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.

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Hurricane Irma traverses the Eastern Caribbean in this satellite view

Update

31 January 2024

Enabling risk-based asset management of infrastructure in St. Lucia

Building upon the progress of the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project, a team provided St. Lucia's government with training and technical assistance on the design and implementation of its first-ever risk-based infrastructure asset management system.

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

Update

2 February 2024

The silent protectors: How trees may safeguard against disasters

Trees are inspiring in many other ways – including their capacity to provide resilience to a number of natural hazards.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

View from a beach in Palau as a storm approaches

Research briefs

31 January 2024

Climate change increased heavy precipitation associated with impactful Storm Bettina over Black Sea

In late November, countries bordering the Black Sea including Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, Türkiye and Russia, witnessed exceptionally high rainfall and snowfall, and hurricane-force winds due to Storm Bettina.

World Weather Attribution

Update

31 January 2024

Bridging communities: Enhancing connectivity and resilience in Uttarakhand's hills

The Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project, with World Bank support, has built 81 bridges to provide increased resilience and better livelihoods for the rural population.

World Bank, the

Research briefs

31 January 2024

Death toll shows extreme air pollution events are a growing urban threat

New Curtin University-led research has estimated that 1454 avoidable deaths occurred in Australian capital cities in the past 20 years because of fine particle air pollution from extreme events such as bushfires and dust storms.

Curtin University

Documents and publications

1 February 2024

Unhoused people, sex workers and LGBTQIA+ populations

This report covers the experiences of unhoused individuals sex workers and LGBTQIA+ populations during disasters, which are marked by a dual reality of heightened vulnerability and remarkable resilience.

Update

31 January 2024

Informing resilience-building in Colombia’s health system through a risk exposure and vulnerability-based assessment

The Colombian government has worked on legislative instruments to increase resilience of their health sector. With support from GFDRR, a technical team has been supporting Colombia in using innovative analytics to inform its resilience-building efforts.

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

World Bank, the

Thunderstorm over fields in South Africa.

Update

30 January 2024

What is an atmospheric river? A hydrologist explains the good and bad of these flood-prone storms and how they’re changing

While atmospheric rivers are dreaded for the damage they can cause, they are also essential to the Pacific Northwest and particularly California's water supply, as Qian Cao, a hydrologist at the University of California, San Diego, explains.

Conversation Media Group, the

Research briefs

29 January 2024

Self-powered movable seawall for tsunami protection and emergency power generation

A movable seawall system, capable of generating sufficient electricity to raise gates and protect ports against tsunamis, has been proposed by researchers from Tokyo Tech. The system was found feasible in areas prone to Nankai Trough earthquake tsunamis.

Tokyo Institute of Technology 東京工業大学

Update

26 January 2024

Red Sea, Black Sea and Panama Canal: UNCTAD raises alarm on global trade disruptions

The organization warns that escalating attacks on ships in the Red Sea are adding strain to shipping routes already hit by conflict and climate change.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development