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.

This image shows a group of refugees walking in a cornfield. They are Syrian refugees who are crossing the border to reach the EU.

Update

13 March 2023

International law doesn’t protect people fleeing environmental disaster – here’s how it could

Researchers have tried for decades to find a relevant legal status for people forced to flee their homes as a result of disasters. But climate migrants are sometimes forgotten among the various flows of people seeking asylum.

Conversation Media Group, the

Destructed coast by Hurricane Ian which hit the USA in September 2022.

Research briefs

14 March 2023

Risk of death for people with dementia increases after a hurricane exposure

The risk of death rises among older adults with Alzheimer’s or other dementias in the months following exposure to a hurricane, a new University of Michigan study shows.

University of Michigan

Update

13 March 2023

Launch of the DRR Network of Centers of Excellence in Africa

UNDRR gathered inter-governmental bodies, academia, practitioners, and scientists on 8 March 2023 to establish and launch the Africa Network of Centres of Excellence for Disaster Risk Reduction (NoE). 

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Africa

Update

10 March 2023

Listening to those in crisis: Understanding perspectives on anticipatory action in Somalia

With support from OCHA, several humanitarian organizations used data on food insecurity and climate, which is widely available in Somalia, to launch an anticipatory action framework for drought.

Anticipation Hub

Palestinian houses flooded with rainwater following heavy rains in Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, on February 8, 2023.

Update

9 March 2023

Raising awareness about flood risks in vulnerable areas of Gaza

Like many others living in the Gaza Strip, Ahmad*, a father of six children, faces daily challenges related to hazards that accompany the winter season, from sewage overflow and flooding to frequent power outages and frigid temperatures.

Global Communities - Partners for Good

Research briefs

9 March 2023

The world's atmospheric rivers now have an intensity ranking like hurricanes

Atmospheric rivers are becoming more intense and frequent. A new study demonstrates that a recently developed scale for atmospheric river intensity can be used to rank atmospheric rivers and identify hotspots of the most intense atmospheric rivers

American Geophysical Union

Research briefs

9 March 2023

Underused satellite, radar data may improve thunderstorm forecasts

Tens of thousands of thunderstorms may rumble around the world each day, but accurately predicting the time and location where they will form remains a grand challenge of computer weather modeling.

Pennsylvania State University

Update

9 March 2023

NOAA satellites help us prepare for severe weather

Spring is on the horizon. With the promise of warmer temperatures and blooming flowers also comes an increased risk of severe weather. NOAA’s geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites monitor the changing weather patterns

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Destroyed house by cyclone Pam that struck Vanuatu in March 2015.

Update

9 March 2023

Vanuatu twin cyclones underscore the Pacific’s vulnerability to compounding climate-disaster risks

Two destructive Category 4 tropical cyclones, Judy and Kevin, and an earthquake of 6.5 magnitude impacted over 80 per cent of the Vanuatu population from 1 to 3 March 2023.

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP)