Today in disaster resilience (5 March 2021)

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

Recent emergencies/disasters

Australia – Train Derailed by Floods in New South Wales http://floodlist.com/australia/australia-train-derailed-floods-newsouthwales-february-2021

Tropical cyclone developing near the coast of Queensland, Australia https://watchers.news/2021/03/01/tropical-cyclone-developing-near-the-coast-of-queensland-australia/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

USA – High Water Rescues After Flash Floods in Kentucky http://floodlist.com/america/usa/floods-kentucky-february-2021

Burundi and Tanzania – Floods Leave Homes Destroyed, Hundreds Displaced http://floodlist.com/africa/burundi-tanzania-floods-late-february-2021

Mount Sinabung: Time-lapse shows Indonesia volcano’s 5km-high ash cloud https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-56253470

Severe flooding damages roads, hundreds of houses in northern Morocco https://watchers.news/2021/03/02/tetouan-flood-morocco-march-2021/

Argentina – Damaging Flash Floods in Catamarca http://floodlist.com/america/argentina-floods-catamarca-march-2021

Colombia – Deadly Floods and Landslides in Huila and Antioquia http://floodlist.com/america/colombia-floods-huila-antioquia-march-2021

Brazil – Floods in Grande Do Sul After a Month’s Worth of Rain in 2 Hours http://floodlist.com/america/brazil-floods-lagoa-vermelha-february-2021

Powerful earthquake hits off north-east coast of New Zealand https://www.9news.com.au/world/new-zealand-earthquake-tsunami-warning-powerful-quake-off-northeast-coast/61b590ce-cb0e-4b01-bf34-320ffa183bcc

Pinatubo volcano Alert Level raised after 1 722 earthquakes since January 20, Philippines https://watchers.news/2021/03/04/pinatubo-alert-level-raised-to-1-march-2021/

Volcanic activity worldwide 3 Mar 2021: Etna volcano, Pacaya, Fuego, Klyuchevskoy, Popocatépetl https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/123359/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-3-Mar-2021-Etna-volcano-Pacaya-Fuego-Klyuchevskoy-Popocatepetl-Kr.html

Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Climate campaign teens prepare for court battle with minister over coal expansion https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/climate-campaign-teens-prepare-for-court-battle-with-minister-over-coal-expansion-20210228-p576gm.html

Latest climate pledges are ‘very far’ from Paris goals needed to avert catastrophic global warming, UN warns https://www.sbs.com.au/news/latest-climate-pledges-are-very-far-from-paris-goals-needed-to-avert-catastrophic-global-warming-un-warns?cid=news:socialshare:twitter

Michael Mann: the author and eminent climate scientist on the deniers’ new tactics and why positive change feels closer than it has done in 20 years https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/27/climatologist-michael-e-mann-doomism-climate-crisis-interview

Strong climate targets make strong friendships, Fiji tells Australia https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/strong-climate-targets-make-strong-friendships-fiji-tells-australia-20210228-p576iu.html

Australia pumped out an extra six months’ worth of emissions than previously recorded https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/27/australia-pumped-out-an-extra-six-months-worth-of-emissions-than-previously-recorded

The Climate Connections of a Record Fire Year in the U.S. West https://climate.nasa.gov/blog/3066/the-climate-connections-of-a-record-fire-year-in-the-us-west/

Denmark’s climate policies ‘insufficient’ to meet 2030 emissions target https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/28/denmark-climate-policies-insufficient-to-meet-2030-emissions-target

To stop climate disaster, make ecocide an international crime https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/24/climate-crisis-ecocide-international-crime

Climate Change is Weakening the Ocean Currents That Shape Weather on Both Sides of the Atlantic https://insideclimatenews.org/news/25022021/climate-change-ocean-currents-atlantic/

Climate change made the Uttarakhand flash flood possible, and poor development policies made it disastrous https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/climate/dams-roads-worsened-himalayan-flood-impact-manifold/

