Please find below links to some aspects of disaster resilience that were in the news recently…
Recent emergencies/disasters
24 missing, 16 rescued after avalanche buries BRO workers in Uttarakhand, India https://watchers.news/2025/03/01/24-missing-16-rescued-after-avalanche-buries-bro-workers-in-uttarakhand-india/
Japan hit by largest wildfire in over 30 years https://watchers.news/2025/03/01/japan-hit-by-largest-wildfire-in-over-30-years/
Tropical Cyclone Garance kills four and leaves over 180 000 without power, Réunion https://watchers.news/2025/03/01/tropical-cyclone-garance-kills-four-and-leaves-over-180-000-without-power-reunion/
Tropical Cyclone Alfred intensifies to category 2 system ahead of turn towards Queensland coast today https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-04/tropical-cyclone-alfred-category-2-bom-warnings-queensland/105004708
Forced evacuations and burn ban as wildfires spread across North and South Carolina https://watchers.news/2025/03/02/forced-evacuations-and-burn-ban-as-wildfires-spread-across-north-and-south-carolina/
Seven tornadoes strike Oklahoma and Louisiana https://watchers.news/2025/03/05/seven-tornadoes-strike-oklahoma-and-louisiana/
Heavy rain and reservoir burst trigger severe flooding in Telde, Gran Canaria https://watchers.news/2025/03/04/heavy-rain-and-reservoir-burst-trigger-severe-flooding-in-telde-gran-canaria/
Severe floods hit Indonesia, weather modification underway to reduce rainfall https://watchers.news/2025/03/05/severe-floods-hit-indonesia-weather-modification-underway-to-reduce-rainfall/
A day-by-day breakdown of what to expect from Tropical Cyclone Alfred https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-06/breakdown-expect-tropical-cyclone-alfred/105014154
6 fatalities and over 500 crashes reported as winter storm sweeps through the U.S. https://watchers.news/2025/03/06/6-fatalities-and-over-500-crashes-reported-as-winter-storm-sweeps-through-the-u-s/
Storms claim 3 lives and injure 6 in Mississippi https://watchers.news/2025/03/06/storms-claim-3-lives-and-injure-6-in-mississippi/
Volcanic activity worldwide 5 Mar 2025: Santiaguito volcano, Popocatépetl, Semeru, Ibu, Marapi https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/266437/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-5-Mar-2025-Santiaguito-volcano-Popocatepetl-Semeru-Ibu-Marapi-Kil.html
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
Australia’s second-hottest summer in 2024-25 ‘not possible without climate change’, scientist says https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/01/bureau-of-meteorology-data-shows-second-hottest-summer-on-record
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions: September 2024 quarterly update https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/news/au-greenhouse-gas-emissions-september-2024-quarterly-update
Coastal erosion threatens this ancient city — and others much closer to home https://today.usc.edu/coastal-erosion-threatens-this-ancient-city-and-others/
Cyclone Alfred is expected to hit southeast Queensland – the first in 50 years to strike so far south https://theconversation.com/cyclone-alfred-is-expected-to-hit-southeast-queensland-the-first-in-50-years-to-strike-so-far-south-251241
Artificial intelligence for modeling and understanding extreme weather and climate events https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/artificial-intelligence-modeling-and-understanding-extreme-weather-and-climate-events
Half of world’s CO2 emissions come from 36 fossil fuel firms, study shows https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/05/half-of-worlds-co2-emissions-come-from-36-fossil-fuel-firms-study-shows
Visualizing daily global temperatures https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/visualizing-daily-global-temperatures
Warming Brings Heavy Snowfall to Greenland, Replenishing Some Lost Ice https://e360.yale.edu/digest/atmospheric-rivers-greenland-ice-sheet-snow-climate-change
Is climate change supercharging Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it powers towards Australia? https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/06/is-climate-change-supercharging-tropical-cyclone-alfred-as-it-powers-towards-australia
Cyclone Alfred is slowing – and that could make it more destructive. Here’s how climate change might have influenced it https://theconversation.com/cyclone-alfred-is-slowing-and-that-could-make-it-more-destructive-heres-how-climate-change-might-have-influenced-it-251594
Global sea ice levels just hit a new record low https://www.newscientist.com/article/2471049-global-sea-ice-levels-just-hit-a-new-record-low/
Fires used to terrify city residents. New research suggests climate change could see this fear return https://theconversation.com/fires-used-to-terrify-city-residents-new-research-suggests-climate-change-could-see-this-fear-return-251056
