Natural Disasters News

September 16, 2016

Stalagmites May Record Past Earthquakes

Growing Threat from Japanese Volcano

Earthquakes Can Trigger Other Fault Aftershocks

Curious Case of Mount Etna's Wandering Craters

Latest Headlines

updated 1:00am EDT

Taking a Fault's Temperature

Sep. 15, 2016 — Ever think about taking a fault's temperature? What would you learn? A unique experiment where temperature was continuously measured for nearly a year inside the fault that made the catastrophic 2011 ... read more

A Look Inside Volcanic Flows

Sep. 12, 2016 — When it comes to volcanoes, two separate transport areas have been well-studied in new research: a non-turbulent underflow and a fully turbulent, ash cloud region at the top ... read more

X-Raying the Earth With Waves from Stormy Weather 'Bombs'

Aug. 25, 2016 — Using a detection network based in Japan, scientists have uncovered a rare type of deep-earth tremor that they attribute to a distant North Atlantic storm called a 'weather ... read more

Post-Disaster Optimization Technique Capable of Analyzing Entire Cities

Aug. 24, 2016 — Scientists have created a novel method that represents a major improvement in existing post-disaster optimization methodologies. Their technique, Algorithm with Multiple-Input Genetic Operators ... read more

Seismic Shield: Large-Scale Metamaterials Combat Earthquakes in 3-D Model

Aug. 24, 2016 — Numerical analysis considers both surface and guided waves, accounts for soil dissipation, and provides design guidelines for implementing earthquake protection using an array of ground-based ... read more

Some Signs of Induced Seismicity Spotted in Salton Trough's Geothermal Production Fields

Aug. 22, 2016 — In some parts of Southern California's Brawley Seismic Zone, geothermal energy production may be increasing the background seismicity rate, but ... read more

Better Understanding Seismic Hazards

Aug. 22, 2016 — The April 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal killed more than 8,000 people and injured more than 21,000. With a magnitude of 7.8, it was the worst natural disaster to strike ... read more

2014 Napa Earthquake Continued to Creep, Weeks After Main Shock

Aug. 19, 2016 — On August 24, 2014, just south of Napa, California, a fault in Earth suddenly slipped, violently shifting and splitting huge blocks of solid rock, 6 miles below the surface. ... read more

Mapping the Health Threat of Wildfires Under Climate Change in US West

Aug. 15, 2016 — A surge in major wildfire events in the US West as a consequence of climate change will expose tens of millions of Americans to high levels of air pollution in the coming ... read more

Seawalls, Coastal Forests in Japan Help Reduce Tsunami Damage, Study Finds

Aug. 10, 2016 — Researchers who analyzed a history of tsunamis along the Pacific coast of Japan's Tohoku region have learned that seawalls higher than 5 meters reduce damage and death, while coastal forests also ... read more

The Moon Could Be Making Some Earthquakes Bigger

Erupting Mexico Volcano Fills Blue Sky With Dark Ash

Japan Holds Largest Quake Drill

Dozens of Wildfires Rage Across Arid West

'Funneling' Behind Severe Flooding on the Clyde

Sep. 15, 2016 — A “funneling” effect has been a major factor in severe flooding on the River Clyde in recent years, according to a study by English ... read more

In the Aftermath of Disaster, Social Media Helps Build a Sense of Community

Aug. 25, 2016 — Social media can disseminate critical information as well as unite disaster victims during their recovery efforts, suggests a new ... read more

World Risk Report 2016: Inadequate Infrastructure Pushes Up the Risk of Disaster

Aug. 25, 2016 — The World Risk Report 2016 analyzes the role that infrastructure plays in shaping a country's disaster risk. The World Risk Index, an integral part of the report, ranks 171 countries according ... read more

Seawalls, Forests Show Mixed Effectiveness at Reducing Deaths, Damage from Tsunami

Aug. 19, 2016 — The Pacific coast of the Tohoku region has been struck by four large tsunamis in just over a century - in 1896, 1933, 1960 and 2011. Many critics claim that seawalls are detrimental because they ... read more

