A Community Forced to Flee On 6 April 2017, the quiet Bay of Plenty town of Edgecumbe became the centre of one of New Zealand’s most significant flood emergencies in recent history. Heavy rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Debbie quickly escalated into a full-scale disaster — forcing the evacuation of an entire town […]

During the night of 20 February 1979, the Sinila volcano of the Dieng Volcanic Complex erupted on the Indonesian island of Java in Central Java province. Over 175 people died, mainly due to gas poisoning in villages on the plateau near the Sinila crater.[7][8] It was the fourth Sinila eruption since 1928, and the first one since 1951.[9][3]This complex sits on a subduction zone between the Australian and Eurasian plates.[10]

The 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami took place on 29 September 2009 in the southern Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Tonga–Kermadec subduction zone. The submarine earthquake occurred in an extensional environment and had a moment magnitude of 8.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). It was the largest earthquake of 2009. The earthquake initiated with a normal-faulting event with a magnitude of 8.1.[2] Within two minutes of

The 1843 Whanganui earthquake occurred on 8 July at 16:45 local time with an estimated magnitude of 7.5 on the Mw scale.[1][2] The maximum perceived intensity was IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, and possibly reaching X (Extreme).[1] The epicentre is estimated to have been within a zone extending 50 km northeast from Whanganui towards Taihape. GNS Science has this earthquake catalogued and places the epicentre 35 km east of

The Raetihi forest fire was a catastrophic fire that occurred on 18–20 March 1918, in and around Raetihi, Horopito and Ohakune in the North Island of New Zealand.[1] The fire almost destroyed the townships of Raetihi and Ohakune, killed thousands of sheep and cattle and destroyed areas of native forest in the North Island Volcanic Plateau of New Zealand. Origin of the fire The area around Horopito where

The 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake measured 6.5 on the moment magnitude scale and struck the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand at 1.42 pm on 2 March.[3] The hypocentre was at a shallow depth of 8 km. The epicentre was 2.24 kilometres (1.39 mi) south-south-east of the town of Matatā, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north-north-west of Edgecumbe, on the Rangitaiki Plains (the floodplain of the Rangitaiki River, the Tarawera River and the Whakatāne River). It was the

The 1979 Tumaco earthquake occurred at 02:59 local time on 12 December with a moment magnitude of 8.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The epicenter was just offshore from the border between Ecuador and Colombia, near the port city of Tumaco. It triggered a major tsunami, which was responsible for most of the estimated 300–600 deaths. The hardest hit area was Colombia’s Nariño Department.[2] Tectonic

Hurricane Katrina was a devastating and deadly tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $186.3 billion (2022 USD) in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area.[1] Katrina was the twelfth tropical cyclone, the fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in

On 30 July 2014, a landslide occurred in the village of Malin in the Ambegaon taluka of the Pune district in Maharashtra, India. The landslide, which hit early in the morning while residents were asleep,[3] was believed to have been caused by a burst of heavy rainfall, and killed at least 151 people.[4] Rains continued after the landslide making rescue efforts difficult. Cause The landslides