February 24, 2017

What happened this week?

Argentina. An earthquake has struck the north of Argentina near the border with Chile. It is the third earthquake to strike the region in the last few months with 6.4 and 6.2 magnitudes... Read more

 

Bolivia. A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 has struck a mountainous region in central Bolivia, with shaking felt in Sucre, Potosi, Padilla and other cities across the region, seismologists and residents said... Read more

 

Colombia. Unseasonal heavy rain strikes Huila causing several floods. At least one person is dead, 3 are missing and 2,000 have been displaced after heavy, unseasonal rainfall caused several flooding in central and western parts of Colombia between February 21 and 23, 2017. More heavy rain is expected over the weekend... Read more

Panama. A 4.7 earthquake caused skyscrapers in Panama's capital to sway Monday and led to the evacuation of some buildings. There were no immediate reports of injuries... Read more

Peru. The Minister of Education, Marilú Martens Cortés, reported that 430 educational institutions in the country suffered serious damage from the occurrence of rain and that all have been rehabilitated or are in that process, in order to ensure the beginning of the school year next March 13.... Read more

 United States.

1. Authorities, Farmers Struggle to Shore Up Rural Northern California Levees to Stave Off Failures...Read more
2. On Monday night, Mayor Ivy Taylor Declares State of Disaster After 4 Tornadoes Hit  the City of San Antonio, the first step in getting state and federal help... Read more 

Interesting Facts

 

New earthquake kiosk at University Mall emphasizes preparedness. Brian Blake of Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium and Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director James K. Joseph, along with other partners, unveiled a new tool Tuesday at University Mall to help everyone learn more about preparing for an earthquake  ...Read more

What the Oroville Dam Disaster Says About America’s Aging Infrastructure. The crisis, which exposed glaring weaknesses with the dam complex, also carries an important lesson for the nation: Increasingly, extreme weather driven by climate change is placing substantial stress on America’s aging infrastructure...Read more

Mexico City, on the verge of a water crisis. In 1900, when the Gran Canal de Desagüe was completed, it promised to solve the floods and drainage problems that had overwhelmed the city for centuries. Only it was not like, Mexico City was sinking. With the perpetual shortage of water, Mexico City has continued drilling for more, which has weakened the old clay beds and what has caused it to collapse even more....Read more

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?
 

Study reveals thousands of buildings in Victoria at risk of earthquake destruction. It’s only the second such analysis — after one by the District of North Vancouver in 2015 — conducted recently by communities in southwestern B.C. which are beginning to grapple with increasing scientific knowledge that a major earthquake will be devastating... Read more

 

Europe leads on resilient cultural heritage. Europe has launched a new drive to protect its heritage sites from the risk of disasters, an issue given added urgency by a string of earthquakes that wrecked age-old buildings in central Italy...Read more

Canadian Forces on guard for 'Big One' earthquake in B.C. The Canadian Armed Forces are prepared to deploy thousands of members if a catastrophic earthquake, colloquially known as The Big One, strikes the West Coast....Read more