Please find below a list of links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…
Recent emergencies/disasters
‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Louisiana packing powerful winds https://www.sbs.com.au/news/extremely-dangerous-hurricane-ida-makes-landfall-in-louisiana-packing-powerful-winds
‘We Are Prepared to Fight.’ Caldor Fire Continues to Creep Towards Sierra-at-Tahoe https://activenorcal.com/we-are-prepared-to-fight-caldor-fire-continues-to-creep-towards-sierra-at-tahoe/
Mexico – 3 Injured in Floods and Landslides in Jalisco After Heavy Rain From Hurricane Nora https://floodlist.com/america/mexico-jalisco-floods-hurricane-nora-august-2021
Myanmar – 11 Killed in Landslide in Mandalay Region https://floodlist.com/asia/myanmar-floods-mandalay-august-2021
Caldor Fire – Entire South Lake Tahoe under evacuation order, California https://watchers.news/2021/08/30/caldor-fire-entire-south-lake-tahoe-under-evacuation-order-california/
Indonesia – Floods in Sulawesi Affect Over 60,000https://floodlist.com/asia/indonesia-floods-sulawesi-august-2021
Indonesia – 5 Killed in North Sumatra Landslides and Mudflows https://floodlist.com/asia/indonesia-landslide-north-sumatra-august-2021
India – Over 250,000 People Affected Across 700 Villages as Floods Worsen in Assam https://floodlist.com/asia/india-floods-assam-august-2021
New Zealand – Evacuations After 90mm of Rain in 1 Hour Causes Floods in Auckland https://floodlist.com/australia/new-zealand-floods-auckland-august-2021
Ghana – Fatalities Reported After Floods in North https://floodlist.com/africa/ghana-floods-north-august-2021
USA – Hundreds Rescued From Louisiana Floods After Hurricane Ida https://floodlist.com/america/usa/louisiana-floods-hurricane-ida-august-2021
India – 1 Dead, Several Reported Missing After Floods in Maharashtra https://floodlist.com/asia/india-floods-maharashtra-august-2021
USA – 1 Person Missing, 20 Homes Destroyed After Remnants of Hurricane Ida Cause Floods in Virginia https://floodlist.com/america/usa/virginia-hurricane-ida-floods-august-2021
Thailand – Flooding Affects Thousands in Central Provinceshttps://floodlist.com/asia/thailand-floods-august-2021
South Sudan – 380,000 Affected by Floods in 6 States https://floodlist.com/africa/south-sudan-floods-august-2021-update
Ida updates: 12 dead in NYC as subway stations turned into waterfalls, streets became rivers https://abcnews.go.com/US/idas-remnants-deluge-york-jersey-flooding-rain-tornadoes/story
Volcanic activity worldwide 2 Sep 2021: Fuego volcano, Karymsky, Semeru, Ibu, Reventador, Telica https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/140184/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-2-Sep-2021-Fuego-volcano-Karymsky-Semeru-Ibu-Reventador-Telica-Ne.html
Spain – Flash Floods in Catalonia After 70mm of Rain in 30 Minutes https://floodlist.com/europe/spain-floods-catalonia-september-2021
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Australia’s biggest climate poll shows support for action in every seat https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/australia-s-biggest-climate-poll-shows-support-for-action-in-every-seat-20210829-p58mwb.html
Disastrous environmental events are converging like never before https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/08/summer-2021-climate-change-records/619887/
Top scientist says APRA climate risk guidance ‘flawed’ https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/top-scientist-says-apra-climate-risk-guidance-flawed-20210820-p58khr.html
How cities can adapt to climate change https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/how-cities-can-adapt-to-climate-change
Could climate change make humans go extinct? https://www.livescience.com/climate-change-humans-extinct.html
The Battle to Save Coasts from Climate Change https://www.voanews.com/episode/battle-save-coasts-climate-change-4778266
Massive volcanoes could cool Earth more in a warming world https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/08/massive-volcanoes-could-cool-earth-more-warming-world
Swiss join France, others in laying out climate disclosure timeline https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/swiss-join-france-others-laying-out-climate-disclosure-timeline-2021-08-18/
Climate change is making hurricanes stronger, slower and wetter. Ida checked all the boxes https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/30/weather/hurricane-ida-climate-change-factors/index.html
The Gathering Storm of Climate Change: On the Sickening Loss of the Land and the Optimism of the Youth Movement https://lithub.com/the-gathering-storm-of-climate-change-on-the-sickening-loss-of-the-land-and-the-optimism-of-the-youth-movement/
Why Kinshasa Could Be in the Vanguard of Megacities’ Climate Resilience https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/08/19/why-kinshasa-could-be-in-the-vanguard-of-megacities-climate-resilience
