State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Natural Disasters59

  • Finishing up in Jamalganj

    Finishing up in Jamalganj

    Our time in Jamalganj is coming to a close.  We will miss the people here, all of whom have been incredibly helpful.  Moktar and Anowar, who constructed the concrete pillars; Aziz the caretaker, locally known as the chief of Jamalganj for his ability to get things done; his son, Shaheen, who will be making the…

  • Up (roofs) and Down (wells)

    Up (roofs) and Down (wells)

    Today went a lot better than yesterday.  Just as well that I forgot my camera so that there are fewer pictures to document it. We said goodbye to Nano, Humayun and Ellie as they went back to Dhaka.  Their extra hands helped a lot.  And Ellie was a big attraction for all the kids.  Adults,…

  • Delays and progress

    Delays and progress

    The days have been so long and jam-packed days that none of us can believe it’s only been two full days here. The wells and preparations have taken longer than expected, but we are finally seeing progress.

  • On the Road to Jamalganj

    On the Road to Jamalganj

    After 11 hours on the road, we finally reached Jamalganj and the drill site. Unable to face the long daily drive to our planned rest house, we arranged to stay locally.

  • Arrival in Bangladesh: Assessing Risk of Natural Hazards

    Arrival in Bangladesh: Assessing Risk of Natural Hazards

    We arrived in Bangladesh this morning after a full day of traveling only to find 4 pieces of luggage missing. We will need to return tomorrow to get it. Spent the day in preparing and fighting traffic in Dhaka instead of heading to the field.

  • Giant CO2 Eruptions in the Backyard?

    Giant CO2 Eruptions in the Backyard?

    Northern New Jersey, southern Connecticut and environs are not necessarily where one would expect to explore the onetime extinction of much life on earth, and subsequent rise of dinosaurs. But it turns out to be a pretty good place to start. Underlying the exurbs are geological formations left by three giant episodes of volcanism starting around 200 million years ago, and…

  • Floods in Eastern Sri Lanka and North-Eastern Australia: Contrasts in Disaster Risk Management

    Due to the ongoing floods in Sri Lanka, more than a million people are affected, 185,000 were displaced and 16 had died by February 5, 2011. The impact has been most severe on Eastern Sri Lanka a “Disaster Hazard and Vulnerability Hotspot”. The purpose of this post is to publicize information resources to help target…

  • La Niña Rolls On

    La Niña Rolls On

    The current moderate-to-strong La Niña is expected to continue through at least the middle of spring, said forecasters at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society’s monthly climate briefing.

  • Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Beyond the human toll, the floods in Australia have other repercussions, the most notable being the effect on the global coal market. According to Reuters, “Australia’s $50 billion coal export industry has been brought to a virtual standstill”.

  • Finishing up in Jamalganj

    Finishing up in Jamalganj

    Our time in Jamalganj is coming to a close.  We will miss the people here, all of whom have been incredibly helpful.  Moktar and Anowar, who constructed the concrete pillars; Aziz the caretaker, locally known as the chief of Jamalganj for his ability to get things done; his son, Shaheen, who will be making the…

  • Up (roofs) and Down (wells)

    Up (roofs) and Down (wells)

    Today went a lot better than yesterday.  Just as well that I forgot my camera so that there are fewer pictures to document it. We said goodbye to Nano, Humayun and Ellie as they went back to Dhaka.  Their extra hands helped a lot.  And Ellie was a big attraction for all the kids.  Adults,…

  • Delays and progress

    Delays and progress

    The days have been so long and jam-packed days that none of us can believe it’s only been two full days here. The wells and preparations have taken longer than expected, but we are finally seeing progress.

  • On the Road to Jamalganj

    On the Road to Jamalganj

    After 11 hours on the road, we finally reached Jamalganj and the drill site. Unable to face the long daily drive to our planned rest house, we arranged to stay locally.

  • Arrival in Bangladesh: Assessing Risk of Natural Hazards

    Arrival in Bangladesh: Assessing Risk of Natural Hazards

    We arrived in Bangladesh this morning after a full day of traveling only to find 4 pieces of luggage missing. We will need to return tomorrow to get it. Spent the day in preparing and fighting traffic in Dhaka instead of heading to the field.

  • Giant CO2 Eruptions in the Backyard?

    Giant CO2 Eruptions in the Backyard?

    Northern New Jersey, southern Connecticut and environs are not necessarily where one would expect to explore the onetime extinction of much life on earth, and subsequent rise of dinosaurs. But it turns out to be a pretty good place to start. Underlying the exurbs are geological formations left by three giant episodes of volcanism starting around 200 million years ago, and…

  • Floods in Eastern Sri Lanka and North-Eastern Australia: Contrasts in Disaster Risk Management

    Due to the ongoing floods in Sri Lanka, more than a million people are affected, 185,000 were displaced and 16 had died by February 5, 2011. The impact has been most severe on Eastern Sri Lanka a “Disaster Hazard and Vulnerability Hotspot”. The purpose of this post is to publicize information resources to help target…

  • La Niña Rolls On

    La Niña Rolls On

    The current moderate-to-strong La Niña is expected to continue through at least the middle of spring, said forecasters at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society’s monthly climate briefing.

  • Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Beyond the human toll, the floods in Australia have other repercussions, the most notable being the effect on the global coal market. According to Reuters, “Australia’s $50 billion coal export industry has been brought to a virtual standstill”.