Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 28th March - 3rd April 2020

Coronavirus

WHO COVID-2019 Situation Report - 2 April

More than a million confirmed cases of Covid-19 globally

At least 175 countries now have confirmed cases of Covid-19

Concern as COVID-19 cases accelerate in Africa

First COVID-19 case among indigenous people confirmed in the Amazon

Brazil

Brazil reports more than 1000 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

Canada

Massive hailstorm flashes through parts of North Vancouver

China

Huge forest fire kills 18 firefighters and one guide in China

Colombia

Colombia - Hundreds Displaced by Floods in Choco Department

India

Hailstorm Jolts Barak Valley: Lighting kills One in Cachar, Breeze Wrecks Havoc in Karimganj

Uttar Pradesh: Fire in Katarniaghat forest

Indonesia

One Dead, 50,000 Affected After More Floods in Bandung

Spain

Severe floods hit parts of eastern Spain after 4 months' worth of rain in 24 hours

Coronavirus: More than 10,000 lives lost in Spain

United States

Florida Wildfire Threat and Drought Increasing From a Record Hot, Dry March

Tornado rips through Arkansas city, injuring 22 people

Zambia

Zambia - Floods Continue in North

Other items of interest

UNDRR/WHO Webinar - Resilience of local governments: A multi-sectoral approach to integrate public health and disaster risk management -7 April

International Science Council Webinar: Transforming science communication for transformations to sustainability - 15 April

UNDRR Webinar - Leave No One Behind in COVID-19 - Prevention, Response and Recovery

UNESCO mobilizes 122 countries to promote open science and reinforced cooperation in the face of COVID-19

Building resilience against biological hazards and pandemics: COVID-19 and its implications for the Sendai Framework

Understanding the Covid-19 crisis: insights from risk management on choices, preferences and trade-offs

Working Paper: Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children

Impact of COVID-19 on WMO Global Observing System

Multi-method evidence for when and how climate-related disasters contribute to armed conflict risk

Data tracking to tackle future pandemics via smartphones

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 21st - 27th March 2020

Coronavirus

WHO CoVid-19 Situation Reports

WHO Health Alerts through WhatsApp

Europe CoVid-19: the number of cases is rapidly increasing

Italian coronavirus deaths jump, dashing hopes the worst was over

US overtakes China with most cases 

Coronavirus cases in Africa pass 2,400

Australia

Great Barrier Reef suffers third mass coral bleaching event in five years

Burundi

Heavy rainfall in Burundi leaves one dead and hundreds displaced 

Croatia

Series of earthquakes jolt Croatian capital, Zagreb

Dubai

Dubai slammed by massive storm including lightening, hail and flooding

Fiji

Three dead in Fiji landslide

India

Two people killed in forest fire

Landslide kills 3 working on all-weather road

Indonesia

Indonesia's most active volcano, Mount Merapi erupts for the second time this month

Iran

12 killed, 17 injured as flash floods continue to plague Iran

Iraq

At least five dead, hundreds of homes severely damaged as major floods hit Iraq

Kenya

Kenya farmers brace for second onslaught of crop-devouring locusts

Papua New Guinea

Landslide in Papua New Guinea highlands buries 12 people

Eruption of Manam volcano sends plume of ash 3 kilometres high

Paraguay

Dengue outbreak in Paraguay, nearly 2000 cases reported

Spain

Spain's coronavirus death toll soars

United States

Tornado rips across Mississippi and Alabama

Vietnam

Mekong Delta struggles with worst drought ever

Yemen

Flooding caused by heavy rains in Aden kill two with continued rainfall predicted

Zambia

Over 700,000 people hit by floods

Other items of interest

Johns Hopkins University: Global Health Now – CoVid-19 Expert Reality Check

Coronavirus pandemic leading to huge drop in air pollution

Bushfire smoke linked to hundreds of deaths in Australia 

How Australia's wilderness is recovering from wildfires

Why gender matters in the impact and recovery from CoVid-19

How to model a pandemic

A positive policy turn for people most vulnerable to drought worldwide

3 low-cost early warning systems that save lives in remote places 

Building resilience against biological hazards and pandemics: CoVid-19 and its implications for the Sendai Framework

Training Course: Converge Cultural Competence in Hazards and Disaster Training Module (University of Colorado Boulder, Natural Hazards Center)

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 14th - 20th March 2020

Coronavirus

WHO Director General's Media Briefing, 18^th March 2020

Coronavirus weekly: expert analysis round-up

China reports no new domestic transmission of the virus for the first time since the start of the outbreak

