Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin - 16^th to 22^nd February 2019

Australia

Houses destroyed during bushfire emergency in WA's south West

Bangladesh

Hailstorm damages crops and houses in Rangamati

Ecuador

14 killed, 964 homes and 940 hectares of agricultural land affected during heavy rain and floods in various provinces

Greece

4 missing on Crete island after torrential rain flooding

India

800 houses in Lunglei damaged in hailstorm

Indonesia

4 killed, 5 wounded as landslide strikes western Indonesia

Liberia

Dozens Killed in Mudslide at Alleged Illegal Mine in Liberia

Pakistan

At least 26 dead as flooding, torrential rain strikes Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Flash flooding results in two deaths, flooded houses and dozens of displaced families in East New Britain

Peru

Heavy rains leave 12 dead, 43 injured, 3,708 affected in Arequipa

Philippines

5 killed in Benguet forest fire

Forest fire kills at least 5 in Itogon, Benguet 

United States of America

Heavy rains cause power outage, road closures and mudslides in Dade County

1 dead, another injured in Tennessee mudslide

Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia

Thousand of houses have been damaged, hundreds evacuated and crops destroyed in Pacific Islands

Other items of interest:

UK housing: fit for the future?

EUR/RC68/14 Action plan to improve public health preparedness and response in the WHO European Region

Lessons learned from the one home that survived Hurricane Michael

Bolivian earthquake reveals mountains 660 kilometers below our feet 

Ghana Hosts African Risk Capacity Joint Board Meeting, Signs Programme of Work to Improve Responses to Extreme Weather Events and Natural Disasters

Scotland breaks February temperature record in unusual winter Europe heatwave

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin - 9^th to 15^th February 2019

Australia

Six homes destroyed as bushfires rage in northern New South Wales

Up to 500,000 drought-stressed cattle killed in Queensland floods

Canada

Calgary once again under extreme cold advisory

Chile

Chile - Evacuations After Rivers Overflow in Arica

Indonesia

Coastal Flooding Forecast Strengthened in Indonesia

Mauritius

142 people evacuated due to tropical cyclone GELENA, 90% of the island under power outage

Gelena weakening over open water

New Zealand

3,000 evacuated from New Zealand fire can return home, 400 still displaced

Nigeria

Ongoing Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has resulted in 275 confirmed cases and 57 deaths

Paraguay

121 Homes affected in San Pedro after a windstorm (Spanish)

Peru

8,000 people have been affected and 1,800 made homeless across five regions in southern Peru

Flooding and landslides kill at least eight in Peru and Chile

United States of America

House Slides Down Saturated Sausalito Hillside; Woman Injured, 50 Homes Evacuated

Wind storms leaves 2,000 without power and damaged buildings in San Luis Obispo County, California

Storms in central Alabama communities causes power outage, damages houses and cars 

Heavy storm, wind and snow leaves 27,000 without electricity and one dead in Hawaii.

Other items of interest:

2018's Billion Dollar Disasters in Context   

January winter storms and extreme cold have cost the US a billion

Setting targets for HIV/AIDS—What lessons can be learned from other disease control programmes?

Interoperability: A practitioner's guide to joining up data in the development sector  

Trans-Border Flood Early Warning System in South Asia

State of California Tackles Drought with IoT & Blockchain

WHO supports five countries to fight lassa fever outbreaks

Modelling epidemics: the maths behind disease outbreaks

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin - 2^nd to 8^th February 2019

Australia

Flooding in Queensland after rainfall and dam release: two dead, thousands of homes flooded

Crocodiles seen in flood waters in city in Queensland

Risk of mosquito-borne disease after floods difficult to predict

Houses are destroyed in Tasmanian bushfires

Tasmania's fire disaster revealed in satellite images showing the extent of the damage

