Please find below links to recent news about some aspects of disaster resilience…
Recent emergencies/disaster
Exceptional high tide inundates Venice for third time in a week, as Italy suffers widespread flooding https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-18/venice-suffers-record-flood-for-third-time-in-a-week/11712662
Huge hailstones batter Queensland, causing significant damage to cars and homes, Australia https://watchers.news/2019/11/17/huge-hailstones-batter-queensland-causing-significant-damage-to-cars-and-homes-australia/
Flooding chaos in northern England to continue until Tuesday https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/17/flooding-chaos-in-northern-england-to-continue-until-tuesday?CMP=share_btn_tw
Philippines – Houses Destroyed, Thousands Evacuate After Rain From Storm ‘Kalmaegi’ (Ramon) http://floodlist.com/asia/philippines-floods-storm-kalmaegi-bicol-november-2019
Brazil – 1 Dead, Dozens Homeless After Floods in Espírito Santo http://floodlist.com/america/brazil-floods-espirito-santo-november-2019
Colombia – More Flooding Hits Antioquia Department http://floodlist.com/america/colombia-flooding-vigia-del-fuerte-antioquia-november-2019
Panama – Floods Damage Over 100 Homes in Central Provinces http://floodlist.com/america/panama-floods-november-2019
Nigeria – Worst Flooding in 7 Years in Borno and Adamawa, Says UN http://floodlist.com/africa/nigeria-flooding-borno-november-2019
Austria – Heavy Rain Triggers Deadly Landslides and Floods in South http://floodlist.com/europe/austria-landslides-floods-salzburg-carinthia-november-2019
DR Congo – Thousands Hit by Floods in Haut-Uélé and Tshopo http://floodlist.com/africa/dr-congo-floods-hautuele-tshopo-november-2019
UK – 100 Rescued After Floods Hit Central and Eastern Areas of England http://floodlist.com/europe/united-kingdom/floods-central-eastern-england-november-2019
Sydney blanketed in dense bushfire smoke amid ‘severe’ fire danger https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-blanketed-in-dense-bushfire-smoke-amid-severe-fire-danger-20191119-p53bt2.html
Over 10 000 homes destroyed, 57 000 affected as catastrophic floods hit Central African Republic https://watchers.news/2019/11/17/over-10-000-homes-destroyed-57-000-affected-as-catastrophic-floods-hit-central-african-republic/
Powerful tornado hits Grosseto, causing significant damage, Italy https://watchers.news/2019/11/18/grosseto-italy-tornado/
Chad – Over 200,000 Hit by Floods Says UN http://floodlist.com/africa/chad-floods-november-2019
Colombia – Thousands Affected After Rivers Overflow in Santander Department http://floodlist.com/america/colombia-floods-santander-november-2019
Italy – More Severe Weather as Rivers Overflow in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany http://floodlist.com/europe/italy-floods-emilia-romagna-tuscany-november-2019
Catastrophic bushfire conditions in Australia, over a dozen temperature records smashed https://watchers.news/2019/11/20/catastrophic-bushfire-conditions-in-australia-over-a-dozen-temperature-records-smashed/
Volcanic activity worldwide 21 Nov 2019: Stromboli volcano, Fuego, Klyuchevskoy, Popocatépetl https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/92491/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-21-Nov-2019-Stromboli-volcano-Fuego-Klyuchevskoy-Popocatepetl-Ibu.html
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Dr Tom Beer’s pioneering 1980s research into bushfires and climate change has, to his dismay, proved all too accurate https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/17/what-could-i-have-done-the-scientist-who-predicted-the-bushfire-emergency-four-decades-ago
Bangladesh declares climate change a “planetary emergency” https://www.unisdr.org/archive/69023
Flood, fire and plague: climate change blamed for current disasters https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/flood-fire-and-plague-climate-change-blamed-for-disasters
Future rainfall in UK uplands heavier than present climate predictions, study suggests https://watchers.news/2019/11/17/future-rainfall-in-uk-uplands-heavier-than-present-climate-predictions-study-suggests/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Sea-level rise and fear for Lagos https://guardian.ng/opinion/sea-level-rise-and-fear-for-lagos/
Climate Whiplash: Wild Swings in Extreme Weather Are on the Rise https://e360.yale.edu/features/climate-whiplash-wild-swings-in-extreme-weather-are-on-the-rise
Venice Flooding Reveals A Real Hoax About Climate Change – Framing It As “Either/Or” https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2019/11/16/venice-flooding-reveals-a-real-hoax-about-climate-changeframing-it-as-eitheror/#54cb6aba3a12
In Bosnia and Herzegovina streamlined and coordinated climate action is reducing some of the devastating effects of climate change https://undp-adaptation.exposure.co/giving-trees
