Please find below links to recent news about some aspects of disaster resilience…

Recent emergencies/disaster

Queensland rain: Daintree River beats 118 year flood record cutting off hundreds https://www.9news.com.au/national/2019/01/28/06/38/queensland-flooding-rainfall-daintree-river-record-level?ocid=Social-9News

Tasmanian bushfire property losses expected today as authorities warn of ‘risk to life’ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-29/bushfire-risk-to-life-still-high-in-tasmania/10756452

Brazil – Hundreds Missing After Tailings Dam Collapse in Minas Gerais http://floodlist.com/america/brazil-tailings-dam-collapse-brumadinho-minas-gerais-january-2019

Havana tornado: Cuba’s capital hit by rare twister https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47025852?ocid=socialflow_twitter

Congo Ebola cases rise to 736 as problems noted in Katwa http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2019/01/congo-ebola-cases-rise-736-problems-noted-katwa

Death toll from Indonesia floods, landslides jumps to 68 https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/death-toll-indonesia-floods-landslides-sulawesi-climbs-68-thousands-forced-flee-homes/

Algeria’s civil protection unit said on Saturday that five people died after being swept away by flood waters https://www.sott.net/article/405818-Flooding-kills-five-in-snow-hit-Algeria

Strong injuring mining earthquake near Rudna, Poland – 8 miners missing, 10 injured – January 29, 2019 https://earthquake-report.com/2019/01/29/moderate-earthquake-poland-january-29-2019/

Two dead one missing after floods, landslides in the Philippines https://www.sott.net/article/405960-2-dead-1-missing-due-to-floods-landslide-in-the-Philippines

A powerful polar vortex is blamed for at least seven deaths across the Midwest https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/temperatures-plunge-historic-lows-not-seen-decades-n964391

Peru – Heavy Rain Causes Building to Collapse in Apurímac Region http://floodlist.com/america/peru-hotel-collapse-rain-flood-apurimac-january-2019

Indonesia – Deadly Landslide in Bali http://floodlist.com/asia/indonesia-landslide-kubutambahan-bali-january-2019

Volcanic activity worldwide 31 Jan 2019: Fuego volcano, Popocatépetl, Shiveluch, Planchón-Peteroa, Sabancaya https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/74424/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-31-Jan-2019-Fuego-volcano-Popocatepetl-Shiveluch-Planchon-Peteroa-Sabanc.html

12 killed and over 170 injured as severe floods hit Saudi Arabia https://watchers.news/2019/01/30/saudi-arabia-flood-january-2019/

 

Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Climate Change’s Hidden Victim: Your Mental Health https://medium.com/s/2069/the-emotional-damage-done-by-climate-change-2f8f9ad59155

Leaving no-one behind: Including a billion people to adapt to climate change https://www.adaptation-undp.org/leaving-no-one-behind-including-billion-people-adapt-climate-change#.XE7BWQtvGaQ.twitter

Get used to polar vortex outbreaks https://phys.org/news/2019-01-science-polar-vortex-outbreaks.html
Faster CO₂ rise expected in 2019 https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/2019/2019-carbondioxide-forecast?WT.mc_id=LinkedIn_Content

Sea Level Rise Has Eroded $400 Million In Regional Home Values, Study Says https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/01/22/flooding-already-costing-homeowners-millions-in-lost-appreciation-study-finds

Can we take climate change more seriously? https://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/20190128184911-is-there-a-way-that-scientists-and-meteorologists-can-help-regular-citizens-take-climate-change-more-seriously/

Losses caused to India doubled due to change in climate https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/losses-caused-to-india-doubled-due-to-change-in-climate/story-Fa6agqIHvTYlCXWvX0iHIJ.html

The Next Financial Crisis Could Be Caused by Climate Change https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/59xpxa/the-next-financial-crisis-could-be-caused-by-climate-change?utm_source=vicetwitterus

Climate change: The more we know, the worse it seems https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/25/opinions/climate-change-getting-worse-intl/index.html

People-powered climate change adaptation in Nepal https://undp-adaptation.exposure.co/in-pictures-peoplepowered-climate-adaptation-in-nepal

Why cold weather doesn’t mean climate change is fake https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/climate-change-colder-winters-global-warming-polar-vortex/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=social::src=twitter::cmp=editorial::add=tw20190127env-resurfcoldweather::rid=&sf206643510=1

U.S. Climate Concern Is Trending Upward https://www.carbontax.org/blog/2019/01/28/u-s-climate-concern-is-trending-upward/

World to miss 2020 climate ‘turning point’: analysis https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/health/World-to-miss-2020-climate-turning-point/1954202-4945374-nnsgg8z/index.html

‘A January to forget’: Hot end to month puts heat records in play https://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/a-january-to-forget-hot-end-to-month-puts-heat-records-in-play-20190129-p50u9i.html

Virtual-reality app shows future sea-level rise in San Francisco https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/01/app-shows-future-sea-level-rise/

