Please find below links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…
Recent emergencies/disasters
Morocco: Authorities battle flames destroying forest cover https://www.africanews.com/2023/08/13/morocco-authorities-battle-flames-destroying-forest-cover/
Maui fire: 93 killed as governor warns of ‘significant’ death toll rise https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66489815
Widespread floods from Glomma River impact downstream regions after dam collapse, Norway https://watchers.news/2023/08/11/widespread-floods-from-glomma-river-impact-downstream-regions-after-dam-collapse-norway/
Landslides and flooding ravage Vietnam’s northern region, leaving multiple casualties https://watchers.news/2023/08/11/landslides-and-flooding-ravage-vietnams-northern-region-leaving-multiple-casualties/
Heavy monsoon rains cause deadly landslides and floods in Nepal https://watchers.news/2023/08/11/heavy-monsoon-rains-lead-to-deadly-landslides-and-floods-in-nepal/
Monsoon rainfall in India results in 42 fatalities in just 24 hours https://watchers.news/2023/08/11/monsoon-rainfall-in-india-results-in-42-fatalities-in-just-24-hours/
Still severe drought in Europe: the JRC – CIMA – SLF report https://www.cimafoundation.org/en/news/still-severe-drought-in-europe-the-jrc-cima-slf-report/
Heavy rainfall has triggered extensive landslides in NW India, with over 50 reported fatalities https://eos.org/thelandslideblog/the-14-august-2023-landslides-in-himachal-pradesh-india
Tropical Cyclone “Lan” makes landfall in Japan, bringing record-breaking rainfall https://watchers.news/2023/08/15/tropical-cyclone-lan-makes-landfall-in-japan-bringing-record-breaking-rainfall/
Vehicles, bridges, and buildings washed away as catastrophic floods hit Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India https://watchers.news/2023/08/15/vehicles-bridges-and-buildings-washed-away-as-catastrophic-floods-hit-himachal-pradesh-and-uttarakhand-india/
Widespread floods hit Primorsky Krai, Russia https://watchers.news/2023/08/15/widespread-floods-hit-primorsky-krai-russia/
Deadly EF-2 tornado hits China’s Jiangsu https://watchers.news/2023/08/15/deadly-ef-2-tornado-hits-chinas-jiangsu/
Hawaii wildfire death toll rises to 99 with hundreds missing as search efforts continue https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-15/hawaii-wildfires-death-toll-rises-wih-hundreds-missing/102729724
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
How Unusual Is the 2022 European Compound Drought and Heatwave Event? https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2023GL105453
Medical experts warn hospitals need to be prepared for heatwave demands https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-14/hospitals-prepare-for-heatwave-demands/102711446
The world’s infrastructure was built for a climate that no longer exists https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/08/11/climate-change-critical-infrastructure-heat-flood-energy-transportation-housing/
Oregon facing one of its hottest five-day stretches on record, U.S. https://watchers.news/2023/08/11/oregon-facing-one-of-its-hottest-five-day-stretches-on-record-u-s/
As the Earth Gets Hotter, Can Our Cities Get Cooler? https://www.wri.org/insights/earth-gets-hotter-cool-cities-infrastructure-solutions
A recent study, built to enable local action, illustrates the extreme climate effects of 2°C of warming https://baeri.org/climate-projections-detail-future-risks
Fighting, not sinking: The Pacific plea for Australian climate action https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/fighting-not-sinking-the-pacific-plea-for-australian-climate-action-20230812-p5dw02.html
An early warning system for joint heat and ozone extremes in China https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2023/08/early-warning-system-joint-heat-and-ozone-extremes-china
Rising methane could be a sign that Earth’s climate is part-way through a ‘termination-level transition’ https://theconversation.com/rising-methane-could-be-a-sign-that-earths-climate-is-part-way-through-a-termination-level-transition-211211
August 2023 El Niño update: back to school https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/august-2023-el-ni%C3%B1o-update-back-school
Australia’s chief scientist Cathy Foley tells Q+A carbon reduction must increase by eight times to curb climate change https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-15/chief-scientist-cathy-foley-carbon-reduction-climate-change-qa/102729476
Global change scenarios in coastal river deltas and their sustainable development implications https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378023001024
Extreme bushfires pose serious threat to global climate https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2023/08/extreme-bushfires-pose-serious-threat-to-global-climate
Disaster risk reduction
Building seawalls will not work — especially not in Florida https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023/08/13/seawalls-do-not-work-especially-not-florida-column/
