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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.

Man walking barefoot in a flooded street in Wilsele, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium (2021)

Update

2 August 2023

Reimagining disaster risk reduction to cope with the new European summer

Yet another summer of unprecedented floods, fires and high temperatures is threatening Europe. We should not be surprised. But we should be better prepared.

Stockholm Environment Institute

Two Vietnamese women are harvesting water lilies during the flood season on their wooden boats.

Update

2 August 2023

Flooding caused the greatest economic damages in Asia in 2022, says WMO report

The Asian region experienced a total of 81 natural hazard events last year, according to the WMO’s Emergency Events Database, of which over 83% were flood and storm events.

Mongabay

Research briefs

2 August 2023

Lightning-caused wildfires are 80 percent more likely under dry vegetation

Mimicking a randomized control trial of wildfires, scientists use satellites to uncover the key role of vegetation dryness in wildfire risk, aiding wildfire management and preparedness in California.

Eos - AGU

Green vertical green facade garden in full bloom for climate adaptation

Research briefs

1 August 2023

Nature-based solutions can help tackle climate change and food security, but communities outside Europe are missing out

Nature-based solutions (NBS) can help grand challenges, such as climate change and food security, but, as things stand, communities outside of Europe do not stand to benefit from these innovations.

The University Of Surrey

Young child standing inside the doorframe of a house in Madagascar, Africa.

Update

1 August 2023

Climate change contributes to violence against children – here’s how

Every day of the northern hemisphere’s summer in 2023 seems to bring a calamitous headline about the climate: heatwaves, wildfires, massive hailstorms. That, of course, includes children.

Conversation Media Group, the

Documents and publications

2 August 2023

Using social media feeds for mapping and assessing areas affected by flooding due to tropical cyclones

This paper argues that social media platforms present a significant potential of data sources to operationalize the provisions of the Sendai Framework.

A disabled old woman affected by the floods stands in front of a temporary shelter in Bangladesh, 2022

Update

1 August 2023

Bangladesh is undertaking the world’s largest resettlement programme – and the climate is making it harder

Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate extremes. The nation’s topography lays its citizens bare to cyclones, flash floods, erosion and drought – not to mention the significant socio-economic impact these bring.

Conversation Media Group, the

Weather station positioned on a rocky hillside, Nepal

Update

26 July 2023

Drones, reaching new heights in Nepal’s fight against climate change

In the hours and days following a devastating flood in June 2021, when a deluge of sediment and debris swallowed parts of the Melamchi River Valley in central Nepal, authorities scrambled to recover the dead and injured.

World Bank, the

Fire fighters in clouds of smoke during a wild fire in Greece

Update

28 July 2023

Greece wildfires: how climate change is involved, and what we can do about it

Fanned by strong winds and record temperatures, wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes recently spread from the hilly interior to the densely populated coastline with astonishing speed, leaving authorities with the daunting task of evacuating thousands.

Conversation Media Group, the