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Natural disasters

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The Nos 5, 6 and 7 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear complex operated by Tepco.
Photo: Kyodo

‘Built on tofu’: safety fears as Japan prepares to restart nuclear plant

While Fukushima operator Tepco says it is ‘committed to safety’ at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, critics believe it is a disaster waiting to happen.

4 hours agovideocam

Power, protests and policy shake-ups shape Indonesia’s 2025

26 Dec 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

Southern California drenched by powerful Christmas storm, flash flooding

25 Dec 2025 - 9:57PMvideocam

‘Worse than the tsunami’ – Indonesia’s Aceh residents traumatised by flooding

A month after the disaster, residents are still struggling to recover as anger against Jakarta’s slow rescue response mounts.

24 Dec 2025 - 11:00AMvideocam

A staff member works to clean a submerged medical equipment after a flash flood at a hospital in Aceh Tamiang, northern Sumatra, on December 16. Photo: AFP

Extreme weather

Asia’s year in extreme weather and natural disasters, from earthquakes to floods

From the deadly earthquake in Myanmar to tropical cyclones in the Philippines, Asia went through its share of natural disasters in 2025.

23 Dec 2025 - 3:00PM

Southeast Asian floods set to threaten more wildlife due to climate change

Environmental crimes and poor oversight are also worsening the risks faced by animals and trees.

23 Dec 2025 - 7:39PMvideocam

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Japan clears way for Tepco to restart world’s largest nuclear plant

Tepco, operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, has been allowed to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 15 years after the disaster.

23 Dec 2025 - 3:32PMvideocam

Tepco’s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant stands along the seaside in Niigata prefecture. Photo: Reuters

Indonesian elephants tasked to help in flood recovery spur conservation debate

The four elephants deployed to lift debris in Aceh last week after flooding were also involved in the 2004 post-tsunami recovery efforts.

19 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM

Don’t build on ‘active zones’, experts warn Indonesia as Sumatra recovery begins

Jakarta has pledged US$3.6 billion and a special agency to help restore homes and public facilities destroyed in last month’s cyclone.

18 Dec 2025 - 6:00PMvideocam

Video | Indonesian minister dismisses Malaysian flood aid, sparking outrage

Tito Karnavian dismissed a US$60,000 aid package as ‘not much’ compared with Jakarta’s own disaster response, sparking online criticism.

17 Dec 2025 - 5:54PM

Tito Karnavian dismissed a US$60,000 aid package as ‘not much’ compared with Jakarta’s own disaster response, sparking online criticism

‘Just say thank you’: Malaysians fume as Indonesian minister belittles flood aid

Tito Karnavian dismissed the US$60,000 aid package as ‘not much’ compared to Jakarta’s own disaster response, touching a raw nerve online.

17 Dec 2025 - 5:59PMvideocam

Indonesian Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian as he appeared on the Suara Lokal Mengglobal podcast. Photo: YouTube/HelmyYahyaBicara

Japan tremors raise fears of overdue megaquake killing 199,000

Authorities are urging residents to review evacuation plans as simulations suggest a ‘maximum-class’ winter night quake could trap thousands.

15 Dec 2025 - 3:17PMvideocam

‘Didn’t know where to go’: tourists struggle in Japan quake evacuation

Foreign visitors were left scrambling for multilingual information after Monday’s magnitude 7.5 earthquake.

13 Dec 2025 - 10:21AMvideocam

Japan lifts tsunami warning after magnitude 6.7 earthquake

The weather office said waves of up to 20cm were recorded on the main northern island of Hokkaido and in the Aomori region.

12 Dec 2025 - 2:13PMvideocam

Collapsed bookshelves at a high school library in Hachinohe City in Aomori prefecture on Tuesday following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake off northern Japan. Photo: JIJI Press/AFP

‘Could go extinct here’: orangutans at risk as Indonesia floods devastate habitat

Orangutans have disappeared since landslides struck Sipirok in North Sumatra province.

9 Dec 2025 - 10:00PMvideocam

A Tapanuli orangutan, and its young, hanging on a tree in Batang Toru, Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Indonesia in 2015. Photo: Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme/EPA-EFE

Japan issues megaquake advisory after magnitude 7.5 tremor

The advisory urges preparedness for a possible large quake and tsunami, recalling the 2011 disaster that destroyed Fukushima’s nuclear plant.

9 Dec 2025 - 8:02PMvideocam

Is Indonesian disaster response failing Sumatra’s flood victims?

Prabowo’s government is ‘busy bragging about its quick reaction’ while deaths mount and people suffer from lack of aid, critics say.

9 Dec 2025 - 6:31PMvideocam

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Video | Magnitude 7.5 quake strikes Japan

Some 2,700 homes in northeastern Japan were without power, with reports of fires after the ground shook violently for more than 30 seconds.

9 Dec 2025 - 3:09PM

Magnitude 7.5 quake strikes Japan

Video | At least 30 injured after magnitude 7.5 quake in Japan

Authorities issued tsunami warnings following the powerful earthquake in northeastern Japan’s Aomori prefecture.

9 Dec 2025 - 10:53AM

30 injured after massive quake in Japan, warning of more stronger tremors

Officials removed all tsunami warnings following the powerful earthquake in northeastern Japan’s Aomori prefecture.

9 Dec 2025 - 3:58PMvideocam

Video | Force of Kilauea eruption knocks out remote camera

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has been erupting intermittently since December 2024.

9 Dec 2025 - 6:27PM

Australian bushfires destroy homes in 2 states as firefighter killed

More than 50 bushfires are burning across New South Wales as a massive blaze is contained in Tasmania.

8 Dec 2025 - 12:18PM

Firefighters work to put out a bushfire spreading through the Koolewong area on the Central Coast, New South Wales, on Saturday. Photo: EPA

627 dead in Sri Lanka landslides as rains batter South, Southeast Asia

At least 1,812 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

7 Dec 2025 - 7:45PM

Thai woman stays on rooftop with pets during floods, refusing rescue without them

In her online plea for rescue, she shares location, urges authorities to cut power in her neighbourhood to prevent electrocution.

6 Dec 2025 - 9:00AM

The Philippines

6 cyclones, 5 weeks: Philippines can’t escape its endless cycle of disaster

Corruption, complacency and climate chaos conspire to turn the Philippines’ natural hazards into man-made tragedies.

6 Dec 2025 - 8:17AMvideocam

Satellite imagery shows Super Typhoon Fung-wong as it approaches the Philippines on November 9. Photo: NOAA/EPA

Video | ‘Please help us’ appeal from Indonesia flood survivor

Death toll has risen to more than 830 with hundreds still missing in Sumatra.

9 Dec 2025 - 6:28PM

Malaysian man stranded by Thai floods with ‘colleagues’ exposed holidaying with lover

The wife remains unaware of her husband’s affair, as he regularly communicates with her.

4 Dec 2025 - 6:00PM

Video | Indonesian mother and child cling to tree to survive floods

Widespread floods have devastated vast regions of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing more than 750 people and displacing thousands.

4 Dec 2025 - 3:27PM

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