Today in disaster resilience (16 April 2021)

Please find below a list of links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…

Recent emergencies/disasters

Why the volcano erupting in the Caribbean has such a deadly reputation https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/why-st-vincent-volcano-erupting-in-caribbean-has-such-a-deadly-reputation

At least 2 killed, 7 injured as severe storms and tornadoes hit Gulf Coast, U.S. https://watchers.news/2021/04/11/2-killed-7-injured-severe-storms-tornadoes-gulf-coast-us-april-2021/

Mount Lewotolok and Adonara island: up to 168 people killed by lahars and debris flows in Indonesia https://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2021/04/06/mount-lewotolok-and-adonara-island-up-to-168-people-killed-by-lahars-and-debris-flows-in-indonesia/

Western U.S. may be entering its most severe drought in modern history https://www.cbsnews.com/news/drought-western-united-states-modern-history/

Volcanic activity worldwide 14 Apr 2021: Pacaya volcano, Fuego, Popocatépetl, Dukono, Reventador https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/127330/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-14-Apr-2021-Pacaya-volcano-Fuego-Popocatepetl-Dukono-Reventador-S.html

Colombia – Damaging Flash Floods Sweep Through Villavicencio, Meta Department http://floodlist.com/america/colombia-floods-meta-april-2021

Peru – More Floods in Northern Regions as Rivers Reach Danger Levels in Loreto http://floodlist.com/america/peru-more-floods-loreto-april-2021

Soufrière St. Vincent volcano: Eruption Update https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/soufriere-st-vincent/current-activity.html

Officially, India Has the World’s Second-Worst COVID-19 Outbreak. Unofficially, It’s Almost Certainly the Worst https://time.com/5954416/india-covid-second-wave/

Colombia – Thousands Hit by Flash Floods in Bolivar http://floodlist.com/america/floods-bolivar-colombia-april-2021

Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Australia’s main grid hits record renewables high of 56 per cent on Sunday https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-main-grid-hits-record-renewables-high-of-56-per-cent-on-sunday/

Call for evidence: Effective learning for climate adaptation and resilience https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/75569

Climate Change Litigation – Insights into the evolving global landscape https://www.genevaassociation.org/research-topics/climate-change-and-emerging-environmental-topics/climate-litigation

Cyclone Seroja just demolished parts of WA – and our warming world will bring more of the same https://theconversation.com/cyclone-seroja-just-demolished-parts-of-wa-and-our-warming-world-will-bring-more-of-the-same-158769

Power grid can be rid of coal ‘without price rises, outages’ https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/power-grid-can-be-rid-of-coal-without-price-rises-blackouts-20210411-p57i7q.html

Michael Mann slams Murdoch press for “horrifying” misinformation on climate and bushfires https://reneweconomy.com.au/michael-mann-slams-murdoch-press-for-horrifying-misinformation-on-climate-and-bushfires/

Climate change is a security threat the government keeps ignoring https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-a-security-threat-the-government-keeps-ignoring-well-show-up-empty-handed-to-yet-another-global-summit-158702

Global death rate from rising temperatures projected to surpass the current death rate of all infectious diseases combined http://www.impactlab.org/news-insights/global-death-rate-from-rising-temperatures/

‘Failure is not an option’: after a lost decade on climate action, the 2020s offer one last chance https://theconversation.com/failure-is-not-an-option-after-a-lost-decade-on-climate-action-the-2020s-offer-one-last-chance-158913

We Are Living in a Climate Emergency, and We’re Going to Say So https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-are-living-in-a-climate-emergency-and-were-going-to-say-so/

Bold challenge to decarbonise Australia in 15 years laid down by Climate Council https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-04-15/plan-to-decarbonise-australia-in-15-years-climate-council-report/100063906

Google Earth Now Shows Decades of Climate Change in Seconds https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-15/google-earth-now-shows-decades-of-climate-change-in-seconds

Senate and House Spotlight Soaring Costs of Delay on Climate https://www.nrdc.org/experts/vijay-limaye/senate-and-house-spotlight-soaring-costs-delay-climate

Changes in India’s monsoon rainfall could bring serious consequences to more than a billion people https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/14/weather/climate-change-india-monsoon-agriculture-heavy-rain/index.html

