Extreme heatwaves of unprecedented magnitude are expected to become increasingly frequent in coming decades. These heatwaves come with severe consequences for human health, infrastructure planning, and economic prospects – particularly during events lasting multiple weeks [10]. In recent decades, Western Europe has become a hot-spot for record-breaking and long-lasting heatwaves [9], raising a critical question: …[Read More]
On 25 August 2025, SONABEL – Burkina Faso’s national utility – began releasing water from the Bagre Dam two days ahead of schedule. The reservoir had reached 90% of its capacity, just 0.73 metres below its maximum retention limit [9]. The Water Resources Commission and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in Ghana issued immediate …[Read More]
On 23rd February 2026, Malaysia faced one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in its history. A magnitude 6.8 event struck offshore Sabah, the most seismically active state in Malaysia. The event was reported as magnitude 6.8 by MetMalaysia, while the USGS recorded it as magnitude 7.1, with the difference reflecting variations in magnitude estimates …[Read More]
Subsea pipelines and cables are vital to modern energy and communications, yet assessing the active geological faults they cross underwater is notoriously difficult. By examining marine fault slip rates at higher stratigraphic resolution than previously analyzed in this region, our new research shows that displacement rates accelerated tenfold after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This …[Read More]
A note from the Natural Hazards Division editorial team We would like to open this blog post with our sincere condolences in response to the devastating multi-hazard flash flood that occurred in Nepal and Tibet in late August. In the face of such suffering, messages like this risk sounding hollow. Still, we, as the Natural …[Read More]
There is a quiet contradiction at the heart of natural hazard science. The regions most exposed to multi-hazard events are precisely the regions where we know the least. The Global South (comprising lower- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean) is disproportionately affected by climate-related natural hazards, yet it is largely …[Read More]
Cities are expanding faster than ever, often onto steep and unstable terrain. As urban areas grow, landslides increasingly threaten homes, roads, and critical infrastructure. To manage this risk, scientists produce landslide susceptibility maps, which estimate where landslides are most likely to occur. These maps are widely used by planners and decision-makers. But there is a …[Read More]
Intense rainfall lasting only a few hours is often enough to trigger natural hazards such as flash floods and landslides, leading to severe damage to infrastructure. These short-lived events are among the most dangerous natural hazards in the Mediterranean region, yet they are also among the hardest to study. Their small spatial scale and brief …[Read More]
Before modern instruments, our only clues about past sea events came from written records and folklore. Along the eastern Adriatic coast, stories of sudden floods and “tidal waves” (locally called šćiga) have been passed down for generations. These waves, described as rapid rises and falls of the sea that could flood or empty harbours within …[Read More]
Nestled within one of Europe’s most densely populated regions, the Campi Flegrei caldera is a volcanic system whose secular unrest shapes the daily life of its inhabitants. Here, during the last decade and still ongoing crisis, ground uplift, frequent earthquakes, and persistent gas emissions interact to create a complex, evolving multi-risk environment. These natural hazards …[Read More]
