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.

Update

18 October 2022

Women at the forefront in building resilience against disasters in the Lao PDR

When her community in the southern part of Vientiane, the capital of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), was hit, there were no early warning systems in place and no effective approaches to respond to the disaster.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Rainy season in Lira Uganda. The complete village is flooding after this destructive rainfall.

Update

17 October 2022

How to co-design a flood early warning system (FEWS) for West Africa

Designing a flood early warning system (FEWS) for West Africa, a region with significant climatic and cultural diversity, is challenging.We developed a transdisciplinary framework to collaboratively design a FEWS

Water Science Policy

Weather, wealth and well-being: cascading effects of water-related hazards and social vulnerability in Halmstad, Sweden

Documents and publications

21 October 2022

Weather, wealth and well-being: cascading effects of water-related hazards and social vulnerability in Halmstad, Sweden

This paper provides insights on social vulnerabilities in a Swedish context. A case study in Halmstad, Sweden, focused on climate change, water-related hazards, and interdisciplinary methods to do so.

Two women walking through the flooded streets of Lagos, Nigeria.

Update

20 October 2022

Nigeria’s floods are the worst in a decade. Here’s how people try to cope with the devastation

Flooding is usual in Nigeria’s massive, population-dense cities. But this year’s floods are the country’s worst in a decade. They’ve killed more than 600 people, displaced 1.4 million residents and destroyed 89,348 houses and 70,566 hectares of farmland.

Conversation Media Group, the

Update

19 October 2022

Facing the dual threat of climate change and human disturbance, Mumbai – and the world – should listen to its fishing communities

Coastal cities and settlements are at the forefront of climate disruption. Rising sea levels, warmer seas and changes in rainfall patterns are together creating conditions that mean misery for coastal dwellers.

Conversation Media Group, the

Researchers recording oceanographic data as part of the NOAA Deep Search study

Research briefs

18 October 2022

A new comprehensive assessment of ocean warming highlights future climate risks

This study reviews information on ocean temperature collected around the world. The research finds that upper 2000m warming began in the 1950s , and the warming rate is accelerating, resulting in relentlessly rising sea levels.

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Update

17 October 2022

New video game helps young adults prepare for earthquakes

A newly released video game can help inspire young adults to prepare for an earthquake or other natural disaster. It’s just in time for International ShakeOut Day on October 20 when people across the globe will be practicing earthquake safety.

Business Wire

Policy brief: Nordic perspectives on transboundary climate risk

Documents and publications

18 October 2022

Policy brief: Nordic perspectives on transboundary climate risk

As open economies, the Nordic countries can be exposed to transboundary climate risks (TCRs). This report makes recommendations on how the Nordics can better address TCRs together, through joint research, awareness raising and private sector engagement.

A flooded street after hurricane Irma hit Florida, USA.

Research briefs

14 October 2022

Land in a cyclone's wake becomes more vulnerable to forest fires

The strong winds and torrential rains that accompany a cyclone do tremendous damage to ecosystems, and this damage can make them more prone to future wildfires

One Earth (Cell Press) (Elsevier)

Notable impact of wildfires in the western United States on weather hazards in the central United States

Documents and publications

18 October 2022

Notable impact of wildfires in the western United States on weather hazards in the central United States

This paper shows that wildfires in the western United States can lead to more severe hazardous weather in the central United States, notably increasing occurrences of heavy precipitation rates and large hail.