Bolivia

At least 14 people killed in Bolivia landslides

People swept away by mudslide as mountainside collapses in Bolivia

Brazil

Floods and mudslides around Rio de Janeiro kill six

Canada

Strong winds leaving more than 6,000 Lower Mainland residents without power

Calgary and communities across Alberta under extreme cold warning

Indonesia

Approximately 600 evacuated due to Karangetang volcano eruption

Italy

Heavy snowfall causes avalanche in Italian Alps, eight dead

New Zealand

700 evacuated from New Zealand town as wildfire threatens

United States of America

Storm leads to evacuations in California

Storm brings hail and causes road accidents and power outages in the Bay Area

Extreme cold in U.S. causes more than 2 dozen deaths, hundreds injured 

Other items of interest:

Uganda Ebola surveillance system proves effective in detecting and following suspected cases   

Measles in Europe: record number of both sick and immunized

Tufts University: Heart disease spiked in months after Hurricane Katrina

Social vulnerability to air pollution, noise and extreme temperatures in Europe

Spring-fed rivers in the Himalayas drying up

WMO: Past 4 years warmest on record

Tokyo 2020 Olympics to implement weather centre for heat, typhoons

The contribution of assets to adaptation to extreme temperatures among older adults

Drought Initiative to help make communities resilient to droughts

New toolkit for building local urban resilience to climate change

Building resilience into energy systems

Adolescents take the lead in disaster risk reduction at schools in Pakistan

Building cultures of preparedness: Report for the emergency management higher education community

Can resilience go digital? Helping farmers and decision makers better manage the impact of extreme events

How Big Data can help in disaster response

New Zealand on right track with new earthquake-resistant building technologies

Sierra Leone hazard review and risk assessment

Organizations log voluntary commitments in support of the Sendai Framework in new online platform

Wildfires, hurricanes and other extreme weather cost the USA 247 lives, nearly $100 billion in damages during 2018

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin - 26^th January to 1^st February 2019

Australia

Landslide from heavy rain threatens properties in Queensland, disaster declared

Brazil

Dam collapse in Brumadinho region kills 60, 300 still missing

Almost a week later, 99 deaths confirmed and 259 still missing in Brazil dam disaster

China

Coastal steelmaking city issues orange smog alert

Cuba

Tornado passes through Havana and kills 4, injures 195

France

Heavy snow and strong winds affect Western and Northern France, two dead

Severe winter weather affects France, seven injured and roads closed  

Indonesia

Recent floods and landslide on Sulawesi displaced 7 000 people, 68 dead

Heavy rains in Bali cause landslide: 4 dead and 12 injured

Peru

Mudslide in southern Peru kills 15 and injures 34

United Kingdom

Hundreds of homes in Wales lose power after strong winds

UK weather: Coldest night of winter so far as Scotland reaches -13C

Ice and snow closes hundreds of schools, disrupts flights in England and Wales

United States of America

Extreme cold from polar vortex in Midwest and East causes 8 deaths

Heavy rain and wind cause significant damage across Massachusetts

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's Second-Biggest City Rations Water Because of Drought  

Other items of interest:

Progress in Disaster Science: New journal integrating research and policy in disaster research

Researchers develop visual guide to identify invasive tick

Launch of online learning course for Sendai Framework Monitor

Extreme weather and geopolitics are main drivers of increasing food shocks 

Extreme weather already breaking records around the world in 2019

When the river runs dry: the Australian towns facing heatwave and drought

US freezes, Australia burns: The age of weather extremes

Coal and gas plants failed during Australian heatwave

Cambodia prepares for future droughts

Lessons from California's 2012-2016 drought

Drought needs assessment in Pakistan

Half a degree and rapid socioeconomic development matter for heatwave risk

Extreme rainfall events are connected across the world

Tulane study says seas may be rising faster than thought

Air pollution in Mongolia

Climate change, air pollution and noncommunicable diseases

Leveraging OpenStreetMap to improve disaster risk management in the Seychelles

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin - 19^th to 25^th January 2019

Australia

20 000 hectare bushfire in Tasmania triggers emergency alerts in different communities

'Extreme' heatwave breaks records across Australia

Chile

Earthquake in Coquimbo region: 2 deaths and 200,000 without electricity

India

Snow avalanche causes 2 deaths in Ramban District

Indonesia

Floods and landslides in South Sulawesi province results in at least 59 deaths and dozens of people missing