Sixty years of climate change warnings: the signs that were missed (and ignored) https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/05/sixty-years-of-climate-change-warnings-the-signs-that-were-missed-and-ignored
Hurricane Ida: 4 essential reads about New Orleans’ high hurricane risk and what climate change has to do with the storms https://theconversation.com/hurricane-ida-4-essential-reads-about-new-orleans-high-hurricane-risk-and-what-climate-change-has-to-do-with-the-storms-166954
How Spain is shutting down its coal industry to transition to renewables https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-02/the-just-transition-as-spain-says-goodbye-to-coal/100421216
It’s not your imagination. Weather and climate disasters have been getting more frequent since the ’70s https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/01/weather/extreme-weather-climate-change-economy/index.html
Atlas of the Invisible: using data to map the climate crisis https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/01/atlas-of-the-invisible-using-data-reveal-climate-crisis
Ida turns New York City into a front line of extreme weather supercharged by climate change https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/02/world/ida-climate-change-floods-rain-intl/index.html
Governance in the age of climate change https://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/governance-age-climate-change
Why won’t US TV news say ‘climate change’? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/02/us-media-hurricane-ida-climate-change
Disaster risk reduction
Hurricane Ida storm surge and winds have partially reversed flow of Mississippi River near New Orleans https://edition.cnn.com/webview/us/live-news/hurricane-ida-updates-08-29-21/h_89c12cb9cacd202e42a93dc3e1c845c5
Methodology for Regional Multihazard Hurricane Damage and Risk Assessment https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%29ST.1943-541X.0003144
New Orleans levees pass Ida’s test while some suburbs flood https://www.thestar.com/news/world/us/2021/08/30/new-orleans-levees-pass-idas-test-while-some-suburbs-flood.html
Latest edition of Molino Stewart’s Floodplain Manager newsletter https://www.molinostewart.com.au/floodplain-manager/
Understanding Pyrocumulonimbi, aka ‘Fire Clouds’ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/understanding-pyrocumulonimbi-aka-fire-clouds/
California is up in smoke but still won’t stop playing with fire https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/opinion-california-is-up-in-smoke-but-still-wont-stop-playing-with-fire/ar-AANMP9K
Climate and weather related disasters surge five-fold over 50 years, but early warnings save lives – WMO report https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1098662
Floating Homes, Raised Houses: A Tale of Two Flood Mitigation Strategies https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/floating-homes-raised-houses-a-tale-of-two-flood-mitigation-strategies
Geologists look to past for answers on future tsunami threats https://vtx.vt.edu/articles/2021/09/science_Dura_geologists_look_to_past.html
River Planet introduces readers to the epic geological history of the world’s rivers, from the first drop of rain on the Earth to the modern environmental crisis https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/MPRIVP
Why The South Is Decades Ahead Of The West In Wildfire Prevention https://www.npr.org/2021/08/31/1029821831/to-stop-extreme-wildfires-california-is-learning-from-florida?platform=hootsuite
Better together: Working with local partners to build flood resilient infrastructure in Montenegro https://floodresilience.net/blogs/working-with-local-partners-to-build-flood-resilience-in-montenegro/
Algeria suffers from devastating wildfires, but faces big challenges in addressing them https://theconversation.com/algeria-suffers-from-devastating-wildfires-but-faces-big-challenges-in-addressing-them-166944
Emergency management
Houston-based group that formed during Harvey is ready to help Hurricane Ida victims https://www.khou.com/article/weather/hurricane/crowdsource-rescue-hurricane-ida/285-bb414f4d-f5e1-4e8f-85ee-597d93b72567
We’re Hitting the Limits of Hurricane Preparedness https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/08/hurricane-ida-end-of-hurricane-preparedness/619926/
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
Stanford researchers explore how people respond to wildfire smokehttps://yubanet.com/california/stanford-researchers-explore-how-people-respond-to-wildfire-smoke/
Ida and Katrina: Both powerful cyclones with key differences https://news.miami.edu/stories/2021/08/ida-and-katrina-both-powerful-cyclones-with-key-differences.html
