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 …
Pakistan’s 5,000 glaciers are melting faster than in any other part of the world, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey, 2014-15. Pakistan is listed among countries highly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change due to its diverse topographic and demographic settings. The country is vulnerable to a host …
After several tsunami events with disastrous consequences around the world, coastal countries have realized the need to be prepared to minimize human mortality and damage to coastal infrastructures, livelihoods and resources. The international scientific community is striving to develop and validate methodologies for tsunami hazard and vulnerability and risk assessments. …
Vietnamese relevant agencies will be able to warn a tsunami two hours before it hits coastal provinces with the help of a tsunami warning system of 532 stations, local newspaper Saigon Times Daily reported Sunday. The tsunami warning stations are part of a plan approved by the Ministry of Agriculture …
A group of researchers has found tsunami traces believed to date back to between the 14th to 16th centuries near the Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. The plant’s operator, Kansai Electric Power Co., said the finding does not affect its tsunami risk evaluation of the plant or its …
VIENNA – The International Atomic Energy Agency criticized Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Japanese regulatory authorities for their failure to prevent the 2011 Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster despite knowing the risk of large tsunami hitting the facility, according to a copy of an IAEA report obtained Sunday by …
Japanese authorities issued a warning for a tsunami of up to 1 meter (3 feet) after a strong earthquake struck Monday in the seas south of Okinawa and east of Taiwan. The warning was cancelled just over an hour later. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the epicenter of the magnitude-6.8 …
The verdict will act as a stepping stone for rebuilding ordinary lives and insuring assets Over a decade after a tsunami wrecked havoc along the coasts of India and other South-East Asian countries, the Supreme Court will now decide whether the natural calamity is an insurable risk or not. The …
Densely populated Southeast Asian island states such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and the Philippines are likely to face more intense climate events in future, analysts said on Thursday. These islands are especially vulnerable because of their large populations and because much of their land is exposed to storm surges …
A powerful earthquake rattled the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea on Monday, generating a small tsunami and frightening locals near the epicentre, but prompting no reports of damage or injuries. A tsunami of half a meter (1.5ft) was measured in the harbor of Rabaul, a town near the …
The Ministry of Environment and Forests has issued Terms of Reference to NTPC to conduct environmental studies for its 1000x4 MW supercritical power plant proposed at Pudimadaka, about 50 km from here. The expert appraisal committee under the Ministry at its meeting held in January considered the revised layout plan …
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 …
Four years after a tsunami ravaged much of Japan's northeastern coast, efforts to fend off future disasters are focusing on a 400-kilometer chain of sea walls, at places nearly five stories high. Opponents of the 820 billion yen ($6.8 billion) plan argue that the massive concrete barriers will damage marine …
Home Minister Rajnath Singh has assured Japan and Russia of "bilateral cooperation in disaster management" during bilateral meetings at the 3rd UN World Conference on disaster risk reduction, an official here said. The home minister exchanged views in bilateral meetings with ministers of Japan and Russia at the UN World …
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 …
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 …
TAIPEI – A Japanese geologist said Tuesday that a massive earthquake-generated tsunami originating in Japan and capable of affecting Taiwan is likely to occur every 1,000 years, a prediction likely to worry antinuclear activists who have been campaigning for the abolition of nuclear energy on the earthquake-prone island. Yoshinobu Tsuji …
Globally, disasters due to natural hazards takes an enormous toll in terms of human lives, destruction to crops and livelihoods, and economic losses. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) has therefore become a critical part of sustainable development strategies. Over the past decades, the role of healthy ecosystems in providing cheap, reliable …
The Moroccan Mediterranean coast is located in one of the area's most vulnerable to extreme weather events or tsunami hazards. The objective of this research is to reconstruct the historical extreme submersion-event record using sea-induced deposits preserved in coastal lagoon.
BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Countries are divided on how a new global plan to reduce the risk of disasters should measure progress, with some governments opposed to setting numerical targets for cutting deaths and economic losses and protecting infrastructure. A world conference in Japan in mid-March aims to adopt …
BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As economic losses from disasters rise around the world, more effort is needed to reduce the risks from extreme weather and earthquakes in every area, from infrastructure to health, the United Nations disaster prevention chief said. Margareta Wahlström, head of the U.N. Office for Disaster …
