where do they go? We mapped thousands of moves and found distance and race both play a role

FEMA runs the largest managed retreat program in the country, Two disaster response experts looked at the demographics of who gets those buyouts and where they go.
The Sudbury 17 wildfire burns east of Mississagi Provincial Park near Elliot Lake, Ont., in this June 4, 2023 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Canada urgently needs a FEMA-like emergency management agency

Creating a federal agency — let’s call it the Emergency Management Agency of Canada or EMAC — would support comprehensive emergency management as Canada faces more and more natural disasters.
Wildfires can destroy hundreds of homes within hours. PH2(AW/SW) Michael J. Pusnik, Jr / Navy Visual News Service / AFP via Getty Images

Why insurance companies are pulling out of California and Florida, and how to fix some of the underlying problems

It’s not a question of if insurance will become unavailable or unaffordable in areas at high risk of wildfires, hurricanes and other damage – it’s a question of when. A disaster risk expert explains.
The Bald Mountain Wildfire in the Grande Prairie area in Alberta in May 2023. Much of B.C. and Alberta is already experiencing higher-than-usual wildfire risk. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Government of Alberta Fire Service

As we fight the Alberta and B.C. wildfires, we must also plan for future disasters

High-risk, high-uncertainty events like earthquakes tend to fall out of view when we are occupied with more predictable seasonal events like wildfires, which have very visible effects on our lives.
A woman does laundry at a tent city after the Feb. 6, 2023, earthquake in Turkey. Omer Urer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In Turkey, women are feeling the worst aftershocks of the earthquake disaster – this disparity may lead to dwindling trust in government

When government responses to a natural disaster do not address the specific needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls, women tend to lose trust in the institutions.
A placard placed by local activists in Calais, northern France, March 8, 2023. Rhetoric about the threat posed by climate-induced displacement does not accurately portray the reality for most of those affected. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

Fearmongering about people fleeing disasters is a dangerous and faulty narrative

Recognizing the challenges posed by climate-induced displacement is important. But officials must avoid rhetoric about displaced people that can fuel xenophobia.
Snow on cattle drive sculptures in Dallas after a winter storm, Feb. 3, 2022. Emil Lippe/Getty Images

Two years after its historic deep freeze, Texas is increasingly vulnerable to cold snaps – and there are more solutions than just building power plants

Texas wasn’t prepared to keep the lights on during Winter Storm Uri, and it won’t be ready for future cold weather unless it starts thinking about energy demand as well as supply.

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