ICRC to UN Security Council: Double impact of climate change and armed conflict harms people’s ability to cope https://reliefweb.int/report/world/icrc-un-security-council-double-impact-climate-change-and-armed-conflict-harms-people-s?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shared&utm_source=twitter.com

Rapidly receding Arctic Canada glaciers revealing landscapes continuously ice-covered for more than 40,000 years https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08307-w

Disclosure of climate-related financial risk https://riskfrontiers.com/disclosure-of-climate-related-financial-risk/

Germany to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants, will rely primarily on renewable energy https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-coal-power-20190126-story.html

The World Just Experienced the Four Hottest Years on Record https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/nasa-noaa-shutdown-2018-warmest-climate-record/581221/

Your World Is Going to Shatter: A letter from the future https://medium.com/s/2069/your-world-is-going-to-shatter-620ac40ec25c

Here’s How Much Ice Antarctica Is Losing—It’s a Lot https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-how-much-ice-antarctica-is-losing-its-a-lot/

U.S. Midwest Freezes, Australia Burns: This Is the Age of Weather Extremes https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/climate/global-warming-extreme-weather.html

European waters drive ocean overturning, key for regulating climate https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190131143344.htm

U.S. Intelligence Officials Warn Climate Change Is a Worldwide Threat https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30012019/worldwide-threat-assessment-climate-change-intelligence-agencies-national-security?amp&__twitter_impression=true

In pictures: Polar vortex strikes North America https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47071683?ocid=socialflow_twitter

Polar vortex: Whatever happened to global warming? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47078054

 

Disaster risk reduction

New earthquake risk model could better inform disaster planning https://phys.org/news/2018-09-earthquake-disaster.html

To Improve Disaster Preparedness and Urban Resilience, Japan Shares Best Practices with Armenia, Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2016/09/26/to-improve-disaster-preparedness-and-urban-resilience-japan-shares-best-practices-with-armenia-kyrgyz-republic-and-tajikistan

Near-Real-Time Flood Forecasting Based on Satellite Precipitation Products https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/3/252

Ontario Overland Flood Risk Mapping https://www.cityfloodmap.com/2016/06/ontario-overland-flood-risk-mapping.html

Pennsylvania Flood risk and mitigation https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2019/01/pennsylvania-flood-risk-and-mitigation

Ashghal to upgrade tunnel designs to prevent flooding https://www.gulf-times.com/story/620322/Ashghal-to-upgrade-tunnel-designs-to-prevent-flood

County recognized for floodplain management program https://www.fayettetribune.com/news/county-recognized-for-floodplain-management-program/article_73afbc9c-2000-11e9-85eb-2380a27c92c4.html

Signs of progress on national flood program for Canada https://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/insurance/is-flood-re-coming-to-canada-1004151282/

Incorporating inland flooding into hurricane evacuation decision support modeling https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-019-03573-9

Google’s AI can predict floods with 75% precision https://venturebeat.com/2019/01/29/googles-ai-can-predict-floods-with-75-precision/

Space technology predicts droughts several months in advance http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/space-technology-predicts-droughts-several-months-in-advance

Understanding impacts of flooding and drought in South East Asia https://nerc.ukri.org/press/releases/2019/04-impacts/

Strengthening Climate Information and Early Warning Systems in Zambia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOygmQFnaXY&feature=youtu.be

From El Nino to earthquakes: A leading disaster watcher scans the horizon for 2019 https://www.irinnews.org/opinion/2019/01/29/el-nino-earthquakes-leading-disaster-watcher-scans-horizon-2019

Extreme rainfall events are connected across the world https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/190029/extreme-rainfall-events-connected-across-world/

Toward a flood-resilient Kolkata http://www.acclimatise.uk.com/2019/01/29/toward-a-flood-resilient-kolkata/

Inside efforts to prevent a regional Ebola crisis in central Africa https://www.irinnews.org/special-report/2019/01/16/ebola-crisis-prevention-central-africa-congo-uganda?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=irinsocial&utm_campaign=irinupdates

River levels tracked from space https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190129124901.htm

The Unpredictability of Floods, Erosion, and Channel Migration https://eos.org/research-spotlights/the-unpredictability-of-floods-erosion-and-channel-migration

‘Absolutely necessary:’ Alberta buys more land for flood mitigation project in Calgary https://globalnews.ca/news/4903618/alberta-flood-mitigation-project/

A British tsunami? The Great Flood of 1607 http://www.kyrackramer.com/2018/01/30/a-british-tsunami-the-great-flood-of-1607/

Tackling uncertainty in flood forecasting http://www.hrwallingford.com/news/tackling-uncertainty-in-flood-forecasting

Don’t build mental health hospital on a flood plain, warns St. John’s deputy mayor https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/new-mental-health-hospital-1.4995720

European Flood Awareness System new web page https://www.efas.eu/

Study: Ultra-slow earthquake indicates deep crustal movement near Istanbul, Turkey https://watchers.news/2019/01/31/study-ultra-slow-earthquake-indicates-deep-crustal-movement-near-istanbul-turkey/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Emergency Management

