Today in disaster resilience (23 August 2019)

 

disaster

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

Recent emergencies/disaster

Canary Islands wildfire prompts 9,000 evacuations; reaches park https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1V80HK

Four dead, 20 rescued as rain washes away several houses in Uttarakhand https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/10-missing-after-floods-wash-away-15-houses-in-uttarakhand/story-M07lQm8NvkG9xxnMOEAxtM.html

Torrential downpour in Turkey triggers deadly flooding https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/torrential-downpour-in-turkey-triggers-deadly-flooding/70009103

Amazon fires: Record number burning in Brazil rainforest – space agency https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49415973

Yemen – UN Says Thousands Hit by Floods and Heavy Rain in Western Areas http://floodlist.com/asia/yemen-floods-unocha-report-august-2019

Laos – Flooding Hits Northern Provinces http://floodlist.com/asia/laos-floods-oudomxay-vientiane-luangpraban-houaphanh-august-2019

Spain – Flash Floods in Valencia Region After 40mm of Rain in Less Than 1 Hour http://floodlist.com/europe/spain-flash-floods-valencia-august-2019

Guatemala – 25,000 Affected by Floods and Landslides http://floodlist.com/america/guatemala-floods-landslides-august-2019

Sudan – Floods Leave 54 Dead, Over 170,000 Affected http://floodlist.com/africa/sudan-floods-update-august-2019

McKinley Fire in Alaska threatens more than 1,000 structures as wildfires rage in a dozen states https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/21/us/wildfires-in-12-states-alaska-mckinley-fire/index.html

Flood Kills 6, Pregnant Woman, Displaces More Than 1000 Families In Jigawa https://tribuneonlineng.com/flood-kills-6-pregnant-woman-displaces-more-than-1000-families-in-jigawa/

China – Dozens Dead or Missing After Floods in Sichuan http://floodlist.com/asia/china-sichuan-province-floods-august-2019

Volcanic activity worldwide 22 Aug 2019: Karymsky volcano, Popocatépetl, Krakatau, Karangetang https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/85802/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-22-Aug-2019-Karymsky-volcano-Popocatepetl-Krakatau-Karangetang-Ibu.html

Wildfires Are Raging in the Amazon, Adding to Widespread Global Blazes https://e360.yale.edu/digest/wildfires-are-raging-in-the-amazon-adding-to-widespread-global-blazes

 

Extreme Weather and Climate Change

How Soap Operas Can Help Communities Adapt to Climate Change https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2019/08/soap-operas-communities-adapt-climate-change/?utm_content=bufferc0b6b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Iceland Mourns Loss of a Glacier by Posting a Warning About Climate Change https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/world/europe/iceland-glacier-funeral.html

Climate change will drive longer extreme heatwaves in summer https://www.newscientist.com/article/2213721-climate-change-will-drive-longer-extreme-heatwaves-in-summer/#.XVsGgg0NEm4.twitter

New study offers roadmap for detecting changes in the ocean due to climate change https://phys.org/news/2019-08-roadmap-ocean-due-climate.html

Climate change may change the way ocean waves impact 50% of the world’s coastlines https://theconversation.com/climate-change-may-change-the-way-ocean-waves-impact-50-of-the-worlds-coastlines-121239
Majority of Canadians believe in climate change — here’s why some still don’t https://globalnews.ca/news/5782855/why-people-deny-climate-change/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Scientists Have Been Underestimating the Pace of Climate Change https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/scientists-have-been-underestimating-the-pace-of-climate-change/

Heatwaves longer, more deadly even in a 2C world https://phys.org/news/2019-08-heatwaves-longer-deadly-2c-world.html

Voyage of ice-melt discovery in Greenland https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12259345

‘We Cannot Save Everything’: A Historic Neighborhood Confronts Rising Seas https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/science/historic-preservation-climate-newport.html

The Cost of Rising Seas: More Than $400 Billion (and Lots of Angst) https://www.wired.com/story/the-cost-of-rising-seas-more-than-dollar400-billion-and-lots-of-angst/

When it comes to coal, Australia has transitioned away from economics and common sense https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/21/when-it-comes-to-coal-australia-has-transitioned-away-from-economics-and-common-sense?CMP=share_btn_tw

Climate scientists may not be the best communicators of climate threats https://theconversation.com/climate-scientists-may-not-be-the-best-communicators-of-climate-threats-121901

What U.S. Cities Facing Climate Disaster Risks Are Least Prepared? https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/08/climate-impacts-resilient-cities-environmental-justice/596251/

Imagining Disasters in the Era of Climate Change: Is Japan’s Seawall a New Maginot Line? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334448650_Imagining_Disasters_in_the_Era_of_Climate_Change_Is_Japan’s_Seawall_a_New_Maginot_Line

Climate change evacuation planning needs to start now, urges scientists https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-08-23/climate-retreat-planning-science/11435382

 

Disaster risk reduction

Should Taxpayers Subsidize More and More Destruction? https://townhall.com/columnists/patrickmichaels/2019/08/17/should-taxpayers-subsidize-more-and-more-destruction-n2551758

Inquiry over whether utility firms should be made to contribute to coast and flood defences https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/latest-news/inquiry-over-whether-utility-firms-should-be-made-to-contribute-to-coast-and-flood-defences-1-9942161

