Climate change is making oceans more acidic globally. Now, scientists are finding that large storms can send pulses of acidic water into bays and estuaries, further stressing fish and shellfish.
Syrian civil defence workers clear an earthquake victim in Zardana, Idlib province, on 6 February.
Abdulazis Ketaz/AFP
Emilie Bronner, Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES)
Using space imagery can help guide relief efforts to critical areas during a natural disaster.
In mid-2018, nearly a year after Hurricane Harvey, this church’s gym in Texas was still serving as a warehouse for donated goods.
Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Research on Hurricane Harvey found that flood insurance and strong social networks were key factors in determining how quickly people recovered, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Hurricane Harvey showed the racial disparities in flood damage outside Houston’s 100-year flood zones.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
New risk models show nearly twice as many properties are at risk from a 100-year flood today than the government’s flood maps indicate.
The nursing home in Hollywood Hills, Fla., where 12 people died after the center lost power from Hurricane Irma in 2017.
mpi122/MediaPunch/IPX/AP Photo
Hurricane season presents special dangers for elders, particularly for those in nursing homes and assisted living. Research indicates sheltering-in-place may actually be less risky than evacuating, at times.
Flooding in La Platte and other cities in Nebraska have so far caused an estimated $1 billion in damages.
Reuters/Drone Base
Donations to relief efforts tend to dry up within a few months.
Roberto Clemente State Park employees in New York, with donated bottled water bottles bound for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
AP Photo/Julie Jacobson
As Hurricane Florence is expected to pound the Carolinas with significant flooding, an insurance expert explains how the program designed to help the millions affected recover.
Homes surrounded by water from the flooded Brazos River in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Freeport, Texas, Sept. 1, 2017.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Many people board up their houses and stay in place during disasters – but often they aren’t prepared to go without water, power or transportation for days or weeks afterward.
Businesses in Humble, Texas, part of metropolitan Houston, surrounded by floodwater from Hurricane Harvey, August 29, 2017.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File
Hurricane Harvey swamped much of Houston in 2017, causing more damage than all other US hurricanes except Katrina. But now the city is authorizing construction in zones at high risk for flooding.
Hurricane Harvey flooded one-third of Houston and displaced more then 30,000 people in the region.
Janelle Rios
After disasters, communities often push to rebuild as quickly as possible. A public health expert says they should aim higher and fix problems that exist pre-storm.
People in the U.S. and the Caribbean share vulnerability to climate change-related disasters, but only in the Caribbean is the public truly worried. Why?
US Navy
New research suggests politics and risk perception may explain why the US and Caribbean see climate change so differently, though both places are ever more vulnerable to powerful hurricanes.
People collect water piped in from a mountain creek in Utuado, Puerto Rico on Oct. 14, 2017, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans were still without running water.
AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa
Climate change threatens to widen the health gap between the haves and have-nots. Here’s why addressing environmental issues that drive poor health is a starting point.
Trees and power lines in Puerto Rico, damaged by Hurricane Maria in September.
REUTERS/Alvin Baez
2017 brought wild, wacky and even deadly weather. Australia was hit by heatwaves and torrential rains, plus some surprisingly cool spells. Hurricanes hit America, and a killer monsoon lashed Asia.
Being one of a series of disasters made relief in Puerto Rico harder to come by after Hurricane Maria.
AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa
Samantha Penta, University at Albany, State University of New York
Charitable giving and government aid can shortchange disasters that follow other disasters.
The intensity of heavy downpours in Houston has increased dramatically since the 1950s, leading some people to argue the city’s disaster planning and infrastructure are not up-to-date.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
It’s not just about rebuilding infrastructure after storms: Cities need to systematically rethink their knowledge systems which are at the heart of urban resilience.
For many Americans, there is no such thing as affordable housing in today’s real estate market.
Aleutie/Shutterstock.com
Slashing government spending on housing and scrapping a key financing option for new units would make it harder than ever for low-income Americans to keep a roof over their heads.
Crews clean up debris in a neighborhood flooded by Hurricane Harvey in Beaumont, Texas, Sept. 26, 2017.
AP Photo/David Goldman
Epidemiologists study disease outbreaks in populations to determine who gets sick and why. In the wake of this year’s hurricanes, they are assessing impacts from mold, toxic leaks and other threats.
Associate Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society and The Polytechnic School; Co-Director Center for Smart Cities and Regions, Arizona State University