What motivates natural resource policymakers in Africa to take action on climate change? https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76255

“Not even close:” UN slams Australia and other rich countries for weak climate efforts https://reneweconomy.com.au/not-even-close-un-slams-australia-and-other-rich-countries-for-weak-climate-efforts/

Fossil fuel cars make ‘hundreds of times’ more waste than electric cars https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/01/fossil-fuel-cars-make-hundreds-of-times-more-waste-than-electric-cars

Climate Change is Leading to Global “Weirding,” Not Just Global Warming https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/san-antonio/weather/2021/02/27/climate-change–not-just-global-warming–but-global–weirding-

What is driving record rooftop solar volumes in Australia? https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/what-is-driving-record-rooftop-solar-volumes-in-australia/

Improving Access to Paleoclimate Data https://eos.org/science-updates/improving-access-to-paleoclimate-data

Global greenhouse gas emissions on track to fall just 0.5% between 2010 and 2030 https://theenergymix.com/2021/03/01/red-alert-for-planet-as-un-report-projects-only-0-5-emissions-cut-by-2030/

World must break its ‘deadly addiction’ to coal, says UN chief https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/world-must-break-its-deadly-addiction-to-coal-says-un-chief-20210302-p57754.html

Against the odds, South Australia is a renewable energy powerhouse. How did they do it? https://reneweconomy.com.au/against-the-odds-south-australia-is-a-renewable-energy-powerhouse-how-did-they-do-it/

Fossil fuel emissions in danger of surpassing pre-Covid levels https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/02/fossil-fuel-emissions-in-danger-of-surpassing-pre-covid-levels?CMP=share_btn_tw

‘A duty of care’: Australian teenagers take their climate crisis plea to court https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/02/a-duty-of-care-australian-teenagers-take-their-climate-crisis-plea-to-court

Brutal realities of climate change loss and damage come to life in IIED animations https://www.iied.org/brutal-realities-climate-change-loss-damage-come-life-iied-animations

The climate crisis can’t be solved by carbon accounting tricks https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/03/climate-crisis-carbon-accounting-tricks-big-finance

Coal mines are the engines of climate change. Time to start treating them like it. https://reneweconomy.com.au/coal-mines-are-the-engines-of-climate-change-time-to-start-treating-them-like-it/

Climate change threatens New Guinea’s biocultural heritage https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/11/eaaz1455

Development and Climate Change Contribute to a Himalayan Tragedy https://eos.org/articles/development-and-climate-change-contribute-to-a-himalayan-tragedy

Councillors issue plea for climate action https://www.northweststar.com.au/story/7152071/councillors-issue-plea-for-climate-action/?cs=9676

At least 1,500 Britons killed by climate change-fuelled heat this century https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76335

Humans, not nature, are the cause of changes in Atlantic hurricane cycles, new study finds https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-atlantic-hurricane-cycles/

4 assumptions about gender that distort how we think about climate change (and 3 ways to do better) https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76375

Disaster risk reduction

A Looming Disaster: New Data Reveal Where Flood Damage Is An Existential Threat https://www.npr.org/2021/02/22/966428165/a-looming-disaster-new-data-reveal-where-flood-damage-is-an-existential-threat?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Twenty years after 6.8 Nisqually earthquake, are we ready for the Next One? https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/twenty-years-after-6-8-nisqually-earthquake-are-we-ready-for-the-next-one/

Team of students from Varanasi develop a unique glacier flood sensor alarm to alert people https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76253

Preparing for a 1-in-1,000 year loss: Insurance resilience 10 years after the Christchurch earthquake https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76265

Bushfire resilient building guidance for Queensland homes https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/76183

Indigenous expertise is reducing bushfires in northern Australia. It’s time to consider similar approaches for other disasters https://theconversation.com/indigenous-expertise-is-reducing-bushfires-in-northern-australia-its-time-to-consider-similar-approaches-for-other-disasters-155361

