Adm. Peter Neffenger visits Northeastern’s Marine Science Center, for cross-institute tour

Representatives from two Northeastern University institutes dedicated to sustainability and resilience welcomed Admiral Peter Neffenger (USCG Ret.), to the Marine Science Center in Nahant. Admiral Neffenger, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Global Resilience Institute (GRI) and the former Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), was briefed on Northeastern’s Coastal Sustainability Institute (CSI) and on the research efforts underway in the Nahant labs.

Powerful earthquake hits China’s Sichuan region for the second time in a decade

On the evening of August 8, 2017, an earthquake shook the mountainous region of northwest Sichuan, China. A popular tourist destination in China, the Jiuzhaigou nature reserve receives 5 million visitors per year; just days before the earthquake they welcomed 41,000 people. Two weeks after the quake, there are still conflicting reports on the size and magnitude of this earthquake. The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported the earthquake was measured at a 6.5 magnitude, west southwest from the epicenter in Yongle. Whereas Xinhua, a Chinese news agency, announced the earthquake hit a 7.0 magnitude, citing the China Earthquake Networks Center as their source.

Pacific Northwest endures historic heat wave while smoke from B.C. wildfires pollutes the region

The Pacific Northwest region of the United States is in the midst of a heat wave that has come close to breaking previous temperature records. In the past 123 years, triple-digit temperatures have only been recorded on three days in Seattle -- and though the city remained below triple digits last week, the high reached 94 degrees, hitting a daily record. Meanwhile, Portland experienced even higher temperatures, reaching a high of 105 degrees on Thursday. This was just shy of the warmest temperature ever recorded in Portland, which was 107 degrees.

Wildfires in southwestern U.S. blaze a path for flooding in their wake

Several southwestern states have been ravaged by 18 wildfires in past weeks, the products of drought and extreme heat that dried out vegetation and increased the speed at which the fires spread.  However, as the rainy season approaches, some communities find themselves struggling instead with the recent onset of extreme rainfall. The widespread and severe storms, coupled with the conditions left behind in fire-damaged areas, have resulted in flash floods.

Evaluating the R4 rural resilience initiative Q1 report

On July 20th, Oxfam America (OA) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) released the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative report for the first quarter of 2017. R4 is a joint undertaking between the two organizations, designed in 2011 as a response to increased climate volatility and its malignant effect on rural agriculture. The term "R4" refers to a combination of four strategies aimed at increasing resilience in food insecure communities: “risk reduction”, including implementation of Food Assistance for Assets (FFA) programs and development of resilient infrastructure, “risk transfer” through insurance and training, as well as “prudent risk taking” in the form of microcredit and diversification of livelihoods, and “risk reserves” or savings.