The HKH Snow Update 2025 highlights a significant decline in seasonal snow across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, with snow persistence 23.6% below normal — the lowest in 23 years. This trend, now in its third consecutive year, threatens water security for nearly two billion people. All twelve major river …
Changes in the abundance and area of mountain lakes in the Djungarskiy (Jetysu) Alatau between 2002 and 2014 were investigated using Landsat imagery. The number of lakes increased by 6.2 % from 599 to 636 with a growth rate of 0.51 % a−1. The combined areas were 16.26 ± 0.85 …
The rock avalanche that destroyed the village of Xinmo in Sichuan, China, on June 24th, 2017, brought the issue of landslide risk and disaster chain management in highly seismic regions back into the spotlight. The long-term post-seismic behaviour of mountain slopes is complex and hardly predictable. Nevertheless, the integrated use …
Asia and the Pacific is the region most affected by natural disasters which hit hardest at the poorest countries and communities. And on present trends, as more migrants crowd into slums and shanty towns in Asia-Pacific cities, whole communities are likely to see their homes and livelihoods shattered or washed …
In many coastal communities, the risks driven by storm surges are motivating substantial investments in flood risk management. The design of adaptive risk management strategies, however, hinges on the ability to detect future changes in storm surge statistics. Previous studies have used observations to identify changes in past storm surge …
In 2016 the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) commissioned the development of guidelines on national disaster risk assessment (NDRA) as part of a series of thematic guidelines under its “Words into Action” initiative to support national implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The …
This study of humanitarian preparedness measures focuses on the 2015–2016 El Niño event in five countries: Zambia, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Malawi. Chapters 2–6 of this study detail country-level measures to prepare for potential El Niño related impacts. Chapter 7, addresses the challenges to and benefits of early action as …
Debris flows are one of the natural disasters that frequently occur in mountain areas, usually accompanied by serious loss of lives and properties. One of the most used approaches to mitigate the risk associated to debris flows is the implementation of early warning systems based on well calibrated rainfall thresholds. …
Karangasem, INDONESIA (Reuters) - Fears that a volcano could erupt imminently on the holiday island of Bali prompted several countries to issue travel warnings, while Indonesian authorities raced to evacuate tens of thousands of people living in the “danger zone”. Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States and the U.K. …
SYDNEY (Reuters) - More than 6,000 people have been moved to emergency shelters on Vanuatu’s northern island Ambae in the South Pacific as a volcano threatens to erupt, officials said on Tuesday. The volcano, known as Monaro, stirred earlier this month but intensified over the weekend to begin emitting ash …
The purpose of this National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) is to: Guide government and other implementing stakeholders in prioritising the implementation of post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) findings and guide recovery investment and resource allocations across short-term humanitarian needs and medium- to long-term reconstruction; Help articulate a vision for recovery; Define …
This policy brief concludes that, from the climate science perspective, results show the 2016-17 drought is less severe than the 2010-11 drought in Lamu, while in Marsabit they are comparable. In general, the return time of the event over the regions analysed was low, meaning that this kind of drought …
BANGKOK, July 31 (Reuters) - Up to 80 percent of Thailand's tsunami warning system needs maintenance work, the deputy director-general of its disaster prevention department said on Monday, more than a decade after the region was hit by a tsunami that killed 226,000 people. A 9.15 magnitude earthquake struck off …
This report released ahead of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, warns that by 2050, urban populations exposed to hurricanes will increase from today's 310 million to 680 million. Urban assets vulnerable to sea level rise and flooding could reach 35 trillion U.S. dollars by 2070 - 10 times more …
The Report contains the results of performance audit of disaster management activities of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir covering the period from 2010-11 to 2014-15 including the drought of 2009, the cloudburst in Leh of 2010 and the floods of September 2014. The Report covers the disaster management activities …
This handbook is designed primarily for local government leaders and policy makers. It seeks to support public policy and decision making so they can implement activities to reduce disaster risk and build resilience. It sets out practical guidance for putting the “Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient“, into action. This …
Resilience comprises anticipative, mitigative, adaptive, reactive, and transformative capacities. This paper pioneer an approach of measuring resilience using the Resilient Capacity Index (RCI) by considering all the dimensions. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to give relevant weights to the different indicators. OLS and censored regression analysis were used to …
There are 170 million Facebook users on the African continent, including some 70 percent of people who are online, and most of them are familiar with features like “Safety Check” in times of a natural disaster or emergency. That’s true, for example, in the ongoing Western Cape wildfires where Facebook …
The first edition of this quarterly series showcases a selection of four papers, which address the impacts of droughts and floods, disaster resilience, and the role of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in disaster management. As part of the DRR Expert Conversation Series in each issue, external experts have …
Governments of 100 countries still lacking disaster early warning systems have a duty to invest in the projects, which could save lives and property, and reap longer-term economic benefits, the U.N.'s meteorological agency said. With vulnerable countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands among those still without early …
Judgement of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Foundation for Restoration of National Values Vs Union of India & Others dated 08/05/2017 regarding unprecedented flood and landslide disaster that occurred in Uttarakhand in 2013. The disaster led to widespread damage to life, limb and property and according …
