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Natural Disasters

Satellite imagery of Tropical Storm Zeta as it passes over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Zeta, 2020’s 27th Named Storm, Bears Down on Louisiana

Downgraded to a tropical storm after striking Mexico, Zeta is expected to regain strength and make landfall in the U.S. as a Category 1 hurricane

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's U.S. Drought Outlook map for November 2020 through January 2021. Brown represents the areas where drought is expected to continue or worsen.

NOAA Predicts Droughts Gripping Nearly Half of Continental U.S. Will Intensify This Winter

The agency expects the South and Southwest will be warmer and drier than usual in the coming months, offering no relief to the already parched regions

This image shows the stratification of Lake Kivu, with its lower, warmer waters separated from its higher, cooler waters.

The Explosive Hazard Hiding in an African Lake

Rwanda’s Lake Kivu has dense depths packed with methane and carbon dioxide gas

Old Faithful erupts before a crowd of onlookers in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park in 1966.

New Research

Climate Change Could Make Yellowstone’s Famous Geyser Less Faithful

Old Faithful stopped erupting for decades following severe drought 800 years ago and global warming could put it back on hiatus

More than 580 species of bird, 271 types of fish, 174 mammal species, 131 different reptiles and 57 amphibian species known to inhabit the Pantanal.

Wildlife Suffers as Brazil’s Pantanal Wetland Burns

Fires in the world’s largest tropical wetland have burned an area double that of California’s unprecedented 2020 blazes

Researchers identified a "trench" previously dated to modern times as a 3,700-year-old fissure.

New Research

Did an Earthquake Topple This Ancient Canaanite Palace?

Excavations at Tel Kabri in Israel revealed physical evidence of a natural disaster

Death Valley National Park saw a record-breaking 130 degrees Fahrenheit on August 16. The measurement might be the hottest temperature recorded on Earth since at least 1913, according to the National Weather Service.

Coalition Calls for Naming Heat Waves Like Hurricanes

The group’s climate and health experts say naming and categorizing extreme heat events could save lives

A young koala recovers at the wildlife park hospital.

Planet Positive

The Great Koala Rescue Operation

Raging bushfires. Devastated wildlife. And the compassionate souls who went to the rescue

With 650 million cubic yards of dirt and stone, the unstable hillside identified by researchers at Barry Arm would possibly lead to one of the largest tsunamis the area has ever endured.

Potential Landslide Could Trigger Destructive Tsunami in Alaska, Scientists Warn

The natural disaster could strike Prince William Sound at any point within the next 20 years

Rubble from the Museo de la Masacre de Ponce fell from the top of the building and caused the collapse of its second-floor balcony.

5.4-Magnitude Earthquake Damages Puerto Rican Museums

The Museo de la Massacre de Ponce and Casa Paoli were among the buildings affected by Saturday’s tremors

Kilauea fissure 8 lava fountains reached as high as about 50 m (164 ft) on June 20, 2018

Could Rainfall Have Triggered the 2018 Eruption of Hawaiian Volcano Kīlauea?

A new study posits that groundwater pressure might have been a tipping point for the magma system near the eruption

Researcher Charlotte Pearson points to the light tree ring that could mark the year of the Thera eruption.

New Research

Ancient Volcanic Eruption Dated Through Rings of Dead Trees

Researchers compared tree rings from around the world to determine that a volcano on Santorini probably erupted in 1560 B.C.

The top of Zagreb Cathedral's southern spire toppled during Sunday's earthquake.

5.4-Magnitude Earthquake Damages Zagreb Cathedral, Museums

The tremors, which arrived in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, was the worst the Croatian capital has seen in 140 years

Wildfires destroyed around two-thirds of the homes in Nerrigundah, New South Wales.

Trending Today

All of the Fires in Australia’s Most Populous State Are ‘Now Contained,’ Authorities Say

Torrential downpours helped quash powerful blazes that had gripped New South Wales

To escape loud noises, sperm whales have been known to swim to the surface too quickly and give themselves the bends.

Whales Struggled to Find Food After New Zealand’s 2016 Earthquake

Sperm whales are at the top of the food chain, and the effects of undersea landslides rippled up

Researchers monitored the decay of feral pig carcasses to understand what happens to ecosystems where many animals have died at once

To Study Mass Die-Offs, Scientists Dumped 15 Tons of Feral Pig Carcasses Into a Field

The rotting, putrefying bodies flooded with insects, attracted scavengers and devastated local plants and microbes

Untitled image from Restricted Residence

Nearly a Decade After Fukushima, Photos Capture Residents’ Bittersweet Return

A new photo series titled “Restricted Residence” features 42 thermal images of locals and their changed landscape

Brush-tailed rock-wallabies are endangered in New South Wales.

Australia’s National Park Staff Is Now Air-Dropping Food to Wallabies

Wallabies often survive the bushfires, but their natural food sources do not

Watch the Spectacular Eruption of One of Mexico’s Most Active Volcanoes

Officials say no one was hurt in the explosion. But over in the Philippines, a brewing eruption in threatens to be more severe

How Haiti’s Devastating Earthquake Prompted a Worldwide Effort to Safeguard Cultural Heritage

To safeguard cultural heritage, a massive Smithsonian-led cultural rescue operation can now be mobilized to help countries recover from disaster

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