Disaster Response
Rule-bending engineers protect New Orleans from Hurricane Ida
By going beyond the "100-year storm" standard for flood protection, U.S. engineers helped minimize the impact of Hurricane Ida on New Orleans.
Furniture store gives Hurricane Ida victims a place to sleep
Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is letting Hurricane Ida victims displaced by the storm sleep in his showroom.
Major earthquake in Haiti tracked by citizen seismologists
Private citizens are helping scientists study the recent earthquake in Haiti by hosting low-cost quake-monitoring devices.
Watching the moon’s “wobble” may help prevent flooding on Earth
A new NASA study predicts record flooding in the 2030s due to a combination of rising sea levels and a “wobble” in the moon’s orbit around Earth.
Goats are helping California battle wildfires
By having goats eat the dry vegetation that fuels wildfires, Californians can prevent the blazes from spreading into populated areas.
Insect-sized robot can run like a cheetah
An insect-sized robot with the agility of a cheetah could one day save lives by assessing disaster zones ahead of first responders.
New search and rescue drone listens for human screams
To help first responders find people during disasters, researchers are training a search and rescue drone to listen for human screams.
Throwable rescue robots sent to help at collapsed building
Teledyne Flir has sent at least two of its rescue robots to help hunt for survivors in a collapsed building in Florida.
Is NASA ready for an asteroid impact?
NASA is staging a week-long asteroid impact simulation during which participants will need to respond to a hypothetical impact scenario.
How tech helped beat back locust swarms in East Africa
Billions of locusts descended on East Africa in 2020, where new technology helped stop their spread.