Breaking News: Natural Disasters

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Released: 22-Oct-2020 12:20 PM EDT
Simple actions can help people survive landslides
University of Washington

Simple actions can dramatically improve a person’s chances of surviving a landslide, show records from 38 landslides in the U.S. and around the world. People who survived landslides tended to have moved upstairs or to higher ground, among other key actions.

Released: 13-Oct-2020 5:05 PM EDT
Disaster Preparedness in the Palm of Your Hand
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

Two CUSEC apps help emergency managers prepare for and recover from disasters like earthquakes. Both are free and available for use via the S&T-supported Regional Information Sharing Platform.

Released: 22-Sep-2020 3:05 PM EDT
During Busy Wildfire Season (and Pandemic), S&T Focus on Sensors Burns Bright
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

DHS S&T's Smart City Internet of Things Innovation (SCITI) Labs program is bringing together government and private sector partners to identify technologies that can detect and alert emergency management, utilities, and citizens of a threatening wildfire.

Released: 21-Sep-2020 3:40 PM EDT
Securing Our Future Now: DHS S&T Offers “Responding to Disasters During a Crisis” Webinar
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

DHS S&T is convening a diverse group of public-private partners to present, Clearing the Path: Responding to Disasters During a Crisis, a virtual discussion for National Preparedness Month.

Released: 15-Sep-2020 3:05 PM EDT
FSU communication, engineering researchers awarded grant to study natural disaster response
Florida State University

When Hurricane Michael devastated rural inland communities in the Florida Panhandle in 2018, public libraries played a critical role in the natural disaster response. It also exposed the need for improved upon procedures and policies for public libraries responding to natural disasters.

   
Released: 14-Sep-2020 3:45 PM EDT
DHS S&T Provides Critical Chemical Hazard Support as Gulf Coast Braces for Major Storm
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

With Hurricane Sally expected to make landfall on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC) is providing critical chemical hazard support.

Released: 31-Aug-2020 3:00 PM EDT
Natural disasters must be unusual or deadly to prompt local climate policy change
Oregon State University

Natural disasters alone are not enough to motivate local communities to engage in climate change mitigation or adaptation, a new study from Oregon State University found.

Released: 26-Aug-2020 10:05 PM EDT
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health experts available for comment regarding public health issues related to hurricanes
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health experts available for comment to media regarding public health issues related to hurricanes

Released: 26-Aug-2020 4:45 PM EDT
Robots Map Ocean Heat Content in Advance of Hurricane Laura
Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System-Regional Association (GCOOS-RA)

Researchers are using unmanned underwater robots to map ocean heat content in advance of Hurricane Laura

Released: 22-Jul-2020 11:50 AM EDT
Rensselaer Experts Available To Provide Perspective on Hurricane Season
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

With hurricane season already underway and projected to be active, communities throughout the U.S. are trying to balance disaster preparation amid an unprecedented public health crisis. While significant attention is rightly being given to COVID-19, leaders – especially those in communities along the coast – must plan for the possibility of dual disasters. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have extensive experience studying and responding to natural disasters and are available during this hurricane season to share their research and perspectives.

Released: 7-Jul-2020 4:05 PM EDT
When it comes to Smart Cities, St. Louis is Leading by Example
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

St. Louis was selected as the site for the first SCIRA exercise. The pilot program brought together first responders, city managers and other stakeholders, and through a series of realistic disaster scenarios, demonstrated how smart city technology can transform municipal emergency response.

Released: 19-Jun-2020 9:00 AM EDT
Finding renewal in the aftermath of floods
West Virginia University - Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Four years after the disastrous flooding in southern West Virginia, new research highlights the role faith-based groups and other community organizations have played in the relief and recovery efforts.

Released: 2-Jun-2020 9:00 AM EDT
Homeowner Handbooks Help Prepare for Natural Disasters
Gulf of Mexico Alliance

The Homeowners Handbook to Prepare for Natural Disasters is a critical resource for anyone wanting to reduce the risks to their family and property from natural hazards. The handbook covers essential information on emergency preparedness, evacuation planning, flood/wind insurance, and steps to protect life and property.

Released: 1-Jun-2020 11:30 AM EDT
Simulations Indicate Heightened Risks When Pandemic and Hurricane Season Overlap
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

As coastal communities prepare for the possibility of hurricanes this summer and fall, they are doing so amid the uncertain landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic — a crisis that has already taxed health care systems, governments, and supply chains. A faculty and student team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been modeling how the combined disasters may make community recovery vastly more difficult. What they have found serves as a stark warning to policymakers preparing for hurricane season.

Released: 19-May-2020 4:45 PM EDT
S&T Brings Partners Together to InSPIRE Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Innovation
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

To help communities prepare for disasters and rebuild in the aftermath, DHS S&T partnered with NAPSG to convene experts from around the country to share best practices and identify practical solutions related to information sharing, geospatial technologies, and leadership.

