Natural Disasters

Istanbul, February 14, 2023 — Turkish authorities must ensure journalists can cover the aftermath of the recent earthquake freely and safely, and should drop investigations into any members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Since a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and parts of Syria on February 6, killing tens…

Rising global temperatures are increasing the potential for flooding. Floods can occur not only during heavy rains, but also when ocean waves are being pushed onshore, when snow is melting quickly, or when dams or levees break. Flash floods are particularly dangerous, because they combine the destructive power of a flood with incredible speed. Flooding…

Taipei, July 26, 2021—Chinese authorities should ensure that all journalists can report without fear of violence and harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 24, a crowd of angry bystanders in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, surrounded and confronted journalists from the Los Angeles Times and the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle while…

Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm, hit the Bahamas on September 1, 2019. The scale of the devastation only became fully clear September 4-5, with the country’s Grand Bahama and Abaco Islands being severely impacted, according to news reports.

Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall during the night of March 14 and 15 in the Sofala province of Mozambique. The storm continued inland, causing flooding across Mozambique and parts of Zimbabwe and Malawi. The port city of Beira, Mozambique’s fourth largest city, has been flattened and the humanitarian crisis is acute, according to news reports.…