Please find below links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…
Recent emergencies/disasters
The number of people with the coronavirus in the United States who have died passed 300,000 https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/12/14/world/covid-19-coronavirus?referringSource=articleShare#the-number-of-people-with-the-virus-who-died-in-the-us-passes-300000
Turkey – 2 Missing After Flash Floods in Izmir Provincehttp://floodlist.com/asia/turkey-flash-floods-izmir-december-2020
Colombia – Deadly Landslide in San Luis, Antioquia http://floodlist.com/america/colombia-landslide-san-luis-antioquia-december-2020
NSW severe wet weather continues for fifth day as people in Tweed, Northern Rivers told to evacuate https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-15/nsw-severe-weather-continues-flooding-evacuation-warnings/12982944
Indonesia – Thousands Hit by Floods on Java and Sumatra Islands http://floodlist.com/asia/indonesia-floods-java-sumatra-december-2020
Cyclone Yasa: Fiji prepares for category 5 storm as Tonga braces for Zazu https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/16/cyclone-yasa-fiji-prepares-for-category-5-storm-as-tonga-braces-for-zazu
Snow piling up at an unprecedented rate in Japan https://watchers.news/2020/12/16/snow-piling-up-unprecedented-rate-japan-december-2020/
Intense Strombolian activity continues at Etna’s Southeast Crater, lava emission resumes https://watchers.news/2020/12/15/intense-strombolian-activity-etna-italy-december-15-2020/
Tropical Cyclone Yasa hits Fiji, Government declares state of disaster https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-17/fiji-curfew-natural-disaster-super-storm-tropical-cyclone-yasa/12994846
Volcanic activity worldwide 16 Dec 2020: Santiaguito volcano, Fuego, Klyuchevskoy, Popocatépetl https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/116526/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-16-Dec-2020-Santiaguito-volcano-Fuego-Klyuchevskoy-Popocatepetl-Re.html
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Increasing importance of temperature as a contributor to the spatial extent of streamflow drought https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abd2f0
Climate change: Have countries kept their promises? https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55222890
World is in danger of missing Paris climate target, summit is warned https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/12/world-is-in-danger-of-missing-paris-climate-target-summit-is-warned
The Marshall Islands could be wiped out by climate change – and their colonial history limits their ability to save themselves https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75125
Bangladesh’s hidden climate costs https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75122
Climate-related hazard indices for Europe https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/75141
Bushfire science information report 1: Does climate affect bushfire risks in the native forests of eastern Australia? https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/75115
Morrison government should be ‘doing more’ with states driving 33% cut in emissions by 2030 https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/15/morrison-government-should-be-doing-more-with-states-driving-33-cut-in-emissions-by-2030
Jamaica kicks off new climate plan, undeterred by pandemic and floods https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75174
Rethinking Climate Change Adaptation https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75165
Preparing India for extreme climate events: Mapping hotspots and response mechanisms https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/75162
The vanishing Arctic https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-16/arctic-sea-ice-dramatic-transformation-as-seen-by-satellites/12961584?nw=0
Earth may be even closer to 1.5°C of global warming than we thought https://www.newscientist.com/article/2262953-earth-may-be-even-closer-to-1-5c-of-global-warming-than-we-thought/#ixzz6giLhR9XX
Loss and damage from climate change has pushed Sierra Leoneans far beyond their ability to adapt https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75185
How is Modern Climate Change Affecting Landscape Processes? https://eos.org/editors-vox/how-is-modern-climate-change-affecting-landscape-processes
Tip of the iceberg: Navigating the known and unknown costs of climate change for Canada https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/75205
Groundwater Beneath Your Feet Is Rising With the Sea. It Could Bring Long-Buried Toxins With It https://www.kqed.org/science/1971582/groundwater-beneath-your-feet-is-rising-with-the-sea-it-could-bring-long-buried-toxins-with-it
Disaster risk reduction
Ten steps to increasing bushfire resilience https://ecos.csiro.au/ten-steps-to-increasing-bushfire-resilience/
Economic footprint of California wildfires in 2018 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00646-7
Patterns and trends in simultaneous wildfire activity in the United States from 1984 to 2015 https://www.publish.csiro.au/wf/WF19150
NSW regulator investigates 1000 dams for alleged breaches https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/nsw-regulator-investigates-1000-dams-for-alleged-breaches-20201211-p56mrx.html
Coming back stronger: A city-driven infrastructure agenda for a cleaner, more resilient, more equitable America https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/75117
Byron Bay beach damage ‘worst in a generation’ as storms batter 1,000km of coastline https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/14/byron-bay-beach-damage-worst-in-a-generation-as-storms-batter-1000km-of-coastline?CMP=share_btn_tw
This river in New Zealand is legally a person. Here’s how it happened https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/11/asia/whanganui-river-new-zealand-intl-hnk-dst/index.html
How Science Beat the Virus https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/science-covid-19-manhattan-project/617262/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Hydrological Benefits of Restoring Wildfire Regimes in the Sierra Nevada Persist in a Warming Climate https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022169420312695
Earthquakes with a chance of… volcanoes? https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75170
