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"Thick, black ash and rock clouds explode five miles into the air as the moment Mount Shindake erupts without warning on Friday is captured on film. The 140 residents of the southern Japanese island of Kuchinoerabu are being evacuated. There are no reports of injuries or damage, although several people are yet to be accounted for"

Ageing populations and urbanisation could leave the world's poorest countries increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters, the UK's chief scientific adviser warned on Tuesday. "Vulnerability will go soaring," said Sir John Beddington. "Extreme events will happen every five years instead of every 20. Vulnerability will come from changing climate, demography and most people living in cities."

"Work is under way to improve monitoring of Iceland's volcanoes and give earlier warning of possible eruptions."

"An earthquake of magnitude 8.2 has jolted northern Chile, triggering a tsunami alert and the evacuation of thousands of people from coastal areas. At least five people were killed and more than 300 women escaped from a coastal prison."

"Japan raises eruption warning for southern volcano to second-highest level and tells thousands of residents to prepare for a possible evacuation"

"Monsoon rains are piling on misery in the worst-hit areas, as UN warns that rising food insecurity shows need to prepare for future disasters and build resilience"

Some of the photgraphs are hard hitting - be warned

" Warning: This image contains graphic or objectionable content click here to view it - then click the image again to see the transition"

"Tsunami warning center scientists usually measure an earthquake's "size" with the moment magnitude scale rather than the older but more famous Richter magnitude scale. The moment magnitude scale is better suited for measuring the "sizes" of very large earthquakes and its values are proportional to an earthquake's total energy release, making this measurement more useful for tsunami forecasting. Moment magnitude numbers scale such that that energy release increases by a factor of about 32 for each whole magnitude number. For example, magnitude 6 releases about 32 times as much energy as magnitude 5, magnitude 7 about 32 times as much as magnitude 6, and so on. This animation graphically compares the relative "sizes" of some 20th and 21st century earthquakes by their moment magnitudes (according to USGS/NEIC). Each circle's area represents its relative energy release, its color indicates its tsunami potential (see http://ptwc.weather.gov/ptwc/about_me...), and its label lists its moment magnitude, its location, and the year it happened. ----- Los científicos del centro de alertas de tsunamis miden el "tamaño" de un terremoto utilizando la escala de magnitud de momento y no otras escalas más antiguas y famosas como la escala de magnitud de Richter. La escala de magnitud de momento es más adecuada para medir el tamaño de grandes terremotos, y sus valores son proporcionales a la cantidad de energía liberada, lo cual hace esta medida de magnitud más útil para el pronóstico de tsunamis. Los números en la escala de magnitud de momento escalan de manera que la cantidad de energía liberada se incrementa 32 veces por cada número entero de diferencia. Por ejemplo, un evento con magnitud 6.0 libera cerca de 32 veces más energía que uno de 5.0, y uno de magnitud 7.0 libera 32 veces más energía que uno con magnitud 6.0, etcétera. Esta animación compara gráficamente el tamaño relativo de algunos terremotos ocurridos durante los siglos XX y XXI en término

World's largest insurance market says developing countries such as China, Thailand and Saudi Arabia are under-insured against natural disasters

An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 has hit near the Solomon Islands, with a tsunami warning issued for surrounding areas in the Pacific Ocean.