Please find below links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…
Recent emergencies/disasters
Cameroon – Floods in Douala Leave Hundreds Displaced http://floodlist.com/africa/cameroon-floods-douala-august-2020
Turkey – Deadly Flash Floods in Giresun Province http://floodlist.com/asia/turkey-deadly-flash-floods-in-giresun-province
Tropical Storm Laura Kills at Least 8 People in Haiti, Dominican Republic; Over 1 Million Without Power https://weather.com/news/news/2020-08-22-tropical-storm-laura-puerto-rico-dominican-republic-cuba-haiti
In Texas, Louisiana, More Than Half a Million Ordered to Evacuate As Hurricane Laura Strengthens in the Gulf https://weather.com/news/news/2020-08-23-hurricane-marco-laura-louisiana-texas-mississippi-gulf-coast
9 Dead As Heavy Rains Create Flood-Like Situation In Gujarat https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/9-dead-1-900-shifted-as-heavy-rains-cause-flood-like-situation-in-gujarat-2284632
Kenya – 1,000 Families Displaced by Lake Turkana Floods, Warnings Issued for Turkwel Dam http://floodlist.com/africa/kenya-lake-turkana-floods-turkwel-ldam-august-2020
Hurricane Laura, now Category 4, may bring ‘unsurvivable’ storm surge to Texas-Louisiana border https://www.foxnews.com/us/hurricane-laura-expected-to-reach-category-4-strength-with-life-threatening-storm-surge-before-making-landfall
One killed as overnight rains cause flash floods in Rajouri, damage reported https://freepresskashmir.news/2020/08/26/one-killed-as-overnight-rains-cause-flash-floods-in-rajouri-damage-reported/
Two dams in Karachi overflow, at least 7 killed in weather-related incidents, Pakistan https://watchers.news/2020/08/26/karachi-pakistan-flood-august-25-2020/
Afghanistan flooding: Dozens dead, hundreds of homes destroyed https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/afghanistan-flooding-dozens-dead-hundreds-homes-destroyed-200826061120112.html
Storm Francis brings flood, damaging rainfall and record-breaking winds to UK and Ireland https://watchers.news/2020/08/26/storm-francis-august-2020/
Devastating storm causes millions worth of damage, prompts state of emergency in northern Italy https://watchers.news/2020/08/25/italy-storm-august-23-2020/
Floods across Devon and Cornwall after ‘biblical’ rainfall https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-53936684
Laura carves destructive path through Louisiana; 4 dead https://apnews.com/45ba32bafe5da34b5691544ecb3e5492
Volcanic activity worldwide 27 Aug 2020: Fuego volcano, Semeru, Dukono, Reventador, Mauna Loa https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/109127/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-27-Aug-2020-Fuego-volcano-Semeru-Dukono-Reventador-Mauna-Loa-Sanga.html
Provinces Flood Death Toll Reaches 122, Injuries 147 https://www.khaama.com/provinces-flood-death-toll-reaches-122-injuries-147-566768/
Kenya and Uganda – Thousands Displaced by Lake Floods http://floodlist.com/africa/kenya-uganda-lake-floods-august-2020
Niger – Capital Niamey Flooded as Niger River Overflows http://floodlist.com/africa/niger-niamey-floods-august-2020
Mexico – Rain From Storm Marco Triggers Floods in Southern States http://floodlist.com/america/mexico-tropical-storm-marco-floods-chiapas-august-2020
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
A cascade of COVID-19 and climate extremes call for new algorithms to protect at-risk communities http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73260
Earth has lost 28 trillion tonnes of ice in less than 30 years https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/23/earth-lost-28-trillion-tonnes-ice-30-years-global-warming
California Has Australian Problems Now https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/08/climate-change-has-led-to-extreme-wildfires-in-california.html
California and Colorado Fires May Be Part of a Climate-Driven Transformation of Wildfires Around the Globe https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22082020/california-colorado-wildfires-climate-change-global-transformation
The melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet could contribute half a metre of sea-level rise in the coming century https://www.imas.utas.edu.au/news/news-items/melting-antarctic-ice-sheet-could-bring-half-a-metre-of-sea-level-rise
The sensitivity of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to a changing climate: Past, present and future https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019RG000663
Climate change and adaptation degree https://www.newcastle.edu.au/degrees/bachelor-of-climate-science-and-adaptation
Local cooling provided by broad-leaved trees in Europe http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73317
Mainstreaming gender within local government climate and disaster risk assessments http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73288
Storm Surge: The Science behind This Year’s Unusual Hurricane Season https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/storm-surge-the-science-behind-this-years-unusual-hurricane-season1/
Nation ‘woefully unprepared’ for climate change, business groups warn https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/nation-woefully-unprepared-for-climate-change-business-groups-warn-20200827-p55q0m.html
California’s new normal: How the climate crisis is fueling wildfires and changing life in the Golden State https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/24/weather/california-wildfires-climate-change/index.html
Antarctic Ice Shelves Vulnerable to Sudden Meltwater-Driven Fracturing, Says Study https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/08/26/antarctic-ice-shelves-vulnerable-sudden-meltwater-driven-fracturing-says-study/
Hurricane Laura and the California Fires Are Part of the Same Crisis https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-27/hurricane-laura-california-fires-both-tied-to-climate-change
Glacial cooling and climate sensitivity revisited https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2617-x
Disaster risk reduction
Faster than floods: How to prevent a double disaster in Bangladesh http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73241
Fire probability in South American Protected Areas http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73259
Frontiers of water-related disaster management and the way forward http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73256
Why preparations for the next pandemic must begin now http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73279
California’s wildfires explained: How did they start – and is this normal? http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73272
‘Next fire season is already upon us’: NSW to adopt all recommendations of bushfire inquiry report https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/25/next-fire-season-is-already-upon-us-nsw-to-adopt-all-recommendations-of-bushfire-inquiry-report
Landowners in fire-prone areas to be required to do hazard-reduction burns https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/landowners-in-fire-prone-areas-to-be-required-to-do-hazard-reduction-burns-20200824-p55or9.html
