Natural Disasters

A 5.0 magnitude earthquake caused the eruption of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island. The National Guard was activated as mandatory evacuations were enacted for residents in the Puna district, on the eastern coast of the island. For full article, click here  Samantha Underwood For…

CNN News: Tinder Fire in Arizona, A state of emergency has been declared in Arizona due to the Tinder Fire. So far 11,420 acres have burned since last Friday (April 27th), and the cause is still unknown. Evacuations are in place for areas north, east, and west of Highway 87. Read more here.

Joe Palca, from NPR, discusses how the California company, One Concern, is using artificial intelligence to advise fire departments on earthquake response. The three main categories of data include information on the structural integrity of local buildings, the natural environment, and the live data…

The 24 hour news cycle has put Hurricane Maria in the back of our minds, but, for Puerto Rico, the aftermath of Maria continues to effect their daily lives. This NPR article takes us into a Puerto Rican Mountain Town that has been left without reliable sources of water and electricity. Despite these…

Rong-Gong Lin II, LA Times: The California Geological Survey recently released an interactive online map, which allows users to view fault zones, landslide zones, and liquefaction zones across the state. Individuals can enter their address or current location into the search bar and the map will…

According to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 13 million Americans live within a 100-year flood plain zone which is an area with a 1% chance of flooding during a given year. However, a new study published in the Environmental Research Letters shows that this number has likely…

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found U.S hospitals would have great difficulty responding to catastrophic events. Over two years, researchers found that the United States is “fairly well prepared for relatively small-scale mass injury/illness events that happen more frequently, less well…

Monday morning, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Papua New Guinea, southwest of Porgera. The area affected by the earthquake is known to house thousands of people, and is home to oil, gas, coffee, and gold production and operations in the country. Troops and rescue workers are being sent in to help…

Image from United States Geographical Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center James Queally reported in the Los Angeles Times: Recently there has been a multitude of low-impact earthquakes striking the Bay Area. Early Monday morning, Diablo experienced a 2.9 magnitude earthquake…

Dakin Andone, Elisabeth Malkin, Melissa Pamer- This weekend, multiple earthquakes took place across the world. In the United States, Los Angeles felt a small earthquake of a magnitude of 2.9 on February 17th at 2:16 AM. No damage or injuries are reported. Also on Saturday, Wales had a 4.4…

South China Morning Post- Rescuers called off the search on Sunday for the last pair of individuals still reported missing due to Taiwan’s most recent devastating earthquake, after one individual’s body was found on Sunday morning. Including the missing pair, the death toll for the 6.4 earthquake…

Texas Tribune: Months before Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, an updated disaster preparedness plan was approved. Unfortunately, when the disaster hit many of the protocols made in the plan were not able to be carried out. Resources ran extremely low and emergency-official response time was slow.…

The culmination of hurricanes, earthquakes, fires and several other natural disasters cost 306.2 billion dollars in damage last year. 2017 broke the 2005 record of 214.8 billion in costs during hurricanes Katrina, Dennis, Rita, and Wilma. According to the National Centers for Environmental…

The Verge: The Gulf of Alaska recently experienced a 7.9 magnitude earthquake. Tsunami warnings were issued, causing many to flee from their homes. These warnings were later cancelled after waves were less than a foot high. This type of earthquake is known as a strike-slip quake, and is less prone…