What's New in Knowledge | September 2024
Australia has released its National Science Statement. One of the 5 imperatives most relevant to our work is that the science system prepared for future challenges. The priorities set out by the statement are transitioning to net zero, support for healthy and thriving communities, elevating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems, protection and restoration of Australia’s environment, and building a secure and resilient nation.
The UNDRR has released the first report into tracking global expenditure on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation. This report recognises the increasing practice of tagging DRR and climate change adaptation in national budgets. It also recognises that there is no international report that tracks DRR finance.
The Insurance Council of Australia has released its second annual Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report, using insurer data and insights to review the last 12 months of extreme weather events.
While we’re on prominent research centres in the US, the always excellent Lori Peek closed out the 2024 Natural Hazards Workshop by talking about badgers. You know you are going to have to look now.
In understanding consequences and recovery, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority have released the 2023-24 State Recovery and Resilience Plan. The plan covers the 13 disaster events and captures the diversity, breadth and extent of disasters for the entire season. The International Recovery Platform has released a report showcasing 32 case studies in financing recovery and building back better. In the first half of 2024, Munich Re have found catastrophic flooding, extreme storms, and two earthquakes produced overall losses of roughly US$ 120bn.
While not focussed specifically on disasters, this piece from the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies focusses on the value of human life. It is measured what it costs to prolong life. This article looks at equitable recovery in unincorporated areas, places that have no local government. Its 12 months on from the wildfires in Hawaii, this piece from Moody’s Insurance offers reflections, new insights and innovations in the insurance sector.
Looking at knowledge, the European’s ROADMAP have released a report that looks into the use of foresight techniques in the context of long-term disaster risk management. The US Department of Science and Technology has undertaken an emergency management Research and Development Landscape Assessment to help inform future research investments.
This explainer from the International Institute for Sustainable Development examines how to strengthen monitoring, evaluation and learning systems for adaptation. This is a useful 10-point guide from the European Geosciences Union on producing a knowledge synthesis for policy makers. This article examines climate misinformation and how repetition can shift people’s views.
In thinking about systemic risk, this article focuses on urban growth as a driver of drought risk, using Sydney as a case study. The Accelerator for Systemic Risk Assessment is showcasing scalable pilot projects using their Systemic Risk Assessment (SRA) and Systemic Risk Response (SRR) Criteria. This piece from the US Census Bureau examines how to measure disaster impacts on supply chains. This research from RAND examines the continued impact of COVID-19 on schools and educational outcomes.
The folks at Resilience Canopy recently hosted Daniel Aldrich speaking about social capital and social infrastructure. This webinar recording is an examination of the importance of including community capacity within risk profile mapping. The team at Regen Melbourne, set up in the aftermath to look at how we can transform the city, have framed their living Melbourne strategy in the form of a periodic table. This is an interesting piece on the climate mitigation impacts of foodbanks, which also serve a systemic risk reduction role. This piece reminds us of the importance of integrated power supply systems.
In disaster risk reduction, the Independent Voice of Strata Owners have produced a report outlining disaster preparedness issues for apartment communities. This research examines the issues facing mobile home owners when preparing for disaster. This is a free online toolkit for business preparedness. The US Geological Survey’s ShakeAlert earthquake alerting system is examined in this research paper in the context of schools. The Lancet dedicates an issue to planetary health and the Sendai Framework.
This paper examines multi-hazard early warning systems in South America. This is the July 2024 update from the Early Warnings for All initiative. This report from the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery focuses on early warnings in fragile, conflict and violence affected settings. This may help in planning for communities where there are issues of violence. This paper looks at nature based solutions in similar settings.
On nature based solutions, this article details how a Fijian community is planting mangroves to protect their coastlines. This piece examines the role that floating homes might play in helping manage climate risk. Daniel Aldrich reflects on what Japan can teach us about DRR. This paper is a systematic review of agent based simulations for pedestrian evacuation behaviour.
The UN University provide 5 insights into planned relocation relating to climate change. This paper from the Center for Global Development outlines the shift in thinking of displacement of people as a humanitarian issue, to one that is a development issue. It is a timely reminder that disaster risk reduction protects our development goals. The Platform on Disaster Displacement give us this research into the challenges facing Pacific peoples (im)mobility in the face of climate change. This research examines 3 tensions in climate change related planned relocation: risk and habitability, community consultation and ownership, and siloed policy and funding frameworks.
