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 mini business man figure looking at euro sign on the stack of banknotes.

Update

3 February 2022

Economic losses from weather and climate-related extremes in Europe reached around half a trillion euros over past 40 years

Extreme weather events like storms, heatwaves and flooding accounted for economic losses of around half a trillion euros over the past 40 years and led to between 85 000 and 145 000 human fatalities across Europe.

European Environment Agency

This is a shot from space illustrating a hurricane approaching Texas.

Research briefs

1 February 2022

Microwave data assimilation improves forecasts of hurricane intensity, rainfall

A new technique using readily available data reduces forecast errors and could improve track, intensity and rainfall forecasts for future storms like Hurricane Harvey, according to Penn State scientists.

Pennsylvania State University

Man on the phone looking at a wildfire in a residential area in California, USA (2021).

Update

1 February 2022

How to build wildfire-resistant communities on the wildland fringe

This article presentes some key strategies that communities and anyone building in the wildland-urban interface need to consider. Research shows that every $1 spent on prevention can save at least $6 in emergency rescue and recovery later.

Conversation Media Group, the

This image shows thefeet of a child in yellow rubber boots jumping into a puddle of rain.

Update

1 February 2022

The science of weather forecasting: What it takes and why it’s so hard to get right

Weather forecasting is an important science. Accurate forecasting can help to save lives and minimise property damage. It’s also crucial for agriculture, allowing farmers to track when it’s best to plant or helping them protect their crops.

Conversation Media Group, the

A firefighter surveys wildfire damage in Queensland, Australia

Update

1 February 2022

It’s summer, so bushfires and COVID collide. 3 ways one affects the other

It’s summer in a pandemic. So as Australia opens its borders and COVID case numbers rise, we’ll likely see the interplay of COVID and bushfires. Our bodies react to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, and bushfires in similar ways.

Conversation Media Group, the

Update

31 January 2022

Results in resilience: Charting a path to coastal resilience in The Gambia

In The Gambia, the smallest country on mainland Africa, the unique geography of the Greater Banjul Area, which is mostly surrounded by bodies of water, represents an economic lifeline.

Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the (GFDRR)

This is Paro city in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Update

31 January 2022

Results in resilience: Strengthening hydrometer services in Bhutan

Against the backdrop of a changing climate, extreme weather is fast becoming the new normal in South Asia. The landlocked kingdom of Bhutan, which has seen severe flooding more frequently over the past decade, is no exception.

Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the (GFDRR)

Superstorm Sandy Hoboken, NJ. Flooded streets and cars at the corner of Willow ST and 4th ST. Fire truck plowing through.

Update

31 January 2022

New flood maps show US damage rising 26% in next 30 years due to climate change alone, and the inequity is stark

Climate change is raising flood risks in neighborhoods across the U.S. much faster than many people realize. Over the next three decades, the cost of flood damage is on pace to rise 26% due to climate change alone, an analysis of our new flood risk maps shows.

Conversation Media Group, the

High tides, combined with rising sea levels create crashing wave on the coast of Ecuador

Update

31 January 2022

Rising seas boost tsunami impacts on distant shorelines

Modeling suggests that rising sea levels will render Southern California ports increasingly vulnerable to waves from distant-source tsunamis.

Eos - AGU

The drought-displaced Afghan children fill water containers to carry to their tents from a tanker at a camp for internally displaced people on the outskirts of Herat province (2019).

Update

28 January 2022

Connecting anticipatory action and disaster risk reduction: perspectives from UNDRR

Anticipatory action relies on the ability to forecast potential disasters and to trigger predetermined actions to protect the most vulnerable communities from disaster impacts.

Anticipation Hub