We’ll be measuring sea level rise in feet, not inches https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2019/11/15/well-be-measuring-sea-level-rise-in-feet-not-inches-editorial/
Storm surges to get bigger in south, smaller in north https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/11/19/912610/storm-surges-to-get-bigger-in-south-smaller-in-north-of-nz
Climate change may be divisive, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid it. Here’s how to approach the topic effectively https://www.fastcompany.com/90424549/how-to-talk-about-climate-change-in-an-emotionally-intelligent-way
Painfully slow hurricanes, deadly heat, and cities without water: What the climate crisis will look like in the next 10 years, according to experts https://www.businessinsider.com.au/climate-change-in-the-next-decade-2019-11?r=US&IR=T
Sea-Level Rise: West Africa Is Sinking https://earth.org/sea-level-rise-west-africa-is-sinking/
Understanding coastal sea level change: products available http://cci.esa.int/content/understanding-coastal-sea-level-change-products-available
Istanbul heatwave shows need for urgent climate action – Greenpeace https://ahvalnews.com/climate-crisis/istanbul-heatwave-shows-need-urgent-climate-action-greenpeace
The staggering loss of the Arctic Ocean’s oldest sea ice shown in time-lapse https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/11/arctic-ice-melting-time-lapse-video/
Retreat of the Columbia Glacier https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/ColumbiaGlacier
Why coastal floods are becoming more frequent as seas rise https://theconversation.com/climate-explained-why-coastal-floods-are-becoming-more-frequent-as-seas-rise-127202
The serious sea level threat to Macau https://www.macaubusiness.com/the-serious-sea-level-threat/
October 2019: Earth’s Second Warmest October on Record https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/eye-of-the-storm/october-2019-earths-second-warmest-october-on-record/
Climate impacts ‘to cost world $7.9 trillion’ by 2050 https://phys.org/news/2019-11-climate-impacts-world-trillion.html
The world’s climate goals are not sufficient. They are also unlikely to be met https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/11/20/the-worlds-climate-goals-are-not-sufficient-they-are-also-unlikely-to-be-met
UK is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to extreme heatwaves caused by climate change https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/climate-change-uk-heatwaves-excess-deaths-996328
Massive Mildura dust storm leaves Victorian town ‘unliveable’ amid 40C heat https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/21/victorian-town-mildura-unliveable-massive-dust-storm-40c-heat?CMP=share_btn_tw
Permafrost Becoming a Carbon Source Instead of a Sink https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145880/permafrost-becoming-a-carbon-source-instead-of-a-sink
Warning signs of climate change https://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/city-life/warning-signs-of-climate-change/1144267829
The 2019 report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)32596-6/fulltext
Melting glaciers and flooding wetlands https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/paired-images-melting-glaciers-flooding-wetlands-tell-story-global-climate-change-180973609/
‘Maybe It Will Destroy Everything’: Pakistan’s Melting Glaciers Cause Alarm https://www.npr.org/2019/11/21/779412377/maybe-it-will-destroy-everything-pakistan-s-melting-glaciers-cause-alarm
We say we want climate action, but we still won’t vote for it https://www.smh.com.au/national/we-say-we-want-climate-action-but-we-still-won-t-vote-for-it-20191121-p53coj.html
Disaster risk reduction
New book – ‘Disaster Upon Disaster: Exploring the Gap Between Knowledge, Policy and Practice’ https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/HoffmanDisaster
New photogrammetry technique from the Army Corps of Engineers can make accurate 3D maps from ordinary aerial footage in just minutes https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/16/army-photogrammetry-technique-makes-3d-aerial-maps-in-minutes/
Cascading disasters are causing extreme weather to pack an even bigger punch https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/cascading-disasters-are-causing-extreme-weather-pack-even-bigger-punch
Lokeberg: an interesting quick clay slide triggered by piling in Western Sweden https://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2019/11/14/lokeburg-1/
Indigenous leaders say Australia’s bushfire crisis shows approach to land management failing https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-14/traditional-owners-predicted-bushfire-disaster/11700320
NZ’s wildfire future: which regions are most at risk? https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12285889
