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.....»»
35 years since Challenger launch disaster: "Never forgotten"
NASA leaders, retired launch directors, families of fallen astronauts and space fans marked the 35th anniversary of the Challenger disaster on Thursday, vowing never to forget the seven who died during liftoff......»»
Why increasing numbers of U.S. residents live in high-risk wildfire and flood zones
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that around 13 million Americans are living within a 100-year flood zone. But over the last few years, researchers have found that the government's estimates are far lower than the ground.....»»
UN disaster aid is driven by humanitarian need rather than by strategic donor interests
A new study published in PNAS finds that aid provided by the United Nations (UN) in the aftermath of climate-related disasters is driven by humanitarian need rather than by strategic donor interests. The results underline the importance of climate-re.....»»
What to pack in a car emergency kit
Packing an emergency kit for your next road trip ensures small problems don't become an absolute disaster......»»
Nobi’s smart lamp alerts caregivers when a fall is detected
As expected, this year’s (virtual) CES has brought with it a new flood of smart home gadgets. The technology has been a major presence over the last several CES events, and with a world stuck at home for the foreseeable future, a lot of this tech h.....»»
Climate change has caused billions of dollars in flood damages
In a new study, Stanford researchers report that intensifying precipitation contributed one-third of the financial costs of flooding in the United States over the past three decades, totaling almost $75 billion of the estimated $199 billion in flood.....»»
WhatsApp Rival Signal Reports Growing Pains as New Users Surge
Signal, an encrypted messaging app that competes with other services including Facebook's WhatsApp, said Thursday that verification codes used to create new accounts were delayed because of a flood of new users. From a report: "We are working with ca.....»»
Australia"s Black Summer a climate wake-up call
The 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires are a "wake up call" demonstrating the extreme effects of climate change in Australia, according to a group of experts who've published a new study examining the factors that caused the disaster......»»
Forget the Streaming Wars -- Pandemic-Stricken 2020 Lifted Netflix and Others
The past 12 months were billed as the year when a flood of new entrants would force streaming services to wage an all-out war for subscribers. Instead, incumbents and rookies alike feasted on a base of shut-in customers eager for more things to watch.....»»
"Companies Are Fleeing California. Blame Bad Government."
Bloomberg Editorial Board: Amid raging wildfires, rolling blackouts and a worsening coronavirus outbreak, it has not been a great year for California. Unfortunately, the state is also reeling from a manmade disaster: an exodus of thriving companies t.....»»
The Kilonova-Chasing Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer is about to be watching the whole sky
Lately, there has been a flood of interest in gravitational waves. After the first official detection at LIGO / Virgo in 2015, data has been coming in showing how common these once theoretical phenomena actually are. Usually they are caused by unimag.....»»
Greenland is as much a love story as an epic spectacle of impending disaster
Director Ric Roman Waugh on bringing hope and humanity to a harrowing tale. Gerard Butler stars as a structural engineer in Atlanta who must get his family to safety in the face of a looming extinction event in Greenland. The Earth is fac.....»»
Sony pulls Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store after bugs complaints, offers refund
Sony has pulled “Cyberpunk 2077,” one of the most anticipated games in recent years, from its PlayStation Store after a flood of complaints and ridicule over compatibility issues and bugs from customers. The gaming giant said it is offeri.....»»
How NASA Scrambled to Save OSIRIS-REx From Leaky Disaster
The $800 million craft successfully collected precious asteroid material from a near-Earth asteroid. Then it started spilling regolith into space......»»
Dash Systems raises $8M for precision-airdrops-as-a-service at distant or disaster-stricken destinations
Now more than ever both the importance and limitations of the global delivery infrastructure are on full display. But while Amazon and others try to speed up last mile delivery using drones, Dash Systems hopes to expedite the middle mile — with mil.....»»
2020 was a disaster, but the pandemic put security in the spotlight
Let’s preface this year’s predictions by acknowledging and admitting how hilariously wrong we were when this time last year we said that 2020 “showed promise.” In fairness (almost) nobody saw a pandemic coming. The pandemic is.....»»