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Study shakes up scientists' view of San Andreas earthquake risk
Los Angeles Times, August 21
Researchers find major quakes on the southern section, on average, every 88 years — three times as often as previously thought. It's the strongest evidence yet that we're overdue for a massive quake.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/21/local/la-me-earthquake-fault-20100821
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Pakistanis flee new monsoon floods in south
BBC, August 25
Thousands of Pakistanis are fleeing their homes in southern coastal areas as floods sweep down from the north. Some 200,000 people have been evacuated in the Thatta area of Sindh province, where dozens of villages are submerged. In the north, workers have begun clearing up as the floods recede. The UN has appealed for more helicopters to reach 800,000 people who are cut off.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11081090
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A History of Destruction: 8 Great Hurricanes
LiveScience, August 25
Five years ago this week, one of the most devastating storms ever to hit U.S. soil, Hurricane Katrina, all but destroyed parts of New Orleans, as the surging ocean waters it pushed to land overtopped the city's protective levees, inundating a vast region, displacing millions of residents and killing more than 1,800 people. While Katrina is the most remembered of these swirling storms — its name now infamous — it certainly isn't alone in causing significant death and destruction to areas of the United States. Following are eight of the most destructive storms in recorded U.S. history from 1900 until present day.
http://www.livescience.com/environment/worst-hurricanes-america-hurricane-katrina-100825.html
Which US Cities Are Most Vulnerable to Hurricanes?
LiveScience, August 25
When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and other areas of the Gulf Coast five years ago this week, becoming the most economically destructive storm in history, it highlighted our vulnerability to the forces of Mother Nature. Today a number of U.S. cities remain vulnerable to a major hurricane due to their geography and geology.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100825/sc_livescience/whichuscitiesaremostvulnerabletohurricanes
WSI trims 2010 Atlantic hurricane season forecast
Reuters, August 24
Weather Service International trimmed its forecast for the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season on Tuesday but still expected a very busy year with double the average chance a hurricane would hit the Northeast U.S. Coast.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSNLLOJE6DK
Earthquake safety measures in San Diego: How San Diego is Preparing for the Big One
San Diego News Room, Augsut 24
With Californian residents abuzz about the "big one" expected to hit the Golden State, is San Diego County—with numerous major active faults—prepared for the long-anticipated earthquake disaster that will supposedly shake the state?
http://sandiegonewsroom.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42592:earthquake-safety-measures-in-san-diego-how-san-diego-is-preparing-for-the-big-one
Forecasting hurricanes: Part 1. How good (or bad) are today's forecasts?
Washington Post, August 19
The specifics of genesis, strength, size and track of TCs fall in the domain of daily weather. As such, predictability is limited in theory and practice from a few hours to about a week or two at most (no one really knows for sure). These specifics, of course, are precisely those which are required by emergency managers who, for example, must decide if and when to order evacuations, and those which ultimately determine the impact of a TC on lives and property. So, what are the current capabilities and limitations in the accuracy and utility of TC forecasts?
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2010/08/forecasting_hurricanes_part_1.html
100 years after Big Burn, swaths of U.S. are ripe for forest fires
Associated Press, August 19
This is the 100th anniversary of the Aug. 20-21 firestorm that ended the era in which wildfires were often allowed to burn themselves out. The fire, also known as the Big Burn, spawned a wildfire-industrial complex that employs thousands of people to extinguish forest fires each year, even though many think those efforts are likely to result in larger, more destructive fires
http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/100-years-after-big-burn-swaths-of-u-869236.html
Mississippi River levees need work to defend against 100-year storm surge
Times-Picayune, August 19
Five years after Hurricane Katrina's deadly lessons, the Army Corps of Engineers still hasn't confirmed which Mississippi River levees must go higher to better protect against hurricane surges pushed out of the Gulf of Mexico, but testing is about to begin on a new method of raising the ones that are ultimately determined to be low.
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2010/08/mississippi_river_levees_need.html
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5 years after Katrina, homeowners insurance costs more
USA Today, August 26
Five years after Hurricane Katrina leveled a large part of the Gulf Coast, homeowners as far away as Maine are still paying the bill.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/2010-08-26-katrina26_CV_N.htm
Increased Exposures, Not Climate Change, Responsible For Higher Cat Losses
National Underwriter, August 25
Economic and insured losses from natural disasters have increased over recent decades, but a new report studying analyses of these events concludes anthropogenic climate change is not a main driver behind the increase.
http://www.property-casualty.com/News/2010/8/Pages/Increased-Exposures-Not-Climate-Change-Responsible-For-Higher-Cat-Losses.aspx
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Huge losses put federal flood insurance plan in the red
USA Today, August 25
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program is the nation's main flood insurer, created by law in 1968 as private companies stopped covering flood damage. The program insures 5.6 million properties nationwide and aims to be self-sustaining by paying claims from premiums it collects. Instead it's running deeply in the red. A major reason, a USA TODAY review finds, is that the program has paid people to rebuild over and over in the nation's worst flood zones while also discounting insurance rates by up to $1 billion a year for flood-prone properties.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-25-flood-insurance_N.htm
Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Seeks 5% Rate Increase
Insurance Journal, August 20
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has filed for 5 percent increases in both its residential and commercial rates, effective Jan. 1, 2011. The state's insurer of last resort provides wind and hail coverage in the 14 coastal counties and parts of Harris County. TWIA provides wind and hall coverage when insurance companies exclude it from their homeowners and other property policies sold to coastal residents.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2010/08/20/112612.htm
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