disaster management

Open flood modelling: Real time inundation and human displacement forecasting is now possible!

Asmae Ourkiya September 27, 2024

Floods are powerful natural events that can wreak havoc on communities and ecosystems. Every year, millions of people are affected by floods, leading to loss of life, damage to homes, and disruption of daily life. This blog post explores a new method for quickly mapping flood zones and predicting their impacts. To help communities and decision-makers better prepare, the authors of a recent publica ...[Read More]

When race and natural hazards intersect: three geoscientists share their experiences

Gillian D'Souza October 26, 2022

Around the world, the month of October is observed as Black History Month and includes the International Day for Disaster Reduction. While both these observances are significant in their own right, it gave EGU the opportunity to hear from geoscientists of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities about the many ways that race and natural hazards are linked: does one affect the ot ...[Read More]

Glacial lake outburst floods: What we know about this destructive ice hazard

Gillian D'Souza October 7, 2022

Glacial lake outburst floods are among the most concerning consequences of retreating glaciers in mountain ranges around the world. Although the phenomenon isn’t a new one, it has increasingly become the focus of research efforts in the last two decades, with many scientists seeing these floods as an emblematic symptom of climate change. This blog sheds some light on this lesser-known geological e ...[Read More]

What if a tsunami’s magnetic field could predict the height of the wave?

Gillian D'Souza January 12, 2022

It’s been well established that tsunamis generate magnetic fields as they move seawater (which is conductive unlike freshwater) through the Earth’s magnetic field. Although researchers previously predicted that the tsunami’s magnetic field would arrive before a change in sea level, they lacked the means to simultaneously measure magnetics and sea level to confirm this phenomenon. Now, a new study ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: The calamity of eruptions, or an eruption of benefits?

Laura Roberts-Artal August 7, 2015

So here is a question: why would anyone want to live in the vicinity of an active volcano? The risks are well known, with hazards arising from lava flows, lahars, ash falls, debris avalanches, and pyroclastic density currents, with many often having deadly consequences. But despite the danger, more than half a billion people live in the direct vicinity of volcanoes. Could it be that communities pr ...[Read More]

GeoCinema Online: Hazards

Sara Mynott June 7, 2013

In this week’s GeoCinema Online, we’re taking you to regions of the world that have experienced large eruptions in both the recent and distant past. These films take you through what it’s like to live in an active volcanic area or fault zone, from dealing with disasters, to how scientists are working towards better methods of earthquake and eruption forecasting: Mayon: The Volcano Princess I ...[Read More]

Using social networks to respond to earthquakes

Sara Mynott February 21, 2013

Effective responses to natural disasters require the rapid acquisition of information about where has been affected, how many people are in the affected areas and what the magnitude of the damage is. This information is critical in both disaster and emergency rescue management. Indeed, the first three days after the onset of a disaster has been dubbed the “72-hour golden rescue period”, after whic ...[Read More]