Italy overtakes China's death toll

Asian nations face second wave of imported cases

OpenWHO: CoVid-19 real-time training courses

WHO CoVid-19 Research and Development Blueprint

Angola

Media reporting 3 deaths in Angolan floods

Canada

Rare, unusually large ozone hole develops over the Arctic Canadian region

Central African Republic

Measles outbreak in the Central African Republic

China

China reports new African Swine Fever cases among wild boars

Guatemala

Volcanic activity in Guatemala

India

Landslide kills 3 in Darjeeling

India reports avian flu cases in 3 separate locations

Madagascar

Tropical cyclone Herald strikes Madagascar leaving 4 dead

Malaysia

Drought affecting water supply in 18 villages

Morocco

Twin tornadoes strike Moroccan city

Pakistan

13 new polio cases in one day

Tanzania

Over 3,000 homes swept away by floods in Tanzania's coastal region

Thailand

Unsafe smog levels in Chiang Mai

Timor-Leste

Houses washed away during strong floods in East Timor

United States

Strongest storms in a decade leave a trail of destruction and 25 dead in Tennessee

High winds bring power outages to North West Montana

Other items of interest

Sendai Framework disaster loss data released to mark fifth anniversary

Coronavirus origins: genome analysis suggests two viruses may have combined

Key messages and actions for CoVid-19 prevention and control in schools

Silent disasters: preparing for the King Tide

Building resilience through better water management

CoVid-19 and climate: multifaceted impacts

It's time to revise estimates of river flood hazards

Call for contributions: 'Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction: Good Practices and Lessons Learned' (deadline end of March)

Map depicting susceptibility to landslides triggered by intense rain, Puerto Rico

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 7th - 13th March 2020

Coronavirus

WHO officially characterises CoVid-19 as a pandemic

WHO rolling updates on CoVid-19

All of Italy in lockdown as coronavirus cases rise

Coronavirus reaches politicians, world leaders and disrupts global events

CoVid-19: 50 million travel and tourism jobs at risk

Austria

Avalanches in Austrian Alps kill at least six

Brazil

At least 43 people die in landslides in Brazil

Egypt

State of emergency declared in Egypt over 'very rare' cyclone

Storm in Egypt kills five as national holiday called to minimise impact

Iran

Continued flooding affects thousands amidst ongoing coronavirus outbreak

Pakistan

At least 28 killed, 65 injured as heavy rains lash the Kyber Pakhtuunkhwa

Rwanda

Heavy rains and flooding claim more lives in Rwanda

Solomon Islands

Two die and six are missing following a landslide in the Solomon Islands

Other items of interest:

Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: 'Health Related Emergency Disaster Risk Management' (open access)

Expressions of Interest Sought: Global Risk Assessment Framework Expert Group (closing date 14 March 2020)

30 Innovations linking Disaster Risk Reduction with Sustainable Development Goals

Asia's rapid urbanisation and deforestation linked to deadly viruses

Europe records warmest winter since 1855 when records began

Information is Power: Women need equal access to ICTs for disaster resilience

Tornadoes that strike at night are deadlier and require more effective warning systems

NASA supported techniques are 'best practice' for UN Disaster Risk Reduction Guidelines

Disaster Risk Reduction Investments in Africa: a summary of 16 findings from 16 risk-sensitive budget reviews

Training Course: European Commission, Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre 'Adapting to extremes: exploring the challenges of the new decade'

Public Health England Coronavirus Dashboard

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 29th February - 6th March 2020

Coronavirus

WHO - 5^th March COVID-19 Media Briefing

Updated COVID-19 Situation Report

Italy shuts all its schools in bid to contain COVID-19

Fear returns to the Stock Market after surge in COVID-19 cases

Brazil

Deadly floods and landslides hit southern Brazil

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Congolese government appeals for aid after months of flooding

Honduras

Heavy rains sweep the Honduras leaving two dead and nearly 800 displaced

Indonesia

More than 45,000 displaced as flooding worsens in Jakarta

Russia

Russia records warmest winter on record

Vietnam

Tornadoes, rain and thunderstorms leave five dead and seventeen injured

United States

Brutal Nashville tornado kills 25 people

Homes left encased in ice after snow storm wallops New York state

Other items of interest:

Aligning Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction

Healthy flood plains have a key role to play in improving our environment

COVID-19 and its impact on people, cities and economy

Over 60% of Myanmar's mangroves deforested in the last 20 years

A new way to track the geographic spread of Lyme disease

Why we can no longer ignore consecutive disasters

Ten ways to support climate change adaptation planning and decision making

How changes in weather patterns could lead to more insect invasions

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 22nd - 28th February 2020

COVID-19

WHO Director General's Opening Remarks at the CoVid-19 Mission Briefing

Nigeria confirms first coronavirus case: latest updates globally

World prepares for coronavirus pandemic; global recession forecast

Australia

Severe thunderstorm in Perth leaves trail of destruction

Canary Islands

Massive sandstorm engulfs the Canary Islands

Colombia

Floods and mudslides continue to affect central Colombia - eight deaths, houses swept away

