State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

natural disasters7

  • NY State Prepares for Natural Disasters: A Q&A with Cynthia Rosenzweig

    NY State Prepares for Natural Disasters: A Q&A with Cynthia Rosenzweig

    Cynthia Rosenzweig of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies talks about the work of the New York State Ready Commission, set up after Hurricane Sandy to study how the state can better prepare for natural disasters.

  • Sandy’s Surge Affected More Than 1.4 Million in 11 States

    Sandy’s Surge Affected More Than 1.4 Million in 11 States

    Based on a model used by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the map shows coastal areas likely to have been inundated by the storm surge resulting from Hurricane Sandy, in relationship to residential population.

  • Connecting the Dots: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

    Connecting the Dots: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

    Professor Ben Orlove, anthropologist and co-director of the Earth Institute’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions discusses the connection between extreme weather and global warming, and public perception of climate change.

  • Natural Disasters: The Upside

    Natural Disasters: The Upside

    Floods, volcanoes, earthquakes–really, very little good news comes out of this sort of thing. Maybe the occasional feel-good story about, say, a child miraculously dug from the rubble days later, tired but unharmed and in good spirits, having survived on a cache of crackers and Coke. Actually, says John Mutter, an Earth Institute professor of sustainability studies, disasters can sometimes…

  • Ohio and Mississippi River Floods in Photos

    Ohio and Mississippi River Floods in Photos

    Heavy rains over the American South and Midwest have deluged the region, causing unprecedented flood damage. View photos of the event from around the web.

  • Here Comes the Flood: The Army Corps Prepares to Blow the Levees to Save Cairo, Illinois

    Here Comes the Flood: The Army Corps Prepares to Blow the Levees to Save Cairo, Illinois

    The US Army corps of Engineers is preparing to blow up levees on the Ohio River near Bird’s Point Missouri in order to save the town of Cairo, Illinois.

  • “You are Misinformed”–Planning for Flood Regime Change

    “You are Misinformed”–Planning for Flood Regime Change

    Lately a lot of people are wondering just how helpful the 100-year flood benchmark really is, as places seem to be getting hit by 100-year floods all the time.

  • Before the Flood—Predicting the Deluge

    Before the Flood—Predicting the Deluge

    The Columbia Global Flood Project is based on the conviction that while human beings may not have direct control of where and how much rain falls, there is a great deal more that can be done to manage the risk of extreme flooding around the world.

  • 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”.

  • NY State Prepares for Natural Disasters: A Q&A with Cynthia Rosenzweig

    NY State Prepares for Natural Disasters: A Q&A with Cynthia Rosenzweig

    Cynthia Rosenzweig of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies talks about the work of the New York State Ready Commission, set up after Hurricane Sandy to study how the state can better prepare for natural disasters.

  • Sandy’s Surge Affected More Than 1.4 Million in 11 States

    Sandy’s Surge Affected More Than 1.4 Million in 11 States

    Based on a model used by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the map shows coastal areas likely to have been inundated by the storm surge resulting from Hurricane Sandy, in relationship to residential population.

  • Connecting the Dots: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

    Connecting the Dots: Extreme Weather and Climate Change

    Professor Ben Orlove, anthropologist and co-director of the Earth Institute’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions discusses the connection between extreme weather and global warming, and public perception of climate change.

  • Natural Disasters: The Upside

    Natural Disasters: The Upside

    Floods, volcanoes, earthquakes–really, very little good news comes out of this sort of thing. Maybe the occasional feel-good story about, say, a child miraculously dug from the rubble days later, tired but unharmed and in good spirits, having survived on a cache of crackers and Coke. Actually, says John Mutter, an Earth Institute professor of sustainability studies, disasters can sometimes…

  • Ohio and Mississippi River Floods in Photos

    Ohio and Mississippi River Floods in Photos

    Heavy rains over the American South and Midwest have deluged the region, causing unprecedented flood damage. View photos of the event from around the web.

  • Here Comes the Flood: The Army Corps Prepares to Blow the Levees to Save Cairo, Illinois

    Here Comes the Flood: The Army Corps Prepares to Blow the Levees to Save Cairo, Illinois

    The US Army corps of Engineers is preparing to blow up levees on the Ohio River near Bird’s Point Missouri in order to save the town of Cairo, Illinois.

  • “You are Misinformed”–Planning for Flood Regime Change

    “You are Misinformed”–Planning for Flood Regime Change

    Lately a lot of people are wondering just how helpful the 100-year flood benchmark really is, as places seem to be getting hit by 100-year floods all the time.

  • Before the Flood—Predicting the Deluge

    Before the Flood—Predicting the Deluge

    The Columbia Global Flood Project is based on the conviction that while human beings may not have direct control of where and how much rain falls, there is a great deal more that can be done to manage the risk of extreme flooding around the world.

  • 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”.