disasters
Science

How Do A Building’s Guts Help It Weather A Tornado?

When a big funnel of destruction touches down, it puts everything that’s about ground in instant trouble. But exactly how much trouble actually depends a lot on construction, and not just things like structural reinforcement: pretty standard, inherent things like the size of the rooms.

4 February 2013

Science

Watch This $40 Million Gas Platform Sink To The Bottom Of The Sea

Installing an off-shore gas platform can be a tricky proposition. Things can go very wrong. That’s exactly what happened with this $US40 million Iranian platform was being installed in the Persian Gulf.

2 February 2013

News

Giant Sinkhole Swallows Entire Building In China

Imagine standing on the road one day and having a sinkhole suddenly swallow you whole. Or imagine sitting in your house and having a giant sinkhole vaporise your entire building. That’s what happened in China.

27 December 2012

Science

Fukushima Debris To Keep Hitting The US Coast This Winter

Authorities expect more debris from the March 2011 Japanese Tsunami to wash up on the Pacific Coast this winter. Seasonal changes in ocean currents and North Pacific winds will push the 1.5 million tonnes of debris still out there towards US shores.

5 December 2012

Science

Capping Deep Water Horizon Could Have Been Catastrophic

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that after the Deep Water Horizon disaster, engineers and scientists weren’t sure that capping the Macondo well was the best idea. In fact, it could have lead to an even larger, harder to control spill.

30 November 2012

News

How New York Will Stop The Subway From Flooding Next Time

New York knew for a long time that a big storm could flood and collapse the subway system, which is exactly what happened with Sandy. Yet city officials did nothing about it. But now, after all the suffering, we’ll finally be prepared.

25 November 2012

Science

NZ Uni Student Designs Quake-Powered Earthquake Sensor

There’s no doubt that earthquakes can be powerful, and usually the bulk of that power goes to destroying things. While you can’t stop an earthquake from quaking earth, a Victoria University student has found a way to divert some of that energy to monitoring the quake it came from.

17 November 2012

News

US Oil Rig Explodes Off The Coast Of Louisiana

The US Coast Guard reports that an oil platform 27.3km south-east of Grand Isle, Louisiana owned by the Houston-based firm Black Elk Energy caught fire this morning. It has confirmed that two people are dead and two are missing. While it’s impossible not to think immediately of 2010′s Deep Water Horizon disaster, it’s too early to tell the extent of the damage so far.

4 November 2012

Online

Don’t Instagram Natural Disasters

Instagram is a nice thing. It’s fun to peek at the lives of others, and it’s fun to make our photos look fun. But there’s nothing fun about a hurricane people are dying in, and scenes from a horrific crisis don’t deserve to be drenched in your sepia.

30 October 2012

Science

5 Common Myths About Hurricane Preparedness

Hurricane Sandy is coming quick. You’ve got all your gear, and now it’s time to batten down the hatches. But before you do that, there are five common hurricane myths you should know about.

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