Please find below links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…
Recent emergencies/disasters
Greece fires: Warning Rhodes fires could worsen as thousands flee homes and hotels https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66279520
Bhutan – 23 Dead or Missing After Flash Floods in Lhuentse https://floodlist.com/asia/bhutan-floods-july-2023
Canada – 4 Missing After Floods Cause Devastation in Nova Scotia https://floodlist.com/america/canada-floods-nova-scotia-july-2023
Tropical Cyclone “Doksuri” (Egay) intensifies near the Philippines, forecast track takes it toward Taiwan and mainland China https://watchers.news/2023/07/23/tropical-cyclone-doksuri-egay-intensifies-near-the-philippines-forecast-track-takes-it-toward-taiwan-and-mainland-china/
Mountain landslide in Maharashtra’s Irshalwadi buries 40 homes, leads to multiple fatalities https://watchers.news/2023/07/21/mountain-landslide-in-maharashtras-irshalwadi-buries-40-homes-leads-to-multiple-fatalities/
Devastating mudflow in Quetame leaves 20 dead and 9 missing, Colombia https://watchers.news/2023/07/20/devastating-mudflow-in-quetame-leaves-20-dead-and-9-missing-colombia/
A hail storm in northern Italy led to ice flowing through the streets of Seregno https://news.sky.com/video/a-hail-storm-in-northern-italy-led-to-ice-flowing-through-the-streets-of-seregno-12925467
Greece carries out its biggest ever evacuation as wildfires rage on Rhodes https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/23/high-winds-expected-to-impede-fight-wildfires-in-rhodes
Tragedy strikes Algeria as wildfire death toll reaches 34 https://www.albawaba.com/news/tragedy-strikes-algeria-wildfire-death-toll-reaches-34-1527920
Severe flash floods hit Afghanistan, leaving 31 dead, 600 homes damaged or destroyed https://watchers.news/2023/07/24/severe-flash-floods-hit-afghanistan-leaving-31-dead-600-homes-damaged-or-destroyed/
Volcanic activity worldwide 27 Jul 2023: Santiaguito volcano, Fuego, Krakatau, Semeru, Awu, Ibu https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/217054/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-27-Jul-2023-Santiaguito-volcano-Fuego-Krakatau-Semeru-Awu-Ibu-Rev.html
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Extreme heat forces US airlines to limit passengers and fuel loads https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/23/us-airlines-heat-delays-limit-passengers-fuel
Why aren’t we more scared of the climate crisis? It’s complicated https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/22/climate-crisis-fear-psychology
Notes from Tuvalu: Leading the way in adapting to sea-level rise https://www.undp.org/blog/notes-tuvalu-leading-way-adapting-sea-level-rise
The Importance of Data in Combatting Extreme Heat and Climate Change https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2023/07/importance-data-combatting-extreme-heat-and-climate-change
Antarctic sea ice levels dive in ‘five-sigma event’, as experts flag worsening consequences for planet https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-24/antarctic-sea-ice-levels-nosedive-five-sigma-event/102635204
Why air conditioners can be a problematic solution to extreme heat https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/air-conditioners-sustainability-heat-1.6914054
Reducing the health effects of hot weather and heat extremes: from personal cooling strategies to green cities https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01209-5/fulltext
U.S. will continue to get warmer, weather will become more extreme, climate scientist warns https://www.cbsnews.com/video/us-will-continue-to-get-warmer-weather-will-become-more-extreme-climate-scientist-warns/
Climate science is catching up to climate change with predictions that could improve proactive response https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2023/021128/climate-science-catching-climate-change-predictions-could-improve-proactive-response
Multi-billion-dollar risk to economic activity from climate extremes affecting ports https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2023-07-20-multi-billion-dollar-risk-economic-activity-climate-extremes-affecting-ports-oxford
Together, Extreme Heat and Pollution Double the Risk of a Fatal Heart Attack, Analysis Shows https://e360.yale.edu/digest/heat-particulate-pollution-fatal-heart-attack-study
Landslides and uncertainty: As Nunavik’s permafrost thaws, locals and researchers focus on adaptation https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/permafrost-nunavik-threatens-infrastructure-traditional-practices-inuit-climate-change-1.6917564
Millions of Americans are stranded on “heat islands” https://www.axios.com/2023/07/26/heat-islands-cities-heat-wave-climate
Antarctica’s Low-Ice Winter Should Only Happen Once Every 13 Billion Years https://www.iflscience.com/antarcticas-low-ice-winter-should-only-happen-once-every-13-billion-years-69986
‘Era of global boiling has arrived,’ says UN chief as July set to be hottest month on record https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jul/27/scientists-july-world-hottest-month-record-climate-temperatures
The impacts of climate change https://thefloodhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/The-Impacts-of-Climate-Change.pdf
Joe Biden must declare a climate emergency. And he must do so now https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/27/joe-biden-climate-emergency-peter-kalmus
Climate change impacts increase in Asia https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/climate-change-impacts-increase-asia
Data gaps in heatwave deaths widen as India battles record-smashing temperatures https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/data-gaps-in-heatwave-deaths-widen-as-india-battles-record-smashing-temperatures-90839
Disaster risk reduction
Navigating the Challenges of Wildfire Risk Modelling https://www.eigenrisk.com/navigating-the-challenges-of-wildfire-risk-modelling/
