Scientists Assess Tsunami Damage

Studies of environmental damage left behind by the massive December 2004 tsunami find widespread destruction in India, both above and below ground.

Storms

What Are the Odds You'll Get Struck By Lightning?

The chances of getting killed by lightning in Canada are generally less than one in a million. But some people's odds of encountering a deadly strike are much higher than average.

Centuries of Hurricane Records Deciphered

An Alabama lake has dutifully recorded when catastrophic hurricanes have pounded the coast during the last 700 years.

A Decade of Bad Atlantic Hurricanes

Atlantic hurricanes from 1995 to 2005 arose much more frequently and ferociously than normal.

No Changes in US Hurricane Landings

The parade of hurricanes hitting the United States has not grown faster and more furious over the last century.

Winter Storms Have Grown More Devastating

Severe winter storms that leave behind million of dollars in damage have become less common in the United States over the last five decades. But at the same time, individual storms have become more massive and destructive.

Asian Pollution Fuelling North American Storms

Satellite images show that the north Pacific Ocean has recently become much cloudier, particularly during winter.

Landslides

Alaskan Cruise Ships Beware

If an unstable hillside above Tidal Inlet in Glacier Bay National Park suddenly collapses, it would generate a tsunami large enough to damage any ships cruising in its path.

Landslides Striking in Unexpected Places

Northern British Columbia was subject to a rash of large landslides in the past decade, and they happened in places that terrain specialists normally consider stable.

Predicting Which Natural Dams Might Fail

Lakes held in place by a glacial moraine can potentially cause a devastating flash flood if the dam of rubble suddenly gives way.

Landslide Warning System Could Save Lives

Landslides have killed 80 people in northwestern British Columbia since the mid-1800s.

Unstable Mountain Threatens Pemberton Valley

Landslides on Mount Meager have dumped clay and rock several meters deep into the Pemberton Valley at least three times during the last 7300 years.

Forest Fire Leads to Destructive Debris Flow

A wildfire following a century of sediment accumulating in a steep creek channel created conditions that took only a moderate summer rainfall to trigger a large landslide into Kootenay Lake.

Wildfires Leave Landscapes Prone to Erosion

The first substantial rainstorm after a severe forest fire can trigger large-scale erosion, even on shallow slopes.

Wildfires

Northern Forests Increasingly Getting Burned

A look at the history of forest fires and drought in Canada and Alaska finds three striking trends emerging over forty years.

Californian Wildfires Were Once Extremely Common

Despite the recent widespread devastation from wildfires in California, fires in the state are rare events these days relative to the past.

Reducing Wildfire Risk Involves Trade-offs

Tackling the build-up of fuels in British Columbia's fire-protected forests has consequences not just for reducing the risk of large, catastrophic fires; there are many other costs and benefits.

Initial Attack Prevents Large Wildfires

A comprehensive initial attack strategy stopped wildfire from burning an estimated 457,500 ha of boreal forest between 1983 and 1998 in northeastern Alberta.

Perspectives Differ on Wildfire Risks

Firefighting managers and Okanagan Valley residents believe that hot, dry, windy weather is largely to blame for British Columbia’s catastrophic wildfires during the summer of 2003.