Temperatures soar as heat wave hits western US and Canada | Al Jazeera

Authorities in the western United States and Canada are warning residents to take precautions as a historic heat wave hit the region on Saturday, sending temperatures soaring and pushing local officials to open emergency cooling centres.

Large floods may threaten central, southern China

China's flood control authority said on Tuesday that some central and southern provinces are likely to see large floods this year as downpours swell rivers.

Tropical Cyclone Blanche hits northern Australia

Tropical Cyclone Blanche has developed to the north of Australia's Top End and is bringing flooding rains across Northern Territory into Western Australia.

Flooding, power cuts as Storm Angus batters England, Wales with wind, rain

Parts of England and Wales woke up on Tuesday to flooded roads, power cuts and railway delays due to heavy winds and rain brought about by a powerful storm, according to British authorities.

Japan prepares itself for 30 metre high tsunami in future

Japan expects a gigantic 30-metre tsunami wave to lash the country's southern coast in the next few decades, the media reported on Friday.

Taiwan to expand use of quake early warning system

Taiwan should expand the use of an early warning system for earthquakes that could give valuable seconds for people to react before deadly quake waves arrive, the island's quake research institute said Thursday.

Researchers tap GPS for faster tsunami warnings

Researchers at University of California, Berkeley, believe that global position system (GPS) instruments could provide more rapid and more accurate warning of a tsunami.

White House announces steps to boost US resilience to earthquakes

The White House on Tuesday announced new measures, including a new executive order, aimed at improving the country's resilience to earthquakes in the future.

China braces for worst cold in decades

China has geared up to cope with the winter's coldest weekend as the worst cold front in decades sweeps across the country.

Bulgaria issues yellow alert over heatwave

 Bulgaria issued a yellow warning on Wednesday over the high temperatures, according to the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology with the Bulgarian Academy of Science.

‘Code orange’ heat wave warning in Bulgaria expanded for July 30. (Another heat wave is forecast for next week)

The heat wave gripping Bulgaria will intensify on July 30, with a code “orange” weather warning issued for all but one district in the country, Bulgaria’s meteorology institute has said.

Typhoon Kujira: 40,000 evacuated

South China's Hainan Province has evacuated more than 40,000 people as the eighth typhoon of 2015, Kujira, is expected to land in southern China on Monday night.

China issues alert over typhoon Kujira

China's National Meteorological Center issued on Sunday afternoon a blue alert, the lowest level in its four-tier warning system, for Typhoon Kujira.Typhoon Kujira, the eighth typhoon in 2015 and the first one to hit China, was formed in the South China Sea on Sunday morning, and moving northward at a speed of about 10 kilometers per hour.

120 evacuated after volcano eruption in SW Japan

About 120 residents reached evacuation site located in northwest of a volcano which erupted at around 10: 00 a.m. local time Friday in Kuchinoerabu island off Kagoshima Prefecture in southwest Japan, said top spokesman of the Japanese government.

Nepal mulling to install quake early warning system

Nepal's seismological authority said they were thinking of installing an earthquake early warning system to help alert the public immediately when a quake hits a region, allowing them to have a few more seconds to run for safety.

Bulgaria extends ‘code red’ weather warning for snow, wind to three districts

Bulgaria prolonged the “code red” hazardous weather warning in the southern districts of Smolyan and Kurdjali to March 7, extending it to the neighbouring district of Haskovo, as weather forecasts predicted more heavy snowfall and strong winds in the area.

The country’s meteorology institute said that the expected amount of snow in those districts were about 60-80 litres/square metre, while the winds could cause large snowdrifts.

China: Largest seismic alert network developed

China has built the world's largest earthquake early warning network with over 5,000 earthquake early warning stations that cover large areas of China's main seismic zones, the China News Service reported on Monday.

The Chengdu Institute of Care-life, a prominent seismology research institute in Sichuan Province, announced Monday that with the support of the central government, including the Ministry of Science, and the Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province, 5,010 earthquake early warning stations have been built across 25 provincial-level regions, allowing the monitoring of nearly 2 million square kilometers, home to around 650 million people.

Japan issues highest alert as typhoon Neoguri approaches Okinawa (one of the worst storms in decades)

Japan’s weather agency on Monday issued its highest alert as super typhoon Neoguri barreled toward the southern Okinawa island chain, warning of violent winds and towering waves from what could be one of the worst storms in decades.

The typhoon warning—the first since a new system began last August—means that the storm poses a threat to life and could inflict massive damage from gusts up to 270 kilometers per hour and torrential rain.

Waves could reach as high as 14 meters, the Japan Meteorological Agency said in a warning that was likely to stoke memories of Japan’s quake-tsunami disaster in 2011.

The alert was aimed at Miyako island in the center of the archipelago, with the massive storm expected to hit more populated areas of Okinawa on Tuesday.

UN initiative strengthens drought monitoring and early warning in Asia-Pacific

UN, 1 July 2014 – Although drought is a “silent killer” in Asia and the Pacific, access to scientific information and knowledge remain a challenge for many countries in the region, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said today at a milestone forum on drought monitoring and early warning.
“Over the past three decades, it is estimated that droughts in the region have affected more than 1.3 billion people and caused damages of over $53 billion,” Shamika Sirimanne, Director of ESCAP’s Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division, said today in Colombo, Sri Lanka.