See aerial photos, video of Hurricane Ida damage in southeast Louisiana https://www.nola.com/news/hurricane/article_27c234ae-09b9-11ec-b018-dfc7e7dcb299.html
Teaching machines to find critical facilities for emergency response https://www.eastidahonews.com/2021/08/teaching-machines-to-find-critical-facilities-for-emergency-response/
Attacking fires by air often does no good, expert says https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/569797-attacking-fires-by-air-often-does-no-good-expert-says
Firefighters return from Canada blazes to prepare for COVID bushfire season https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/firefighters-return-from-canada-blazes-to-prepare-for-covid-bushfire-season-20210831-p58nel.html
Ida left more than 1 million without power, possibly for weeks. And now comes the scorching heat https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/31/weather/tropical-depression-ida-tuesday/index.html
Back-to-school FAQs on children’s health & COVID-19: Delta variant, preventing infection, testing and international examples https://theconversation.com/back-to-school-faqs-on-childrens-health-and-covid-19-delta-variant-preventing-infection-testing-and-international-examples-164684
Reports of environmental problems caused by Hurricane Ida begin to trickle in https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_ecac5322-0a9e-11ec-aa1a-b3a6500298cd.html
‘We do it together’: how a Lake Tahoe community prepared to flee the Caldor fire https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/01/california-caldor-fire-lake-tahoe-prepare
How Government Can Address Growing Disaster Costs https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2021/08/27/how-government-can-address-growing-disaster-costs
NYC Flood: 15 videos of severe flooding in New York City https://insiderpaper.com/nyc-flood-shocking-videos-of-flooding-in-new-york-city/
Disaster education, communications and engagement
Understanding Climate and Wildfires https://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/climate-and-wildfires
How students can use storytelling to bring the dangers of climate change to life https://theconversation.com/how-students-can-use-storytelling-to-bring-the-dangers-of-climate-change-to-life-166693
Communities Going Virtual: Examining the Roles of Online and Offline Social Capital in Pandemic Perceived Community Resilience-Building https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15205436.2021.1974046
Key elements of disaster mitigation education in inclusive school setting in the Indonesian context https://jamba.org.za/index.php/jamba/article/view/1159
Disaster Resilience Education for Young People Handbook https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/handbook-disaster-resilience-education/
How Do High School Students Combat the Climate Crisis and Plan for Community Resilience After a Disaster? https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/09/01/how-do-high-school-students-combat-the-climate-crisis-and-plan-for-community-resilience-after-a-disaster/
58% of adults say the internet has been essential during the pandemic, and for some groups, its importance grew over the past year https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/09/01/how-the-internet-and-technology-shaped-americans-personal-experiences-amid-covid-19/
‘Local community-based disaster management’ The transformation of religious and local wisdom values in preparation to deal with natural hazards in West Sumatra, Indonesia https://jamba.org.za/index.php/jamba/article/view/1020
Why We Use Gage Height https://waterdata.usgs.gov/blog/gage_height/
Psychology and disasters
Study finds coronavirus-related polarization is stronger among people higher in cognitive ability https://www.psypost.org/2021/08/study-finds-coronavirus-related-polarization-is-stronger-among-people-higher-in-cognitive-ability-61760
Multi-country study suggests that the psychological burden of COVID-19 has led to increased political unrest https://www.psypost.org/2021/08/multi-country-study-suggests-that-the-psychological-burden-of-covid-19-has-led-to-increased-political-unrest-61798
Psychological factors and social processes influencing wildfire smoke protective behavior: Insights from a case study in Northern California https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096321000802
The mystery of 9/11 first responders and dementia https://news.yahoo.com/mystery-9-11-first-responders-195318484.html
Sociology and disasters
‘We can’t afford to leave’: Louisiana family is forced to ride out powerful Hurricane Ida https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricanes/article/louisiana-family-rides-out-hurricane-ida-16419978.php
People, not just places: Expanding physical and social vulnerability indices by psychological indicators https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfr3.12752