Kitchens on wheels and flagstone lounges: How Brits are preparing for a future with floods https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/floods-flood-resistant-proof-homes-b1806787.html

Data Project May Drive Policy for Hyperlocal Flooding in NYC https://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Data-Project-May-Drive-Policy-for-Hyperlocal-Flooding-in-NYC.html

Scientists begin building highly accurate digital twin of our planet to better prepare for extreme weather events https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2021/02/a-highly-accurate-digital-twin-of-our-planet.html

Glacier burst – a killer disaster; but the solution lies in managing cascading risks https://www.unescap.org/blog/glacier-burst-killer-disaster-solution-lies-managing-cascading-risks#

Ambiental flood data now available through WhenFresh API https://www.ambientalrisk.com/whenfresh-partners-with-ambiental-to-extend-reach-of-flood-data-to-uk-insurers/

Latest edition of Hazard News for the Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC https://www.bnhcrc.com.au/resources/hazardnewsedition/7842

Latest edition of Molino Stewart’s Floodplain Manager newsletter https://www.molinostewart.com.au/editorial/floodplain-manager-february-2021/

What has the Covid-19 pandemic taught us about the future of data? https://www.lrfoundation.org.uk/en/learning-from-crisis/data/

Could a universal coronavirus vaccine future-proof our response? https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/could-universal-coronavirus-vaccine-future-proof-our-response

Impact-based forecasting for the coastal zone: East coast lows https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/76316

US flood disclosure map https://www.nrdc.org/flood-disclosure-map

57 per cent of the Earth’s seasonal surface water storage variability occurs in human-managed reservoirs https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03262-3

Call of the rewild: Releasing Britain’s rivers to ease flooding https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/mar/03/rewild-releasing-britain-rivers-flooding

Real-time determination of earthquake focal mechanism via deep learninghttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21670-x

East Africa’s rising flood threat https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76377

Emergency management

Covid-19: Brazil ‘variant of concern’ detected in UK https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56233038

The United States has reached a grim milestone—the moment when half a million Americans have lost their lives to the coronavirus https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/graphics/what-500000-united-states-covid-deaths-look-like

Rating tornado warnings charts a path to improve forecasts https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76333

Trend analysis civil protection 2030 – Uncertainties, challenges and opportunities https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/76359

Japanese experts look to create global standards for disaster preparedness https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/28/national/disaster-global-standards/

Disaster education, communications and engagement

The Texas Crisis Shows (Again) There’s No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster https://slate.com/technology/2021/02/texas-no-such-thing-as-natural-disaster.html

The Dragon, the Knight and the Princess: Folklore in Early Childhood Disaster Education https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344308741_The_Dragon_the_Knight_and_the_Princess_Folklore_in_Early_Childhood_Disaster_Education

Children and Young People’s Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction: Agency and Resilience https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349088940_Children_and_Young_People’s_Participation_in_Disaster_Risk_Reduction_Agency_and_Resilience

Twitter strike system will permanently ban users who repeatedly post COVID-19 misinformation https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-02/twitter-strike-ststem-ban-users-covid-19-misinformation/13205718

10 lessons about managing flood risk from source to sea https://thefloodhub.co.uk/ks2-flooding-lessons/

Landslides Book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgfjbnwU7JQ&feature=youtu.be

Psychology and disasters

‘She’ll be right’: the place of gendered emotions in disasters https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0966369X.2021.1892595

Sociology and disasters

Texans with disabilities left vulnerable after deep freeze https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/26/22303384/disaster-response-texas-disabilities-weather-freeze?hss_channel=tw-456864723

Kurigram, Bangladesh: Rural women forging together to deal with multiple crises https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76280

Conceptualizing community resilience and the social dimensions of risk to overcome barriers to disaster risk reduction and sustainable development https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sd.2182

Breaking point: How the coronavirus pandemic will push fragile states towards catastrophe in 2021 https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/76282

Developing a “culture of disaster preparedness”: The citizens’ view https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921000996

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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/

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