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Natural disasters
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Natural disasters. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Old style buildings in Nagano prefecture. Photo: SCMP
Japan

Magnitude 5 quakes hit Japan’s Nagano prefecture

The quakes struck Omachi at 1.20pm and 2.54pm, with the nation’s weather agency warning of aftershocks over the next week or so.

Pacific nations

Australia pledges US$1.7 million in aid after Cyclone Maila kills 11 in Pacific

Indonesia

Indonesia earthquake kills 1, triggers tsunami waves

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Australia

Australia’s Karratha LNG plant closed after cyclone amid fuel shortages

The plant’s co-owner Chevron said it suffered outages at its Gorgon and Wheatstone gas plants, which supply more than five per cent of the world’s liquefied natural gas.

An LNG tanker from the Karratha LNG Plant, off the coast of Western Australia, Australia, in 2003. Photo: SCMP
Climate change

Himalayan glacial loss threatens 2 billion as Asia’s ‘water tower’ shrinks

Conflicts, such as the Iran war, are diverting global attention away from the ecological crisis, scientists warn.

Asean

Asean bets on new framework to remedy ‘uneven’ disaster response

The new ‘ASPECT’ initiative could help boost quicker collective regional responses during large-scale or evolving disasters, analysts say.

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Fukushima nuclear disaster and water release

Video | Fukushima’s stray animal saviour searches for redemption

Former nuclear plant worker Toru Akama spends his time and money caring for cats and dogs abandoned after the March 2011 disaster.

This picture taken on March 5, 2026 shows former nuclear plant worker Toru Akama playing with a cat during an interview with AFP at his animal shelter in Namie, Fukushima prefecture. Not far from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site, former plant worker Toru Akama tends to dozens of pets abandoned after the catastrophe 15 years ago, work he sees as part of his quest for redemption. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) / TO GO WITH ‘JAPAN-NUCLEAR-ANIMAL-FUKUSHIMA’ BY MATHIAS CENA
Japan

Japan struggles with rising maintenance costs 15 years after Fukushima disaster

The costs of maintaining public housing for disaster victims and sea walls in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima total over US$923.7 million.

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Science

China team mulls hitting typhoons with an energy beam from space

Scientist Duan Baoyan says the Zhuri project could also act as a ‘space-based power bank’ to charge satellites and other facilities.

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Japan

Japan’s nuclear waste dilemma: no prefecture wants Fukushima’s toxic soil

By law, the waste currently housed near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant must be moved outside the prefecture by March 2045.

A facility in Futaba, Fukushima prefecture, temporarily stores soil and other waste from decontamination works. Photo: Kyodo
Indonesia

Video | Heavy rain triggers serious flooding in Bali

No fatalities reported despite days of heavy rain that left many trapped in homes and vehicles.

No fatalities reported despite days of heavy rain that left many trapped in homes and vehicles.
Malaysia

Sabah quake strongest to hit Malaysia in 11 years: Met Department

The 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Sabah on Monday is stronger than the one that killed 18 people in Ranau in 2015.

United States

8 skiers found dead and 1 still missing after California avalanche

This is the deadliest avalanche in the US in over four decades.

New Zealand

‘Absolutely terrifying’ New Zealand storm leaves 30,000 homes without power

One man was found dead in a submerged vehicle on a highway after heavy rains and strong winds lashed the North Island over the weekend.

A man retrieves his belongings from a utility vehicle that plunged off a collapsed section of road in Puketotara, New Zealand, on Saturday. Photo: Wayne Feisst via Reuters
Indonesia

Video | Thousands displaced by Indonesian landslides

Access has become difficult in parts of the affected area and authorities have warned residents against returning to their homes.

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Spain

Fatal floods strike Spain and Portugal, thousands evacuating

Both countries have issued warnings over the potential fresh floods, after inundations blocked hundreds of roads and disrupted trains.

Video | Giant crater threatens Indonesian village

Crop plantations and infrastructure in Aceh village have been destroyed by giant sinkhole.

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Japan

Japan’s deadly winter spurs warnings of more ‘disaster-level’ weather patterns

Severe snowfall and related accidents across Japan have killed at least 29 people, including foreign nationals on holiday, in recent weeks.

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Japanese military personnel remove snow from a rooftop in Aomori, northeastern Japan, on Monday. Photo: Kyodo
The Netherlands

Caribbean island wins landmark climate case against Netherlands

The ruling mandates urgent climate action for Bonaire’s 20,000 residents, amid rising seas, setting a precedent for climate justice.

Australia

Record heat in Australia, as temperatures near 50 degrees Celsius

Authorities urge caution as temperatures soar, fuelling out of control fires.

Extreme weather

Video | Scores missing in deadly Indonesian landslide

The landslide has killed at least 25 people, as authorities warn more rain could further destabilise the slope.

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Indonesia

Indonesian rescuers recover bodies after Java landslide, 72 still missing

The landslide killed at least 25, as authorities warn coming rain could further destabilise the slope as rescuers search.

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Rescuers search for victims in a landslide-affected area in Pasirlangu village, West Bandung, West Java Province, Indonesia, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE
The Philippines

Did shelved anti-disaster scheme lead to Philippines’ flood control woes?

The NOAH project, which ran daily from 2012 to 2016, helped the Philippines avoid ‘mass casualties in one place affected by a hazard’.

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Indonesia

‘Like thunder’: 8 killed in Indonesia, over 80 missing in Java landslide

‘It had been raining non-stop since the morning, and then it happened’.

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New Zealand

New Zealand landslide: human remains found as rescue operations end

A Chinese national died in another landslide near the Mount Maunganui campsite, both triggered by Thursday’s heavy rains.

Rescuers work at the scene of a landslide in Mount Maunganui on Saturday . Photos: Reuters
European Union

Storm unleashes half a year’s rain on Athens, leaving devastation in its wake

Top expert confirms the Greek capital received 40 per cent of its annual rainfall in under 24 hours, leaving two dead and hundreds of homes flooded.

A firefighter pumps water from a parking garage after flooding caused by heavy rain in the Glyfada district of Athens on Thursday. Photo: AP
Japan

Japan halts world’s largest nuclear plant hours after restart

TEPCO halted the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart after a monitoring alarm sounded, but confirmed the reactor is stable with no radioactive impact.

New Zealand

‘I could hear people screaming’: several feared buried in New Zealand campsite

‘I looked behind me and there’s a huge landslide coming down. And I’m still shaking from it now,’ a tourist at Mount Maunganui says.

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