Please find below links to recent news about some aspects of disaster resilience…
Recent emergencies/disaster
Italy reports a 50% increase in confirmed coronavirus cases https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/01/europe/italy-coronavirus-cases-travel-advisory/index.html
Coronavirus outbreak: US confirms cases in Chicago and Rhode Island https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/01/coronavirus-outbreak-us-cases-chicago-rhode-island
Updated coronavirus stats https://bnonews.com/index.php/2020/02/the-latest-coronavirus-cases/
Close to tears in flood-hit Wales as Storm Jorge’s rains sweep in https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/feb/29/pontypridd-braced-second-flood-in-fortnight-storm-jorge
Peru – Hundreds of Families Affected by Floods in Moquegua http://floodlist.com/america/peru-hundreds-of-families-affected-by-floods-in-moquegua
Iran – Widespread Flooding After Rivers Overflow in Lorestan Province http://floodlist.com/asia/iran-floods-lorestan-february-2020
Brazil – Heavy Rain Triggers Deadly Flooding and Landslides in Rio De Janeiro http://floodlist.com/america/brazil-flood-landslides-riodejaneiro-march-2020
Winter Flooding in Mississippi and Louisiana https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146370/winter-flooding-in-mississippi-and-louisiana
Tennessee Tornado Death Toll Jumps to 22; Widespread Damage in Nashville, Middle Tennessee https://weather.com/news/news/2020-03-03-tennessee-tornado-damage-deaths-severe-storms
Shocking footage shows East Yorkshire homes almost completely submerged under water in the wake of Storm Jorge https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/flooding-east-yorkshire-homes-under-water-storm-jorge-a4375416.html
Indonesia – 1 Missing, 900 Displaced After Floods Destroy Homes in Central Sulawesi http://floodlist.com/asia/indonesia-floods-sulawesi-march-2020
Brazil – Deadly Floods and Landslides in São Paulo After 280mm of Rain in 12 Hours http://floodlist.com/america/brazil-floods-saopaulo-march-2020
Honduras – 800 Displaced by Floods and Landslides http://floodlist.com/america/honduras-floods-march-2020
Vietnam – Storms Leave 2 Dead, Hundreds of Homes Destroyed http://floodlist.com/asia/vietnam-storms-march-2020
Tanzania – Bridge Destroyed and Roads Blocked After Heavy Rains http://floodlist.com/africa/tanzania-rains-march-2020
Volcanic activity worldwide 5 Mar 2020: Fuego volcano, Klyuchevskoy, Popocatépetl, Semeru, Dukono https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/99500/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-5-Mar-2020-Fuego-volcano-Klyuchevskoy-Popocatepetl-Semeru-Dukono-.html
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Australia’s electricity market must be 100% renewables by 2035 to achieve net zero by 2050 – study https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/27/net-zero-emissions-by-2050-possible-in-australia-if-low-emissions-options-accelerated?CMP=share_btn_tw
New report from Australia Institute says trend will bring with it longer and hotter bushfires, more heatwaves and crop damage https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/02/climate-crisis-cutting-short-australias-winters-and-extending-summers
Climate change will force up premiums: Swiss Re https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/climate-change-will-force-up-premiums-swiss-re-20200228-p545c1
Thousands of kilometres of Australia’s beaches at risk from rising seas https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/thousands-of-kilometres-of-australia-s-beaches-at-risk-from-rising-seas-20200302-p5463p.html
Australia is heating more rapidly than the global average, with a rise of 4C expected by 2100, Bureau of Meteorology says https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/02/summer-of-2019-20-second-hottest-australian-summer-on-record?CMP=share_btn_tw
Moscow Winter ‘Warmest Since Records Began’ https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/03/02/moscow-winter-warmest-since-records-began-a69476
Does Information About Climate Risk Affect Property Values? https://www.nber.org/papers/w26807
UK carbon emissions fall 29 per cent in a decade, new data shows https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4011684/uk-carbon-emissions-fall-cent-decade
Hackathon Speeds Progress Toward Climate Model Collaboration https://eos.org/science-updates/hackathon-speeds-progress-toward-climate-model-collaboration
An uncharted island off Antarctica’s western coast could reveal how climate change is altering the continent https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00489-4
The world’s top meteorological experts issued the warning as cities and countries around the world reported record-breaking warm winters https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/02/record-breaking-warm-weather-expected-around-globe-human-caused-climate-crisis-now
Most California cities refuse to retreat from rising seas—one town wants to show how it’s done https://phys.org/news/2020-03-california-cities-retreat-seasone-town.html
Meet Thailand’s secret weapon in climate change battle https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Meet_Thailands_secret_weapon_in_climate_change_battle_999.html
Probability of Fire Weather Index reaching levels of 2019-20 summer increases 30% due to climate change, researchers say https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/05/bushfire-crisis-conditions-eight-times-more-likely-under-2c-warming-analysis-shows?CMP=share_btn_tw
Tasmania sets world-leading target of 200 per cent renewables by 2040 https://reneweconomy.com.au/tasmania-sets-world-leading-target-of-200-per-cent-renewables-by-2040/
Europe experiences exceptionally warm winter https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51758223
Analysis shows climate finance not reaching most vulnerable https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/05/analysis-shows-climate-finance-not-reaching-most-vulnerable
Disaster risk reduction
Snaith has been devastated by flooding – but there are plans for 800 more homes https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/snaith-flooding-plans-new-homes-3899587
Sandy coastlines under threat of erosion https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0697-0.epdf
Putting a price on the protective power of wetlands https://phys.org/news/2020-03-price-power-wetlands.html