To be or not to be a ‘natural’ disaster: that is the question https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/nh/2020/08/17/natural-disasters-may-not-be-natural-anymore-the-language-dilemma/
Researchers create a contagion model to predict flooding in urban areas https://phys.org/news/2020-08-contagion-urban-areas.html
A Massive Earthquake Is Coming to Cascadia—And It Can’t Be Stopped https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pacific-northwest-prepares-for-massive-earthquake
Floodplains by Design partnership works across jurisdictions to lower disaster risks and restore ecosystems https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/08/17/washington-state-floodplain-manager-discusses-program-thats-helping-communities-environmenty
The UK government will immediately accept 12 recommendations from an independent review into responsibilities around surface water flooding https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-takes-action-to-manage-surface-water-flood-risk
Quantitative Wildfire Risk Assessment https://iftdss.firenet.gov/landing_page/pdfs/qwra_release_flyer_july2020.pdf
Major Real Estate Website Now Shows Flood Risk. Should They All? https://www.npr.org/2020/08/26/905551631/major-real-estate-website-now-shows-flood-risk-should-they-all
Disaster management models need adjusting: A case study in South Africa explains why http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73315
Extreme wildfires can create their own dangerous weather, including fire tornadoes – here’s how http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73316
The NSW bushfire inquiry found property loss is ‘inevitable’. We must stop building homes in such fire-prone areas http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73314
Technocracy, disaster risk reduction and development: A critique of the Sendai Framework 2015-2030 http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73287
Katrina 15 years later: Government still hasn’t learned https://www.nola.com/gambit/commentary/article_5cf96b94-e3bb-11ea-9b41-9b185638da33.html
Emergency management
Diversity and inclusion framework for emergency management policy and practice http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73252
Cities for a resilient recovery: International lessons on recovery from COVID-19 http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73253
Private sector experience in Japan: Supporting disaster preparedness for evacuations under COVID-19 http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73230
Heatwaves are an invisible killer – and the UK is woefully unprepared http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73265
Wildfires Rage In California As Fire Crews And Evacuees Grapple With COVID-19 Risks https://www.npr.org/2020/08/21/904552759/wildfires-rage-on-in-california-as-fire-crews-and-evacuees-grapple-with-covid-ri
Final report of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry https://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/assets/dpc-nsw-gov-au/publications/NSW-Bushfire-Inquiry-1630/Final-Report-of-the-NSW-Bushfire-Inquiry.pdf
A Comparative Study of International and Chinese Public Health Emergency Management from the Perspective of Mapping Knowledge Domains https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343839361_A_Comparative_Study_of_International_and_Chinese_Public_Health_Emergency_Management_from_the_Perspective_of_Mapping_Knowledge_Domains
Yes, it’s been raining a lot – but that doesn’t mean Australia’s drought has broken https://theconversation.com/yes-its-been-raining-a-lot-but-that-doesnt-mean-australias-drought-has-broken-144702
‘Disaster inside a disaster’: California wildfires and COVID-19 form twin crises https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/disaster-inside-disaster-california-wildfires-covid-19-form-twin-crises-n1238031
August 2020 edition of the newsletter of The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS) https://www.tiems.info/images/pdfs/TIEMS_2020_Newsletter_August_.pdf
Disaster education, communications and engagement
Resetting the way we teach science is vital for all our futures https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/science-education-reset-stem-technology
Cultural interventions through children’s literature and arts-based practices in times of disaster: A case study of reading mediators’ response to the Mexican earthquakes http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73306
The Texas Flood Registry is a project that collects health, location, and exposure information from people affected by major storms https://floodregistry.rice.edu/faq
Community engagement for disaster resilience handbook https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/media/7989/aidr_handbookcollection_communityengagementfordisasterresilience_2020.pdf
University of Hull researchers are using virtual reality technology to flood Hull during the time of poet Andrew Marvell – more than 400 years ago https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/more/media-centre/news/2020/vr-experience-of-flooding-in-andrew-marvells-hull
Psychology and disasters
Earthquakes, fear of failure, and wellbeing: An insight from Minangkabau entrepreneurship https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212420920313170
One of the most overlooked consequences of climate change? Our mental health https://www.dailyclimate.org/how-climate-change-affects-mental-health-2641491618.html
From climate-fueled storms to COVID-19, mounting catastrophes are sowing stress and trauma https://publicintegrity.org/environment/hidden-epidemics/disasters-mental-health-crisis-wildfire-hurricane-flood-climate-covid/
Unravelling the influence of human behaviour on reducing casualties during flood evacuation https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02626667.2020.1810254
Sociology and disasters
Communities together: A guide for resilient community center design in island communities http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73254
Fire risk perpetuates poverty and fire use among Amazonian smallholders http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73215
How Social Ties Influence Hurricane Evacuation Behavior https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3274391
High-resolution human mobility data reveal race and wealth disparities in disaster evacuation patterns https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343877167_High-resolution_human_mobility_data_reveal_race_and_wealth_disparities_in_disaster_evacuation_patterns
Social Capital Encourages Disaster Evacuation: Evidence from a Cyclone in Bangladesh https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2020.1806245
How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/24/climate/racism-redlining-cities-global-warming.html
Rural areas may suffer disproportionately in quakes http://www.preventionweb.net/english/email/url.php?eid=73313
Disaster Resilience News 