Democratic Republic of the Congo

DRC reports 252 measles deaths since the start of 2020

India

New Delhi is the world's most polluted capital for the second straight year

13 dead after severe thunderstorms strike Bihar

Indonesia

Jakarta floods: more than 60 deaths and 175,000 people displaced

Malawi

Widespread flooding in several areas: four fatalities reported

Pakistan

China may send ducks to battle Pakistan's locust swarms

Peru

At least five dead as flooding, landslides plague southern Peru

Massive glacier collapse results in catastrophic debris flow

Turkey

Massive blizzard buries village

Earthquake kills at least nine

United Kingdom

Emergency evacuations as flood defences are overwhelmed

Storm Dennis unleashes worst weather of the year as "bomb cyclone" sparks flood warnings

United States

Texas city records significant rise in syphilis and other STDs

Other items of interest:

Deliberate fire setting: an international public health issue

Ride-hailing increases emissions, contributes to climate pollution

Uganda's "locust commander" leads the battle against a new enemy

Inside Australia's Climate Emergency: a Killer Heat

Advancing research for seamless earth system prediction

Women key to solving climate crisis say Uganda school striker

Zimbabwe special report: crop monitoring for early warning signs

Extreme heat and risk of preterm birth in California, 2005-2013

Floods across South America after heavy rain

UN call to expand regional networks on cross-boundary disasters

Training Courses:

Gender in disaster risk reduction, 20-24 April 2020

GIS on Disaster Risk Management, 5-16 October 2020

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 15th - 21st February 2020

 Coronavirus

 WHO CoVid-2019 Situation Reports

A visual guide to the outbreak

Argentina

Flooding leaves one person dead and hundreds displaced

Bolivia

State of Emergency declared after heavy rain, landslides and river overflow in Bolivia leave nineteen dead and over four hundred houses destroyed

Bulgaria

Bulgaria reports avian flu outbreak

Canada

Two hundred vehicle pile-up in Quebec after unexpected "whiteout"� conditions

France

France suffers more destruction as Storm Dennis leaves 45,000 homes without power

India

Forest fire in Kerala kills three people

Indonesia

Hundreds affected by floods within location of Indonesia's future capital

Mozambique

Floods triggered by heavy rains have led to casualties in Mozambique including six deaths

Nigeria

Lassa fever deaths top 100, first case in the capital

Peru

Heavy rain and thunderstorms cause landslides and flooding, death toll rises to four

Samoa

Schools close as storm hits much of South Pacific

Sudan

Locusts swarm into South Sudan as plague spreads

United Kingdom

Storm Dennis: major incidents declared in south Wales and Hertfordshire

Storm Dennis rain deluge takes its toll on farmers

United States

Unprecedented flooding swamps Mississippi: State of Emergency declared

Other items of interest:

A Future for the World's Children: a WHO/UNICEF/Lancet Commission

A Call for Good Practice Case Studies on the Strategic Approach to Capacity Development for Implementation of the Sendai Framework

Locust swarms: UN warns of food crisis in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia

UK Government pledges �1.2 billion for the world's most powerful supercomputer to forecast extreme weather

Risk transfer for populations in precarious urban environments

A typology of community flood resilience

Fighting extreme weather in Zambia

The climate change imperative to transform risk management

New studies explore how knowledge drives action in climate decision making

Remote sensing data used for dzud early action in Mongolia

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 8th - 14th February 2020

Coronavirus - COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report - 13 February 2020

WHO 2019 Novel Coronavirus:  strategic preparedness and response plan

Australia

All New South Wales bushfires now contained

Bolivia

Floods and landslides hit Bolivia causing widespread destruction

Brazil

Heavy rains and flooding causes landslides in Sao Paulo

Burundi

Three people die, thousands displaced in continuing floods

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ebola outbreak in DRC continues to be a public health emergency of international concern

Iran

Snowstorms claim 8 lives and cause widespread disruption in northern Iran

Thailand

Thailand tackles worst drought in 40 years

Uganda

Uganda sprays locust swarms to protect coffee crops

United Kingdom

Storm Ciara hammers UK with hurricane-force winds and floods

Third person dies in Storm Ciara

Other items of interest:

WHO Health Emergencies Dashboard

WFP Regional resilience framework: North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe Region