Released: 7-May-2020 12:15 PM EDT
FSU Research: For better emergency management planning, consider stress and frustration
Florida State University

When a hurricane is dangerous enough to prompt evacuations, thousands of people find themselves fleeing at once. Emergency planning officials want to know the best ways to safely and quickly evacuate their residents. That’s often meant focusing on a single objective, like moving people out of danger in the fastest way possible. But researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and Florida State University’s Department of Psychology have developed models that account for multiple considerations in a crisis, including the physical and mental demands on evacuees, especially vulnerable populations.

Released: 5-May-2020 1:05 PM EDT
The Growing Impact of the Team Awareness Kit
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

The Team Awareness Kit (TAK) is the emerging DHS-wide solution for situational awareness. Its exceptional tactical value has been proven time and again.

Released: 15-Apr-2020 12:45 PM EDT
Researchers Create New Tools for Disaster Response Volunteers
North Carolina State University

In the wake of a disaster, many people want to help. Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Alabama have developed tools to help emergency response and relief managers coordinate volunteer efforts in order to do the most good.

Released: 2-Apr-2020 1:20 PM EDT
Climate-related disasters increase risks of conflict in vulnerable countries
University of Melbourne

Researchers have found strong evidence that the risk for armed conflict is higher after a climate-related disaster, but only in vulnerable countries.

   
Released: 4-Mar-2020 12:55 PM EST
Supercomputer Models Accurately Simulate Tsunamis from Volcanic Events
University of California San Diego

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island (URI) used San Diego Supercomputer Center’s (SDSC) Comet supercomputer to show that high-performance computer modeling can accurately simulate tsunamis from volcanic events. Such models could lead to early-warning systems that could save lives and help minimize catastrophic property damage.

Released: 14-Feb-2020 8:45 AM EST
Early treatment for PTSD after a disaster has lasting effects
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

In 1988, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck near the northern Armenian city of Spitak. The temblor destroyed cities and is estimated to have killed between 25,000 and 35,000 people, many of whom were schoolchildren.

Released: 4-Feb-2020 4:50 PM EST
Peeking at the plumbing of one of the Aleutian's most-active volcanoes
Carnegie Institution for Science

A new approach to analyzing seismic data reveals deep vertical zones of low seismic velocity in the plumbing system underlying Alaska's Cleveland volcano, one of the most-active of the more than 70 Aleutian volcanoes

Released: 30-Jan-2020 4:55 PM EST
Cornell co-leads effort to use big data to combat catastrophes
Cornell University

With a team of experts in fields including data science, statistics, computer science, finance, energy, agriculture, ecology, hydrology, climate and space weather, The Predictive Risk Investigation System for Multilayer Dynamic Interconnection Analysis (PRISM), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), will integrate data across different areas to improve risk prediction.

Released: 30-Jan-2020 3:05 PM EST
GW Study Identifies Need for Disaster Preparedness Training for Dermatologists
George Washington University

A new survey from dermatology and emergency medicine researchers at the George Washington University suggests that the dermatology community is inadequately prepared for a biological disaster and would benefit from a formal preparedness training program.

Released: 30-Jan-2020 2:45 PM EST
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Leads $2 Million Project to Study Hurricane Intensity
University at Albany, State University of New York

Atmospheric scientist Brian Tang has been awarded $2.145 million from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to help forecasters better understand and predict the rapid intensification of hurricanes.

Released: 27-Jan-2020 3:40 PM EST
Earth's most biodiverse ecosystems face a perfect storm
Lancaster University

A combination of climate change, extreme weather and pressure from local human activity is causing a collapse in global biodiversity and ecosystems across the tropics, new research shows.

Released: 27-Jan-2020 11:35 AM EST
Children to bear the burden of negative health effects from climate change
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

The grim effects that climate change will have on pediatric health outcomes was the focus of a “Viewpoint” article published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation by Susan E. Pacheco, MD, an expert at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Released: 21-Jan-2020 10:00 AM EST
Rutgers Geology Museum Hosts Open House
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Presentations on natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes and their impacts will be held in Scott Hall and are open to the public at the Rutgers Geology Museum’s 52nd Annual Open House. There will also be hands-on activity sessions for kids, a mineral sale and rock and mineral identification in Scott Hall, and make-and-take stations in the Rutgers Geology Museum. Field Station Dinosaurs will bring its baby Hadrosaurus puppet and will also offer hands-on activities for visitors. All events are free and no preregistration is required.

Released: 15-Jan-2020 3:10 PM EST
S&T-Funded SABER Helps Communities Get Back to Business During and After Disasters
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

Available both on the web and via a mobile app, SABER provides users with a means to upload and share real-time business status information with other organizations, particularly government aid entities such as FEMA, during an emergency or crisis.



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