Please find below a list of links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…
Recent emergencies/disasters
Five million people under evacuation order in Japan as rain batters south coast https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/14/asia/japan-flood-evacuation-intl-hnk/index.html
Turkey evacuates flood victims as death toll hits 62 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/15/turkey-evacuates-flooding-victims-as-death-toll-exceeds-60
At least 4 people presumed dead after mudslides hit Japan https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/15/asia/japan-rain-mudslides-intl-hnk/index.html
USA – State of Emergency After Flash Floods Leave 2 Dead in Arizona https://floodlist.com/america/usa/flash-floods-arizona-august-2021
Niger – 5 Killed in Niamey Flash Floods https://floodlist.com/africa/niger-flash-floods-niamey-august-2021
USA – 1 Dead After Floods in El Paso, Texas https://floodlist.com/america/usa/el-paso-texas-floods-august-2021
Israel asks Greece, Cyprus, Italy and France for help fighting massive wildfire https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-asks-greece-cyprus-italy-and-france-for-help-fighting-massive-wildfire/
Violent M7.2 earthquake hits Haiti, causing widespread damage and leaving thousands dead and injured https://watchers.news/2021/08/14/m7-2-earthquake-haiti-august-14-2021-damage-fatalities/
B.C. wildfires lead to state of emergency in West Kelowna and terror for motorists on Coquihalla Highway https://www.straight.com/news/bc-wildfires-lead-to-state-of-emergency-in-west-kelowna-and-terror-for-motorists-on-coquihalla
Nigeria – Severe Floods Affect Jigawa, Bauchi and Adamawa States https://floodlist.com/africa/floods-nigeria-jigawa-bauchi-adamawa-august-2021
Colombia – 3 Fatalities After Floods in Meta Department https://floodlist.com/america/colombia-3-fatalities-after-floods-in-meta-department
Somalia – Thousands Displaced by Flooding Shabelle River https://floodlist.com/africa/somalia-shabelle-river-floods-august-2021
France wildfire: Thousands evacuated as blaze rages near Riviera https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58243066
Haiti: flash floods and mudslides latest threats in earthquake-hit country https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/08/1097862
Pacific Northwest wildfires have burned 1 million more acres in 2021 compared to this time last year https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/wildfire/pacific-northwest-wildfires-burned-20-times-more-land-2021-2020-washington-oregon/281-174c244d-5bed-4138-ad77-ffd663a828fc
Severe floods hit Germany again, destructive tornado in Lower Saxony https://watchers.news/2021/08/17/severe-storm-flood-tornado-germany-august-2021/
Thousands forced to evacuate by wildfire near Saint-Tropez https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/17/thousands-forced-to-evacuate-by-wildfire-near-saint-tropez-france-portugal-spain
India – 12 Dead, Thousands Displaced by Floods in Bihar https://floodlist.com/asia/india-floods-bihar-august-2021-update
Strong M6.8 earthquake hits near the coast of Vanuatu, hazardous tsunami waves possible https://watchers.news/2021/08/18/strong-m6-8-earthquake-hits-near-the-coast-of-vanuatu-hazardous-tsunami-waves-possible/
Caldor fire levels California town of Grizzly Flats as dry weather fuels blazes https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/18/california-wildfires-caldor-dixie-fire-weather-grizzly-flats
Massive wildfire threatens Greek village outside Athens https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-massive-wildfire-threatens-greek-village-outside-athens/
Ethiopia – Deadly Flash Floods in Addis Ababa https://floodlist.com/africa/ethiopia-floods-addis-ababa-august-2021
Turkey – 77 Dead, 34 Still Missing in Floods https://floodlist.com/asia/turkey-floods-update-august-2021
USA – Record Rainfall Causes Flash Floods in Flagstaff Burn Areas, Arizona https://floodlist.com/america/usa/usa-record-rainfall-causes-flash-floods-in-flagstaff-burn-areas-arizona
Caribbean – Tropical Storm Grace Causes Floods in Haiti and Dominican Republic https://floodlist.com/america/caribbean-storm-grace-floods-haiti-dominican-republic-august-2021
Europe – Rain Triggers Deadly Flash Floods and Mudslides in Germany, Austria and Italy https://floodlist.com/europe/floods-mudslides-germany-austria-italy-16-august-2021
North Carolina faces ‘catastrophic’ flooding from Fred, dozens reported missing https://www.foxnews.com/us/north-carolina-flooding-from-fred-dozens-missing
Volcanic activity worldwide 19 Aug 2021: Fuego volcano, Karymsky, Semeru, Shiveluch, Reventador https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/138944/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-19-Aug-2021-Fuego-volcano-Karymsky-Semeru-Shiveluch-Reventador-San.html
Malaysia – 4 Dead, 2 Missing After Flash Floods in Kedah https://floodlist.com/asia/malaysia-4-dead-2-missing-after-flash-floods-in-kedah
Sweden – Flash Floods in Dalarna and Gävleborg After Record Rainfall https://floodlist.com/europe/central-sweden-floods-august-2021
Sri Lanka – Floods in Central Provinces Displace 1,500 https://floodlist.com/asia/sri-lanka-floods-in-central-provinces-displace-1500
Ghana – Major Roads, Bridges and Over 100 Homes Destroyed in Upper West Region Floods https://floodlist.com/africa/ghana-major-roads-bridges-and-over-100-homes-destroyed-in-upper-west-region-floods
India – 20,000 Affected by Floods in 5 Districts of Assam State https://floodlist.com/asia/india-assam-floods-august-2021
