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

14 September 2021

From bushfires, to floods, to COVID-19: how cumulative disasters can harm our health and erode our resilience

In the past two years alone, Australians have lived through bushfires, floods, cyclones, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Conversation Media Group, the

Impression of the levees in New Orleans, USA

Update

14 September 2021

Why did Ida cause so much less damage than Katrina?

The government had done its job by investing billions in levees and other infrastructure to protect New Orleans.

China Dialogue

View of flames spreading on a hill close to Orangeville, USA (2019)

Research briefs

13 September 2021

First global study on wildfire pollution reveals important increase in mortality

Governments and countries must mitigate climate change as much as possible to prevent increasing wildfires and increasing deaths.

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The city of Lira in Uganda affected by floods

Update

13 September 2021

The coproduction of the Early Action Protocol for floods in Uganda: A model of strong collaboration for the effective scale-up of FbF

Uganda was one of the nations who first pioneered Forecast-based Financing (FbF).

Anticipation Hub

The Yangtze River has flooded Chongqing, China in 2020

Update

9 September 2021

Meteorological disaster preparedness safeguards people's livelihoods during this year's flood season

The heavy rainfall have wreaked havoc and brought myriad impacts. During this period, Chinese meteorological departments have carried out effective monitoring and forecasting, and made full-fledged deployments in terms of disaster preparedness.

China Meteorological Administration

Sunrise view of Namche Bazaar village and Thamserku mountain, Khumbu valley, Nepal.

Research briefs

13 September 2021

Compound hazards pose increased risk to highly populated regions in the Himalaya

Urbanization trends in the Himalaya are exposing more people to risk from compound hazards such as flooding, landslides and wildfires, a new study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment has found.

Yale University

Migrant workers walk on the highway on their journey back home during a nationwide lockdown to fight the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Mumbai, India (2021)

Update

13 September 2021

Millions on the move in their own countries: the human face of climate change

New Groundswell report projects that 216 million people in six regions could move within their countries by 2050.

World Bank, the

Man looking at a flooded street in Bosnia (2014)

Blog

13 Sep 2021

Zenada Čaušević

Central Bosnia Canton's path to resilience-building

The Central Bosnia Canton has initiated different projects and activities to build up the capacities of local communities, increase resilience, and reduce the impact of disasters.

Research briefs

10 September 2021

When rivers are contaminated, floods are only the first problem

As floods increase in frequency and intensity, chemicals buried in river sediments become “ticking time bombs” waiting to activate.

Earth Observatory of Singapore - Nanyang Technological University

Cracked soil in the death valley, California, USA

Update

9 September 2021

NASA drought research shows value of both climate mitigation and adaptation

Seasonal summer rains have done little to offset drought conditions gripping the western United States, with California and Nevada seeing record July heat and moderate-to-exceptional drought according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration