Please find below a list of links to recent news about some aspects of disaster resilience…
Recent emergencies/disasters
Picton braces for the worst as businesses fear flooding and sand bag the main streethttps://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/7176088/picton-braces-for-the-worst-as-businesses-sand-bag-the-main-street/
Australia – Major Flooding Prompts Rescues and Evacuations in New South Wales http://floodlist.com/australia/floods-new-south-wales-march-2021
Peru – Thousands of Homes Damaged by Floods in Northern Regions http://floodlist.com/america/peru-floods-loreto-san-martin-amazonas-march-2021
Colombia – Houses Destroyed by Flash Floods and Landslides in Cali http://floodlist.com/america/colombia-floods-landslides-cali-march-2021
Deadly downpour lashes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistanhttps://watchers.news/2021/03/24/deadly-downpour-lashes-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-pakistan/
Colombia – Flash Floods Cause Severe Damage in Antioquia http://floodlist.com/america/colombia-flash-floods-cause-severe-damage-in-antioquia
‘Extensive damage’ reported after tornado tears through Alabama community https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/live-news/live-particularly-dangerous-situation-tornado-watch-issued-in-south/921465
Wongawallan: a damaging landslide in Australiahttps://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2021/03/25/wongawallan-1/
Volcanic activity worldwide 25 Mar 2021: Pacaya volcano, Fuego, Klyuchevskoy, Popocatépetl, Merapi https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/125594/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-25-Mar-2021-Pacaya-volcano-Fuego-Klyuchevskoy-Popocatepetl-Merapi.html
Brazil – Deadly Flash Floods in Santa Catarina, Flood Emergency in Pará http://floodlist.com/america/brazil-floods-santa-catarina-para-march-2021
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
A critical exploration of adaptation heuristics https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096321000218?via%3Dihub
Australia’s Worst Floods in Decades Quicken Concerns About Climate Change https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/world/australia/australia-floods.html
Crisis in the Himalayas: climate change and unsustainable development https://www.ft.com/content/387f5b4d-69cd-45f6-b0fc-69d659381109
Warming in Arctic region triggering heatwaves in India: Study https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76764
The cost of adapting to extreme weather events in a changing climate https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/76754
NOAA Upgrades Forecasts As Climate Change Drives More Severe Storms https://www.npr.org/2021/03/22/979932115/noaa-upgrades-forecasts-as-climate-change-drives-more-severe-storms
Sea-level rise in 20th century was fastest in 2,000 years along much of East Coast https://phys.org/news/2021-03-sea-level-20th-century-fastest-years.html
Towards a rigorous understanding of societal responses to climate change https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03190-2
Rising risk of wildfires across UK from climate crisis, scientists warn https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/24/rising-risk-of-wildfires-across-uk-from-climate-crisis-scientists-warn?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Warming Drives ‘Fundamental’ Changes To Ocean, Scientists Warn https://www.barrons.com/news/warming-drives-fundamental-changes-to-ocean-scientists-warn-01616601916?tesla=y
Big banks’ trillion-dollar finance for fossil fuels ‘shocking’, says report https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/24/big-banks-trillion-dollar-finance-for-fossil-fuels-shocking-says-report
How climate change drove food insecurity in the 2007 Lesotho drought https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76809
Fighting climate change in the world’s poorest countries https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76817
A guide to assessing the political economy of domestic climate change governance https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/76820
A global study shows climate change is driving changes in the flow and water volume of rivers worldwide http://www.watercareer.com.au/news/river-review-shows-shifts
If 80% of Australians care about climate action, why don’t they vote like it? https://theconversation.com/if-80-of-australians-care-about-climate-action-why-dont-they-vote-like-it-157050
The lurking danger: extreme temperatures, heat stress and forced migration https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76826
1º of global warming causes a ~50% increase in population displacement risk https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76828
Disaster risk reduction
Dangerous floods are inevitable, so stop putting people in their way https://www.smh.com.au/national/stop-putting-people-in-the-way-of-floods-20210321-p57cn6.html
NSW floods explained — and why Sydney is at risk when it rains https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-21/nsw-floods-explained-and-why-sydney-is-at-risk/100019728
How droughts and floods lead to migration — and 7 things governments can do to help https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76709
Warragamba Dam spilling Sydney Harbour’s worth of water each day into Sydney basin https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-22/warragamba-dam-spilling-a-quarter-of-daily-capacity-each-day/100021144
Gladys Berejiklian was wrong to say the NSW floods were beyond anyone’s expectations https://www.smh.com.au/national/gladys-berejiklian-was-wrong-to-say-the-nsw-floods-were-beyond-anyone-s-expectations-20210322-p57cvr.html
Eruption in Iceland may mark the start of decades of volcanic activity https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/eruption-in-iceland-may-mark-start-of-decades-of-volcanic-activity
Preparing for extreme weather in the Caribbean: what role for forecast-based early action? https://www.odi.org/publications/18000-preparing-extreme-weather-caribbean
How do you build an effective Early Warning System? https://floodresilience.net/blogs/how-do-you-build-an-effective-early-warning-system/
‘Monstrosity on stilts’: Powerhouse museum under fire after Parramatta River floods https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/mar/22/monstrosity-on-stilts-powerhouse-museum-under-fire-after-parramatta-river-floods
Ten commandments for sandy coasts https://www.nioz.nl/en/news/ten-commandments-for-sandy-coasts
What is a 1 in 100 year weather event? And why do they keep happening so often? https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-1-in-100-year-weather-event-and-why-do-they-keep-happening-so-often-157589
What’s causing the NSW floods, and how do we manage future natural disasters in a changing climate? https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/climate/cosmos-qa-nsw-flooding/
