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A view of Messina on December 28th, 1908, shortly after the terrible earthquake that destroyed two-thirds of the town. There were 126,000 victims, more than 66,000 from the town itself.

Viewfinder: Looking Back at the Remains of Messina, the Italian City Destroyed by an Earthquake 120 Years Ago

A view of Messina on December 28th, 1908, shortly after the terrible earthquake that destroyed two-thirds of the Italian town. There were 126,000 victims, more than 66,000 from the town itself.

Pacific Standard Staff

Search and rescue personnel carry a body bag containing remains of a passenger from Lion Air Flight 610 at the Tanjung Priok port on October 30th, 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Rescuers have recovered bodies, body parts, and personal items in the wreckage, with all 189 passengers and crew feared dead. The flight, traveling from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang, crashed in the Java Sea Monday morning, shortly after takeoff.

Viewfinder: Bodies Are Pulled From an Indonesian Plane Crash

Search and rescue personnel carry a body bag containing remains of a passenger from Lion Air Flight 610 at the Tanjung Priok port on October 30th, 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Pacific Standard Staff

A firefighting helicopter flies over a wildfire raging in the town of Rafina near Athens, on July 23rd, 2018. At least five people have died and more than 20 have been injured as wildfires tore through woodland and villages around Athens on Monday, while blazes caused widespread damage in Sweden and other northern European nations.

News in Brief

Viewfinder: A Massive Wildfire Outside Athens, Greece

A firefighting helicopter flies over a wildfire raging in the town of Rafina near Athens, on July 23rd, 2018.

Pacific Standard Staff

First responders tend to exercise victims, playing the role of earthquake casualties, during the 2017 Great California Shakeout earthquake drill at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, California, on October 19th, 2017.

Environment

California’s Ominous Earthquake Drought

A major seismic event in the state is an inevitability, but is the government doing enough to prepare for the disaster?

An American flag flies amid the destruction in the Sea Breeze trailer park in Marathon, Florida, on September 16th, 2017.

Environment

The Enormous Consequences of America’s Catastrophic Weather This Year

Record-breaking droughts, fires, and hurricanes have made the near-term effects of climate change a front-and-center issue across America.

People light candles as they observe a vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower, a residential tower block in west London on June 15th, 2017.

News in Brief

Viewfinder: A Moment of Silence in West London

People light candles as they observe a vigil outside Notting hill Methodist Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower.

Pacific Standard Staff

News in Brief

One Month Later, Is the Oroville Dam Safe for California Residents?

The last few months have seen heavy rainfall in the Golden State, which could spell trouble for California’s dams.

News in Brief

Fighting Trump’s Climate Censorship Using Social Media

As agencies fight back on social media, others look to history for lessons on how to pursue science…

Pacific Standard Staff

Environment

How to See Disaster Coming

Researchers analyze mathematics of rapid change in complex systems and find room for improvement—and hints at mitigation.