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Computer Models Of Civilization Offer Routes To Ending Global Warming https://www.npr.org/2021/08/14/1027370891/climate-change-solutions-global-warming-computer-models-paris
How ‘living breakwaters’ could protect the coast from rising sea levels https://www.smh.com.au/national/how-living-breakwaters-could-protect-the-coast-from-rising-sea-levels-20210812-p58i7p.html
Specifically Tailored Action Plans Combat Heat Waves in India https://redcliffecitynews.com.au/specifically-tailored-action-plans-combat-heat-waves-in-india/
Climate change: floods and droughts will be greater dangers for China’s growth than earlier thought, UN scientists say https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3144759/climate-change-extreme-floods-and-droughts-will-be-greater
Weatherwatch: Carbon offsets easily wiped out by bad weather https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/14/weatherwatch-carbon-offsets-easily-wiped-out-by-bad-weather
Breaching tipping points would increase economic costs of climate change impacts https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/news/breaching-tipping-points-would-increase-economic-costs-of-climate-change-impacts/
Assessing the Global Climate in July 2021 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/global-climate-202107
Seemingly small climate changes can have big consequences https://theconversation.com/seemingly-small-climate-changes-can-have-big-consequences-166139
Breaching climate tipping points could triple economic cost of environmental crisis, scientists warn https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/climate-tipping-points-economic-cost-lse-b1903489.html
Too Hot to Work https://ucsusa.org/resources/too-hot-to-work
IPCC report reinforces need for more investment in flood resilience https://floodresilience.net/blogs/ipcc-report-reinforces-need-for-flood-resilience/
State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean https://public.wmo.int/en/state-of-climate-latin-america-and-caribbean
Research shines light on heatwaves and building codes in NSW https://www.bnhcrc.com.au/research/policy-and-economics-hazards/7835
Spain confirms new highest temperature record – 47.4 °C (117.3 °F) in the city of Montoro, Cordoba https://watchers.news/2021/08/17/spain-sets-new-highest-temperature-record-montoro-august-14-2021/
Climate science is now more certain than ever. Here’s how it can make a difference in Australian court cases https://theconversation.com/climate-science-is-now-more-certain-than-ever-heres-how-it-can-make-a-difference-in-australian-court-cases-165874
What the big climate report said about New Zealand https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/126094665/what-the-big-climate-report-said-about-new-zealand
Australia widely criticised over emission reduction targets ahead of COP26 climate talks https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-20/climate-change-ipcc-australia-uk-conference-glasgow/100392252
Rain fell at the normally snowy summit of Greenland for the first time on record https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/19/weather/greenland-summit-rain-climate-change/index.html
Disaster risk reduction
Earth’s inner core is doing something weird https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/earths-inner-core-spinning-surprisingly-slow-nuclear-tests-reveal
The importance of applying a systemic risk lens to help prevent the escalation and reduce the impact of future pandemics https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/increasing-global-resilience-systemic-risk-emerging-lessons-covid-19-pandemic
Logging near towns must stop to mitigate extreme bushfire https://www.nature.org.au/media-releases/2021/08/logging-near-towns-must-stop-to-mitigate-extreme-bushfire/
WHO calls for ‘spirit of partnership’ in hunt for Covid-19 origins https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3144940/who-calls-spirit-partnership-hunt-covid-19-origins
What’s the likelihood a tsunami will happen in Lake Tahoe? Experts explain https://www.kcra.com/article/likelihood-tsunami-will-happen-lake-tahoe-experts-explain/37306443#
Canvey Island to benefit from £35M investment in flood protection https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/canvey-island-set-to-benefit-from-35m-investment-in-flood-protection-16-08-2021/
‘The fire moved around it’: success story in Oregon fuels calls for prescribed burns https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/12/the-fire-moved-around-it-success-story-in-oregon-fuels-calls-for-prescribed-burns
High-risk bushfire days in Victoria could triple by end of the century, CFA research finds https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-16/extreme-fire-danger-days-could-triple-victoria/100380946
How years of fighting every wildfire helped fuel the Western megafires of today https://theconversation.com/how-years-of-fighting-every-wildfire-helped-fuel-the-western-megafires-of-today-163165
What Could Explain the Lower COVID-19 Burden in Africa despite Considerable Circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353950986_What_Could_Explain_the_Lower_COVID-19_Burden_in_Africa_despite_Considerable_Circulation_of_the_SARS-CoV-2_Virus
National Resilience Strategy: Call for Evidence https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/national-resilience-strategy-call-for-evidence
Forget massive seawalls, coastal wetlands offer the best storm protection money can buy https://theconversation.com/forget-massive-seawalls-coastal-wetlands-offer-the-best-storm-protection-money-can-buy-165872
