May 29, 2015

What happened this week?

United States of America: rain spreads destruction in Houston, killing four. Torrential rains in Houston left at least four people dead, with many stranded and much of the city at a standstill... Read More 

Mexico: 13 dead after tornado. A powerful tornado touched down in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, near the U.S.-Mexico border. At least 13 people were killed... Read More

Colombia, Antioquia. Heavy rains generated new flooding in Salgar, Antioquia...  Read More 

Interesting Facts

Smartphone app could save lives during earthquake say inventors. A new smartphone app can collect data and users can be alerted in the event of an earthquake... Read More

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Colorado considers system to predict fire, flood behavior. A new technology designed to predict flooding and wildfire behavior. It uses forecasts and radar and aircraft observations of the weather and dozens of other variables to predict what's going to happen... Read More

May 22, 2015

What happened this week?

Colombia: Landslide kills dozens. Heavy rains in northwest Colombia caused a landslide that killed more than 80 people as mud rushed into homes and bridges... Read More

Brazil: Drought in 94 municipalities of the Nordeste and Pinheiros. Emergency due to the drought... Read More

Paraguay: Floods. Increased the number of families housed in 24 shelters established by the COMUEDA (Municipal Council of Emergencies and Disasters of Asunción) and the Secretariat of National Emergency (SEN)... Read More

Chile: Floods. 42 people affected in the commune of Hualaihué, after the overflowing of the rivers La Máquina, Tronador y Queche... Read More

Interesting Facts

Mobile phone data analysis for Disaster Management. Big data analysis can also reveal signals and proxy indicators that reflect certain human behaviors which could be valuable to sustainable development and humanitarian work... Read More

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Tech In Space And On Ground Helps Save Lives After Disaster. FINDER, a device no larger than a carry-on suitcase weighing less than 20 pounds, detected the heartbeats of the victims through 10 feet of wood, mud, and brick... Read More

Tokyo's Flood Tunnels. How an underground network of tunnels is protecting the world's largest city from the threat of flooding... Read More

May 15, 2015

What happened this week?

United States of America, Texas. Tornadoes: 5 dead, dozens injured after tornadoes blast central U.S... Read More

Brazil. Drought. Municipalities of Boa Esperança, Mucurici and São Mateus in Holy Spirit, declared in emergency situation... Read More

Interesting Facts

More than 143M people prone to earthquakes, scientists say. More than 143 million people in the Lower 48 states now live on shaky ground, earthquake scientists say... Read More

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

VII International Course: Integral Risk Management, resilience threats natural geodynamic and climatic... Read More

Women of world urged to take more active role in humanitarian action. Women from 50 countries across the globe have emphasized the need for women to be part of all levels of decision-making in humanitarian action both as actors and beneficiaries so as to ensure cost-effectiveness, during an international summit held in Istanbul... Read More

May 8, 2015

What happened this week?

Ecuador: Esmeraldas. Floods. The rivers Rioverde, Chumundé y Meribe destroyed 8 houses and flooded 200 more houses in 16 villages in Chontaduro and Chumunde... Read More

Mexico: Guerrero. Mexico, declares state of emergency after significant coastal flooding... Read More

Paraguay. Heavy rains cause damage in the country. Streets and homes flooded with evacuation of families.  Some hospitals were affected... Read More

Centroamerica. Immense Ocean Swell Generates Massive Waves, Flooding Coastal Areas. (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama) 

United States of America: Oklahoma. Oklahoma City received as much as 8 inches of rain,  200 homes destroyed and 2,000 damaged statewide, numerous road closures, flooded structures and water rescues... Read More

Interesting Facts

Researchers: Seasonal Tornado Forecasts Could Soon Be Possible. Weather researchers are working on a new method they hope will allow emergency responders to prepare weeks ahead of time when tornadoes are likely... Read More

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Guatemala marks the preamble to the World Humanitarian Summit of 2016. Guatemala was host the VII Regional Meeting on International Humanitarian Assistance Mechanisms (MIAH) and World Humanitarian Summit Consultation... Read More

Scientists intend to use captured carbon dioxide to produce clean energy. Using CO2 for Dispatchable Renewable Power Generation... Read More

May 1, 2015

Was the Nepal earthquake twice as big as we thought?

Amidst the destruction, there was a spat on the issue between the US and China. The US Geological Survey (USGS), which monitors earthquakes worldwide, reported that the Nepal earthquake measured at a magnitude of 7.8. However, the China Earthquakes Network Center (CENC), which hopes to provide a similar service, measured the same earthquake at a magnitude of 8.1.

A difference of 0.3 in the magnitude of the seismic activity may not seem like much, but the apparently small differences in magnitudes of earthquakes reported by different agencies around the world are, in real-life, huge. Because if we are to believe the Chinese data, the Nepal earthquake may have been 2.8 times bigger than if we believe the US data.

This is because of how earthquakes are measured. The scale earthquakes are measured on is not linear...  Read More

What happened this week?

Chile. Calbuco volcano activity. Regional Red Alert due to the volcano's activity. The exclusion area is maintained at 20 km from the crater. 4,514 people have been evacuated and there are 323 in shelters. Sixteen shelters have been set up at regional level. The sanitary alert continues. There is concern for animals being affected by the ash fall... Read More

Chile. Calbuco volcano. Ash from Chile volcano Calbuco hits Brazil and Uruguay. Damage to livestock in Argentina... (Read More ; Read More) 

Cuba, Havana. Heavy rainfall has caused the death of two people and at least 27 landslides. Shelters have been activated for the population. In Old Havana 151 people had to be evacuated. The rainfall and wind in the capital, on Wednesday, in addition to fatalities caused material losses... Read More

Brazil. The Ministry of National Integration has declared an emergency situation in six municipalities in the state of Amazonas, and in Nova Venecia, Espiritu Santo, due to drought... Read More

Brazil, Salvador. Deadly landslide. At least 14 people were killed in landslides in the city of Salvador in north-east Brazil... Read More

Interesting Facts

Why women are more at risk than men in earthquake-ravaged Nepal. Natural disasters are thought to be indiscriminate killers—but is that strictly true?. It turns out disasters affect women much more than men... Read More

Meaning – Earthquake resistant: Key is to allow the building to swing. Quake-resistant buildings, an expression being widely used these days, refer to buildings that are designed to withstand the shock of earthquakes and not crumble... Read More

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Earthquake Simulator Aims to Prevent Future Devastation. A construction firm has unveiled a new earthquake simulator it hopes will help prevent the sort of death and devastation caused by mega-quakes... Read More

EU Supports People In Guatemala & Honduras Affected By Drought And Coffee Rust. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a contribution of €3 million (US$3.1 million) from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO) to provide food assistance to approximately 73,000 people affected by the drought in Guatemala and Honduras... Read More