News tagged with disasters
Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of notorious pathogens
(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of Chinese and Australian scientists have developed a handheld, battery-powered plasma-producing device that can rid skin of bacteria in an instant.
Apr 04, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (23) |
16
|
Google Earth maps show populations at risk near nuclear plants
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a novel use of existing technology and data, Nature News in conjunction with Columbia University, has created a Google Earth map that shows the different population sizes surrounding nuclear power plants; ostensibly, to demonstr ...
Apr 22, 2011 |
3.6 / 5 (23) |
24
|
Super full moon
Mark your calendar. On March 19th, a full Moon of rare size and beauty will rise in the east at sunset. It's a super "perigee moon"--the biggest in almost 20 years.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 17, 2011 |
3.9 / 5 (20) |
6
|
Oklahoma, Texas set heat records in July
(AP) -- Sweltering may have reached a new record last month, as Oklahoma racked up the country's highest monthly average temperature ever.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 09, 2011 |
4.2 / 5 (11) |
32
'Invisibility' cloak could protect buildings from earthquakes
University of Manchester mathematicians have developed the theory for a Harry Potter style 'cloaking' device which could protect buildings from earthquakes.
Feb 14, 2012 |
5 / 5 (8) |
12
|
France launches vast solar panel array
France on Thursday launched its largest-ever solar energy farm, with an array of panels spread over about 200 hectares (500 acres) in the mountainous southern Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region.
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Oct 13, 2011 |
4.3 / 5 (9) |
11
The iceberg’s accomplice: Did the moon sink the Titanic?
(PhysOrg.com) -- The sinking of the ocean liner Titanic 100 years ago is perhaps the most famous--and most studied--disaster of the 20th century. Countless books and movies have examined in great detail the ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 06, 2012 |
4.2 / 5 (9) |
17
|
Nuclear power essential to cut emissions: UK expert
Britain's chief scientific adviser voiced concern Wednesday at moves to abandon nuclear power after Japan's Fukushima crisis, saying it remains vital to combat global warming.
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Oct 05, 2011 |
4 / 5 (9) |
22
Billion-dollar weather disasters smash US record
(AP) -- America's wild weather year has set another record: a dozen billion-dollar catastrophes.
Dec 07, 2011 |
4.5 / 5 (8) |
37
Geographer says, expect weather severity to increase
(PhysOrg.com) -- Natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes and floods occur every year, but are they getting worse?
Apr 13, 2011 |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
0
Governments must plan for migration in response to climate change, researchers say
Governments around the world must be prepared for mass migrations caused by rising global temperatures or face the possibility of calamitous results, say University of Florida scientists on a research team reporting in the ...
Oct 27, 2011 |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
36
|
Columbia grads design solar-pillow lights for global village
(PhysOrg.com) -- World populations who live without electricity including those in disaster-stricken areas in the wake of floods, earthquakes, and other calamities are who two Columbia University graduates ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Nov 16, 2011 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
8
|
24 hour deployable concrete tents back in the news as disasters mount
(PhysOrg.com) -- First imagined and created back in 2007 by two University engineering students who met at the Royal College of Art in London, Will Crawford and Peter Brewin; tents that can be shipped to a ...
May 19, 2011 |
5 / 5 (6) |
7
|
Japan firm unveils robot suit for nuclear workers
The Japanese maker of an exoskeleton robot suit to assist walking on Monday unveiled a model that could help nuclear workers weighed down by heavy anti-radiation vests in contaminated zones.
Nov 07, 2011 |
5 / 5 (6) |
0
Technology makes storing radioactive waste safer
(PhysOrg.com) -- Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers have developed new technology capable of removing radioactive material from contaminated water and aiding clean-up efforts following nuclear ...
Oct 31, 2011 |
4.5 / 5 (6) |
0
Disaster
A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment. A disaster can be ostensively defined as any tragic event with great loss stemming from events such as earthquakes, floods, catastrophic accidents, fires, or explosions.
In contemporary academia, disasters are seen as the consequence of inappropriately managed risk. These risks are the product of hazards and vulnerability. Hazards that strike in areas with low vulnerability are not considered a disaster, as is the case in uninhabited regions.
Developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster hits – more than 95 percent of all deaths caused by disasters occur in developing countries and underdeveloped countries, and losses due to natural disasters are 20 times greater (as a percentage of GDP) in developing countries than in industrialized countries.
For more information about Disaster, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