US National Risk Index Map https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/
Early COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign in the United States Prevented Nearly 140,000 Deaths https://www.rand.org/news/press/2021/08/18/index1.html
Rapid Flood Mapping Using Multi-temporal SAR Images: An Example from Bangladesh https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-73569-2_10
Devastating European Floods Test Resilience https://www.air-worldwide.com/blog/posts/2021/7/devastating-european-floods-test-resilience/
Learning from a 100-year flood, and bad disaster movies https://www.undp.org/blogs/learning-100-year-flood-and-bad-disaster-movies
Emergency management
Mega-blazes put spotlight on Europe’s firefighting tactics https://news.trust.org/item/20210813164011-gznem/
Children’s hospitals are swamped with Covid patients — and it may only get worse https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/11/covid-children-hospitals-schools-reopen-503885
Haitian Earthquake Situation Report #2 https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=9ab6772472374f95982f43d9ec9e24c7
Death toll from Haiti earthquake soars above 700 with thousands injured https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-16/death-toll-from-haiti-earthquake-soars/100379194
Mafia hand suspected as Italy battles wildfires https://www.politico.eu/article/mafia-suspected-italy-wildfires/
From ground zero to zero tolerance – how China learnt from its COVID response to quickly stamp out its latest outbreak https://theconversation.com/from-ground-zero-to-zero-tolerance-how-china-learnt-from-its-covid-response-to-quickly-stamp-out-its-latest-outbreak-165963
Wildfires released ‘extremely harmful’ particles https://www.ekathimerini.com/society/1166337/wildfires-released-extremely-harmful-particles/
Fires, droughts, floods, power outages. The interval between disasters is shortening, or in some cases disappearing altogether https://www.circleofblue.org/2021/world/the-disasters-are-exhausting-emergency-response/
Ohio’s vaccine lottery saved more than $60m in averted healthcare costs https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/08/16/ohios-vaccine-lottery-saved-more-than-60m-in-averted-healthcare-costs
India is preparing for another COVID surge but low vaccine coverage leaves it vulnerable https://theconversation.com/india-is-preparing-for-another-covid-surge-but-low-vaccine-coverage-leaves-it-vulnerable-165839
Why I no longer think we can eliminate COVID – public health expert https://theconversation.com/why-i-no-longer-think-we-can-eliminate-covid-public-health-expert-166206
Disaster education, communications and engagement
Assessing post-disaster recovery using sentiment analysis: The case of L’Aquila, Italy https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/87552930211036486
Health systems in Florida are using easy-to-understand infographics to demonstrate how good the COVID vaccines are at keeping people out of the hospital https://www.fastcompany.com/90667213/delta-variant-devastation-florida-hospitals-show-vaccinated-vs-unvaccinated-icu-patient-data
Using military language and presence might not be the best approach to COVID and public health https://theconversation.com/using-military-language-and-presence-might-not-be-the-best-approach-to-covid-and-public-health-166019
Stories that touch: The Flood https://tolulope64.substack.com/p/the-flood
Psychology and disasters
Long-term Follow-up of Affected Residents After Lifting Evacuation Orders in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan: Findings from an Interview-Based Psychological Survey https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353933520_Long-term_Follow-up_of_Affected_Residents_After_Lifting_Evacuation_Orders_in_Fukushima_Prefecture_Japan_Findings_from_an_Interview-Based_Psychological_Survey
Resilience among survivors in the aftermath of the 2018 Kerala flood: An avenue toward recovery https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353477560_Resilience_among_survivors_in_the_aftermath_of_the_2018_Kerala_flood_An_avenue_toward_recovery
Coastal exposure and residents’ mental health in the affected areas by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-96168-z
Sociology and disasters
Seawalls or social recovery? The role of policy networks and design in disaster recovery https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378021001217?dgcid=author
‘Breaking society apart’: Unvaccinated people are angry as they face more Covid restrictions https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/13/unvaccinated-people-face-more-covid-restrictions-in-future.html
Analysis of the state of social resilience among different socio-demographic groups during the COVID- 19 pandemic https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212420921004751?via=ihub#fig1
Poorer city dwellers are missing out on the increased social interactions that are credited with driving innovation and wealth creation in large metropolises https://santafe.edu/news-center/news/new-study-prosperity-cities-benefits-few
Texas wildfire survivors’ narratives and the meaning of everyday objects https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14661381211038304
The intensity and frequency of the floods have increased in recent years and it’s creating greater vulnerabilities for women and girls https://www.preventionweb.net/blog/rumana-khan-there-growing-crisis-climate-related-disasters
Disaster Resilience News 