Some New Zealand universities have proposed staff and course cuts in earth sciences. This could leave the country ill prepared to deal with natural hazards and extreme weather.
A rip current flows straight out to sea.
Rob Brander
Rip currents are one of the great dangers of Australian beaches. We can learn a lot about avoiding and escaping this natural hazard by asking survivors what being caught in a rip is really like.
People search for survivors beneath the rubble in Diyarbakir, Turkey. February 6 2023.
EPA-EFE/Refik Tekin
One of the lessons we must take from the Whakaari tragedy is the cumulative nature of risk. Repeated visits to the volcanic island by tour guides placed them near unacceptable risk limits.
People inspect the damage following a tsunami at a village in Sumur, Indonesia, on Dec. 24, 2018.
(AP Photo/Fauzy Chaniago)
It’s now officially the end of hurricane season, but the rebuilding of the Bahamas continues, slowed by the risks imposed by a history of colonialism and class division.
Many houses still do not have cyclone-ready roofs, so are liable to lose them if hit by the full force of the storm.
Dan Peled/AAP
Most homes are not as cyclone-ready as they could be. It seems lower insurance premiums aren’t enough of an incentive for owners to upgrade their homes, but a new study points to some solutions.
Emergency services haven’t been able to protect people and properties against increasingly intense bushfires.
Scott Davis/AAP
With heatwaves, droughts and fires all on the rise, the federal government is urged to merge its separate strategies on disaster resilience and climate readiness.
Treacherous bushfire conditions are predicted to grow even more frequent as the climate changes.
AAP Image/Andrew Brownbill
Black Saturday in 2009 was Australia’s worst bushfire tragedy. But climate projections predict more bushfire danger in the future, threatening our water supplies as well as homes.
Devastation from Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida, Oct. 12, 2018. Residents whose homes have suffered major damage in multiple storms could eventually be offered buyouts, but the process can take several years.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Government agencies spend millions of dollars yearly to buy and demolish homes sited in floodplains. But the program is slow, cumbersome and doesn’t always help those who need it most.
Environmental regulations generally improve communities’ preparedness and resilience during disasters.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
The damage to coal ash sites from Hurricane Florence demonstrates how a community’s vulnerability to natural disasters is closely linked to how stringent environmental regulations are.
Picture painted by a primary school child in Sri Lanka after the tsunami in 2005.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
It’s understandable to want to shield children from the impacts of disasters. But research suggests that they should be given a voice in disaster planning and a role in reducing the risks.