Please find below a list of links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…
Recent emergencies/disasters
Flood warnings as heavy rains fall across Tasmania, threatening to break records for August https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-14/flood-warnings-as-heavy-rains-across-tasmania/101331586
Major wildfire in Spain forces the evacuation of 1,500 https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-fires-spain-evacuations-3bfa34e93c6d7fbf76400746ce295867
Flash flood in Las Vegas claims 2 lives, wettest monsoon season in a decade https://watchers.news/2022/08/14/flash-flood-in-las-vegas-claims-2-lives-wettest-monsoon-season-in-a-decade/
Rainy season death toll in Sudan surpasses 50 https://watchers.news/2022/08/14/rainy-season-death-toll-in-sudan-surpasses-50/
Gambia experiences worst floods in nearly half a century https://watchers.news/2022/08/12/gambia-experiences-worst-floods-in-nearly-half-a-century/
Chad – Weeks of Rain and Floods Leave 22 Dead, Hundreds of Homes Destroyed https://floodlist.com/africa/chad-floods-august-2022
Thousands of homes destroyed, 50 people killed after torrential rains hit Nigeria https://watchers.news/2022/08/15/thousands-of-homes-destroyed-50-people-killed-after-torrential-rains-hit-nigeria/
7 lives lost after severe flash floods hit Pengzhou, China https://watchers.news/2022/08/15/7-lives-lost-after-severe-flash-floods-hit-pengzhou-china/
South East Asia – Storm Mulan Triggers Floods Leaving 5 Dead and 4 Missing https://floodlist.com/asia/vietnam-thailand-laos-myanmar-floods-mulan-august-2022
Afghanistan – Flash Floods Leave Over 30 Dead in Parwan https://floodlist.com/asia/afghanistan-floods-parwan-august-2022
Mexico – More Flash Floods in Sonora Leave 3 Dead https://floodlist.com/america/mexico-floods-sonora-update-august-2022
USA – State of Emergency Declared After Floods in West Virginia https://floodlist.com/america/usa/floods-west-virginia-august-2022
Storms and flash floods hit southern England https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/17/storms-and-flash-floods-hit-southern-england-london
New Zealand flooding: State of emergency declared https://www.bbc.com/weather/features/62577142
Spain wildfires: up to 20 injured after passengers break out of train engulfed by flames https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/17/spain-wildfires-injured-after-passengers-break-out-of-train-engulfed-by-flames
Pakistan floods kill 580 and bring misery to millions https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/aug/17/pakistan-floods-kill-580-and-bring-misery-to-millions
Algeria forest fires: At least 38 dead, emergency officials say https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62581108
Volcanic activity worldwide 18 Aug 2022: Fuego volcano, Popocatépetl, Semeru, Reventador, Sangay https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/189512/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-18-Aug-2022-Fuego-volcano-Popocatepetl-Semeru-Reventador-Sangay-N.html
Cameroon – Flooding and Landslides Cause Death and Damage in Western Areas https://floodlist.com/africa/cameroon-floods-august-2022
India – 60,000 Evacuate Floods in Odisha https://floodlist.com/asia/india-floods-odisha-august-2022
China – Deadly Flash Floods in Northwest Qinghai Province https://floodlist.com/asia/china-floods-qinghai-august-2022
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Vanuatu, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries, launches ambitious climate plan https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/14/vanuatu-one-of-most-climate-vulnerable-countries-launches-ambitious-climate-plan
Antarctica ice melt is accelerating, and research says an overlooked coastal current is to blame https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/antarctica-ice-melt-is-accelerating-and-research-says-an-overlooked-coastal-current-is-to-blame-1.6026869
How extreme weather could force travellers to revamp their vacation plans — now and in the future https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/europe-extreme-weather-travel-future-1.6549136
Study Examines Impact of Rising Global Temperatures on Economic Growth https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/cost-climate-change
Mortality Caused by Heatwaves in China Has Increased since 1979 http://english.iap.cas.cn/home/News/202207/t20220721_308465.html
The U.S. could see a new ‘extreme heat belt’ by 2053 https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/us-see-new-extreme-heat-belt-2053-rcna42486
What Are Multiform Floods? One More Thing to Worry about with Climate Change https://blog.ucsusa.org/astrid-caldas/what-are-multiform-floods-one-more-thing-to-worry-about-with-climate-change/
For 110 years, climate change has been in the news. Are we finally ready to listen? https://theconversation.com/for-110-years-climate-change-has-been-in-the-news-are-we-finally-ready-to-listen-188646
Using propane in air conditioners could prevent 0.1°C of warming https://www.newscientist.com/article/2333798-using-propane-in-air-conditioners-could-prevent-0-1c-of-warming/
700,000 years of tropical Andean glaciation https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04873-0