Global Changes in 20‐Year, 50‐Year, and 100‐Year River Floods https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020GL091824
These animated graphs show how extreme NSW’s record-breaking flooding and rainfall is https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2021/mar/23/these-animated-graphs-show-how-extreme-nsw-record-breaking-flooding-floods-and-rainfall-is
Cross-scale interactions in flood risk management: A case study from Rovaniemi, Finland https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/76791
Stanford researchers explore how shifts in federal approaches can turn the tide of destructive wildfires https://news.stanford.edu/2021/03/23/wildfire-solutions/
‘Extreme’ conditions prompt Sydney Water to ramp up desalination plant https://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/extreme-conditions-prompt-sydney-water-to-ramp-up-desalination-plant-20210324-p57dhx.html
Thousands of Cumbrian homes protected from flooding after £55m investment https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/19183322.thousands-cumbrian-homes-protected-flooding-55m-investment/
Managed retreat of settlements remains a tough call even as homes flood and coasts erode https://theconversation.com/managed-retreat-of-settlements-remains-a-tough-call-even-as-homes-flood-and-coasts-erode-157595
As floods rise, government insurance shores up Bangladesh farmers https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76808
The growing wildfire risk at the urban margins https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76811
Experts have slammed building regulations that ignore major flood zones http://www.watercareer.com.au/news/floods-should-be-factored-in
Not ‘if’, but ‘when’: city planners need to design for flooding. These examples show the way https://theconversation.com/not-if-but-when-city-planners-need-to-design-for-flooding-these-examples-show-the-way-157578
LA’s biggest quake threat sits on overlooked part of San Andreas, study says. That may be good https://phys.org/news/2021-03-la-biggest-quake-threat-overlooked.html
Those Who Live And Work Near Levees All Want Something Different https://www.newsy.com/stories/levee-stakeholders-all-want-something-different/
Where would a major tsunami strike? Malibu, Venice and Long Beach, get ready https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-tsunami-maps-tracking-risk-california-coast/
More than 300,000 UK homes better protected from flooding since 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-than-300000-homes-better-protected-from-flooding-since-2015
Global warming and population change both heighten future risk of human displacement due to river floods https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abd26c
Emergency management
Germany and Belgium poised to tighten lockdowns as Covid cases surge https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/21/germany-and-belgium-poised-to-tighten-lockdowns-as-covid-cases-surge
Coronavirus: Third wave will ‘wash up on our shores’, warns Johnson https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-56486067
Covid-19 Virus Studies Yield New Clues on Pandemic’s Origin https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-virus-studies-yield-new-clues-on-pandemics-origin-11614594600?mod=e2tw
7 in 10 people hospitalized for Covid-19 have not fully recovered five months after discharge, study says https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/24/health/long-covid-months-after-discharge-study/index.html
Evidence from Britain shows covid-19 vaccines are very effective https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/02/22/evidence-from-britain-shows-covid-19-vaccines-are-very-effective
Disaster education, communications and engagement
Losing cultural context in emergency communication can be a matter of life and death https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76705
Increasing flood risk awareness and warning readiness by participation – But who understands what under ‘participation’? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921001230
How bad could flooding get at your house? Norfolk tool helps homeowners get the picture https://www.pilotonline.com/news/environment/vp-nw-norfolk-flood-risk-tool-20210322-5tjyqx6knvaqtecmguhketccve-story.html
Building disaster resilience in Fiji https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76784
Communicating and understanding risk in dynamic situations https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76815
From fake news to flash floods, simulations help cities cope with crises https://news.trust.org/item/20210323073758-wdsea/
Using crowd-sourced images of the coastline to study the impact of such storms to improve coastal management practices https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/how-power-social-helping-coastal-areas-deal-power-extreme-storms
Psychology and disasters
Floods leave a legacy of mental health problems — and disadvantaged people are often hardest hit https://theconversation.com/floods-leave-a-legacy-of-mental-health-problems-and-disadvantaged-people-are-often-hardest-hit-157576
New report shows children are forgotten in bushfire recovery https://www.unicef.org.au/about-us/media/march-2021/bushfire-recovery-report-release
Why do people try to drive through floodwater or leave it too late to flee? Psychology offers some answers https://theconversation.com/why-do-people-try-to-drive-through-floodwater-or-leave-it-too-late-to-flee-psychology-offers-some-answers-157577
For some areas hit by NSW flood crisis, it’s the fourth disaster in a year https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2021/mar/24/for-some-areas-hit-by-nsw-flood-crisis-its-the-fourth-disaster-in-a-year
Sociology and disasters
Together we survive: the role of social messaging networks in building social capital and disaster resilience among minority communities https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-021-04562-7
City residents use maps to fight climate inequality in their neighborhoods https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/03/city-residents-use-maps-to-fight-inequality-in-their-neighborhoods/
Hazards, culture and Indigenous communities: Final project report https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/76741
Societal Resilience: A Sneaky Concept Unraveled https://www.project-engage.eu/societal-resilience-a-sneaky-concept-unraveled/
When disaster strikes, it’s often not individual preparedness or government intervention that enables people to survive and thrive—it’s social connections https://news.northeastern.edu/2021/03/24/to-survive-and-thrive-after-covid-19-community-networks-are-key-professor-says-in-annual-klein-lecture/
Women’s absence from COVID-19 task forces will perpetuate gender divide, says UNDP, UN Women https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76801
Disaster Resilience News 