Mumbai: BMC officers to visit Japan for lessons in flood control https://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-bmc-officers-to-visit-japan-for-lessons-in-flood-control/22095182
USA: Community wildfire prevention & mitigation report https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/67029
Range-dependent thresholds for global flood early warning https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/69036
Iowa Mitigation Program Leads to $1.4 Billion in Flood Prevention Projects https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2019/11/iowa-mitigation-program-leads-to-1-4-billion-in-flood-prevention-projects
In Flood-Prone South Carolina, Nature-Based Solutions Could Reduce Risk https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2019/11/07/in-flood-prone-south-carolina-nature-based-solutions-could-reduce-risk
Reduced fuel loads do little for bushfire mitigation under extreme fire weather and in times of drought https://theconversation.com/a-surprising-answer-to-a-hot-question-controlled-burns-often-fail-to-slow-a-bushfire-127022
Flood-hit farmers in spat with George Monbiot about dredging https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/flood-hit-farmers-in-spat-with-george-monbiot-about-dredging
Public authorities sit on a vast wealth of social, economic and demographic data that should be fully integrated with flood risk management decision-making, and regularly updated https://smartwatermagazine.com/blogs/paul-ohare/flood-survivors-should-be-given-proper-support-instead-theyre-told-get-resilient
Subsidised cyclone insurance for northern Australia back on agenda https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/subsidised-cyclone-insurance-for-northern-australia-back-on-agenda-20191119-p53c2d.html
In the path of disaster: The big causes of bushfires that most of us are missing https://www.theage.com.au/national/in-the-path-of-disaster-the-big-causes-of-bushfires-that-most-of-us-are-missing-20191115-p53b0b.html
Typhoons and floods wreak havoc on Japan’s big three insurers https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Natural-disasters/Typhoons-and-floods-wreak-havoc-on-Japan-s-big-three-insurers
Analysis Of The South Yorkshire Floods https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2019/11/19/analysis-of-the-south-yorkshire-floods/
International satellites supporting disaster management http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/disasters.asp
Putting homes in high-risk areas is asking too much of firefighters https://theconversation.com/putting-homes-in-high-risk-areas-is-asking-too-much-of-firefighters-127126
A massive experiment in Taiwan aims to reveal landslides’ surprising effect on the climate https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/11/massive-experiment-taiwan-aims-reveal-landslides-surprising-effect-climate
Reducing wildfire risk is a collective effort https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2019/11/21/reducing-wildfire-risk-is-a-collective-effort/?cmp=share_twitter&slreturn=20191021161248
U.S. announces $30 million to bolster coasts from flooding, rising seas https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climate-grants/u-s-announces-30-million-to-bolster-coasts-from-flooding-rising-seas-idUSKBN1XT1AD
Bushfire crisis costing Queensland and northern NSW millions https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-22/queensland-bushfire-crisis-nsw-fires-cost-insurance-damage-bill/11725920
Massive tsunami as high as 15 m (49 feet) hit Oman 1 000 years ago, research finds https://watchers.news/2019/11/20/massive-tsunami-as-high-as-15-m-49-feet-hit-oman-1-000-years-ago-research-finds/
Managing Flood Water for Aquifer Recharge: Economic Considerations for Policy http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2019/11/19/managing-flood-water-for-aquifer-recharge-economic-considerations-for-policy/
Over the past few decades, development practice in England has led to more than 300,000 homes being built in high flood risk areas https://theconversation.com/how-englands-broken-planning-system-has-created-not-reduced-the-risk-of-floods-127287
Emergency management
Australia’s bushfire politics: the parties prevaricate while the country burns https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/17/australias-bushfire-politics-the-parties-prevaricate-while-the-country-burns?CMP=share_btn_tw
How do you fight extreme wildfires? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-50410481
When fire came to Sydney’s north shore https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/when-fire-came-to-sydney-s-north-shore-20191115-p53ayu
Sirens, texts, even church bells. California wildfire alerts and evacuations still ad hoc https://www.redding.com/story/news/2019/11/15/sirens-texts-even-church-bells-california-wildfire-alerts-evacuations-still-ad-hoc/4211934002/