Disaster knowledge gaps: Exploring the interface between science and policy for disaster risk reduction in Europe

Understanding the value and limits of nature-based solutions to climate change and other global challenges

Accountability in the Context of Disaster Risk Governance

Operational framework for flood risk communication

Locust swarms in East Africa:  what you need to know

"Our Future on Earth 2020" Report launched

AUDIO: How Native American communities are addressing climate change

Time Magazine:  Why WHO's formal name for the new coronavirus disease matters

Climate Change - Why facts don't change minds

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 25th - 31st January 2020

Novel Coronavirus 2019

World Health Organization declares Coronavirus to be a global health emergency

WHO Statement on Coronavirus, 30th January 2020

Current coronavirus outbreaks in real time

Brazil

Nearly 50 dead, thousands displaced as storms lash south east Brazil

Chile

Heavy rain and thunderstorms in several areas of Atacama leave hundreds stranded

Indonesia

More flooding in Indonesia, thousands left displaced

Kazakhstan

State of emergency declared as powerful winter storm hits Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kenya suffers worst locust infestation in 70 years as millions of insects swarm farmland

Lesotho

Drought leaves tens of thousands in Lesotho 'one step from famine'

Madagascar

Heavy rains, flooding kills 32 in Madagascar

Malaysia

Over 200 displaced as floods hit Johor

Solomon Islands

Magnitude 6.3 quake strikes Solomon Islands

Tanzania

Flash flood kills 3 leaves six hundred homeless

Turkey

Turkey earthquake:  at least 31 dead as building collapses

Uganda

Uganda reports outbreak of yellow fever

Other items of interest:

Food and Agriculture Organization: Early Warning Action Report on Food Security and Agriculture

New guidelines on organisational weather resilience for severe space weather

Deep data helps cities prepare for disaster

Using mobile phone surveys to track resilience and post-disaster recovery: A how-to guide

Gender-based violence and environment linkages 

Before and now: lived experiences of early warning systems during a flood

Heat in Cities:  impact of heatwaves and measures to mitigate risk 

Meeting at the crossroads? Developing national strategies for disaster risk reduction and resilience: Relevance, scope for, and challenges to integration

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 18th - 24th January 2020

WHO Statement on the Coronavirus Outbreak issued 23 January 2020

New coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Macao, Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, Nepal and South Korea. Additional cases have also been reported in Japan and Thailand.

Australia

Storms with giant hailstones hit bushfire regions in Australia

Australian bushfires contribute to huge rise in global CO2

Brazil

Haemorrhagic fever case reported in Sao Paulo state

Floods kill at least 6 in Southern Brazil

Canada

State of emergency declared after record snowfall in eastern Canada

Extreme winter storm in Newfoundland

China

China takes measures to rein in spread of coronavirus

Coronavirus: death toll rises as more cities shut down

Guatemala

Thousands displaced and hundreds injured after floods in Guatemala

Madagascar

Six deaths and widespread damage after floods in Madagascar

Mozambique

28 people die in heavy flooding in Mozambique

Peru

Heavy rain causes overflow of the Pachitea river

Spain

Thirteen people die as Storm Gloria floods delta in eastern Spain

United States

Cold temperatures litter south Florida with stunned iguanas

Zimbabwe

Millions at risk after toxins found in Harare's water supply

Zimbabwe grain stocks running out after drought

Other items of interest:

Global Commission on Adaptation launches action track to accelerate local climate adaptation solutions

UNEP, IUCN to launch new €20m programme on ecosystem-based adaptation

World Economic Forum: Global Risks Report 2020

WMO State of Climate Services 2019

WHO: Lack of new antibiotics threaten global efforts to contain drug-resistant infections

Ten New Insights in Climate Science 2019: The world is not on track

Guided self-help intervention reduces refugee's psychological distress and improves wellbeing in humanitarian crises

New Research suggests Australian Bushfires Cost 1.8 million Work Days, Leave 5 Million Sick from Smoke

Epi-Brain: a global platform that allows experts in data and public health to analyse large datasets for emergency preparedness and response

Climate and Disaster Displacement: The Importance of Disaster Law and Policy

Using behavioural insights to improve disaster preparedness, early warning and response mechanisms in Haiti

Interpersonal violence and mental health outcomes following disaster

How standardized baseline information helps harmonize disaster risk management in Bangladesh

