Latest additions to the knowledge base

Suzana Vier of Rede Brasil Atual reports that in the wake of catastrophic flooding, geologists and planners suggest steps to manage risk areas and call upon strengthened governance, capacity, information and public awareness, risk identification and mapping (in Portuguese)...

'We now have the opportunity to conduct all sorts of experiments in this unique natural laboratory...It helps us to understand and mitigate natural hazards like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions' said Dr Tim Wright of the University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment...

This booklet explains what an earthquake is; why and where they occur; how the vibrations from an earthquake travel as waves through the Earth; how we measure them; the Earth’s largest and most damaging earthquakes; and, provides information about

Back-to-back to the Global Launch in Bonn, Germany, two more launches are taking place on 31 May 2010 with more cities committing to getting ready, reducing the risks and becoming resilient to disasters. The launch in the Americas will be held at the Andean Community of Nations headquarters in Lima, Peru, where the mayors of Santa Tecla, El Salvador and Port-au-Prince, Haiti will be signing up to the 2010-11 World Disaster Reduction Campaign ‘Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready’. At the International Disaster and Risk Conference (IDRC) in Davos, Switzerland, Baofeng County, P. R. China and the City of Davos will join the campaign in a plenary session partly devoted to the campaign launch. > Watch the Campaign Launch live in Davos! > More information on the Campaign Launch at the International Disaster and Risk Conference (IDRC) > UN Secretary-General's Message to International Disaster and Risk Conference (IDRC)

Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, May 31 - June 4, 2010 Volcanic risks are of great urban concern, as many settlements are situated on volcano flanks or in historic paths of mud and lava flows. COV6-Tenerife is an international forum where experts will discuss ways to improve volcanic risk management in densely populated volcanic regions. Henri Gaudru, President of the European Volcanologist Society, will present the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction as well as the 2010-11 World Disaster Reduction Campaign “Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready” at the meeting.

This report outlines a methodology for mapping glacial lakes and identifying those that may be dangerous. Preliminary findings on selected glacial lakes are presented. While the danger has sometimes been much exaggerated, it is nevertheless essential that

The Dominican Today highlights the country's need for equipment such as weather radars and regrets that risk mitigation projects have not yet evolved into permanent and sustainable policies...

An 'active to extremely active' hurricane season is expected for the Atlantic Basin this year according to the seasonal outlook issued by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, as with every hurricane season, this outlook underscores the importance of having a hurricane preparedness plan in place...