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

5 July 2022

Patently ridiculous’: state government failures have exacerbated Sydney’s flood disaster

For the fourth time in 18 months, floodwaters have inundated homes and businesses in Western Sydney. Recent torrential rain is obviously the immediate cause. But poor decisions by successive New South Wales governments have exacerbated the damage.

Conversation Media Group, the

State Emergency Service (SES) respond to a flooding event in residential street in Killarney Valley, Australia (2021)

Update

3 July 2022

What’s causing Sydney’s monster flood crisis – and 3 ways to stop it from happening again

Thousands of residents in Western Sydney face a life-threatening flood disaster. At the time of writing, evacuation orders spanned southwest and northwest Sydney and residents of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley were being warned the crisis was escalating.

Conversation Media Group, the

Update

4 July 2022

To stop risky developments in floodplains, we have to tackle the profit motive – and our false sense of security

In the aftermath of destructive floods, we often seek out someone to blame. Common targets are the “negligent local council”, the “greedy developer”, “the builder cutting corners”, and the “foolish home owner.” Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

Conversation Media Group, the

Press release

30 June 2022

New financing mechanism for climate action becomes operational

A new finance mechanism to strengthen weather and climate observations, improve early warnings to save lives, protect livelihoods and underpin climate adaptation for long-term resilience has opened its doors for business.

United Nations Environment Programme

Update

1 July 2022

Platform providing rapid expert response on climate change to Pacific island countries officially launched

Pacific island countries and territories now have access to immediate response from global and Pacific experts on climate change with the launching of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme’s (SPREP) new Tomai Pacifique website.

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme

Wildfire and dark clouds approaching Hollywood City

Research briefs

30 June 2022

Climate change: wildfire risk has grown nearly everywhere – but we can still influence where and how fires strike

Humans have raised CO₂ levels in the atmosphere to 50% above what they were before the industrial revolution. Bouts of severe drought, heat and low humidity are becoming more extreme as the climate warms.

Conversation Media Group, the

Samburu landscape viewed through swarm of invasive, destructive Desert Locusts.

Update

29 June 2022

High tech early warning system could curb next South African locust swarms

With another swarm predicted for September, the arrival of spring in the Southern Hemisphere, farmers in the vast 168,966 km² province have joined with researchers to introduce a software package to track locust swarms in real time.

Mongabay

Three high school students in Zimbabwe working on a laptop.

Update

29 June 2022

Meet the high school activists fighting climate change in Zimbabwe

“We are climate activists!” “We are ready to fight disasters! We are ready to save lives!” The shouts echo throughout the hall at Biriiri high school in Chimanimani district, Manicaland, eastern Zimbabwe.

European Commission

This image shows a thermometer indicating high temperatures. The sun is shining brightly in the sky.

Research briefs

29 June 2022

Limiting global warming to 1.5°c would reduce risks to humans by up to 85%

New research led by the University of East Anglia quantifies the benefits of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and identifies the hotspot regions for climate change risk in the future.

University of East Anglia

Vehicles try to drive through a flooded street in Dhaka, Bangladesh (2020)

Research briefs

28 June 2022

Flood risk already affects 1.81 billion people. Climate change and unplanned urbanization could worsen exposure

Flooding is among the leading climatic threats to livelihoods, bearing the potential to reverse progress in poverty reduction and development. A World Bank study estimates that 170m people in extreme poverty will face flood risk and its long-term effects.

World Bank, the