Disaster risk reduction

NSW urged to buy thousands of flood-prone homes in western Sydney https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/10/nsw-urged-to-buy-thousands-of-flood-prone-homes-in-western-sydney

Villagers in flood-hit Yalding, near Maidstone, want more done to prevent future flooding https://kentchronicle.com/villagers-in-flood-hit-yalding-near-maidstone-want-more-done-to-prevent-future-flooding/

Detecting significant thermal unrest years before volcanic eruption https://watchers.news/2021/04/14/modis-detecting-significant-thermal-unrest-years-before-volcanic-eruption/

California is poised for a catastrophic fire season. Experts say its plan isn’t nearly enough https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/14/california-wildfire-season-2021

Physical vulnerability assessment to flash floods using an indicator‐based methodology based on building properties and flow parameters https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jfr3.12712

Coastal flooding risks increasing in Western Australia https://www.perthnow.com.au/community-news/fremantle-gazette/coastal-flooding-risks-increasing-in-wa-c-2581561

ADHI: the African Database of Hydrometric Indices (1950–2018) https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/13/1547/2021/

Magmatic Processes at La Soufrière de Guadeloupe: Insights From Crystal Studies and Diffusion Timescales for Eruption Onset https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.617294/full

Canada wildfire: Managing the next Fort McMurray https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/77214

Cost-effective mitigation strategy development for building related earthquake risk https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/77209

Emergency management

Emergency evacuation and sheltering during the COVID-19 pandemic https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/77015

How do you build an effective Early Warning System? https://floodresilience.net/blogs/how-do-you-build-an-effective-early-warning-system/

St Vincent volcano: Power cuts after another ‘explosive event’ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56707956

‘No warnings’: Powerful cyclone exposes Indonesia’s lack of preparedness https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/77129

New checklist for reviewing an emergency plan https://www.aidr.org.au/news/new-checklist-for-reviewing-an-emergency-plan/

St Vincent volcano: ‘We don’t know if we can go home’ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56726773

CDC Identifies Small Group of Covid-19 Infections Among Fully Vaccinated Patients https://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-identifies-small-group-of-covid-19-infections-among-fully-vaccinated-patients-11618490232?mod=hp_lead_pos7

Disaster education, communications and engagement

Disaster tales as communication tool for increasing risk resilience https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13753-021-00341-x

Good communication practices in community engagement https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/77013

Science at the Local fires up for 2021 https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/7197352/science-at-the-local-fires-up-for-2021/

Rockhampton students learn to be disaster ready https://www.nationaltribune.com.au/rockhampton-students-learn-to-be-disaster-ready/

Which color scale to use when visualizing data https://blog.datawrapper.de/which-color-scale-to-use-in-data-vis/

Psychology and disasters

After the Disaster: Recovery for Australia’s Children https://www.unicef.org.au/our-work/unicef-in-australia/bushfire-response/after-the-disaster

Post-disaster mental health support for kids is essential https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/post-disaster-mental-health-support-for-kids-is-essential-7264674/

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

Sociology and disasters

Connecting Social Capital and Vulnerability: Citation Network Analysis of Disaster Studies https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%29NH.1527-6996.0000469

Understanding short-term household recoveries from the 2015 Nepal earthquakes: Lessons learned and recommendations https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350665426_Understanding_short-term_household_recoveries_from_the_2015_Nepal_earthquakes_Lessons_learned_and_recommendations

Racism, inequities move to the center of the climate debate https://www.ehn.org/climate-change-and-racism-2651950416.html

An institutional approach to vulnerability: evidence from natural hazard management in Europe https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abe88c

New civil society collaboration to understand true scale of COVID-19’s impacts on marginalised people https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/77198

Maladaptation, fragmentation, and other secondary effects of centralized post-disaster urban planning: The case of the 2011 “cascading” disaster in Japan https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/77178

Disaster risk governance for district-level landslide risk management in Bangladesh https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/77183

Social protection for extreme temperatures: Experiences from the UK, USA and France https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/77175

Homeowners’ drift to regions holding strong https://www.westpac.com.au/news/making-news/2021/04/homeowners-drift-to-regions-holding-strong/

Floods can worsen inequality. Here are 4 ways we can ensure people with disabilities aren’t left behind https://theconversation.com/floods-can-worsen-inequality-here-are-4-ways-we-can-ensure-people-with-disabilities-arent-left-behind-157959