Cyclone early warning system for Pacific goes live https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/403508/cyclone-early-warning-system-for-pacific-goes-live
Why flooding is still so difficult to predict and prepare for https://phys.org/news/2019-11-difficult.html
‘Move out tonight’: First Code Red since 2010 issued for parts of Victoria https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/move-out-tonight-first-code-red-since-2010-issued-for-parts-of-victoria-20191120-p53cfl.html
A scramble for safety in flooded South Sudan town https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/photo-feature/2019/11/13/South-Sudan-floods
Public urged to be eyes and ears of police for potential firebugs https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/public-urged-to-be-eyes-and-ears-of-police-for-potential-firebugs-20191120-p53cfv.html
Nigeria: Tens of thousands of people stranded by floods in north-east https://www.unocha.org/story/nigeria-tens-thousands-people-stranded-floods-north-east
‘Hazardous’ air quality from bushfire smoke triggers spike in hospital admissions https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/22/hazardous-air-quality-from-bushfire-smoke-triggers-spike-in-hospital-admissions?CMP=share_btn_tw
How Australia’s bushfires spread: mapping the NSW and Queensland fires https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2019/nov/21/how-australias-bushfires-spread-mapping-the-nsw-and-queensland-fires
Wasatch Fault Scenario https://www.eeri.org/projects/earthquake-scenarios/wasatch-fault-scenario/
Change Coming to Flash Flood Warnings https://www.weather.gov/dvn/flashflood_change
Disaster education, communications and engagement
Volcano video game https://phdvolcanology.wordpress.com/2019/11/17/monster-hunter-generation-ultimate-a-volcano-videogame-review/
These sixth-graders learned what it’s like to handle emergency operations during a storm https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article237371374.html
Communication During Disaster Recovery https://www.gfdrr.org/en/publication/communication-during-disaster-recovery
Understanding fire weather http://media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/1538/understanding-fire-weather/
Flooding Disasters in an Era of Extreme Weather https://www.politico.com/live-stream/floodingextremeweather
Non-mobile phone users: What hinders their access? https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/11/20/non-mobile-phone-users-what-hinders-their-access/
Only 23% of UK people checked flood risk before moving into their current home https://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/98758/six-out-of-people-admit-to-never-checking-their-flood/
Flood losses are substantially reduced when awareness-raising attitudes are promoted through inclusive, participatory approaches in the community https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02626667.2019.1677907
Psychology and Disasters
The dread and worry keeping young Australians up at night https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/the-dread-and-worry-keeping-young-australians-up-at-night-20191115-p53aw5.html
Trauma of Yorkshire floods will have ‘profound effect’ on victim’s mental health, says charity CEO https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/latest-news/trauma-of-yorkshire-floods-will-have-profound-effect-on-victim-s-mental-health-says-charity-ceo-1-10106571
Domestic violence will spike in the bushfire aftermath, and governments can no longer ignore it https://theconversation.com/domestic-violence-will-spike-in-the-bushfire-aftermath-and-governments-can-no-longer-ignore-it-127018
This is what it’s really like to be the spouse of a first responder https://www.mother.ly/life/this-is-what-its-really-like-to-be-the-spouse-of-a-first-responder
Multiple flood events erode neighborhood spirit, study finds https://phys.org/news/2019-09-multiple-events-erode-neighborhood-spirit.html
Mental health at risk as California wildfire threat grows http://news.trust.org/item/20191120082912-4jfhj/
Sociology and disasters
Indigenous peoples and people of color are disproportionately affected by our global climate crisis https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mbmdzb/this-is-how-the-climate-crisis-wipes-an-american-community-off-the-map
Somalia: Floods in Somalia increase vulnerability of population https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/article/somalia-floods-somalia-increase-vulnerability-population
Study the effects of earthquakes, floods and other natural hazards with sensitivity to ethical dilemmas and power imbalances https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03534-z
Weather and war: How climate shocks are compounding Somalia’s problems https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2019/11/19/Climate-shocks-Somalia-problems?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social
Disaster Resilience News 