Landslides, flooding from dam kill 8 and displace more than 2,000 in central Indonesia

Flash floods cause 6 deaths in Makassar, 10 people reported missing

Mozambique

Flooding in Mozambique as Tropical Cyclone Desmond makes landfall

Tropical cyclone Desmond leaves 120 000 people displaced across four provinces

Thailand

Hazardous air pollution in Bangkok

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia takes emergency measures during dangerous levels of air pollution

United States of America

Tornado causes significant damage in Alabama

Severe winter weather in Midwest states, at least 5 dead

Vanuatu

685 people evacuated as volcano erupts in the island of Ambrym

Other items of interest:

Weathering the storm: Developing a Canadian standard for flood-resilient existing communities

The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2019

UK: Building resilience to the effects of climate change

UK National Infrastructure Assessment

CRED 2018 review of disaster events supplementary information

INFORM Report 2019: Shared evidence for managing crises and disasters

UCLA researchers using data-driven approaches to make earthquakes less damaging

Spending on natural disasters in the US: Data limitations, implications for policy making, and strategies for improvement

Rwanda conducts full-scale Ebola simulation exercise

New Year ushers in high-impact weather

Major snowstorms expected to continue with climate change

Advanced modelling techniques could improve how cities deal with floods

Climate change tipping point may be sooner than expected

Resilience in action: Climate and ecosystem-inclusive disaster risk reduction   

Dozens of wild horses die of thirst in Australia's heat wave

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin - 12th - 18th January 2019

Australia

Extreme heatwave: all-time temperature records fall across parts of Australia

Austria

Avalanche: Weather related death toll rises to 26 this month

Snow chaos hits southern Germany and Austria

Canada

'Extreme' winter weather hits Canada

Cyprus

Torrential rain and strong winds wreaked havoc across Cyprus

Democratic Republic of the Congo

WHO Ebola update, January 17

WHO expert: Ebola outbreak to continue at least 6 more months

Lebanon

Flash floods that resulting in casualties and damage - Lebanon

Middle East

Weather front brings sandstorms, hail, rain to Middle East

Egypt- Ministry of Environment warns of low air quality due to bad weather conditions

Peru

Peru – Dozens of Homes Destroyed After Floods in Junín Region

Switzerland

Disentis grinds to a halt: More than 2,000 people in Swiss village stranded after heavy snowfall

Thailand

Smog continues to smother Thai capital           

Heavy smog, worsened by weather, raises alarm across Asia

United States of America

California storms: At least five people killed after heavy rain and snow cause devastation 

USA - Severe Weather update

Other items of interest:

WHO Ten threats to global health in 2019

GFDRR Annual Report 2018 - Bringing Resilience to Scale

Annual climate statement 2018

Ethics and Floods: A Systematic Review

Health-emergency disaster risk management and research ethics

Summary of UR2020 Planning Meetings

Sendai Framework Monitor data now publicly available

Cabinet Office Japan White Paper on Disaster Management in Japan 2017 Special Feature “Revising Disaster Management Policies in Light of the Kumamoto Earthquake

China's looming water crisis

Drought risk assessment and management: a conceptual framework

Strengthening links between social protection and disaster risk management for adaptive social protection in Nepal

Key sustainability actions in NHS Long Term Plan

Government Clean Air Strategy sets key targets for air quality improvement

Government commits to consider sustainability at every stage of resource lifecycle

HPS publishes Recommendations for Clean-Up Following Palytoxin Incidents

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin - 5th to the 11th of January 2019

Australia

Smoke plume from Tasmania bushfire turns sky red over Hobart, 600 people evacuated

Austria, Norway and Switzerland

Alps avalanche latest: At least 12 killed as heavy snow and high winds pummel Europe

Chile

Chile issues 2019 wildfire warning amid heat forecasts

Fiji

Tropical cyclone Mona - 2,000 people taking shelter

Tropical Cyclone Mona Intensifies To A Category 2 Cyclone

Haiti

Haiti - Food Insecurity Situation(map)

India

India - Drought Situation Map

Solomon Islands

Tropical cyclone Penny, 827 people affected and 174 households destroyed

Pacific Islands - Thousands Affected by Floods After Heavy Rain and Storm Surge

Thailand

Tropical Storm Pabuk buffets Thailand's east coast, 1 dead and 6,100 people evacuated.

