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

31 May 2022

As private weather forecasting takes off, who is left behind?

As climate change intensifies extreme weather, cities and companies are paying for private forecasting. But what about the places that can't afford it?

Grist Magazine

Colorful forest in Colorado mountains in the USA.

Research briefs

31 May 2022

Scientists use AI to update data vegetation maps for improved wildfire forecasts

A new technique developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) uses artificial intelligence to efficiently update the vegetation maps that are relied on by wildfire computer models to accurately predict fire behavior and spread.

National Center for Atmospheric Research

Street in Nuku'alofa on Tongatapu island, Tonga.

Update

30 May 2022

Tonga shares experience after trialing impact analysis methodology tools

Tonga’s experience after trialing an Impact Analysis methodology on the groyne structure at Hahake District and the rock barrier at Ahau village has been shared with other countries to inform the work in measuring the progress of climate change adaptation

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme

Storm cloud formation over the beach in Pensacola, Florida.

Update

30 May 2022

As hurricane season kicks off, UCF researchers working to make communities more resilient

More than a dozen researchers are working on a wide variety of research that looks to prepare, respond, and mitigate hurricane impacts in Florida and beyond.

University of Central Florida

Cello taxis in the flooded streets in China.

Update

30 May 2022

Global warming increases risks of East China flooding

The Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) is an anticyclonic atmospheric system hovering over the middle and lower troposphere of the northwestern Pacific, dominating summer climate extremes in the densely populated countries of East Asia.

EurekAlert

This image shows the first page of the publication.

Documents and publications

30 May 2022

Risk-informed development guide

This resource provides practical advice on the risk-informed development planning process. It aims to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations to engage in transformative risk-informed development planning with communities most at risk.

People crossing road with umbrella in rain at Matunga in Mumbai Maharashtra India

Update

30 May 2022

Monsoon rainfall increases in Kashmir, raising flood fears

Urbanisation is leading to increasing monsoon rainfall in the Kashmir valley, say researchers, raising fears of catastrophic flooding exacerbated by poor urban planning

The Third Pole

Update

30 May 2022

Securing a future with safer schools: Building resilience in Pacific schools

The January 2022 volcanic eruption and tsunami – called a ‘once in 1000-year event’ is the latest in a long list of recent disasters to have hit Tonga and cause significant disruption to Tongan children’s education.

World Bank, the

Documents and publications

30 May 2022

Detecting damaged buildings using real-time crowdsourced images and transfer learning

This paper presents an automated way to extract the damaged buildings images after earthquakes from social media platforms such as Twitter and thus identify the particular user posts containing such images.

A selective focus shot of a dock in Grand Cayman as Hurricane Laura passes by

Update

26 May 2022

AI and machine learning are improving weather forecasts, but they won’t replace human experts

Unlike numerical weather prediction models, forecast systems that use machine learning are not constrained by the physical laws that govern the atmosphere. So it’s possible that they could produce unrealistic results.

Conversation Media Group, the