Today in disaster resilience (15 May 2026)

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

Recent emergencies/disasters

Large Everglades wildfire sends smoke toward Pembroke Pines as Florida tracks 61 active fires https://watchers.news/2026/05/11/large-everglades-wildfire-sends-smoke-toward-pembroke-pines-as-florida-tracks-61-active-fires/

Deadly storms prompt national disaster declaration in South Africa https://watchers.news/2026/05/12/deadly-storms-prompt-national-disaster-declaration-south-africa/

Severe thunderstorms leave over 100 dead across Uttar Pradesh, India https://watchers.news/2026/05/14/severe-thunderstorms-leave-over-100-dead-across-uttar-pradesh-india/

Volcanic activity worldwide 19 Apr 2026: Santiaguito volcano, Fuego, Ibu, Dukono, Reventador, Mayon https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/300289/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-19-Apr-2026-Santiaguito-volcano-Fuego-Ibu-Dukono-Reventador-Mayon.html

Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Unequal evidence and impacts, limits to adaptation: Extreme weather in 2025 https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/documents-and-publications/unequal-evidence-and-impacts-limits-adaptation-extreme

A potentially powerful El Nino is forming and could trigger extreme weather worldwide while pushing global heat to record levels https://www.dailysabah.com/life/environment/el-nino-formation-could-drive-record-global-warmth-experts/amp

Extreme Heat Portal https://www.preventionweb.net/hubs/extreme-heat

There has been a sudden increase in the rate of sea level rise https://www.newscientist.com/article/2525773-there-has-been-a-sudden-increase-in-the-rate-of-sea-level-rise/

Close calls at Michigan’s dams are a climate warning to America https://grist.org/extreme-weather/close-calls-at-michigans-dams-are-a-climate-warning-to-america/

Stratospheric cooling and amplification of radiative forcing with rising carbon dioxide https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-026-01965-8

2024 global temperature record is consistent with model predictions https://climatewithbrian.com/2026/05/11/2024-global-temperature-record-is-consistent-with-model-predictions/

Targeting green space accessibility gaps to mitigate urban heat island risk in rapidly urbanizing megacities https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420926001822

Extreme heat resilience https://www.undrr.org/our-work/extreme-heat-resilience

Lasers in the sky: hi-tech missions track record snowpack loss in US west https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/11/critically-low-snowpack-west

Climate scientists warn extreme weather events likely this year https://www.rte.ie/news/environment/2026/0512/1572887-climate-heat-environment/

Global fire outbreaks hit record high as ‘unprecedented’ heat extremes loom, scientists say https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/global-fire-outbreaks-hit-record-high-unprecedented-heat-extremes-loom-2026-05-12/

Second-highest sea surface temperatures recorded during third-warmest April globally https://climate.copernicus.eu/second-highest-sea-surface-temperatures-recorded-during-third-warmest-april-globally

Record-breaking glacier mass loss in Central Asia in 2025 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae6712

How Extreme Temperatures and Humidity Raise Health Risks https://climateadaptationplatform.com/how-extreme-temperatures-and-humidity-raise-health-risks/

El Niño likely to return: the case for early action https://www.preventionweb.net/news/el-nino-likely-return-case-early-action

Inland seas around the world are severely affected by climate change https://idw-online.de/en/news870656

Drivers of Antarctica’s dramatic sea ice decline could accelerate global warming: new research https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2026/05/drivers-of-antarctic-dramatic-sea-ice-decline-could-accelerate-global-warming

NOAA raises El Niño odds to 82%, but strength remains uncertain https://watchers.news/epicenter/noaa-raises-el-nino-odds-to-82-but-strength-remains-uncertain/

Study of more than 46m deaths globally reveals who is most at risk from non-optimum temperatures and which diseases are most affected https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/study-of-more-than-46m-deaths-globally-reveals-who-is-most-at-risk-from-non-optimum-temperatures-and-which-diseases-are-most-affected

Disaster risk reduction

Dangerous heavy rains are getting more likely and widespread https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2026/05/dangerous-heavy-rains-are-getting-more-likely-and-widespread/

