Disaster Preparedness

A cloud of ash and smoke is spewed from Popocatépetl.

Popocatépetl, Mexico's largest active volcano, sits next to some major population hubs. With a major eruption forecasted within the next 100 years, will the public be ready?

By Mark Oprea

A sign is posted warning of earthquake damage to the road from seismic activity at the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island on May 17th, 2018, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii.

News in Brief

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke directed federal agencies to smooth the way for installing seismic sensors out west.

By Emma Sarappo

Viewfinder

A resident secures the roof of his house to a tree in preparation for Super Typhoon Mangkhut.

By Pacific Standard Staff

President Donald Trump is pictured following a briefing on Hurricane Florence in the Oval Office at the White House on September 11th, 2018, in Washington, D.C.

News in Brief

If recent federal disaster response is any indication, the president's boast is wildly misleading.

By Emily Moon

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

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

By Richard Aster

Flooded homes are shown near Lake Houston following Hurricane Harvey on August 30th, 2017, in Houston, Texas.

Environment

Recent extreme weather events show how the outdated and imperfect information systems used by cities exacerbates the devastation.

By Clark Miller, Thaddeus R. Miller & Tischa Muñoz-Erickson

Environment

Scientists are using satellites to identify where increasing sea levels could result in the most destructive storm surge as hurricanes grow more powerful due to climate change.