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nevver:

May 6th, 1937 - “Oh the humanity”

A new report asking experts what disasters they’re afraid of has enough in it to make you hide under the bed. Bad news for optimists: The experts think global catastrophe is more likely than ever.

fotojournalismus:

Fukushima Silence

(via Reuters)

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was hit on March 11, 2011 by a tsunami that exceeded 15 metres in some areas. The tsunami knocked out the plant’s cooling systems, resulting in meltdowns of nuclear fuel, and became the world’s worst atomic crisis in 25 years. The government announced in December that reactors at the plant had reached a state of cold shutdown, a milestone in cleanup efforts and a pre-condition for allowing the return of about 80,000 residents evacuated from a 20km (12 miles) radius of the Daiichi plant. The government also said it would draw up new evacuation zones by the end of April, and areas where annual radiation levels are currently higher than 50 millisieverts would not be deemed suitable for living for at least five years.

Photos, January 15, 2012 : 

#1 : An ostrich which had escaped from a farm walks past a car in Tomioka town, inside the exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. 

#2 : An empty shopping street is seen in Tomioka town, inside the exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Fukushima prefecture.

#3 : A herd of cows which escaped from a livestock farm walk in a field in Okuma town.

#4 : An empty shopping street, under a sign reading “Nuclear Power - The Energy for a Better Future”, is seen at the entrance of Futaba town, inside the exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

#5 : Abandoned wheelchairs are seen outside Okuma Town Health Center in Okuma town.

#6 : A games arcade destroyed by the 2011 earthquake is seen along Route 6 in Tomioka town.

#7 : Fallen gravestones are seen at a cemetery in Namie town, inside the exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

[Credit : Stringer/Reuters]

climateadaptation:

This fire may have been caused by a state controlled burn.

denverpost:

Lower North Fork Fire in Jefferson County, Colorado

— More than 400 firefighters from several states were focusing on building containment lines around the wildfire, which broke out Monday. Until now, the fire’s erratic pattern has forced firefighters to focus on protecting homes, not stopping the burn.

• Crews have been able to achieve 15% containment on the fire. The current affected area has been updated to 4140 acres.
• Air crews dropped more than 4100 gallons of retardant on the fire on Wednesday.
• The number of damaged structures remains at 27. The owners of all but one structure have been notified.
• A search team using dogs continues to look for a woman missing in the fire zone. Her home was among those destroyed or damaged.
• Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has suspended the use of state prescribed burns like the one that may have caused the fire.

We have more photos of the blaze.

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kateoplis:

Feb. 23, 2012. Rikuzentakata, Japan. Mountains of clothes and household textiles that cannot be recycled.

Japan One Year Later

Breaking: Fiery Truck Explosion Causes Oil Spill in Illinois. Closes Critical Canada/US Enbridge Oil Pipeline. ›

kqedscience:

Gerd Ludwig’s “Long Shadow of Chernobyl” project

Internationally-renowned photojournalist Gerd Ludwig has spent years documenting the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. In 1986, errors at the plant in Ukraine led to an explosion that ultimately caused over a quarter of a million people to permanently evacuate their homes to escape the radiation and radioactive fallout. Over the course of several trips to the site and the region for National Geographic Magazine in 1993, 2005, and 2011, Ludwig has amassed a documentary record of a people and a place irreparably altered by a tragic accident. His 2011 trip was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign. Now Ludwig has released an iPad app with over 150 photographs, video, and interactive panoramas. 

(via crookedindifference)

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caraobrien:

Sea Change: Haunting family photos pulled from the wreckage of Japan’s tsunami

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climateadaptation:

“Google Crisis Response makes critical information more accessible around natural disasters and humanitarian crises, such as hurricanes and earthquakes. This initiative is a project of Google.org, which uses Google’s strengths in information and technology to build products and advocate for policies that address global challenges.

The types of activities we might initiate include:

• Organizing emergency alerts, news updates and donation opportunities, and making this information visible through our web properties or dedicated Landing Pages
• Building engineering tools that enable better communication and collaboration among crisis responders and among victims such as Person Finder
• Supporting responders in using core Google tools, including Google Apps and Google Maps
• Providing updated satellite imagery and maps of affected areas to illustrate infrastructure damage and help relief organizations navigate disaster zones
• Supporting the rebuilding of network infrastructure where it has been damaged to enable access to the Internet
• Donating to charitable organizations that are providing direct on-the-ground relief

Google assesses the scale and scope of each disaster to determine whether and how Google can uniquely contribute tools or content to relief efforts.

Read more about past efforts”

discoverynews:

The Concordia: Recounting a Disaster

Here’s a look at what the night of Jan. 13 looked like before and after the sinking of the Concordia cruise ship?

more here