Natural Disasters

The intense fires in California continue to burn through Butte, Plumas, and Yuba counties. The number of death residents has increased to 10 people, and 16 people still remain missing. The fires, called the North Complex, have burned almost 252,000 acres of land. Smog continues to fill the clouds,…

As of last week, 11,000 lightning strikes sparked over 370 individuals fires throughout California, killing 5. With fire crews fighting these fires shorthanded due to COVID-19, these fires continue to burn through thousands of acres per day, putting more individuals at risk for evacuation. This has…

With Tropical Storm Marco and Hurricane Laura (Category 4) both brewing in the Gulf at the same time, a historical first, the city of New Orleans was faced with a dual crisis. Unlike any previous hurricane, city leaders had to figure out a way to evacuate citizens while abiding by the social…

Hurricane Laura struck Louisiana on August 27, 2020 with incredibly high wind speeds, rainfall, and storm surges. Amongst the destruction from the national disaster, a chemical plant that produced chlorine-based products caught on fire, releasing toxic chemicals into the air, and leading to a…

Microsoft Corp. has announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help first-responders manage dynamic, fast-moving natural disasters. The tech giant and government department will co-chair “The First Five Consortium,” which is an…

As San Francisco is filled with cloudy skies, thousands of homes in Northern California are in great danger as the wildfires continue. These wildfires are caused by lightning strikes and have burned thousands of acres. With about 2 dozen major blazes and more small fires, the people of dangerous…

At least 162 people have been killed and 54 people injured by a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar. After a massive pile of mine waste collapsed into a lake, a resulting wave of mud and water buried workers. The death toll makes this disaster the worst known in jade mining history. For…

How do communities maintain social distancing when tornado season hits and people need to evacuate their homes to go to community shelters? Emergency managers and other officials are trying to decide the best protocol for their natural disaster response amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Some changes may…

The United States is still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. As time goes on, more places will have to deal with natural disasters occurring in addition to the pandemic, like the tornadoes that hit Iowa in April. State and local authorities are preparing emergency shelters, deciding where to send…

Gary Robbins — Los Angeles Times A 4.9 earthquake struck Friday evening at 6:53 PM near Anza in Riverside County in Southern California. The quake was felt strongly in San Diego County, and even felt in downtown Los Angeles and other areas of LA County and the Inland Empire. The quake erupted…

Structural engineers are a type of civil engineers that are specialized in understanding the stability of any structures, like the framework of buildings and bridges. Structural engineers have a particular role in the context of emergency preparedness and disaster response - at the scene of a…

Due to the disastrous impact of Storm Dennis, people in the United Kingdom over this past weekend have been hit with strong winds, heavy rain, and potential flooding. It has been reported that two people have died off the coast of southeast England. For more information, click here.  

Five months after Hurricane Dorian, which destroyed thousands of homes in the Grand Bahama and Abaco Islands, recovery efforts have been slow. Many people were evacuated, so there is a shortage of labor to rebuild the islands. Piles of debris on the streets pose a safety hazard, and utilities are…

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a 7.7 magnitude major earthquake struck at 2:10 pm E.T on Jan. 28 in the Caribbean Sea and specifically in the area south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica. The earthquake was felt by people in Jamaica, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Miami, Florida. A…