Knowledge Base highlights and editors' picks

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Every week the PreventionWeb team of editors selects the latest news and research, reports and publications on disaster risk reduction – here is their selection of the latest must-read content.

Satellite image of Hurrican Ian heading towards Florida, USA.

Research briefs

30 March 2023

Back-to-back hurricanes could become common by 2100

New research shows back-to-back hurricanes could strike the United States every few years by 2100.

Earth Observatory of Singapore - Nanyang Technological University

SRSG Mami Mizutori addressing the UN Water Conference, March 2023

Update

31 March 2023

Water-related risks in focus at UN Water Conference

At the UN Water Conference, UNDRR calls for transformative water action to address water related risks.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

A train waits at an Oxfordshire, UK station in the daytime heat

Research briefs

30 March 2023

How space storms miscue train signals

Geomagnetic storms could significantly disrupt electrified train operations in the United Kingdom once every few decades, according to a new study.

Earth Observatory of Singapore - Nanyang Technological University

Update

28 March 2023

Earthquake prediction with GSI sensor technology

A network of sensors measuring radon levels and other parameters in selected water sources in Europe might be able to detect earthquakes several days in advance.

GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung

AI Learning and Artificial Intelligence Concept.

Research briefs

29 March 2023

AI could set a new bar for designing hurricane-resistant buildings

Being able to withstand hurricane-force winds is the key to a long life for many buildings on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the U.S. Determining the right level of winds to design for is tricky business, but support from AI may offer a solution.

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Update

28 March 2023

UNICEF report finds children in Thailand at ‘high risk’ from climate change and environmental degradation

Children in Thailand are at high risk from climate change, according to a new study released today by UNICEF and conducted by Thailand Development Research Institute.

United Nations Children's Fund (Global Headquarters, New York)

Update

29 March 2023

Why tornadoes are still hard to forecast – Even though storm predictions are improving

Meteorologists have gotten a lot better at forecasting the conditions that make tornadoes more likely. But predicting exactly which thunderstorms will produce a tornado and when is harder, and that’s where a lot of severe weather research is focused today

Texas A&M University System

Journalist writing notes in his phone and on paper while holding his microphone in a heavy flooded area in Thailand.

Update

27 March 2023

Connecting the dots: the importance of recognising multi-hazard events in disaster reporting

Despite growing awareness among disaster risk researchers and managers of the importance of adopting a multi-hazard approach [10,11], complex multi-hazard events are often not recognised and reported upon.

European Geosciences Union

Update

23 March 2023

Alerting vulnerable communities to extreme weather

Researchers at the University of Leeds are developing a 'nowcasting' system to get accurate, short-range weather forecasts of extreme weather to socially disadvantaged communities in South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique.

University of Leeds