Award-winning sociologist, author, and disaster scholar Lori Peek will take over as the Natural Hazards Center's next director in January.

A series of incidents where crowds fled from loud noises highlights the difficulty of responding to incidents where the most pressing threat is mass panic.

As Central Italy begins the daunting task of recovering from a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck last month, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is taking steps to stop rebuilding—rebuilding by companies with mafia ties, that is.