Water Bombing Aircraft Crashes While Battling Victorian Fires https://tendaily.com.au/news/australia/a190128xoy/water-bombing-aircraft-crashes-while-battling-victorian-fires-20190128

FEMA Opens Disaster Recovery Center in Paradise, Calif., Offering Services to Camp Fire Victims http://www.govtech.com/em/disaster/FEMA-Opens-Disaster-Recovery-Center-in-Paradise-Calif-Offering-Services-to-Camp-Fire-Victims.html

Insurance Claims From Deadly California Wildfires Top $11.4B  https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/California-Insurance-Commissioner-Claims-2018-Wildfires-504979801.html

Heatwaves Strike At The Heart And Claim More Lives Than Any Other Natural Disaster https://tendaily.com.au/lifestyle/health/a190124brh/heatwaves-strike-at-the-heart-and-claim-more-lives-than-any-other-natural-disaster-20190124

Culture of bullying could take years to change – Fire and Emergency boss https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/380907/culture-of-bullying-could-take-years-to-change-fire-and-emergency-boss

A Small Island Town Prepares for a Major Earthquake https://www.citylab.com/life/2019/01/vashon-island-washington-seattle-earthquake-disaster-preparedness/581401/

Vale to Dismantle 10 Dams in Wake of Brazil Mining Disaster https://www.wsj.com/articles/vale-employees-arrested-after-brazil-dam-collapse-11548760265

From Disaster Response to Community Recovery: Nongovernmental Entities, Government, and Public Health https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304895

Displaced by California’s Camp Fire, They’ve Been Through ‘Hell.’ As Last Shelter Closes, Where Will They Go? http://www.govtech.com/em/disaster/Displaced-by-Californias-Camp-Fire-Theyve-Been-Through-Hell-As-Last-Shelter-Sloses-Where-Will-They-Go.html

Fiji’s unheralded frontline disaster responders: women https://www.irinnews.org/news-feature/2019/01/30/fiji-s-unheralded-frontline-disaster-responders-women?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=irinsocial&utm_campaign=irinupdates

Drones to the rescue as Cyclone Desmond storms Mozambique https://insight.wfp.org/drones-to-the-rescue-as-cyclone-desmond-storms-mozambique-d7f501e40b0f

If the police step up stop-and-search tactics, trouble will follow https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/31/police-stop-and-search-riots-2011-london?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

Disaster education, communications and engagement

The science and art disciplines are usually treated as mutually exclusive entities, but they have much to offer each other https://eos.org/project-updates/sciart-teaching-across-the-interface

Bottom‑up citizen initiatives in natural hazard management: Why they appear and what they can do? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901118312577

Geography in education: exploring a definition https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education/geography-education-exploring-definition/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab

‘Hell in High Water’: Bluesman taps Mississippi roots in New Stage play about Great Flood of 1927 https://mississippitoday.org/2019/01/29/hell-in-high-water-bluesman-taps-mississippi-roots-in-new-stage-play-about-great-flood-of-1927/

Today in Dutch history: the 1953 North Sea flooding disaster https://www.iamexpat.nl/read-and-discuss/expat-page/articles/today-dutch-history-1953-north-sea-flooding-disaster

 

Disaster psychology

Zeehan residents on Tasmania’s west coast make decision to stay or go as bushfire threat looms https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-25/zeehan-residents-evacuate-or-defend-in-tasmania-bushfires/10748914

Americares: Healing in Puerto Rico https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrZMbCSi8h4&feature=youtu.be

Mild traumatic brain injury linked to higher risk of PTSD, depression https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/30/health/mild-traumatic-brain-injury-ptsd-depression-study/index.html

 

Sociology and Disasters

Anchors of Social Network Awareness Index: A Key to Modeling Postdisaster Housing Recovery https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/%28ASCE%29IS.1943-555X.0000471?casa_token=raZWxekXXIIAAAAA%3Ap5MUBflPfkTwI2FE4qsdXyYuMa0i-19Pg1yVvpyNQoUdsWSwxyM0gnRKl8DlrwLVeQuLa6k3LJk&

Role of Social and Human Capital in Household Resilience: Empirical Evidence from an Agricultural Village Community with Exposure to Significant Environmental Stresses in Sri Lanka https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40609-018-00137-w

Quantifying inequities in US federal response to hurricane disaster in Texas and Florida compared with Puerto Rico https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/1/e001191

Social capital and disasters: How does social capital shape post-disaster conditions in the Philippines? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330727013_Social_capital_and_disasters_How_does_social_capital_shape_post-disaster_conditions_in_the_Philippines

The Sociology of Climate Change as a Sociology of Loss https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-sociology-archives-europeennes-de-sociologie/article/sociology-of-climate-change-as-a-sociology-of-loss/B16D58EC8D7F9AEE3227A35F4A9A5E20