Knowledge Base highlights and editors' picks

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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.

A collapsed church in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti in 2010

Update

18 August 2021

CCRIF to make US$40 million payout to Haiti following devastating August 14 earthquake

CCRIF SPC will make a payout of approximately US$40 million to the Government of Haiti following the devastating magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Haiti on August 14th.

Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, the

Update

19 August 2021

As populations grow, how will thirsty cities survive their drier futures?

Future water stress can be overcome, but work needs to start now before extreme weather events, including mega droughts and floods, hit.

Mongabay

A firefighter starts a fire to serve as a firebreak

Update

18 August 2021

‘Learn to live with fire’: a Californian firefighter’s plea

As the Dixie fire rages across California, local firefighter Will Harling believes an indigenous practice of controlled burns can protect the land.

Thomson Reuters Foundation, trust.org

Update

18 August 2021

New report shows impacts of climate change and extreme weather in Latin America and Caribbean

The "State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2020" provides a snapshot of the effects of increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, storms and retreating glaciers.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Update

18 August 2021

How disasters reshape supply chains: Lessons for the COVID-19 crisis

This column examines the long-term impact of the 2011 earthquake in Japan on auto and electronics supply chains using data on imports of Japanese products worldwide.

VOX EU

Update

18 August 2021

Poorly ventilated schools are a super-spreader event waiting to happen. It may be as simple as opening windows

In or out of lockdown, poorly ventilated schools are a super-spreader event waiting to happen.

Conversation Media Group, the

Aftermath of Typhoon Nina in the Philippines (2016)

Update

17 August 2021

How interdisciplinary tools and approaches helped households and businesses along Ocoy River become flood-resilient

Silliman University and the Oscar M. Lopez Center brought together experts to create tools to reduce disaster risks along rivers.

Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc.

Documents and publications

17 August 2021

State of the climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2020

This report provides a snapshot of climate trends, variability, observed high-impact weather and climate events, and associated risks and impacts in key sensitive sectors for the period January–December 2020 in the LAC region.

Wildfire Crescent Fire in Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, USA

Research briefs

13 August 2021

Wildfire smoke may have contributed to thousands of extra COVID-19 cases and deaths in western U.S. in 2020

Thousands of COVID-19 cases and deaths in California, Oregon, and Washington between March and December 2020 may be attributable to increases in fine particulate air pollution.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Update

17 August 2021

IPCC report reinforces need for more investment in flood resilience

The latest IPCC report is a reminder of why we must invest in flood resilience and adaptation and focus attention on vulnerable communities already living with the impacts of climate change.

Flood Resilience Portal