A Deluge Like the one in 2018 Would be Big Trouble for Wisconsin https://www.govtech.com/em/preparedness/A-Deluge-Like-the-2018-one-Would-be-Big-Trouble-for-Wisconsin.html

A terrifying preview of ‘The Big One’ — a giant quake that may hit Southern California https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/a-terrifying-preview-of-the-big-one–a-giant-quake-that-may-hit-southern-california/2019/08/16/da4c8700-be9d-11e9-a5c6-1e74f7ec4a93_story.html

Research shows why there’s a ‘sweet spot’ depth for underground magma chambers https://phys.org/news/2019-08-sweet-depth-underground-magma-chambers.html

Inside Australia’s plan to survive bigger, badder bushfires https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613336/inside-australias-plan-to-survive-bigger-badder-bushfires/

No lessons learnt from 2018 Karnataka floods: IISc report http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2019/aug/21/no-lessons-learnt-from-2018-karnataka-floods-iisc-report-2021959.html

Critical infrastructure and flood resilience: Cascading effects beyond water https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wat2.1370

NFU responds to Defra call for flood evidence https://www.nfuonline.com/cross-sector/environment/water/flooding/nfu-responds-to-defra-call-for-flood-evidence/

After Harvey surprised thousands with unexpected flooding, new law aims to better inform homebuyers https://www.texastribune.org/2019/08/22/texas-law-requires-buyers-to-disclose-flood-risks/

USGS Awards More Than $12.5 Million to Advance the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System in California, Oregon and Washington https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-awards-more-125-million-advance-shakealert-earthquake-early-warning-system-california?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=c550143e-9e56-4c0f-ac6d-a3619610596c&utm_content=&utm_campaign=

 

Emergency management

More than 300 women aid workers, and their allies, have signed an open letter demanding that world leaders better meet the needs of women and girls caught up in conflict and crisis https://www.rescue.org/press-release/world-humanitarian-day-letter-world-leaders

Why the U.S. disaster agency isn’t ready for catastrophes https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060992591

July 2019 Nepal Floods: Needs assessment report https://floodresilience.net.np/%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%81/item/july-2019-nepal-floods-needs-assessment-report

Brazil’s Bolsonaro blames Amazon fires on NGOs as Twitter erupts https://news.yahoo.com/brazils-bolsonaro-blames-amazon-fires-ngos-twitter-erupts-194758259.html

Guidelines for Assessing the Human Impact of Disasters https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/crisis-prevention-and-recovery/guidelines-for-assessing-the-human-impact-of-disasters.html

Data Pinpoints 14 California Towns Where an Emergency Escape Could Be a Problem https://www.kqed.org/science/1946668/data-pinpoints-14-california-communities-with-most-limited-emergency-escape-routes

Disaster READY: Small-scale response packs powerful lessons for Disaster READY PNG https://www.australianhumanitarianpartnership.org/field-stories/small-scale-response-packs-powerful-lessons-for-disaster-ready-png

Disaster education, communications and engagement

Seismology School in Nepal https://britgeopeople.blogspot.com/2019/07/seismology-school-in-nepal-by-paul.html

Tsunamis: Be Prepared and Stay Safe! https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/training/tsunamis-be-prepared.html?utm_source=SocialMedia&utm_medium=SocialMedia&utm_campaign=School

Different types of flooding in the UK https://www.morganclark.co.uk/about-us/blog/different-types-of-flooding-in-the-uk/

The light show – put on by the Environment Agency and partners – aims to raise awareness of flood risk https://www.gov.uk/government/news/light-extravaganza-to-raise-flood-awareness-at-tendring

Examining the Role of Twitter in Response and Recovery During and After Historic Flooding in South Carolina https://journals.lww.com/jphmp/Abstract/2019/09000/Examining_the_Role_of_Twitter_in_Response_and.18.aspx

Geopolitical and environmental crises help to explain why more students are choosing geography GCSE https://www.tes.com/news/gcse-results-tectonic-shift-geography-entries

 

Psychology and Disasters

Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaax0903

 

Sociology and disasters

How unequal are we? A new Atlas of Inequality for England https://medium.com/@undertheraedar/how-unequal-are-we-a-new-atlas-of-inequality-for-england-e0fc75009b7c

The dark cultural heritage of volcanoes https://phdvolcanology.wordpress.com/2019/08/19/the-dark-geocultural-heritage-of-volcanoes/

While resilience and stories of the communities “building back better” has become the legacy of Haiyan, those on the ground says it’s actually more like “building back bitterhttps://theconversation.com/myths-about-disaster-survivors-stall-the-global-response-to-climate-change-121548?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitterbutton

The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019 shows how these disasters are closely linked to inequality and poverty, each feeding on the other and leading to a vicious downward cycle https://www.unescap.org/publications/asia-pacific-disaster-report-2019

Advertisement

Published by

NeilDufty

I am a Principal at Water Technology Pty Ltd, an Australian-based coastal, environment and natural hazards company - see https://www.watertech.com.au/. I specialise in the community aspects of disaster risk reduction and emergency management. Samples of my research and projects can be accessed at https://works.bepress.com/neil_dufty/ Check out my latest book 'Disaster Education, Communication and Engagement' at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119569796/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6 I am also a published fiction writer specialising in short stories and poems - see https://neilduftyfiction.com/

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s