If you have been regularly following our blog for this (almost) past year, you may have noticed that the field of natural hazards is coloured by many different shades. One more that I would like to present to you today is about how the natural environment can affect human health. It is a recognized fact that geo-materials can pose a threat to our health. One of the most striking examples is asbest ...[Read More]
Volcanic eruptions: Sometimes natural spectacles, but other times disasters
In April 2018, an eruption of the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii started. The activity continued for months, with impressive lava flows that cut roads and even covered houses and entire neighbourhoods (Figure 1), forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. Fortunately, it did not take any life. Some weeks later, on June 3rd, Fuego volcano, in Guatemala, shocked the international community with a sh ...[Read More]
Earthquake-induced landslides and the ‘strange’ case of the Hokkaido earthquake
The population of many countries in the world is exposed to earthquakes, one of the most destructive natural hazards. Sometimes, consequent triggered phenomena can be even worse than the earthquake itself. In this context, earthquake-induced landslides often concur in life and economic losses. To better understand these induced phenomena, updated catalogues of their types and location of occurren ...[Read More]
Mapping population dynamics to advance Disaster Risk Management
Today we have the honour to introduce Sérgio Freire as our guest. Sérgio Freire is a Geographer, currently working as Scientific/Technical Project Manager at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), Directorate E. Space, Security and Migration, Disaster Risk Management Unit, based in Ispra, Italy. His main activities focus on developing applications of the JRC’s Global Human S ...[Read More]