East Africa battles devastating locust swarms

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 11th - 17th January 2020

Afghanistan 

Extreme cold and heavy snow hit Afghanistan killing at least seventeen people

Australia

80% of the Blue Mountains and 50% of Gondwana rainforests burn in bushfires

Emergency Response Co-ordination Centre Map of the Australian bushfires

Bolivia

Six dead as storms hit Bolivia

China

At least nine dead as giant sinkhole swallows bus

Second death in China from coronavirus

Iran

Twenty per cent of areas in Iran are at high risk of flood

Italy

"Smog emergency" forces traffic bans across Italy cities

Japan

Japan confirms first case of new China corona virus strain

Pakistan

Avalanches and snow wreak havoc in Pakistan, leaving 73 dead

Philippines

Philippines volcano: Thousands evacuated as Taal spews ash

Taal volcano - "Life-threatening" eruption risk remains as thousands of evacuated residents warned not to return to danger zone

Philippines polio case tally reaches 16

Thailand

Thailand finds Wuhan novel coronavirus in traveller from China

United Kingdom

Severe gales and floods follow Storm Brendan

United States

Severe storms sweep through southern states leaving 12 dead

Zimbabwe

Anthrax outbreak in Zimbabwe

Other items of interest:

Funding opportunity: funding for scaling humanitarian innovation

Events: World Humanitarian Forum, 15-16 April in London

Call for papers on Information Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction for inclusion in special edition of Information Systems Frontiers

A decennial review of psychotraumatology: what did we learn and where are we going?

Health emergency preparedness for imported cases of high consequence infectious diseases

Missing Maps: supporting disaster relief by putting the world"s most vulnerable people on the map

Take care when examining the economic impact of fires. GDP doesn"t tell the full story

'Fun disaster' drills catching on across Japan, 25 years after Kobe quake

Worst marine heatwave on record killed one million seabirds in North Pacific Ocean

What 50 years of global hurricane landfall data can tell us about climate change

Pulitzer Center on Disaster Reporting: Annual Report

Amazon deforestation jumped 85% in 2019

WMO confirms 2019 as second hottest year on record

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin: 4th - 10th January 2020

 Angola

 Torrential rain kills 41 people in Angola and causes widespread destruction

Australia

New York Times round up of coverage on the Australian bushfires

Smoke from Australian bushfires has reached South America

Australian bushfires converge to form "mega-blaze"

WMO Australia suffers devastating bushfires

Burundi

Burundi malaria cases reach 8.5 million

China

WHO Statement Regarding Cluster of Pneumonia Cases in Wuhan, China

50 people infected with newly discovered virus that causes severe lung disease

Greece

Extreme cold front covers Greece in snow

Israel

Four dead as "once in 50 years" flooding hits Israel

Kenya

Kenya starts spraying of locusts seen as threat to food security

Poland

Bird flu in Poland not contained

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico declares emergency after being rocked by hundreds of earthquakes since December

Turkey

Heavy rain kills two people in southern Turkey

Other items of interest:

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction: Disaster Resilience Scorecard for industrial and commercial buildings

United Nations University: Managing disaster risk and water security – strategies for small island developing states

Flight to the future: one land"s quest to diffuse a climate timebomb

Running dry: competing for water on a thirsty planet

Climate Science Research in the United States and US Territories: survey of scientific publications from selected public universities 2014-2018

As the ice melts, Greenland considers its future

Vintage photos show what Los Angeles looked like before the US controlled air pollution

An Australian Public Health researcher writes about being on the front line of "climate collapse"

Heatwave threatens Tunisia's date industry

2010-2019: A landmark decade of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters

Currency exchange company Travelex being held to ransom by hackers

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin - 21st December 2019 - 3rd January 2020

Australia

Deadliest day of wildfires in Australia

Nearly half a billion animals have died in the Australian bushfires

Bangladesh

At least 50 killed, 283 000 affected as cold wave sweeps through Bangladesh

Fiji

Cyclone Sarai lashes Fiji leaving one dead and 2,500 evacuated

Indonesia

Jakarta floods: 'Not ordinary rain', say officials

Mozambique

5 die and 51 injured in Mozambique flash floods

Rwanda

Heavy rains kill 12 on Christmas night

Syria

Northern Syria flooding: thousands of children at risk of further displacement

Other items of interest:

2019 record temperatures conclude a decade of records in the UK

UN Environment Programme: 5 New Year's Resolutions with a Green Twist

Flood Resilience Alliance: Flood resilience measurement for communities

UNESCO: Global water security case studies

Haiti 10 Years After the Earthquake

World Bank: Act carefully or drown. 3 lessons from New Orleans for Sri Lanka

EU Annual Progress Report of the European and Global Drought Observatories, 2019

Beijing cuts city smog by more than 17% in 2019

Ugandan walkers plant trees to keep the climate fit

Climate activist Greta Thunberg named Time Magazine's 2019 "Person of the Year"