Weakening currents in the Atlantic may mean a wetter northern Australia and drier New Zealand https://theconversation.com/weakening-currents-in-the-atlantic-may-mean-a-wetter-northern-australia-and-drier-new-zealand-248679
Enhancing climate resilience with smarter data: the role of dynamic social registries https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/nasikiliza/afw-enhancing-climate-resilience-with-smarter-data-dynamic-social-registries
Disaster risk reduction
Next-generation forecasting tool for volcanic eruptions https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news-and-events/news/2025/next-generation-forecasting-tool-for-volcanic-eruptions
America’s urban wildfire crisis: More than 1,100 communities at risk https://headwaterseconomics.org/wildfire/more-than-1100-communities-urban-wildfire-risk/
All hazards are multihazards, few of them are natural https://www.nature.com/articles/s44304-025-00071-w
Tree planting begins to protect flood-prone areas https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly81kkv0pyo
Compound climate events are on the rise. It’s time for action https://zcralliance.org/blogs/compound-climate-events/
New parameterization schemes enhance the prediction accuracy of typhoon intensity https://phys.org/news/2025-03-parameterization-schemes-accuracy-typhoon-intensity.html
New Zealand and Japan Collaborate on Smart Disaster Resilience https://opengovasia.com/2025/03/06/new-zealand-and-japan-collaborate-on-smart-disaster-resilience/
Emergency Management
EU Civil Protection Mechanism https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/eu-civil-protection-mechanism_en
The facility allows firefighters to practice in live-burn simulations https://www.govtech.com/em/safety/lees-summit-mo-fire-dept-opens-live-burn-training-facility
Thailand’s Ineffective Disaster Response System Exacerbates Flood Crisis https://www.thailand-business-news.com/opinion/193250-thailands-ineffective-disaster-response-system-exacerbates-flood-crisis
In many of Appalachia’s flood-ravaged areas, residents have little choice but rebuild in risky locations https://theconversation.com/in-many-of-appalachias-flood-ravaged-areas-residents-have-little-choice-but-rebuild-in-risky-locations-240429
New computer model can predict the length of a household’s displacement in any U.S. community after a disaster https://www.preventionweb.net/news/new-computer-model-can-predict-length-households-displacement-any-us-community-after-disaster
Chicagoans need FEMA — not to write checks but to coordinate aid https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/05/opinion-fema-emergency-response-chicago/
US Forest Service firings decimate already understaffed agency: ‘It’s catastrophic’ https://grist.org/politics/forest-service-firings-decimate-already-understaffed-agency/
Disaster Education, Communication and Engagement
Book Review: Connecting After Chaos: Social Media and the Extended Aftermath of Disaster by Stephen F. Ostertag https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00016993251320205
Fiji communities impacted by cyclone Rae say memories of past natural disasters acted as a good reminder to people to be prepared https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacific-prepared/pacific-prepared/104970066
Get Ready Queensland https://www.getready.qld.gov.au/
An information network analysis approach to assessing the processes of issuing evacuation instructions: a study of evacuation cases in Japan https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13669877.2025.2466537
Disaster psychology
The Right to Stay, Migrate and Return: Conceptualizing Freedom, Examining Diverse National Contexts and Exploring Policy Implications https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23315024251316473
Sociology and disasters
Building community resilience to enhance Climate Smart Villages in the global south: A review https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0376835X.2025.2464614
Life after Kenya’s floods of 2024 https://dialogue.earth/en/climate/life-after-kenyas-floods-of-2024/
India: extreme inequality in numbers https://www.oxfam.org/en/india-extreme-inequality-numbers
Ready for the worst: awaiting disaster in ageing rural Japan https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11866464/
Spatial Assessment of Territorial Resilience to Floods Using Comprehensive Indicators: Application to Greater Papeete (French Polynesia) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfr3.70005
Community-Level Characteristics Associated With Resilience After Adversity: A Scoping Review of Research in Urban Locales https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15248380241309374
The DANA disaster: unraveling the political and economic determinants for Valencia’s floods devastation https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-025-02435-0
Disaster Resilience News 