New research reveals that wildfires can influence El Niño https://theconversation.com/new-research-reveals-that-wildfires-can-influence-el-nino-187306
Climate change makes catastrophic flood twice as likely, study shows https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/climate-change-makes-catastrophic-flood-twice-as-likely
After deluge, climate change fears make S.Korea prioritise Seoul flood defences https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/after-deluge-climate-change-fears-make-skorea-prioritise-seoul-flood-defences-2022-08-11/
La Niña sea temperatures driving floods in Australia and drought in the United States and Africa https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-16/wet-weekend-la-nina-driving-floods-australia-drought-us-africa/101192234
Cities are often 10-15 °C hotter than their rural surroundings https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news/cities-are-often-10-15-degc-hotter-their-rural-surroundings-2022-07-25_en
New research from First Street Foundation analyzes the prevalence of increasing extreme temperatures and dangerous heat wave events throughout the contiguous United States https://firststreet.org/research-lab/published-research/article-highlights-from-hazardous-heat/
EU-New Zealand agreement raises the bar on climate action in trade deals https://www.ibanet.org/Climate-crisis-EU-New-Zealand-agreement-raises-the-bar-on-Climate-action-in-trade-deals
Climate change: ‘Staggering’ rate of global tree losses from fires https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62569394
Will you live on America’s ‘extreme heat belt’ in 30 years? Chicagoans should pay attention https://fortune.com/2022/08/15/extreme-heat-belt-30-years-cities-most-vulnerable-st-louis-kansas-city-memphis-tulsa-chicago/
China witnessing strongest heat wave in six decades; long-lasting high temperatures to become new normal in the future https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202208/1272942.shtml
Themed issue explores complex systems problems facing the planet https://santafe.edu/news-center/news/themed-issue-explores-complex-systems-problems-facing-planet
Roadmap for Climate Reform https://www.edo.org.au/publication/a-roadmap-for-climate-reform/
Global rainfall erosivity projections for 2050 and 2070 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169422004401
Scientists synthesize four decades of climate change research https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-synthesize-four-decades-of-climate-change-research/
Tundra burns helped make the 2022 Alaska fire season one of the biggest since 1950 https://www.ktoo.org/2022/08/15/tundra-burns-helped-make-the-2022-alaska-fire-season-one-of-the-biggest-since-1950/
Disaster risk reduction
Mechanisms of rock slope failures triggered by the 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake and implications for landslide susceptibility https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169555X22002793
Engineers explore innovative ways to improve resilience of coastal structures https://news.miami.edu/stories/2022/06/engineers-explore-innovative-ways-to-improve-resilience-of-coastal-structures.html
Using nature and data to weather coastal storms https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine/using-nature-and-data-weather-coastal-storms
Can rethinking insurance help flood-affected communities to recover faster? https://floodresilience.net/blogs/parametric-flood-insurance-nepal/
Building a more resilient post-earthquake future in Haiti https://haiti.un.org/en/191949-building-more-resilient-post-earthquake-future-haiti
Deep-learning seismology https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm4470
Superstorms and Megafloods – How Concerned Should California Be? https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2022/08/16/superstorms-and-megafloodshow-concerned-should-california-be/
Slow earthquakes rumble through the Pacific Northwest https://temblor.net/earthquake-insights/slow-earthquakes-rumble-through-the-pacific-northwest-14265/
Tornadoes in Europe: An Underestimated Threat https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311444327_Tornadoes_in_Europe_An_Underestimated_Threat
Minister announces new measures to bolster UK’s resilience https://www.gov.uk/government/news/minister-announces-new-measures-to-bolster-uks-resilience
As rising seas swamp South Carolina’s shores, some coastal communities are left unprotected https://grist.org/sponsored/selc-rising-seas-swamp-south-carolinas-coastal-communities/
NSW 2022 Flood Inquiry report recommends flood zone buy backs, changes to disaster response https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-17/nsw-independent-flood-inquiry-report-made-public/101331288
46,000 people in Sydney could fail to evacuate in future flood, report says https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-17/nsw-flood-inquiry-raising-warragamba-dam-wall/101339908
The NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN) will host an invite-only co-design workshop in response to the recent devastating floods in NSW on 23 August 2022 https://www.nssn.org.au/news/2022/7/26/smart-sensing-for-flooding-co-design-workshop