Human changes in land-cover increase global landslide fatalities in mountains considerably https://www.univie.ac.at/en/news/detail/human-changes-in-land-cover-increase-global-landslide-fatalities-in-mountains-considerably

‘Slowly unfolding failures’: What to do about aging dams in a warming world https://thebulletin.org/2026/05/slowly-unfolding-failures-what-to-do-about-aging-dams-in-a-warming-world/

Reinterpreting disasters and urban resilience in the Anthropocene: Disaster management or transforming with disasters? https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20530196261432633

Disaster risk planning in an evolving risk landscape: Barriers and enablers in the integration of land use and preparedness actors https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420926001925

Preparatory phase of large earthquakes illuminated by unsupervised categorization of earthquake catalog features https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-72279-x

What a devastating earthquake revealed about future quake risk https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/myanmar-earthquake-reveals-clues-about-future-quake-risk/

Thirty years of earthquake retrofit in the city of Los Angeles: Trends, drivers, and implications for seismic resilience https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420926001895

Building Resilience That Lasts Game Changers for a Livable Planet https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2025/11/11/building-resilience-that-lasts-game-changers-for-a-livable-planet

Hailstorms now rival Cat 4 hurricanes in financial losses https://www.reinsurancene.ws/hailstorms-now-rival-cat-4-hurricanes-in-financial-losses-cotality/

New AI closes data gaps and shows how extreme weather emerges on Earth https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2026/05/new-ai-closes-data-gaps-and-shows-how-extreme-weather-emerges-on-earth.html

Extreme weather risks could cost global economy nearly $1trn, CDP says https://www.edie.net/extreme-weather-risks-could-cost-global-economy-nearly-1trn-cdp-says/

Emergency Management

Worst Start to Wildfire Season Raises Alarm as El Niño Threatens https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-12/worst-start-to-wildfire-season-raises-alarm-as-el-nino-threatens

Anticipating wildfires: New AI-enhanced risk intelligence https://www.pdc.org/wildfire-weather-warning-ai/

China expands MAZU early warning system for developing countries https://www.meteorologicaltechnologyinternational.com/news/early-warning-systems/china-expands-mazu-early-warning-system-for-developing-countries.html

Typhoon Season in Northwest Pacific Seen Most Active in a Decade https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-13/typhoon-season-in-northwest-pacific-seen-most-active-in-a-decade

As Hurricane Season Nears, Communities Are Reassessing How They Prepare for Floods https://www.floodmapp.com/post/as-hurricane-season-nears-communities-are-reassessing-how-they-prepare-for-floods

Disaster Education Communications and Engagement

Taiwan: Disaster Management Reference Handbook https://reliefweb.int/report/china-taiwan-province/taiwan-disaster-management-reference-handbook-april-2026

Ministry of Education and MDMC strengthen school preparedness through training of disaster safe and psychosocial education units in schools https://www.preventionweb.net/news/ministry-education-and-mdmc-strengthen-school-preparedness-through-training-disaster-safe-and

Disaster psychology

The Flood Knowledge Gap Between Communities and Institutions https://www.unda.co.uk/news/flood-knowledge-gap-communities-institutions/

‘I’m mad at the people who could have solved the problem’: what kids told us about eco‑anxiety https://theconversation.com/im-mad-at-the-people-who-could-have-solved-the-problem-what-kids-told-us-about-eco-anxiety-278999

Sociology and disasters

Stories of resilience https://cdkn.org/resource/stories-resilience-lessons-local-adaptation-practice

Baltic Resilience in Transformation: Trust, Belonging, and Public Attitudes under Geopolitical Pressure https://www.researchgate.net/publication/404762357_Baltic_Resilience_in_Transformation_Trust_Belonging_and_Public_Attitudes_under_Geopolitical_Pressure

At the edge of (un)inhabitability? Spatial diversity of demographic vulnerability to increasing heat exposure across remote towns of Northern Australia https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420926001937

Why some Europeans face deadlier heat and cold: Inequality map reveals who is most at risk https://phys.org/news/2026-05-europeans-deadlier-cold-inequality-reveals.html