3 d. ago ‘The ground shook’: drone attacks help Haitian government wrest control of capital from criminal gangs

Video shared on social media shows drone attacks, which some say have helped pacify gangs inflicting violence on Port-au-PrinceWarning: this story contains footage that readers might find distressing The earth beneath Jimmy Antoine’s apartment shuddered and for a split second he feared another natural disaster had struck, like the 2010 cataclysm that brought Port-au-Prince to its knees.“The ground shook like it does during an earthquake. You tremble like everything might collapse,” said the 23-year-old trainee mechanic, recalling how he and his panicked neighbours raced out on to the street. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago ‘Cyborg’ beetles could help rescue crews locate survivors after natural disasters

Australian researchers were able to control darkling beetles with removable electronic backpacks

Events

8 d. ago US says Haitians can be deported – days after ruling Haiti unsafe for Americans

Trump administration revokes temporary protected status for citizens of country racked by deadly violenceMore than half a million Haitians are facing the prospect of deportation from the US after the Trump administration announced that the Caribbean country’s citizens would no longer be afforded shelter under a government program created to protect the victims of major natural disasters or conflicts.Haiti has been engulfed by a wave of deadly violence since the 2021 murder of its president, Jovenel Moïse. Heavily armed gangs have brought chaos to its capital, Port-au-Prince, since launching an insurrection that toppled the prime minister last year. On Tuesday, the US embassy in Haiti urged US citizens to abandon the violence-stricken Caribbean country. “Depart Haiti as soon as possible,” it wrote on X. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago A popular comic’s ‘catastrophe warning’ sparks mass trip cancellations and tourism slump in Japan

Japan bookings have dropped 50 per cent after a manga artist ‘predicted’ a natural disaster, says Hong Kong travel agency

Events

1 week ago Economic policymaking needs to adapt to the climate emergency | Heather Stewart

Tackling inflation from companies raising prices during cost shocks requires more than adjusting interest ratesThe heatwave that gripped much of the UK this week was the latest sweltering reminder that the climate emergency is already making daily life more volatile.Many of the places most brutally exposed to out-of-kilter weather patterns and natural disasters are in the global south, and rightly demand solidarity from the wealthier countries responsible for most historical emissions. But the costs of the emergency are being felt everywhere. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago A climate crisis, a ballot, and a chance at a new life in Australia

World-first agreement that creates a visa in the context of climate change stirs hope among young people in TuvaluOn the sandy shores of Vaiaku, as coconut trees sway gently in the breeze, Tekafa Piliota sits in his small classroom and dreams of becoming a doctor. The 13-year-old, who lives in Tuvalu’s capital Funafuti, knows that would mean leaving his homeland. There aren’t any universities in the small Pacific island nation, which lies between Australia and Hawaii. The country has another problem: it is predicted to be one the first countries to become uninhabitable due to rising seas.“I would like to go to Australia to study. There is higher ground in Australia, and it might be safer during natural disasters,” Piliota says. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago I've spent years studying natural disasters... here's how likely an apocalyptic

Expert Anthony Finchum, 31, from Omaha, Nebraska, broke down the chances of an incident occurring in our lifetime that will wipe out the human race.

Events

4 w. ago Three giant ‘doomsday fish’ wash up in one week, but harbinger of calamity a damp squib, say experts

After one oarfish was found in Tasmania, two were discovered in New Zealand, but there is no evidence of link between sightings and natural disaster, say scientistsBad luck comes in threes, according to the saying. And this week three ethereal oarfish, nicknamed “the doomsday fish”, have washed up on the shores of Australia and New Zealand.Two headless specimens were found near Dunedin and Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island, following the discovery of an oarfish on Tasmania’s west coast on Monday.Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

Politics