Xian Xu and Jingbing Feng looked at the impact that earthquakes have on divorce:

• A doubling in the number of people lost in an earthquake, is associated with a 6% increase in divorce one year after the event.
• This more than offsets the 2% increase in marriages that is also triggered.
• The effects appear to persist. Two years after the event the divorce and marriage increases are even higher.
• In addition to humanitarian aid, the findings indicate that family counselling might also be required after a natural disaster.

Read the study and its methodology on Emerald Insight.

Via: Marginal Revolution