Thailand Pabuk: Tourist islands hit by worst storm in decades

Tropical cyclone PABUK update, four people killed, 700,000 evacuated.

United States of America

Reports: More than 300,000 left without power after strong winds blast Washington

New threats of heavy rain, floods and snow in California and Pacific Northwest

Other items of interest

Beijing, Hebei cut smog emissions 12% in 2018

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2018

UK climate projections

The Hindu Kush Himalaya assessment: Mountains, climate change, sustainability and people International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), 2019

Thailand limits death toll from Pabuk

Australia’s 2018 in weather: Drought, heat and fire

Drought risk assessment and management: a conceptual framework

A 1.5^oC warmer world: a guide for policy-makers and practitioners Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED), 2018   

Satellite remote sensing for disaster management support: A holistic and staged approach based on case studies in Sentinel Asia Elsevier, 2018

4th World Congress on Disaster Management (29Jan - 1 Feb)

Taking Sendai forward: IOM progress report on disaster risk reduction and resilience 2018 International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2018

The potential of strategic environmental assessment to reduce disaster risks through climate change adaptation in the coastal zone of Bangladesh Emerald Group Publishing Limited (Emerald), 2018

Global Hazards Weekly Bulletin - 21st December 2018 to 4^th January 2019

Afghanistan

Water shortages worsen in Afghanistan as drought persists

Australia

Extreme heatwave in Australia: catastrophic fire conditions as temperature records broken

Heatwave - Heatwave Service for Australia

Firefighters have been injured while tackling a NSW bushfire

Sydney New Year's Eve celebrations hit by huge storm, torrential rain

Suncorp hit with 24,800 claims after Sydney hailstorm

Bhutan

Forest fire still raging in Bartsham, Trashigang

China

Anthropogenic drivers of 2013-2017 trends in summer surface ozone in China

Denmark

At least 8 killed in Danish train accident during high winds

India

Delhi air pollution surges to emergency levels

Indonesia

Volcano three-quarters blown away by Indonesia tsunami eruption

Sunda Strait Tsunami and Gunung Anak Krakatau volcanic activity - Update  

Indonesia resumes rescue work as landslide death toll rises

Mount Agung erupts again

Italy

Earthquake and volcanic activity

Mount Etna erupts in Sicily amid dozens of tremors

Madagascar

Measles Outbreak - Update

Philippines

Devastating storm Usman leaves 68 dead in the Philippines

Death toll in Philippines landslides, floods reaches 85

Sri Lanka

Over 60,000 People Affected by Sri Lanka Flash Floods; Govt on Alert as More Rains Expected

Flash Floods in Sri Lanka

Syria

Heavy rains, floods displace thousands of refugees in Syria

Syria - Floods

Thailand

Thailand Pabuk: Tourist spots hit by worst storm in decades

Tropical Storm Pabuk - Update

United States of America

Severe storm system that has already killed 6 moves toward Eastern US

Several homes damaged as strong tornado touches down in Washington State

Vietnam

Heavy rain triggered flooding batters central region of Vietnam

Other items of interest

In photos: How climate change is affecting Spain

Film: Dealing with Disasters - The Silent Achievers in Public Health

Adaptation actions in the natural environment - what works?

Adaptive Process for SMART Community Governance under Persistent Disruptive Risks

Adopting nature-based solutions for flood risk reduction in Latin America

Building the Resilience of WSS Utilities to Climate Change and Other Threats: A Road Map

Counting The Cost: A Year of Climate Breakdown

Disasters and food security: The impact on health

Policy Brief NO.10 Addressing the Environment and Health Nexus is a Strategic Approach to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals in ASEAN

Zika: the continuing threat