New challenges of disaster management in Iran

After the earthquake hit Tabas in 1978 with Mw7.4, Manjil in 1990 with Mw7.3 and Bam in 2003 with Mw6.5, some discussions have been raised about the reliability of the different existing seismic hazards zoning maps (Fig. 1) and a comparison between the recorded and previously assessed ground motions. Thus, besides the several hazard maps developed during the last four decades for Iran, there are still ongoing challenges in hazard analysis…

Pandemics are here to stay. Here’s how to prepare for the next one

Imagine if every time there was a new financial crisis, the President appointed a new Federal Reserve and granted it new fiscal powers. With no existing structure or network in place, chaos would result. Why, then, do we expect this approach to work in a public health crisis such as COVID-19?

With our long history of fighting diseases, two points have become increasingly clear. The first is that successfully managing viral pandemics requires a dedicated, mission-focused health organization whose leaders have experience in this field. The second critical lesson of public health – one that we are painfully relearning in this pandemic – is that an outbreak anywhere threatens all of us. Here’s how we can potentially get back to work faster and make sure we stay at work when the next pandemic strikes…