Wildfires Risk Assessment Using Hotspot Analysis and Results Application to Wildfires Strategic Response in the Region of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Morocco https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/8/314
Milwaukee Residents Fear More Flooding Due to Planned I-94 Expansion https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10082023/milwaukee-residents-fear-more-flooding-due-to-planned-i-94-expansion/
Incremental environmental change can be as hazardous as a sudden shock – managing these ‘slow-burning’ risks is vital https://theconversation.com/incremental-environmental-change-can-be-as-hazardous-as-a-sudden-shock-managing-these-slow-burning-risks-is-vital-207805
‘Australia is sleepwalking’: a bushfire scientist explains what the Hawaii tragedy means for our flammable continent https://theconversation.com/australia-is-sleepwalking-a-bushfire-scientist-explains-what-the-hawaii-tragedy-means-for-our-flammable-continent-211364
NASA Software Catalog Offers Free Programs for Earth Science, More https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-software-catalog-offers-free-programs-for-earth-science-more
Creating ‘sponge cities’ to cope with more rainfall needn’t cost billions – but NZ has to start now https://theconversation.com/creating-sponge-cities-to-cope-with-more-rainfall-neednt-cost-billions-but-nz-has-to-start-now-211181
An early warning system for disasters takes shape in Timor-Leste https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/early-warning-system-disasters-takes-shape-timor-leste
Do earthquakes produce signals before they rupture? Maybe, scientists say https://temblor.net/temblor/do-earthquakes-produce-signals-before-they-rupture-maybe-15426/
‘Flash Drought’ in Hawai’i Fuels Deadliest U.S. Wildfires in 100 Years https://www.theenergymix.com/2023/08/13/flash-drought-in-hawaii-fuels-deadliest-u-s-wildfires-in-100-years/
The illusion of risk https://resiliencefirst.org/news/illusion-risk
New Geological Study Rewrites History Of The World’s Highest Peaks https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2023/08/15/new-geological-study-rewrites-history-of-the-worlds-highest-peaks/
Death tolls from climate disasters will ‘balloon’ without investment in Africa’s weather stations https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/death-tolls-from-climate-disasters-will-balloon-without-investment-in-africas-weather-stations
With wildfires and heavy smoke affecting the US and Europe, a new fire management framework can help Australia understand its risk https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/as-we-head-toward-summer-let-s-rethink-australia-s-bushfire-risk
Cultural science is helping bushfire research https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/news/cultural-science-is-helping-bushfire-research
Emergency management
You still need to tell your friends if you get Covid https://www.vox.com/even-better/23282186/tell-friends-family-coworkers-covid-contact-tracing
The Role of Civil Engineers in Disaster Management and Relief Efforts https://gisuser.com/2023/08/the-role-of-civil-engineers-in-disaster-management-and-relief-efforts/
The deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii since it joined U.S. in 1959 https://watchers.news/2023/08/12/the-deadliest-natural-disaster-in-hawaii-since-it-joined-u-s-in-1959/
New York City’s first Emergency Management director Jerome Hauer dies https://abc7ny.com/jerome-haurer-nyc-oem-officer-emergency-management/13647876/
After Maui fires, human health risks linger in the air, water and even surviving buildings https://theconversation.com/after-maui-fires-human-health-risks-linger-in-the-air-water-and-even-surviving-buildings-211404
Asia and the Pacific: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (8 – 14 August 2023) https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/asia-and-pacific-weekly-regional-humanitarian-snapshot-8-14-august-2023
Sociology and disasters
Trust but verify: Validating new measures for mapping social infrastructure in cities https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S221209552200205X
The wider the gap between rich and poor the higher the flood mortality https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/wider-gap-between-rich-and-poor-higher-flood-mortality
A look into poverty and disaster preparedness in Haiti https://blogs.worldbank.org/latinamerica/poverty-and-disaster-preparedness-haiti
Harbingers of decades of unnatural disasters https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00943-x
Social Capital for Community Resilience in Responding to the 2018 Earthquake in the Cupek Community, Lombok https://journal.umpo.ac.id/index.php/aristo/article/view/IILAA/2697
Resilient Communities in Disasters and Emergencies: Exploring their Characteristics https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/13/8/188
Why older people are some of those worst affected by climate change https://theconversation.com/why-older-people-are-some-of-those-worst-affected-by-climate-change-210847
Disaster Resilience News 