Commentary / World May 23, 2020
by Gwynne Dyer
People who live in areas with extreme weather know storms are getting worse. Now there is hard data to prove it.
Commentary / Japan May 13, 2020
A tithe approach to volunteering in our post-pandemic world
by Robert D. Eldridge
The rewards of volunteering are enormous for one’s self and community.
Commentary / Japan Mar 17, 2020
Taking stock of disaster losses five years after the Sendai world conference
by Mami Mizutori
The "decade of action" starting this year will reveal how successful or not the Sendai Framework has been in reducing disaster losses.
National Feb 14, 2020
Japanese panel proposes using red and white flag as tsunami warning
An expert panel of the Meteorological Agency has proposed that a red and white checkered flag be used to swiftly convey tsunami warnings to people with hearing impairments at seaside resorts. A test conducted at a beach in Yokohama found that a red and white ...
National Feb 5, 2020
A trip to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant: Full-body suits and three layers of socks
by Aaron Sheldrick
Reuters was recently given exclusive access to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, where three reactors melted down in 2011 after a powerful earthquake and tsunami overwhelmed the seaside facility. It was my fourth visit to the plant since the disaster to report on a ...
National Jan 24, 2020
Special course on disaster prevention spurs Kobe survivor's mission to teach others
Early on the morning of Jan. 17, 1995, Kurumi Kishimoto was awakened abruptly by "earth-rumbling sounds" like something she had never experienced. Her family's seventh-floor apartment in Kobe's Hyogo Ward was shaken violently, with dishes falling from the shelves. As dawn was breaking, Kishimoto ...
Asia Pacific Jan 19, 2020
Australian tourism industry gets government aid as bush fires recede
The Australian government said on Sunday it will channel 76 million Australian dollars ($52 million) to the tourism industry as recent heavy rains have dampened many of the monthslong bush fires, allowing the country to look to recovery. The number of fires burning across Australia's ...
Editorials Jan 16, 2020
Disaster response poses an ongoing challenge in this calamity-prone country.
National Jan 12, 2020
Groups across Japan inspired by school staff disaster team set up after Kobe quake
Japanese teachers are taking lessons learned from the 1995 earthquake that devastated the city of Kobe 25 years ago next Friday and using them as part of an effort form disaster relief teams across the nation. The first was launched in 2000 in Hyogo Prefecture, ...
World Jan 12, 2020
Decade after killer quake, Haiti says global aid system needs overhaul
The international aid system is deeply flawed and needs an overhaul, Haitian President Jovenel Moise said on Saturday, almost 10 years since the impoverished Caribbean island nation was struck by one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. Haitians were on Sunday to commemorate the thousands ...
Asia Pacific Jan 12, 2020
Australian leader Scott Morrison proposes high-level inquiry into response to bush fires
After weeks of criticism over the handling of the bush fires scorching Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday, when the fires claimed another firefighter's life, that he will propose a national review into the response to the disaster. With the Australian bush burning for ...
World Jan 11, 2020
Two strong aftershocks collapsed homes and cracked walls in Puerto Rico on Friday as the Caribbean island tried to recover from its worst earthquake in more than a century. The first quake of magnitude 5.2 struck at 6:26 p.m., followed by another of magnitude 4.8 ...