Focussing on First Nations knowledge, National Indigenous Disaster Resilience has completed a guide for planning evacuations with Indigenous communities. This guide is a companion to Evacuation Planning (AIDR 2023). This Conversation article outlines how we can elevate Indigenous knowledge systems to solve some of the great problems of our time.
This article looks at the threat to Indigenous astronomy from light pollution. An excellent article on building capacity to better host First Nation evacuations in Canada. Indigenous knowledge in Africa focusing on early warning and preparedness in Kenya is the focus of this paper. Also in Africa, this paper examines the application of indigenous knowledge systems to climate change and DRR policy formulation.
For children and young people, this case study examines the use of a parametric risk transfer project1 for reducing the exposure of children to future shocks and hazards. UNICEF have found that 1 in 5 children (or 466 million) live in areas that experience at least double the number of extremely hot days every year compared to their grandparents.
The NSW government is supporting the Fresh AIR Innovators program, run by UNSW for upper primary school students on bushfire and air quality management. This report from UNICEF aims to provide a comprehensive 'stocktake' of the impacts of climate change on children across six major hazards that impact their health and well-being.
Recognising inequity, this article reminds us that climate justice is necessary and that addressing climate change must not increase inequity. The World Bank has published a practical guide to incorporating gender in disaster risk financing. This paper examines the capacity and resilience of refugees in the context of emergency management. The Asian Development Bank give us guidelines to help local governments create and maintain climate-resilient, gender-responsive, and socially inclusive public open spaces in cities and towns. UNICEF have produced a guide for gender transformative programming.
Looking at weather matters and climate change, the NSW and Australian Regional Climate Modelling projections have been released. It provides core climate variables across NSW at a 4km resolution. This research suggests that the global costs of climate change are likely to be 6 times higher than previously thought.
Unseasonal heat has broken Australia’s winter temperature records. This has brought an early start to storm season, with extreme winds across the country. This UNSW article helps explain the unseasonable weather. The European Parliament has developed an in-depth analysis of tools and strategies to assist with local and regional climate adaptation plans. This Conversation article suggests that the climate is changing so fast we haven’t seen how bad it can possibly get. This article from Yale Climate Connections examines when it is thought climate change will turn our world upside down.
This piece outlines 5 ways climate change has already affected major sporting events. This article examines the intersection of an increasing tourism market, climate change, and the need to consider climate justice in the context of tourism climate action. This paper examines the effectiveness of using climate adaptation pathways to help accelerate adaptation, general new ideas, and identify barriers and opportunities. This is a useful tool for healthcare workers to debunk climate myths. The mental exhaustion faced by climate scientists is explored in this Nature article.
There’s been quite a focus on different hazards, with fire getting significant attention. This article from the World Resources Institute presents data of worsening fire risk and impact. This also examines the role of climate change in the fires of 2023-24. Here we learn about the autumn fire risk in the west coast of the US. This article examines the risk of fires to UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada and the role of climate change in increasing that risk. Over in Europe, Deutsche Welle asks, is Europe doing enough to prevent wildfires. This article reminds us of the hidden impact of fires in the contamination of water sources that humans and livestock rely upon.
In good news, however, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation have a second edition of its Integrated Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines, providing principles and strategic actions for countries to improve their fire management practice. This paper outlines the importance of garden design in reducing fire risk, while this one outlines the critical role of open space in saving lives. We think about beavers managing flood risk, but what about fire risk? Find out in this article. A new gel could protect buildings during fires. This paper is focused on the structural fire risk of cultural heritage buildings and proposes an index to measure their vulnerability.
Moving into the geotechnical realm, this paper looks at effective tsunami risk communications for tourists in Stromboli. This paper looks at integrating earthquake and flood resilience into urban community resilience. A recent 7.1 earthquake in Japan give rise to a warning of a potential megaquake. This paper examines how AI can help understand soil liquefaction. The landslides in Ethiopia are explained, and avalanches under the sea are 100 times bigger than on land.
