Alexandria, VA – Superstorm Sandy slammed against the U.S. Eastern Seaboard in October 2012, inundating iconic communities. Those communities have been rebuilding since then and things are almost back to normal for most. But something else has had to be rebuilt as well: the structured procedures for issuing warnings. The goal is to help communities better comprehend what natural disasters will bring their doorsteps.
In an October feature story, EARTH Magazine untangles the complexities scientists faced to motivate local residents to pack up and move. The rigid definition of what type of storm Sandy was when it made landfall limited which officials could issue warnings and which warnings they could issue. This situation was further complicated by human psychology — different warning agencies have different clout with the general public, and the general public's past experiences shaped the expectations of millions that the looming danger would blow over like many storms in historical memory.
Not only was Sandy "a perfect storm," but the conditions to communicate valuable life-saving information were too. EARTH Magazine examines how scientists rose to the occasion despite their circumstances and how they have developed new tools to protect the public during future storms: http://bit.ly/16oK0yg. EARTH Magazine also brings you screaming volcanoes, the possibility of greener gold extraction and a striking view of Wyoming's Devil's Tower at the digital bookstand http://www.earthmagazine.org/digital.
Keep up to date with the latest happenings in Earth, energy and the environment news with EARTH magazine online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/. Published by the American Geosciences Institute, EARTH is your source for the science behind the headlines.
The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geosciences education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.