Why Some COVID-19 Cases Are Worse than Others https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/why-some-covid-19-cases-are-worse-than-others-67160#.Xl1vTmhMzjs.twitter
When will Taupo’s next ‘super-eruption’ happen? https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12313228
Americans Are Paying $34 Billion Too Much for Houses in Flood Plains https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-02/americans-are-paying-34-billion-too-much-for-houses-in-floodplains
Iowa flood victims need money for levees, buyouts https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/02/20/iowa-flooding-victims-recovery-need-outweigh-state-funding/4765886002/
Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis at Regional and National Scale: State of the Art and Future Challenges https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019RG000653
Mass data processing of time series Landsat imagery: pixels to data products for forest monitoring https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17538947.2016.1187673
Australian scientists are developing a satellite that can better identify where bushfires might start https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51727231
Race to understand fire lessons as another ‘significant’ season looms https://www.smh.com.au/national/race-to-understand-fire-lessons-as-another-significant-season-looms-20200303-p546bk.html
A new algorithm can forecast the flow of floodwater in almost real-time, a new study shows https://www.futurity.org/floodwater-prediction-algorithm-2296252/
Australia’s dedicated bushfire research centre on the brink of closure despite deadly summer fires https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-04/bushfire-research-future-uncertain-ahead-of-planned-closure/12024746
How Computer Modeling Of COVID-19’s Spread Could Help Fight The Virus https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/04/811146915/how-computer-modeling-of-covid-19s-spread-could-help-fight-the-virus
UK Government’s approach to managing flood risk inquiry launched https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/52/environment-food-and-rural-affairs-committee/news/145364/governments-approach-to-managing-flood-risk-inquiry-launched/
Tasman fires: New Zealand’s new norm? https://www.afac.com.au/auxiliary/publications/newsletter/article/tasman-fires-new-zealand’s-new-norm
A low-cost flood alert and water monitoring system in African cities https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/smart-solution-how-we-helped-build-low-cost-flood-alert-and-water-monitoring-system
Almost real-time flood prediction tool may boost emergency response during hurricanes https://engineering.tamu.edu/news/2020/02/almost-real-time-flood-prediction-tool-may-boost-emergency-response-during-hurricanes.html
Latest edition of Molino Stewart’s “Floodplain Manager newsletter https://molinostewart.com.au/floodplain-manager-related-articles/related-floodplain-manager-february-2020-1/
San Diego At Risk For Devastating Earthquake Damage, New Report Says https://weather.com/news/news/2020-03-05-san-diego-earthquake-damage-risk-rose-canyon-fault
Emergency management
Coronavirus tracked: The latest figures as the outbreak spreads https://www.ft.com/content/a26fbf7e-48f8-11ea-aeb3-955839e06441?segmentID=22a4a564-acc0-bdcd-29ab-405d952fdcc3
UK flooding: residents in east Yorkshire struggle to recover https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/02/uk-flooding-residents-east-yorkshire-struggle-recover-snaith?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco
Australian bushfires finally extinguished https://www.mic.com/p/australian-bushfires-in-new-south-wales-are-finally-no-more-22588676
Reflecting on a Tumultuous Amazon Fire Season https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146355/reflecting-on-a-tumultuous-amazon-fire-season
Coronavirus: New European cases soar as China infections and deaths drop
Fla. Communities Get More Than $2B In Hurricane Recovery, Mitigation Funds https://news.wjct.org/post/fla-communities-get-more-2b-hurricane-recovery-mitigation-funds
Bushfires likely to have killed about 5,000 koalas in NSW, report finds https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/04/bushfires-likely-to-have-killed-about-5000-koalas-in-nsw-report-finds
Before and after images highlight the severity of tornado destruction in Nashville https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/04/weather/before-after-tennessee-tornado/index.html
AFAC NRSC numbers from Australia’s largest deployment https://www.afac.com.au/auxiliary/publications/newsletter/article/afac-nrsc-numbers-from-australia’s-largest-deployment
NSW Memorial Service honours lives lost https://www.afac.com.au/auxiliary/publications/newsletter/article/nsw-memorial-service-honours-lives-lost
Disaster education, communications and engagement
The California Photographer Who Has Shot More Than 100 Wildfires https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/california-wildfire-photos
Resilient Australia Awards open https://www.aidr.org.au/programs/resilient-australia-awards/
Google and Facebook are using their platforms and working with government agencies and other emergency services partners to deliver real-time assistance and warnings to disaster prone communities https://www.afac.com.au/auxiliary/publications/newsletter/article/online-warnings-when-the-threat-is-high
Latest Fire Australia magazine online https://www.afac.com.au/auxiliary/publications/newsletter/article/flick-through-the-latest-fire-australia-magazine-online
Psychology and Disasters
Managing traumatic stress: After a tornado https://www.apa.org/topics/tornadoes?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=apa-helpcenter&utm_content=tornado-stress
The Panic Myth: What Does the Research Say and What Can Practitioners Do? https://fireadaptednetwork.org/the-panic-myth-what-does-the-research-say-and-what-can-practitioners-do/
Risk judgments and social norms: Do they relate to preparedness after the Kaikōura earthquake? https://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/2019-2/AJDTS_23_2_McClure.pdf
Sociology and disasters
How Natural Hazards Impact the Social Environment for Vulnerable Groups: An Empirical Investigation in Japan https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3531149
Sociology and the Climate Crisis https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-soc-121919-054750
Disaster Resilience News 