The Math of Earthquakes

Aug. 18, 2016 — A computational science doctoral student has successfully tied a new mathematical modeling process to the study of ... read more

International Ocean Drilling Expedition to Understand Causes of the Indian Ocean 2004 Earthquake and Tsunami

Aug. 8, 2016 — The devastating earthquake that struck North Sumatra and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Boxing Day in 2004 caused a tsunami that inundated coastal communities around the Indian Ocean, killing ... read more

Magma-Limestone Interaction Can Trigger Explosive Volcanic Eruptions and Affect the Global Carbon Cycle

Aug. 7, 2016 — New research shows what happens when magma meets limestone on its way up to the surface. Magma-limestone interaction might help explain why volcanoes like Vesuvius in Italy and Merapi in Indonesia ... read more

Subduction Zone Earthquakes Off Oregon, Washington More Frequent Than Previous Estimates

Aug. 5, 2016 — A new analysis suggests that massive earthquakes on northern sections of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, affecting areas of the Pacific Northwest that are more heavily populated, are somewhat more ... read more

Newly Discovered 'Blue Whirl' Fire Tornado Burns Cleaner for Reduced Emissions

Aug. 5, 2016 — Researchers say their discovery of a type of fire tornado they call a 'blue whirl' could lead to beneficial new approaches for reduced carbon emissions and improved oil spill ... read more

Geological Data Provide Support for Legendary Chinese Flood

Aug. 4, 2016 — Researchers have provided geological evidence for China's 'Great Flood,' a disastrous event on the Yellow River from which the Xia dynasty is thought to have been born. The flood ... read more

Adaptation to Climate Risks: Political Affiliation Matters

Aug. 4, 2016 — A new study reveals that those who affiliate with the Democratic Party have different views than those who vote Republican on the following issues: the likelihood of floods occurring, adopting ... read more

Traces of Failed Super-Eruption in the Andes

Aug. 2, 2016 — Geoscientists have discovered accumulations of magma in the Andes sufficient to have set off a super-eruption but which, in fact, did not. Such eruptions, which expel enormous quantities of magma, ... read more

The Search for the Earthquake Nucleus

Aug. 1, 2016 — Where a tectonic plate dives under another, in the so-called subduction zones at ocean margins, many strong earthquakes occur. Especially the earthquakes at shallow depths often cause tsunamis. How ... read more

Earth's Mantle Appears to Have a Driving Role in Plate Tectonics

July 28, 2016 — Deep down below us is a tug of war moving at less than the speed of growing fingernails. Keeping your balance is not a concern, but how the movement happens has been debated among geologists. New ... read more

Earthquake-Resilient Pipeline Could Shake Up Future for Aging Infrastructure on West Coast

July 26, 2016 — A new earthquake-resilient pipeline has been designed to better protect southern California’s water utility network from natural disasters. The test mimicked a fault rupture that can occur during ... read more

Ancient Temples in the Himalaya Reveal Signs of Past Earthquakes

July 26, 2016 — Tilted pillars, cracked steps, and sliding stone canopies in a number of 7th-century A.D. temples in northwest India are among the telltale signs that seismologists are using to reconstruct the ... read more

Distant Volcanic Eruptions Foster Saguaro Cacti Baby Booms

July 25, 2016 — Volcanic climate perturbations that delivered cold and stormy weather to much of the Northern Hemisphere generated a combination of conditions in the Sonoran Desert that were just right for ... read more

Magma Build-Up May Put Salvadoran Capital at Risk

July 25, 2016 — The build-up of magma six kilometres below El Salvador’s Ilopango caldera means the capital city of San Salvador may be at risk from future eruptions, researchers have ... read more

Tide-Triggered Tremors Give Clues for Earthquake Prediction

July 21, 2016 — The triggering of small, deep earthquakes along California's San Andreas Fault reveals depth-dependent frictional behavior that may provide insight into patterns signaling when a major quake ... read more

Super-Eruptions May Give a Year's Warning Before They Blow

July 21, 2016 — A microscopic analysis of quartz crystals from an ancient California super-eruption indicates that the process of decompression immediately preceding the eruption began about a year before the ... read more

Thursday, September 15, 2016