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Natural hazards, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, landslides, wildfires and droughts are increasing in frequency and intensity, in large part because of climate change (M. Coronese et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 21450–21455; 2019). In 2022, at least one event occurred every day, according to data from EM-DAT, an international disaster database. And a 2021 report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization stated that the “annual occurrence of disasters is now more than three times that of the 1970s and 1980s” (see go.nature.com/43pmeke).

But natural-hazard events don’t necessarily have to escalate into widespread disasters. Even though they are more common today than they were in the past, the number of deaths from them has drastically declined. In 1920–29, for example, more than 8.5 million people died globally as a result of natural disasters, compared with just over 503,000 in 2010–19, according to data from EM-DAT. This can be attributed partly to improvements in disaster risk reduction and preparedness measures. Nature talked to five disaster researchers about how they are working to reduce the risks and impacts of natural-hazard events.

"Organizations that are used to their local weather patterns tend to only plan for those patterns," Yu said. "When those patterns change, administrators now have to address new disaster possibilities that they might not have invested resources into. These include wildfires, blizzards or massive power grid failure."

A good place to start with data backups in general is to follow the 3-2-1-1 rule. A modified version of the traditional 3-2-1 rule, the 3-2-1-1 rule recommends three copies of data, including the original plus two backup copies; two different types of storage media; one copy kept off site to protect against localized disasters; and one copy kept offline in immutable storage to protect against ransomware.

Everyone should have a “grid-down” protocol, said Jason Charles, a former New York City firefighter who posts survival tips as the Angry Prepper on social media. Supplies should be customized to meet certain residential and health conditions.

Colorado family members die trying to live 'off the grid'

The group - including the sisters who were in their 40s - had no outdoor survival experience and had watched online videos to learn about how to survive in Colorado's rugged backcountry ...

What do you think? How useful is ham radio in emergency comms?

In North American boreal forests, several million hectares can go up in smoke in a single year. On the other hand, these forest fires can seem almost negligible for several consecutive years. During the past 60 years, the area annually affected by forest fires has increased, presumably because of climate change. Or at least that’s part of the explanation.

However, to better understand the long-term trends it is important to take a step back. This is the work our team of forest and fire ecology specialists recently carried out.

The results of our research contradict the common wisdom about North American boreal forests — that they burned more in the past than they do today. But before we go into more detail about this, we feel it’s important to provide some background and context.

Seasonal forecasters are warning it means you need to prepare for a more uncertain forecast for the rest of the season with the potential for more storms and stronger ones.

The “bunker/shelter” would be used for “some event where 50%-99.99% of people die,” said a memo exchanged between Bankman-Fried’s brother, Gabriel, and an officer at FTX’s philanthropy arm, according to the court document. “Probably there are other things it’s useful to do with a sovereign country, too,” it said. Bankman-Fried’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

“This really shows how much billionaire doomsday prepping is really about fantasy,” Calum Matheson, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh who has studied preppers, said of the FTX plans. For the rich, “doomsday is a fantasy to play with, but they can always keep it at a distance.” It is simply “entertainment,” he said.

I wonder if this could be sustainable for permaculture and for growing urban/suburban vegetable gardens.

A WWII-era concrete bunker once used to protect Britain against incoming Luftwaffe attacks has been transformed into a remarkable vacation home in southern England. Corstorphine & Wright, along with engineers Symmetrys, worked to retain the character of the bunker, while adding a comfortable interior, including a "bomb blast" glazed opening to provide superb views of the coastline.

According to investigators, he had been talking about surviving in the wilderness and "going off the grid" before he disappeared.

They say James might have two survival guidebooks with him that his father, Bill Yoblonski, had bought him, as well as a firearm.