Skip to page content

Natural Hazards

Community Resilience
commentary
What Can FEMA Learn from the Historic 2017 Hurricane and Wildfire Seasons?
Jason Thomas Barnosky, Patrick Roberts, Joie D. Acosta
Feb 3, 2020
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
When a hurricane comes ashore or a wildfire ignites, most of a community's vulnerability to the disaster is already set. Emergency managers—including FEMA, but also extending to the states and localities that are the first line of defense—could do much more to identify statewide risks and build community resilience long before an event makes headlines.
Read More »

Wildfires
blog
Australia's Fires, Artificial Intelligence, Fentanyl: RAND Weekly Recap
Jan 24, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on Australia's devastating fires, how artificial intelligence could manipulate the masses, the fentanyl crisis, and more.
Read More »
Wildfires
commentary
Australia's Fires: Respond Now, but Also Measure Toll on People for the Future
Melissa L. Finucane @MelissaFinucane
Jan 20, 2020
The RAND Blog
As an Australian, Melissa Finucane has watched with anguish as massive bushfires devastated wide swaths of her home country. As a researcher who studies community resilience, she can't help but think of how much blood, sweat, tears, and money will be required to recover.
Read More »
Artificial Intelligence
blog
Artificial Intelligence, Refugees, Global Health Security: RAND Weekly Recap
Dec 20, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on the Pentagon's artificial intelligence strategy, technology's role in the refugee crisis, threats to global health security, and more.
Read More »
Wildfires
commentary
A Climate Scientist's Brush with Wildfire
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert
Dec 18, 2019
CalMatters
RAND researcher Robert Lempert was evacuated from the path of a wildfire. This experience emphasized for him the challenges of adapting to climate change, not merely because it is hard, but because it makes the familiar become unfamiliar in unexpected ways.
Read More »
Domestic Terrorism
blog
White Supremacist Terrorism, Wildfires, the Dark Web: RAND Weekly Recap
Nov 1, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on violent white supremacy, power outages to prevent wildfires, how to catch criminals on the dark web, and more.
Read More »
Wildfires
commentary
Turning Off Power to Combat Wildfires Could Harm the Very People Who Need Protection
Joie D. Acosta, Regina A. Shih @ReginaShih
Oct 28, 2019
CalMatters
While intentionally shutting off power may be a practical way to prevent power lines from sparking wildfires, is it worth the risks? Until more thoughtful and comprehensive decisions are made, planned power outages need to be planned better.
Read More »
Wildfires
commentary
Uncovering the Links Between Fires and Public Health in Equatorial Asia
Miriam Elizabeth Marlier
Oct 25, 2019
Google Earth and Earth Engine on Medium
Fires in Indonesia, if left unchecked, could cause an average of 36,000 premature deaths annually across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Researchers built a tool that models the effect of the fires on public health.
Read More »
Hurricanes
blog
Hurricane Dorian, Al Qaeda, Veterans' Health: RAND Weekly Recap
Sep 13, 2019
This weekly recap looks at Hurricane Dorian recovery, al Qaeda 18 years after 9/11, veterans' mental health care, and more.
Read More »
Environmental Pollution
commentary
We Built an App to Detect Areas Most Vulnerable to Life-Threatening Haze
Tianjia Liu, Miriam Elizabeth Marlier, Jonathan J. Buonocore, Loretta J. Mickley, Ruth S. DeFries
Sep 10, 2019
The Conversation
Forest and land-use fires are ravaging Indonesia's Sumatra and Kalimantan islands. Haze from these fires is life-threatening; inhaling smoke can cause heart and respiratory diseases, leading to premature deaths. We developed a new tool to provide decisionmakers with information to protect people who live downwind.
Read More »
Disaster Recovery Operations
commentary
Hurricane Recovery in the Bahamas: Turning Good Intentions into Good Decisions
Melissa L. Finucane @MelissaFinucane, Joie D. Acosta
Sep 6, 2019
The RAND Blog
Recovery in the Bahamas will have to be a balancing act. Plans will need to allow for transition toward long-term strategic goals for the nation, but also be mindful of not perpetuating inequities.
Read More »
Catastrophic Liability Risk Management
commentary
Allocating Costs for California Wildfires
Lloyd Dixon
Jul 24, 2019
The RAND Blog
Wildfires in California have caused and will likely continue to cause substantial losses for residents, businesses, and government agencies. It is important to distribute these losses in a manner that provides incentives to reduce their magnitude over time.
Read More »
The Internet
blog
Cryptocurrency, Russian Social Media, Congestion Pricing: RAND Weekly Recap
Mar 29, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on cryptocurrencies, Russian social media influence, congestion pricing, and more.
Read More »
Global Climate Change
essay
Resilience and Adaptation Strategies Can Address the Impacts of Climate Change
Feb 26, 2019
With climate change already generating storms, heat waves, and droughts beyond historical norms, local governments need to do more to prepare. A decisionmaking framework developed by RAND allows communities to stress-test ideas, weigh the trade-offs, and plan for a range of possible futures.
Read More »
Global Climate Change
commentary
Triaging Climate Change
Benjamin Lee Preston @bl_preston, Johanna Nalau
Jan 23, 2019
The Conversation
There are many opportunities to manage climate risk around the world, but not everything can be saved. Delaying triage of climate damages could leave societies making ad hoc decisions instead of focusing on protecting the things they value most.
Read More »
Global Climate Change
commentary
Mitigating India's Climate-Change Misery
Gulrez Shah Azhar
Oct 11, 2018
Project Syndicate
Despite years of dire forecasts, the international community has been unable to halt the steady climb in global temperatures, and it is the world's poorest who are paying the heaviest toll. As heat-related risks intensify, those living on the margins—in India and elsewhere—will need help to cope effectively.
Read More »

Page 1 of 5

1