Today in disaster resilience (9 February 2024)

Please find below links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…

Recent emergencies/disasters

Widespread floods and landslides in southern Philippines claim 14 lives https://watchers.news/2024/02/04/widespread-floods-and-landslides-in-southern-philippines-claim-14-lives/

Iceland volcano: Grindavik’s people may never return after volcano spills lava into town https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68133386

Nearly 38 million people in California under flood watch as rain batters state https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/05/second-atmospheric-river-california-floods-roads-wind-warning

Raging wildfires claim more than 112 lives, leave hundreds missing in central Chile https://watchers.news/2024/02/04/raging-wildfires-claim-more-than-59-lives-destroy-more-than-1-500-homes-in-central-chile/

Heavy snow in the Tokyo area knocks out power to homes and disrupts travel https://apnews.com/article/japan-heavy-snow-flight-train-cancellation-04010da7e4512af0b7f1a0e92840d2bd

11 killed, 110 missing after massive landslide hits Davao de Oro, Philippines https://watchers.news/2024/02/07/six-killed-46-missing-after-massive-landslide-hits-davao-de-oro-philippines/

Volcanic activity worldwide 7 Feb 2024: Santiaguito volcano, Fuego, Popocatépetl, Semeru https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/233412/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-7-Feb-2024-Santiaguito-volcano-Fuego-Popocatepetl-Semeru-Reventado.html

Extreme Weather and Climate Change

In Scotland, Renewable Power Has Outstripped Demand https://e360.yale.edu/digest/scotland-renewable-energy-100-percent

Tripling nuclear energy by 2050 will take a miracle, and miracles don’t happen https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/climate-change/tripling-nuclear-energy-by-2050-will-take-a-miracle-and-miracles-don-t-happen-94249

Revisiting the role of disasters in climate policy-making https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2024.2301781

Water recycling could be key to cooling Sydney’s west https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/january-2024/water-recycling-could-be-key-to-cool-sydneys-west

Climate change increased heavy precipitation associated with impactful Storm Bettina over Black Sea https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-increased-heavy-precipitation-associated-with-impactful-storm-bettina-over-black-sea/

As climate disasters become more frequent, insurance companies are abandoning us https://ctmirror.org/2024/02/01/insurance-companies-climate-change/

Bridging the way: the benefits of gradual decarbonisation https://www.ft.com/partnercontent/eni/bridging-the-way-the-benefits-of-gradual-decarbonisation.html

How mapping ‘heat islands’ can help cities prepare for extreme heat https://www.npr.org/2024/02/01/1227692559/how-mapping-heat-islands-can-help-cities-prepare-for-extreme-heat

The flawed logic of rushing out extreme climate interventions https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/04/27/1072258/the-flawed-logic-of-rushing-out-extreme-climate-solutions/

El Niño and climate crisis raise drought fears in Madagascar https://news.un.org/en/interview/2024/02/1146152

The jump in global temperatures in September 2023 is very difficult to explain by natural climate variability alone https://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/news/27TqYevFigYyLF8XzKfVCk

Dangerous climate tipping points will affect Australia. The risks are real and cannot be ignored https://theconversation.com/dangerous-climate-tipping-points-will-affect-australia-the-risks-are-real-and-cannot-be-ignored-222737

Climate Change, Migration, and Health Disparities at and Beyond the US-Mexico Border https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2814943

The world has warmed 1.5 °C, according to 300-year-old sponges https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00281-8

Elevated Southern Hemisphere moisture availability during glacial periods https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06989-3

The Santiago Network, established in December 2019 at COP 25, plays a crucial role in addressing climate change impacts in developing countries https://www.undrr.org/what-we-do/santiago-network

Heat-health glossary https://www.high-horizons.eu/resources/glossary/

Changing Climate and Fire: a Crisis Brewing in the Pacific https://pacificfireexchange.org/resource/changing-climate-and-fire-a-crisis-brewing-in-the-pacific/

Poorer Countries Face Heavier Consequences of Climate Change https://eos.org/articles/poorer-countries-face-heavier-consequences-of-climate-change

On the need for physical constraints in deep learning rainfall–runoff projections under climate change: a sensitivity analysis to warming and shifts in potential evapotranspiration https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/28/479/2024/

Changes in United States Summer Temperatures Revealed by Explainable Neural Networks https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023EF003981

Quantifying carbon in the ocean provides crucial information about oceans’ role in climate https://www.eumetsat.int/features/behind-data-measuring-ocean-carbon

Climate change will strike Australia’s precious World Heritage sites – and Indigenous knowledge is a key defence https://theconversation.com/climate-change-will-strike-australias-precious-world-heritage-sites-and-indigenous-knowledge-is-a-key-defence-222393

The Bureau of Meteorology has released its official record of Australia’s climate, water and significant climate and weather events for 2023 https://media.bom.gov.au/releases/1217/australias-climate-in-2023-warmer-with-contrasting-rainfall/

Earth’s warmest January on record extends run of unprecedented temperatures to eight months https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-08/nsw-january-hottest-global-temperature-record/103442160

Staying put in an era of climate change: The geographies, legalities, and public health implications of immobility https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcc.879

Disaster risk reduction

The silent protectors: How trees may safeguard against disasters https://www.preventionweb.net/news/silent-protectors-how-trees-may-safeguard-against-disasters

Increasing cost of living, natural disasters and rising insurance costs.  It’s time for disaster mitigation action https://volunteerfirefighters.org.au/increasing-cost-of-living-natural-disasters-and-rising-insurance-costs-its-time-for-disaster-mitigation-action