Sink or swim? A historic year of floods in South Asia https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75177
An asset-based participatory community analysis of natural hazards in Naphuno, Greater Tzaneen Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/75169
Comparing the scale of modelled and recorded current flood risk: Results from England https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfr3.12685
Western U.S. wildfires cost insurers up to $13 billion in 2020 https://news.trust.org/item/20201215181934-2ltap/
The stochastic impact of extreme weather events https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75195
Seismic hazard assessment of Campotosto, Italy https://phys.org/news/2020-12-seismic-hazard-campotosto-italy.html
‘Nanolites’ Can Trigger Dangerous Volcanic Explosions https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nanolites-can-trigger-dangerous-volcanic-explosions/
A.I. model shows promise to generate faster, more accurate weather forecasts https://www.washington.edu/news/2020/12/15/a-i-model-shows-promise-to-generate-faster-more-accurate-weather-forecasts/
When preparing for earthquakes, don’t forget the small ones https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75214
Nature-based solutions for landslide risk management: Policy brief summary https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/75211
Disaster risk reduction in bushfire prone areas: Challenges for an integrated land use planning policy regime https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/24/10496
Innovation, development and COVID-19: Challenges, opportunities and ways forward http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/innovation-development-and-covid-19-challenges-opportunities-and-ways-forward-0c976158/
Geosciences and the Sustainable Development Goals https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030388140
Emergency management
The coronavirus is ravaging the world. But life looks almost normal in much of Africa https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/africa-coronavirus-low-cases-deaths/2020/12/10/e907a1c2-3899-11eb-aad9-8959227280c4_story.html
California Wildfires Killed 106 People Two Years Ago. Researchers Say the Smoke Killed 3,652 https://www.kqed.org/science/1971666/california-wildfires-killed-106-people-two-years-ago-researchers-say-the-smoke-killed-3652
New Zealand travel bubble with Australia coming in early 2021, NZ PM confirms https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/new-zealand-travel-bubble-with-australia-coming-in-early-2021-nz-pm-confirms-20201214-p56na6.html
‘New variant’ of coronavirus identified in England https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/432859/new-variant-of-coronavirus-identified-in-england
FEMA Wants to Cut Disaster Aid at the Worst Possible Time https://earther.gizmodo.com/fema-wants-to-cut-disaster-aid-at-the-worst-possible-ti-184587776
Record climate disasters in Asia-Pacific push millions to ‘breaking point’ https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75228
Disaster education, communications and engagement
The winners of the 2020 Resilient Australia Awards were announced at the National Ceremony in Canberra https://www.aidr.org.au/news/resilient-australia-awards-2020-winners-announced/
The Color of Rivers https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2020GL088946
What is complex systems science? https://www.santafe.edu/what-is-complex-systems-science
The development of Disaster Preparedness and Safety School model: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420920315065?via%3Dihub
The influence of local flood histories on community engagement in flood risk management and its sustainability over time https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420920314825?via%3Dihub
Tropical Cyclone Knowledge Centre http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/tropical-cyclone-knowledge-centre/
Psychology and disasters
Intellectually arrogant people typically have more anti-vaccination attitudes, study finds https://www.psypost.org/2020/06/intellectually-arrogant-people-typically-have-more-anti-vaccination-attitudes-study-finds-57170
‘I felt immense grief’: one year on from the bushfires, scientists need mental health support https://theconversation.com/i-felt-immense-grief-one-year-on-from-the-bushfires-scientists-need-mental-health-support-148251
Don’t just think about earthquakes, prepare for them https://phys.org/news/2020-12-dont-earthquakes.html
Mental health and well-being of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: contrasting guidelines with experiences in practice https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/mental-health-and-wellbeing-of-healthcare-workers-during-the-covid19-pandemic-in-the-uk-contrasting-guidelines-with-experiences-in-practice/
Long-Term Drought Harms Mental Health in Rural Communities https://eos.org/articles/long-term-drought-harms-mental-health-in-rural-communities
Public behaviour in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: understanding the role of group processes https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/public-behaviour-in-response-to-the-covid19-pandemic-understanding-the-role-of-group-processes/C64F5D829F100ED0D052923F8CD7A7B8#.X9uYdPfMS8Q.twitter
Sociology and disasters
Inclusive practices in disaster risk management. Experiences of social actors and government entities in Latin America https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/75121
Understanding vulnerability and resilience in Somalia https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/75167
Global Launch of the 2020 Human Development Report http://hdr.undp.org/en/2020-report
How does social capital shape the response to environmental disturbances at the local level? Evidence from case studies in Mexico https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346901176_How_does_social_capital_shape_the_response_to_environmental_disturbances_at_the_local_level_Evidence_from_case_studies_in_Mexico
The Covid pandemic is both a troubling glimpse into what our new normal could be and a gateway to change https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/darkest-hour-dawn-2020-could-mark-humanitys-sunrise-instead/
Somalia’s perfect storm https://thephoenix.substack.com/p/somalias-perfect-storm
When wildfires hit, richer and whiter neighborhoods are more likely to get government support https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75227
Disaster Resilience News 