Category Archives: geohazards

One recipe for flooding: Take a tropical cyclone and add steep topography

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

The past few weeks have brought two tropical cyclones* to the eastern seaboard of the United States. They serve nicely to illustrate the topographic controls on flood generation that we were been talking about in my Fluvial Processes class recently. … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, geomorphology, hydrology

Flooding around the world (3 July edition)

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

Here is a brief update on the floods I covered in the last edition of flooding around the world. Note that there has also been flooding in Xiengkoung, Viengtian, Boolikhamxay, and Xayaboury provinces of Laos, as a result of heavy … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, hydrology

Update: Christchurch aftershocks

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Chris Rowan

As the aftershocks of the Darfield quake continue, where do the future seismic dangers lie? Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, tectonics

Flooding around the world (26 June edition)

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

Since the last edition of flooding around the world, flooding along the Mississippi River has mostly subsided, but flooding continues along the Missouri River and in China. Several new flood wetspots have also popped up, as the image below from … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, hydrology

The slowly building threat of Cascadia – and the slow realisation it was there (book review)

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Chris Rowan

If you asked the average person on the street which part of the USA was most threatened by earthquakes, most of them would probably say California. The San Andreas Fault is so embedded into the popular consciousness that it is … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, reviews

More large aftershocks rattle Christchurch: will it ever end?

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Analysis of the ongoing earthquake sequence. Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, geohazards, tectonics

Flooding Around the World

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

Got flood fatigue yet? Too bad, because the wet weather and the high water keeps coming. Here is a quick round up of the notable flood-related news of the week. Mississippi River My post, ‘Levees and the illusion of flood … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, hydrology

Lingering flooding along the Middle Mississippi River and tributaries

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

One week ago today (28 May 2011), I had the chance to explore the lingering flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributary Big Muddy River in southern Illinois. The area was long past its crest; it is upriver of … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, hydrology

If you’re waiting for an earthquake warning, you’re doing it wrong

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Chris Rowan

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake that stuck central Italy near the city of L’Aquila in April 2009 killed more than 300 people, made tens of thousands more homeless, and caused billions of Euros’ worth of damage. No-one could have predicted exactly … Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, public science, ranting, society

Earthquake ‘precursors’ and the curse of the false positive

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Chris Rowan

Whenever you read a story that describes some phenomenon that preceded a large earthquake, and dangles the carrot of true earthquake prediction, don’t just look at the headline event. Check for false positives. Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, geophysics