In 2024, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded 393 natural hazard-related disasters. These events caused 16,753 fatalities and affected 167.2 million people. Economic losses totaled US$241.95 billion. The year 2024 was marked by extreme temperature events in Asia that caused thousands of deaths, severe droughts in Africa affecting over 25 …
New research has found rising sea levels and stronger storms associated with climate change will produce longer-lasting, more intense periods of flooding. Many studies predict that future sea-level rise along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts will increase flooding. Others suggest that the human-caused warming driving this rise will also …
Bigger waves and more coastal erosion will hit Pacific countries like New Zealand as a projected upsurge of severe El Nino and La Nina events brings an increase in storm events, according to a study out today. The research, published this morning in the journal Nature Geoscience, strengthens our understanding …
Future coastal flood risk will be strongly influenced by sea-level rise (SLR) and changes in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. These two factors are generally considered independently. Here, we assess twenty-first century changes in the coastal hazard for the US East Coast using a flood index (FI) that …
Global projections of intense tropical cyclone activity are derived from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) High Resolution Atmospheric Model (HiRAM; 50-km grid) and the GFDL hurricane model using a two-stage downscaling procedure. First, tropical cyclone genesis is simulated globally using HiRAM. Each storm is then downscaled into the GFDL …
The Meteorological Agency issued a severe-weather warning for Miyagi Prefecture early Friday morning and warned of further mudslides and flooding across eastern Japan as rain clouds shifted north. The banks of the Shibui River in the city of Osaki collapsed and flooded houses nearby, and the city of Sendai issued …
Typhoon Etau made landfall Wednesday morning on the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture. The weather agency warned of mudslides, flooding and high winds and waves. Some trains and flights were canceled. There were partial closures on some highways and thousands of evacuations were in force. Local authorities in the city …
Bangladesh is going ahead with an ambitious plan to reclaim land from the sea to help relocate people who have lost their homes to sea level rise, erosion and extreme weather. Climate change-linked natural disasters are common in Bangladesh, with cyclones and storm surges displacing huge numbers of people. "River …
Tropical Depression Eight of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season has formed east-southeast of Bermuda, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday. The depression was located about 220 miles (355 km) from Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour (55 kph), the Miami-based weather forecaster said. The …
Jerusalem recorded its worst air pollution levels ever, at 173 times normal levels. In some other parts of the country, air pollution levels were at their worst for 75 years. Israel’s emergency medical service Magen David Adom reported that 340 Israelis received medical treatment as a result of the weather, …
Members of the public are to be given the opportunity to name storms affecting the UK and Ireland. People will be able to email possible names to the Met Office and send in suggestions via Facebook and Twitter. It is hoped that naming storms will help raise awareness of severe …
The busy Atlantic hurricane seasons of recent decades may be coming to an end, according to a new and controversial study. Writing in the journal Nature Geoscience on Monday, two prominent hurricane researchers say the Atlantic looks like it is entering into a new quieter cycle of storm activity, as …
A heavy sandstorm swept across parts of the Middle East on Tuesday, killing two people and hospitalising hundreds in Lebanon and disrupting fighting and air strikes in neighbouring Syria. Clouds of dust also engulfed Israel, Jordan and Cyprus where aircraft were diverted to Paphos from Larnaca airport as visibility fell …
CHANGSHA - More than 16,000 people were evacuated as rainstorms lashed parts of central China's Hunan Province, local authorities said on Sunday. Heavy rain began to hit northwestern Hunan on Saturday, affecting more than 120,000 people as of 3 p.m. Sunday, with roads destroyed and power supply cut in some …
Last week, the nation focused its attention on the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history. As bad as the storm was, though, it wasn’t the worst storm that could have possibly hit New Orleans. That’s true of many, many other places, too. And now, …
Climate change is bringing small risks that tropical cyclones will form in the Persian Gulf for the first time, in a threat to cities such as Dubai or Doha which are unprepared for big storm surges, a U.S. study said on Monday. Tampa in Florida and Cairns in Australia, two …
Cape Verde Islands is on alert as Hurricane Fred nears, with damaging winds, heavy rain and high tides. Sarah Keith-Lucas has the latest details. A hurricane with winds of up to 120km/h (75mph) has hit the island nation of Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa. The government grounded …
The National Risk Atlas, a new document with maps providing a comprehensive disaster risk profile of the country, was on Monday published by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR). The atlas - the first of its kind - is scheduled to be officially launched on September 10. …
Fueled by the very warm waters of an ever-strengthening El Niño, the 2015 Pacific hurricane season reached new heights over the weekend thanks to hurricanes Kilo, Ignacio and Jimena, whirling elegantly across the ocean — no threat to land. For the first time on record, two major hurricanes — Category …
A powerful windstorm toppled trees, killing two people in Washington state as work crews scrambled on Sunday to restore power to 450,000 customers, a TV report showed. A father driving with his three-year-old daughter in Gig Harbor, just west of Tacoma, was killed on Saturday when a tree fell on …
Dust particles from the deserts of Mongolia and northern China are blown eastward to the Pacific during strong storms, where they then settle in the ocean for phytoplankton to feed on. These dust particles contain many valuable minerals, including nutrient-rich iron. You may have heard some mixed opinions about the …