In flooding, new research indicates that worldwide flooding is likely to be significantly worse unless carbon emissions are reduced. In the US, research is also predicting flood durations to increase on the eastern seaboard. Something I experience with my open water swimming being curtailed, heavier rains are bringing major storm water pollution issues. This paper outlines the improvements in global flood mapping accuracy.
Returning to the atmosphere, this 3-year study suggests increased air pollution increases the thunderstorm threat. Back-to-back hurricanes created a year of compounding disasters for the city of Lake Charles in Louisiana. The article examines whether tornadoes and waterspouts will increase as the world heats up. This paper examines the disparity between global drought hazards and awareness.
Focussing on extreme heat, this paper examines those who may be more at risk in extreme heat. This is also a good summary of who is at risk of heat-related deaths, and this paper suggests that global heat deaths may be undercounted. Heat caused 47,000 deaths2 in Europe and this is attributed to human induced climate change. Machine learning is starting to assist with determining how much global warming is contributing to heatwaves.
This article explains the cause of record shattering extreme heat. This Nature article outlines the hottest temperature a human can survive. Swiss Re focus on the increasing impact, and cost of higher temperatures. In Europe the death tolls are set to rise. The US has a National Heat Strategy from 2024 to 2030. This article looks at the mammoth effort ahead to enable Australia’s survival in a warming world. This report on urban overheating and adaption measures explores the adaptation strategies across the European Union to mitigate urban heat.
In health, long term exposure to bushfire smoke can lead to an increase in dementia, while cleaner air has reduced suicides in China. Mpox cases are soaring in Africa. The supply of blood is affected by climate change fuelled weather. The United Nations Environment Programme has released a global foresight report on planetary health and human wellbeing. This report looks into the impact of climate change on sewerage.
This paper looks at the very important, and often forgotten, issue of recovery workers working with community members and their psychological hazards and wellbeing. This paper looks at the health issues of flooding in the context of a changing climate. This report looks into using creative methods for public health messaging during the pandemic. The World Bank has developed a three layer framework for strategic investment in health system resilience.
Looking at governance, leadership, and capacity building, this paper looks at expertise in the context of uncertainty in the global climate-health policy nexus. This paper analyses the 2022 German Resilience Strategy to identify gaps and shortcomings. This paper is a systematic review of the relationship between political participation and community resilience.
This paper from Austria examines governance of risk management against indirect risks. This research looks into the longitudinal effects of soft resources, psychological capacities, in firefighters. This paper focuses on a systematic review of communications approaches in emergency response. The Asian Development Bank looks into how policy makers can strengthen corporate climate disclosure to scale up private climate finance.
Examining the frontiers in technology, citizen maps are helping Brazil prepare for flooding, and at the other end of the spectrum, satellites and machine learning are also mapping flooding in urban environments. The Global Initiative on Resilience to Natural Hazards through AI Solutions is a collaborative effort led by various UN agencies aiming to explore how AI can be effectively used in disaster management, providing expert guidance and support for research, innovation, and the development of standards. This paper reviews the literature on the use of place-centric digital technologies in disaster settings. This article outlines a new program in Peru that uses AI to develop a package of information for citizens to use in their preparedness and warnings.
A range of cooling technologies are being researched to help manage extreme heat. Virtual reality is helping protect cultural heritage, and physics meets machine learning for better cyclone predictions. AI is helping us understand disaster displacements. Guidelines have been developed for evaluating geoengineering approaches to reflect solar heat back into space. Finally, another reminder that AI is not infallible, and this article helps us weigh up its pros and cons.
Back in time, how did the 1999 İzmit earthquake shape earthquake risk in Turkey? Ancient Rome had ways to counter the urban heat island effect – how history’s lessons apply to cities today. Mount Vesuvius erupted in August 79AD, destroying Pompei. This article looks at Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas 7 years ago.
Did you know, what causes a waterspout? How bushfires can create their own weather, including thunderstorms and tornadoes? How diseases shift from animals to humans?
Sources: Prevention Web, The Conversation, UNDRR, UNEP, Nature, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Linkedin.
Compiled by Lexi Barrington and John Richardson