Risk of volcano catastrophe ‘a roll of the dice’, say experts https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2022/risk-of-volcano-catastrophe-a-roll-of-the-dice-say-experts
Insurance costs could increase massively as climate risk rises https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/473005/insurance-costs-could-increase-massively-as-climate-risk-rises-modeller
Huge volcanic eruptions: time to prepare https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02177-x
New Data Confirms: Forest Fires Are Getting Worse https://www.wri.org/insights/global-trends-forest-fires
Global Forest Watch map https://globalforestwatch.org/map/
Tapping into digital for more effective disaster risk management in Malawi https://undp.medium.com/tapping-into-digital-for-more-effective-disaster-risk-management-in-malawi-652581c55473
Emergency management
Community events cancelled, emergency services stretched as volunteer numbers fall https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-14/decline-in-volunteering-see-events-cancelled-ses-stretched/101297094
Rethinking Relocation Assistance for More Equitable Outcomes https://www.floods.org/news-views/from-the-directors-desk/rethinking-relocation-assistance-for-more-equitable-outcomes/
How does monkeypox spread? What scientists know https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02178-w
The Pandemic’s Soft Closing https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/08/cdc-weakened-covid-guidelines-pandemic-preparedness/671147/
Emergency housing rollout across flood-hit NSW north coast a ‘dog’s breakfast’, critics say https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/16/emergency-housing-rollout-across-flood-hit-nsw-north-coast-a-dogs-breakfast-critics-say
Sensor research helps fight wildfires https://www.ornl.gov/news/sensor-research-helps-fight-wildfires
Five key issues raised in 2022 NSW flood inquiry https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-17/key-takeaways-from-2022-nsw-flood-inquiry/101342094
Wildlife recovery spending after Australia’s last megafires was one-thirteenth the $2.7 billion needed https://theconversation.com/wildlife-recovery-spending-after-australias-last-megafires-was-one-thirteenth-the-2-7-billion-needed-188459
The role of satellite information in forecasting, modeling, and mapping the 2019 Mozambique flood https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jfr3.12843
Arizona firefighters rescue 25 people, including infant, during flooding in Bear Canyon https://www.foxnews.com/us/arizona-firefighters-rescue-people-including-infant-during-flooding-bear-canyon
Lockdown effects feared to be killing more people than Covid https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/18/lockdown-effects-feared-killing-people-covid/
More than half of people infected with omicron may not know it https://www.newscientist.com/article/2334227-more-than-half-of-people-infected-with-omicron-may-not-know-it/
Disaster education, communications and engagement
Emergency alert system to launch in October across Great Britain https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62549122
This tool lets you see how many hot days your home could swelter through in the future https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/15/23306448/extreme-heat-belt-central-united-states
Today’s heat waves feel a lot hotter than heat index implies https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/08/15/todays-heat-waves-feel-a-lot-hotter-than-heat-index-implies/
Gamifying Community Education for Enhanced Disaster Resilience: An Effectiveness Testing Study from Australia https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/14/6/179
Psychology and disasters
Confronting Climate Anxiety https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/anxiety
Neurological and psychiatric risk trajectories after SARS-CoV-2 infection: an analysis of 2-year retrospective cohort studies including 1 284 437 patients https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(22)00260-7/fulltext
Sociology and disasters
Key Influencing Factors and Optimization Strategy of Epidemic Resilience in Urban Communities—A Case Study of Nanjing, China https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/9993
Did Sweden’s controversial COVID strategy pay off? In many ways it did – but it let the elderly down https://theconversation.com/did-swedens-controversial-covid-strategy-pay-off-in-many-ways-it-did-but-it-let-the-elderly-down-188338
Uneven paths: Soft Policy’s benefits to recovery in Louisiana Parishes after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479722012956
2022-2026 FEMA National Tribal Strategy https://www.fema.gov/about/organization/tribes
Conditions in prisons during heat waves pose deadly threats to incarcerated people and prison staff https://theconversation.com/conditions-in-prisons-during-heat-waves-pose-deadly-threats-to-incarcerated-people-and-prison-staff-188272
The impacts of human-induced climate change are exacerbating social and economic inequalities of indigenous peoples – A case study from Bangladesh https://www.icccad.net/blog/the-impacts-of-human-induced-climate-change-are-exacerbating-social-and-economic-inequalities-of-indigenous-peoples-a-case-study-from-bangladesh/
Disaster Resilience News 