‘Water comes from all four sides’: how Rotterdam’s tidal park protects the city https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/01/water-comes-from-all-four-sides-how-rotterdams-tidal-park-protects-the-city

After $70 Billion Hit, Insurers Wake Up to Growing Risks of Severe Convective Storms https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2024/01/25/757121.htm

Hurricanes becoming so strong that new category needed, study says https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/05/hurricanes-becoming-so-strong-that-new-category-needed-study-says

Towards a global impact-based forecasting model for tropical cyclones https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/24/309/2024/

A Multimodal Data Fusion and Deep Learning Framework for Large-Scale Wildfire Surface Fuel Mapping https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/2/36

Yes, the Los Angeles River is dramatically full. But it’s just ‘doing its job’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/06/los-angeles-river-pictures-rain-storms-flooding

The limits of weather forecasting: How far into the future can we look? https://press.uni-mainz.de/the-limits-of-weather-forecasting-how-far-into-the-future-can-we-look/

Why Hurricane Otis holds the most CAT modeling lessons since 1992’s Andrew https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/catastrophe/why-hurricane-otis-holds-the-most-cat-modeling-lessons-since-1992s-andrew-476164.aspx

Emergency Management

How Can States Deal with the Next Crisis? https://patimes.org/how-can-states-deal-with-the-next-crisis/

Better warnings to ensure action https://www.naturalhazards.com.au/news-and-events/news-and-views/better-warnings-ensure-action

UNDRR statement on Chile forest fires https://www.undrr.org/news/undrr-statement-chile-forest-fires

Insurance premiums rise faster than Australia’s inflation, spurred by frequent extreme weather https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/datablog/2024/feb/06/insurance-premiums-rise-faster-than-australias-inflation-spurred-by-frequent-extreme-weather

Call for insurance tax cut and flood defence investment boost to help households https://www.independent.co.uk/money/call-for-insurance-tax-cut-and-flood-defence-investment-boost-to-help-households-b2490726.html

Why Canada needs to dramatically update how it prepares for and manages emergencies https://theconversation.com/why-canada-needs-to-dramatically-update-how-it-prepares-for-and-manages-emergencies-221959

Chile mourns the victims of world’s third-deadliest wildfire this century https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/chile-mourns-the-victims-of-worlds-third-deadliest-wildfire-this-century/bmglszhxn

One year on from Cyclone Gabrielle, NZ still needs a plan to fix its failing infrastructure https://www.preventionweb.net/news/one-year-cyclone-gabrielle-nz-still-needs-plan-fix-its-failing-infrastructure

In Chile, natural disasters fall on all-volunteer fire service https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240206-in-chile-natural-disasters-fall-on-all-volunteer-fire-service

Climate-invariant machine learning https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj7250

Portland’s only earthquake preparedness employee on budget chopping block https://www.opb.org/article/2024/02/07/portland-earthquake-preparedness-only-employee-may-lose-job-budget-cuts/

Disaster Education, Communication and Engagement

Using Social Media to Reduce the Risks of Community-Wide Emergencies, Incidents, Disasters, and Disease Outbreaks https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/major-incidents-pandemics-and-mental-health/using-social-media-to-reduce-the-risks-of-communitywide-emergencies-incidents-disasters-and-disease-outbreaks/D43527A0B5A8B2EC4541371F2B834EB9

What should children in Japan do if a quake hits when no adults are with them? https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240202/p2a/00m/0na/016000c

An assessment of potential improvements in social capital, risk awareness, and preparedness from digital technologies https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/24/145/2024/nhess-24-145-2024.pdf

Disaster psychology

Pandemic impacts and experiences after disaster in Australia: qualitative study of compound impacts following the Black Summer bushfires https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/pandemic-impacts-and-experiences-after-disaster-in-australia-qualitative-study-of-compound-impacts-following-the-black-summer-bushfires/C50D6970E3D2721BCB3B0D765525BBDF

The emerging influence of Geopsychiatry in Forensic Psychiatry — from global crises to local jurisdictions https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666353824000018

The Role of Social Capital in Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/full/10.1027/2157-3891/a000093

Sociology and disasters

A conflict-sensitive approach to disaster risk reduction https://www.gfdrr.org/en/feature-story/enabling-conflict-sensitive-approach-disaster-recovery-and-resilience-southern

Converging Climate Risks Interact to Cause More Harm, Hitting Disadvantaged Californians Hardest https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02022024/extreme-heat-and-wildfire-smoke-hits-disadvantaged-californians-hardest/

Inequality persists after an earthquake’s impact https://temblor.net/temblor/inequality-persists-after-earthquakes-15950/

Turkey earthquakes one year on: the devastation has exposed deep societal scars and women are bearing the brunt https://theconversation.com/turkey-earthquakes-one-year-on-the-devastation-has-exposed-deep-societal-scars-and-women-are-bearing-the-brunt-221819

Published by

NeilDufty

I am a Principal at Water Technology Pty Ltd, an Australian-based coastal, environment and natural hazards company - see https://www.watertech.com.au/. I specialise in the community aspects of disaster risk reduction and emergency management. Samples of my research and projects can be accessed at https://works.bepress.com/neil_dufty/ Check out my latest book 'Disaster Education, Communication and Engagement' at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119569796/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6 I am also a published fiction writer specialising in short stories and poems - see https://neilduftyfiction.com/

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