Trouble awaits Florida’s housing market as the state just lost another home insurer https://fortune.com/2023/07/22/housing-market-florida-trouble-as-home-insurers-pull-out/
Lessons Learned from the Tubbs Wildfire Disaster Can Help Build More Climate-Resilient Infrastructure https://www.hstoday.us/featured/perspective-lessons-learned-from-the-tubbs-wildfire-disaster-can-help-to-build-more-climate-resilient-infrastructure/
Marine records reveal multiple phases of Toba’s last volcanic activity https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-37999-w
New report shows the potential impact of climate change on flood risk in Europe, with a focus on the insurance industry https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/events-news/all-news#news/432/details/27149/report-highlights-potential-impact-of-climate-change-on-flood-risk-in-europe-with-a-focus-on-the-insurance-industry
Bigger, wilder and more destructive: How cold fronts affected the Black Summer bushfires https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2023/07/bigger-wilder-more-destructive-how-cold-fronts-affected-black-summer-bushfires
Where rivers jump course: First global compilation of river avulsions https://phys.org/news/2022-05-rivers-global-river-avulsions.html
Access to food, water at risk as Murray-Darling Basin plan is delayed https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/nsw/access-to-food-water-at-risk-as-murraydarling-basin-is-delayed/news-story/fad5c092734f1f1eeaec8b5535a0b2f3
Migration Into America’s Most Flood-Prone Areas Has More Than Doubled Since the Start of the Pandemic https://www.redfin.com/news/climate-migration-real-estate-2023/
How well-managed dams and smart forecasting can limit flooding as extreme storms become more common in a warming world https://theconversation.com/how-well-managed-dams-and-smart-forecasting-can-limit-flooding-as-extreme-storms-become-more-common-in-a-warming-world-210052
The Asia-Pacific region has a narrow window to increase its resilience and protect its hard-won development gains from the socioeconomic impacts of climate change https://www.unescap.org/news/disaster-emergency-underway-asia-and-pacific-risks-outpace-resilience-warns-new-un-study
Uncertainties in Intensity‐Based Earthquake Magnitude Estimates https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/srl/article-abstract/doi/10.1785/0220230030/624169/Uncertainties-in-Intensity-Based-Earthquake
Emergency management
The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) is the international standard format for emergency alerting and public warning https://www.undrr.org/node/79145
Unfunded, uninsured and ignored: Experts urge support for flood protection solutions amid mounting disaster costs https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/unfunded-uninsured-and-ignored-experts-urge-support-for-flood-protection-solutions-amid-mounting-disaster-costs/article_2a3232e3-2e6e-5865-af44-6909490f8884.html
Early warning systems are increasingly accurate in predicting climate extremes https://www.earth.com/news/early-warning-systems-are-increasingly-accurate-in-predicting-climate-extremes/
Heatwaves show importance of health early warnings and action plans https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/heatwaves-show-importance-of-health-early-warnings-and-action-plans
Trails Fire visual story https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/519bcbc419a74478b3e3f6260144903c
Disaster education, communications and engagement
Enhancing Urban Resilience: City-to-city Learning in Nepal and Bhutan https://www.preventionweb.net/news/enhancing-urban-resilience-city-city-learning-nepal-and-bhutan
“Safety” and “integration”: examining the introduction of disaster into the science curriculum in South Korea https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220272.2023.2239887
Impact-based forecasts and warnings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtCqvDoLod4
Disaster psychology
Evacuation decision-making and behavior in wildfires: Past research, current challenges and a future research agenda https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0379711220302204
The F word: The experiential construction of flooding in England https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755458623000294
How to cope with climate anxiety https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/hack/102628292
Sociology and disasters
From labelling weakness to liberatory praxis: a new theory of vulnerability for disaster studies https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DPM-10-2022-0208/full/html
Social work disaster practice https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/view/1011
Trust in disaster resilience https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DPM-04-2022-0082/full/html
‘It’s all our burden’: Poorest women hardest hit by heatwaves in India https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2023/07/20/its-all-our-burden-poorest-women-hardest-hit-heatwaves-india
For unhoused people in America’s hottest large city, heat waves are a merciless killer https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/07/for-unhoused-people-in-americas-hottest-large-city-heat-waves-are-a-merciless-killer/
Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults, and an aging population and climate change are putting ever more people at risk https://theconversation.com/extreme-heat-is-particularly-hard-on-older-adults-and-an-aging-population-and-climate-change-are-putting-ever-more-people-at-risk-210049
Report reveals extreme heat’s toll on women’s health and income https://onebillionresilient.org/2023/07/26/report-reveals-extreme-heats-toll-on-womens-health-and-income/
1 in 2 children in Europe and Central Asia are exposed to high heatwave frequency, double the global average https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/1-2-children-europe-and-central-asia-are-exposed-high-heatwave-frequency-double
Disaster Resilience News 