How does a flood become a disaster?
What are the causes, patterns and effects of disastrous river flood? An international group of researchers led by GFZ hydrologist Bruno Merz has investigated this question in a review article published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth and Environm.....»»
Flood waters churn up toxins from riverbeds
Sediments are regarded as a river's long-term memory. They mainly comprise particles that are eroded from the ground, ending up at some point in river deltas or the sea. However, sediments can also remain stable for a relatively long time—and bind.....»»
Russian module suddenly fires thrusters after docking with space station
"Until you exhaust all your contingency plans, you're not really starting to worry." Enlarge / Russian "Nauka" module approaches the International Space Station. (credit: Roscosmos) Flight controllers at NASA and Roscosmos averted a disaster o.....»»
Patchwork Health raises £3.5M to fix the staff scheduling disaster inside stressed hospitals
The tyranny of the Excel spreadsheet continues, and especially in rostering staff. Nowhere is this more acutely felt in today’s COVID-pressured hospital wards, which are now depleted not just by the disease but by staff burnout from patchy-over or.....»»
How scientists and communities can build partnerships to deal with floods: Learning from Indonesia
Millions of people in Indonesia, a vast low-lying archipelago in Southeast Asia with the second-longest coastline in the world, live in flood-prone river and coastal areas. Floods and storms are the most common type of disaster affecting Indonesian c.....»»
Death toll from Henan floods rises to 71 as China braces for more rain
The death toll from floods in central China's Henan province rose to 71 on Tuesday as a tribute at a subway where 14 people died was sealed off in a sign of sensitivity to public criticism of the government's handling of the disaster......»»
Sandstorm engulfs desert city in China
A wall of sand over 100 metres high swallowed a city on the fringes of the Gobi desert in northwestern China, in scenes reminiscent of a disaster film......»»
India begins landslide, flood clean-up as deadly monsoon rains ease
Rescuers waded through waist-deep mud in western India Monday to reach injured residents and start a massive clean-up after heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides and floods that killed 159 people......»»
Monsoon rains flood Philippine villages, thousands evacuate
Thousands of residents fled flooded communities and swollen rivers in the Philippine capital and outlying provinces Saturday after days of torrential monsoon rains, which left at least one villager dead, officials said......»»
Instagram confirms test of new anti-harassment tool, Limits, designed for moments of crisis
Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed the company is testing a new feature called “Limits,” which would give users the ability to temporary lock down their accounts when they’re being targeted by a flood of harassment. The announcem.....»»
Climate adaptation on future changes to UK rainfall intensities
Climate experts have published guidance to help water and sewerage companies and flood risk management authorities to prepare for future increases in rainfall intensities from global warming......»»
New method predicts "stealth" solar storms before they wreak geomagnetic havoc on Earth
On 23 July 2012, humanity escaped technological and economic disaster. A diffuse cloud of magnetized plasma in the shape of a slinky toy tens of thousands of kilometers across was hurled from the Sun at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second......»»
Germany vows to improve flood warning system as toll passes 165
The German government on Monday pledged to improve the country's under-fire warning systems as emergency services continued to search for victims of the worst flooding in living memory, with at least 165 people confirmed dead......»»
A new theoretical model of tacit knowledge transfer
In today's fast-paced industries, withholding valuable information or knowledge at the wrong time can lead to corporate disaster. For this reason, it is imperative for sales and marketing professionals to take advantage of communication opportunities.....»»
At-risk homeowners may forgo flood insurance
Fifteen million homes in the United States are at risk of flooding, according to the nonprofit First Street. And homes on the coasts aren't the only properties at risk......»»
Sea walls might just make floods someone else’s problem, study suggests
As sea levels rise, our defenses against flood damage might not work as planned Enlarge / An image of the Bay Area at night shows why protecting some regions will likely lead to damaging floods elsewhere. (credit: NASA) Protecting the coasts i.....»»
A significant number of New Zealanders overestimate sea-level rise—and that could stop them from taking action
Following a recent storm surge in Wellington, some media coverage expressed surprise that 30cm of sea-level rise—an unavoidable amount projected to happen by the middle of this century—would turn a one-in-100-year coastal flood into an annual eve.....»»
Mapping extreme snowmelt and its potential dangers
Snowmelt—the surface runoff from melting snow—is an essential water resource for communities and ecosystems. But extreme snow melt, which occurs when snow melts too rapidly over a short amount of time, can be destructive and deadly, causing flood.....»»
Sea-level rise may worsen existing Bay Area inequities
Rather than waiting for certainty in sea-level rise projections, policymakers can plan now for future coastal flooding by addressing existing inequities among the most vulnerable communities in flood zones, according to Stanford research......»»
Could Sri Lanka"s ship fire have been avoided? Here"s what we can learn from the shocking environmental disaster
Hundreds of dead turtles continue to wash ashore in Sri Lanka, almost two months after a newly built container ship caught fire while anchored off Colombo's port......»»
Ransomware recovery: Plan for it now
If your computing environment is subject to a large ransomware attack, you will most certainly be enacting your disaster recovery (DR) plan. But before you begin restoring systems, you must first ensure you have stopped the infection, identified i.....»»