Structural safety

Contemporary transportation infrastructure is not designed for the extreme levels of heat as the frequency and severity of high temperatures increases. Those in charge must respond to increased stress on infrastructure systems, with mitigation techniques

Launching this fall, the Southwest Florida Accelerator will focus on climate resilience and sustainability.

This document showcases how Concern Worldwide is working with Malawi’s Department of Housing to increase community awareness on flood-resilience infrastructure and training local artisanal builders to improve and construct stronger houses.

New York City is investing US$95 million in a Cloudburst project in Homecrest, Brooklyn, using porous pavement and underground storage to reduce flooding, improve water quality, and strengthen resilience to intense rainfall driven by climate change.

Morocco’s Integrated Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Program shifted the country from disaster response to risk prevention, financing >300 resilience projects, protecting millions of people and strengthening disaster risk financing by 2025.

In this study, the authors focused on shrines in Nagoya located in areas with high flood-exposure potential to explore the traditional flood-resilience strategies of shrine spaces established over several centuries.

A major climate adaptation programme is helping Egypt strengthen coastal resilience in the Nile Delta through nature-based coastal protection, climate-informed planning, coastal monitoring systems and integrated coastal zone management.

The IDB is advancing regenerative roads in Latin America and the Caribbean by integrating nature-based solutions to reduce risks and costs due to poor logistics performance, growing exposure to natural hazards, and accelerating loss of natural capital.

Team from Kyoto University and Kobe University developed a method to identify wind damage and assess mitigation benefits using high-resolution drone and satellite imagery. Homes with blue tarps after a hurricane were used as a proxy for wind damage.

Europe’s high population density and ageing buildings make it vulnerable to earthquakes. From Naples to Bucharest, from Lorca to Athens, the continent sits on active fault lines and tells the story of decades of delayed action.

This study aims to identify shelter management challenges, existing practices, and resident-driven recommendations in four unions of Sarankhola, southwest Bangladesh, while also developing a perceived cyclone risk map.

The approach is like a Costco for heat pumps, and it’s helping make home installations more accessible as heat waves worsen.

This issue brings together field experiences, policy perspectives, community voices, and practical lessons on how infrastructure can better protect people from rising extreme heat.

An independent evaluation has found the $741 million Queensland Resilient Homes Fund (RHF) improved flood resilience and supported recovery for thousands of homeowners across 39 local government areas following the 2021–2022 Southern Queensland floods.

In a summer of wildfires severe enough to trigger Spain’s first-ever national emergency for a forest fire, a historic stone structure called the Nevera de Castro stands in a landscape burned bare in the Castellón region

A growing wildfire threat and rising home insurance costs are driving many homeowners to make their homes more wildfire resistant. Many upgrades also provide lasting benefits beyond lower wildfire losses that can offset the initial investment over time.

While there are many safety concerns after a wildfire, three deserve particular attention: chemicals in surviving buildings, the safety of drinking water and whether burned lots are ready for rebuilding.

When an earthquake shakes a building, many small cracks should form at the base of a steel-reinforced wall to distribute stress. But research finds Colombian building walls are so thin that even with adequate steel reinforcement, they can still fail.

As the majority of Tuvalu’s population applies to relocate to Australia, a haunting question is being confronted: what happens to a country if the people have to leave?

A paper published in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences in April 2026 uses the 2025 California wildfires as a starting point to discuss broader systemic failures in disaster risk reduction (DRR).

A model developed by Washington State University researchers could someday help communities determine how best to motivate homeowners to prepare their properties for possible wildfires.

Effective wildfire mitigation requires coordinated action across homes, communities, and landscapes, with community-scale action playing a leading role in reducing overall risk.

Facing severe geological disasters, China is expanding risk management from individual hazard points to entire zones and deploying advanced technologies to minimize casualties and property losses.

In anticipation of future flooding, Australia could combine traditional structural and flood mitigation measures, such as dams and levees, with nature-inspired designs.

A government program elevates some Louisiana homes at no cost, but skepticism and unanswered questions are slowing participation.

A new paint job on your house could be an opportunity to make your home look – and feel – a little cooler.

A 2019 Australian bushfire provided a rare opportunity to scientists by creating an effect analogous to what could be achieved through the geoengineering technique known as marine cloud brightening.

Simply improving building codes will not achieve effective outcomes again earthquakes without robust enforcement and adherence to retrofitting regulations says this author.

An Oregon State University study found that mechanically ventilated spaces were better than window AC and mini-splits at lowering indoor particulate matter concentrations.

A severe winter snow drought has left snowpack levels far below normal across the American West in 2026.

The world continues to underinvest in heat adaptation and climate resilience more broadly. Companies that lead on adaptation can not only protect their bottom lines but also contribute to a more stable and resilient economy.

This publication compiles national experiences and international best practices for managing disaster and climate-related risks, offering practical, evidence-based guidance aimed at a wide range of stakeholders.

New Zealand, with its mild, maritime climate, might seem insulated from such extremes. But it, too, is expected to experience significantly warmer temperatures in future.

The world’s largest mangrove forest is sinking due to climate change, threatening millions of lives and livelihoods. Could ancient terracotta provide help?

Install mobile flood barriers to keep flood waters out. Apply waterproof coatings to protect exteriors from water damage. Build raised entrances to increase thresholds above flood levels.

Studies of the aftermath of fast-moving wildfires like the Carr Fire in Shasta County and the Camp Fire in Butte County , both in 2018, show that blazes can flatten entire neighborhoods, leaving only one or two houses standing.

This solutions brief shares practical and replicable local knowledge of this approach in Nij Goddimari village in Lalmonirhat, Bangladesh, a community which faces chronic flooding and waterlogging due to its proximity to the Saniajan River.

This study conducted field research and theoretical calculations to gain an overall understanding of the seismic performance of these buildings.

This study conducts a comparative analysis of the presence and evolution of disaster and earthquake-focused courses in Turkish public and foundation universities between 2022 and 2025.

Japan's government has approved a revised plan to prepare for a major earthquake centered on the greater Tokyo area.

The Netherlands has spent decades building and perfecting one of the most sophisticated water-defense systems in the world.

Green wall installation can provide cooling effects for both indoor and outdoor environments.

This illustrated booklet documents the enduring wisdom of traditional Sudanese homes and the indigenous, low-cost techniques communities have long used to stay cool during extreme heat.

This monograph provides a comprehensive examination of the history, regulation, and elimination of chemical weapons over the past century.

The requirement that buildings must be constructed to withstand Category Five hurricanes is a critical feature of the revised Building Code.

The 2026 IDDRR aims to raise global awareness of the centrality of the home in disaster risk reduction, advocate for stronger governance and investment in resilient housing.