This study analyzes the exposure of energy and transport assets in Asia and the Pacific to climate change and earthquake hazards and highlights how multi-hazard assessment can help strengthen the resilience of crucial infrastructure. Geolocating and undertaking a multi-hazard assessment of more than 30,000 infrastructure assets, the study identifies significant …
Scientists are learning a bit more about earthquakes with the help of satellites. GPS and satellite data can be used in a real-time, coordinated effort to fully characterize a fault line within 24 hours of an earthquake, ensuring that aid is delivered faster and more accurately than ever before. In …
An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 hit off the east coast of Taiwan, the island's Central Weather Bureau said Monday. Mild shaking was felt in the capital Taipei. No damage or injuries were immediately reported.
The Asia Pacific region has lost two million lives and US$1.15 trillion to natural disasters in the past 45 years, accounting for 56.6 and 41 per cent of global disaster impacts, respectively. About 88 per cent of the people affected by natural disasters worldwide in the past 45 years live …
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Tacna in southern Peru on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter of the quake was 73 miles east of Tacna, near the Chilean border, and was measured at a depth of 123 miles.
SANTIAGO, Chile — The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-6.1 earthquake has struck in far northern Chile. There were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning. The USGS says the quake's epicenter was located 20 miles (33 kilometers) southeast of Putre, Chile, and was at a depth of …
A shallow earthquake shook the southern Chilean city of Concepcion on Wednesday, five years after a quake and subsequent tsunami hit the same area killing more than 500 people. Chile’s National Seismological Center said the latest quake struck at 3:27 pm (1827 GMT), with its epicenter in the town of …
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck off the northwest of Ternate in Indonesia on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There was no risk of a Pacific-wide tsunami threat from the Indonesia quake.
SENDAI, Japan (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The number of people forced from their homes each year by disasters has quadrupled over the past four decades, and the risk of being displaced has doubled, said a Norwegian humanitarian group. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), part of the Norwegian Refugee Council, …
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit Colombia on Tuesday, shaking buildings in several cities including the capital Bogota. The quake, with its epicenter located 17 miles south of the eastern city of Bucaramanga, was deep at 98.5 miles below ground which tends to limit the amount of damage caused. There were …
California has a 7 percent chance of experiencing an earthquake of magnitude 8 or larger over the next three decades, U.S. government scientists said on Tuesday, higher than thought before. The 7 percent probability is based on new modeling, the United States Geological Survey said in a new study. Previously, …
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake jolted southwest China's Yunnan Province on Monday. No casualties have been reported. The earthquake struck Songming County in Kunming City at 5:59 p.m.. The epicenter was initially measured at 25.3 degrees north latitude and 103.1 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 12 km, according to …
The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, scheduled to convene in Sendai, Japan from March 14-18, will adopt a new framework for disaster risk reduction for the coming 15 years. "Leaders and decision-makers across Asia and the Pacific are preparing to finalize a new global framework for disaster …
When a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown at the nearby Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, Yumi Kanno did not hesitate. She grabbed her 2-year-old son and aging in-laws and fled to her parents' house two hours away. Four years later, Kanno and her extended family are still unable to …
A shallow magnitude 3.0 earthquake was reported Monday evening 19 miles from Soledad, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 9:57 p.m. Pacific time at a depth of 6.8 miles. According to the USGS, the epicenter was 22 miles from Greenfield, Calif.; 24 miles from Hollister, …
This paper provides a review of natural disasters and their impacts in Asia and the Pacific by disaster type, subregion and level of development. The first section looks at the occurrence of natural disaster events. This is followed by an analysis of fatalities and economic loss in sections two and …
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon said on Wednesday disasters cost globally more than 300 billion U.S. dollars in losses every year, urging the world to act on disaster risk reduction. "This staggering price tag affects the ability of governments to provide basic services," said Ban when he launched a report …
Of the 10 world cities most exposed to natural hazards, eight are in the Philippines, according to research which also showed that over half of the 100 cities most exposed to earthquakes, storms and other disasters were found in four Asian nations. The study published on Wednesday by risk analysis …
Local authorities said the new shelters will raise the total number of such protection covers to 49. Shanghai has built 30 emergency shelters since 2010, covering an area of 1.55 million square meters which can hold 200,000 people in the event of disasters such as fires, floods and earthquakes, according …
Fifty people were injured when a 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Sunday, local officials said yesterday. Eight were seriously hurt while the others suffered only slight injuries, officials said. By yesterday roads, power and water supply as well as communication had been restored in affected areas, they …
A six-magnitude earthquake jolted waters off Indonesia's West Sumatra province's coast on Tuesday afternoon, but no tsunami potential was reported, according to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). The BMKG reported that the earthquake occurred at 05:37 p.m. local time, at a depth of 26 kilometers and located in …
