February 26, 2016

What happened this week?

Paraguay. Heavy Rainfall caused flooding in Concepción: Heavy rainfall that began on February 19, 2016 caused storm drain systems to collapse and affect sewage systems, streets and homes in Concepción. The Paraguay River is overflowing causing flash floods to continue and affect the street used by vehicles and pedestrians. Shelter is available for those who are affected... Read more

Argentina. Heat wave and power outages continue: A maximum temperature of 32°C and an elevated heat index is expected in the city of Buenos Aires and its greater surrounding area as of February 23, 2016. In addition, due to high temperatures throughout February, multiple power outages have also occurred in the city and its surrounding areas. The affected areas include Ingeniero Maschwich and Tres de Febrero, two places that until now had never appeared as critical locations in scheduled blackouts... Read more

United States. Severe weather outbreak along Gulf Coast: Severe weather occurred across the Gulf Coast on February 23, 2016. 30 preliminary tornados were reported in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Downed trees and power lines were reported across the affected areas as well as 160 damaged RV trailers and 4 damaged buildings. In total, there are unconfirmed reports of 4 dead and between 50-100 people injured in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida... Read more

Peru. 

• More than 900 homes flooded in Arequipa region: Heavy rains affecting Arequipa region has left more than 900 homes flooded and 7 destroyed as of February 24, 2016. According to the Arequipa Provincial Municipality Civil Defense report, the most affected districts are La Joya, Yura, and Alto Selva Alegre. In addition, roads were heavily affected... Read more
• Heavy rains cause landslide and damages to crops and infrastructure in Puno region: People are reported missing and dead after a landslide occurred in Puno region as of February 24, 2016. Incalculable damage has also been reported in 3 provinces (Sandia, San Antonio de Putina and Azángaro) where heavy rains caused floods, collapsed bridges, and damaged homes and crops. Rains are expected to continue until February 25, 2016, mainly in the northern provinces of Puno region... Read more

Bolivia. Heavy rainfall leads to flooding of several rivers: Heavy rainfall caused flooding of several rivers in the city of La Paz, particularly the Huayñajahuira River, which generated large-scale flooding in the southern portion of the city on February 24, 2016. Bridges were damaged and according to La Red 114, homes were also reported flooded... Read more

Interesting Facts

New app turns smartphones into worldwide seismic network. Sensor networks to detect earthquakes are expensive, and many nations have only rudimentary seismic networks. Seismologists have now developed an app that turns smartphones into sensors to collect ground shaking data for study, and eventually to provide early warning to users. The app is called MyShake. Its greatest value may be in countries without a traditional seismic network... Read more

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Sendai takes root in Africa. African countries have held fresh talks to drive forward their implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a global agreement that is part of wider efforts to make development sustainable... Read more

February 19, 2016

What happened this week?

Panama. Due to irregular rainfall in 2015, La Laja dam in the central area of Azuero, has lost about 70% of the water stored as of February 16, 2016. La Laja dam is one of the largest water reservoirs in Azuero and supplies water for agricultural crops and farm animals in the surrounding areas. The low water storage has left farm animals in the districts of Villa Lourdes and Guabas without water... Read more

Argentina. Cordoba. Families evacuated due to heavy rain, wind and hail: Approximately 200 people were evacuated due to a heavy storm of rain, wind and hail in the capital of Cordoba Province and surrounding towns on February 15, 2016. Several families from the northern and western parts of the capital were among the evacuees. In addition, there was serious damage to infrastructure, public services and housing. Authorities are gradually restoring power services as of February 16, 2016... Read more

Mexico. Wildfire affected over 200 hectares of grassland in Durango State: Four wildfires have affected more than 118 hectares of grassland that occurred in the State of Durango during the weekend of February 13, 2016. CONAFOR urges people to take precaution... Read more

Bolivia. Four provinces in La Paz affected by drought: More than 70% of the provinces of Gualberto, Villarroel, Pacajes, Ingavi and Aroma in La Paz department are being plagued by drought as of February 17, 2016. More than 8,000 llamas are sick with symptoms of dehydration and various skin infections and authorities warn of a serious loss of food supply in the department if there is no help... Read more

Colombia. Emergency in Ráquira due to wildfire: The wildfire consumed 100 hectares of vegetation in Ráquira, in the department of Boyacá on February 15, 2016. Four municipalities have a cloud of smoke in their inner cities. Volunteers and air mobilization support is expected to help combat the wildfire... Read more

Interesting Facts

Flood risk can be higher with levees than without them. People living behind levees on floodplains may not be as immune to flood damage as they think, according to results of a study... Read more

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Science bodies set to join push to cut disaster risk. At least 65 science bodies say they want to join a UN effort to lower global disaster risk... Read more

February 12, 2016

What happened this week?

United States. Major Disaster Declaration approved for Texas: A major disaster declaration has been approved for the State of Texas due to severe winter storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding. Public assistance will be provided for 25 counties and hazard mitigation will be provided statewide... Read more

Ecuador. Strong waves cause structural damage in Manabí and Esmeraldas: Strong waves affected the coastal areas of Ecuador and caused damages in the western provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas. Homes, buildings, and local agricultural produce were damaged by the waves... Read more

Colombia. Wildfires in Sierra Nevada and Macaraquilla: A wildfire in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in the municipality of Aracataca has consumed more than 1,000 hectares of crops and dry forest as of February 10, 2016. The municipality of Aracataca has 60 fire brigade units and a helicopter to disperse water over the fire to control it. The governor of Magdalena has implemented three tank trucks to transport water. Another wildfire is occurring in Macaraquilla. The apparent causes of these fires are high temperatures due to El Niño and indiscriminate burning... Read more

Interesting Facts

The quake-maker you've never heard of: Cascadia. Mother Earth slowly reveals her secrets, and this time, it's a fault line deep in the belly of the planet... Read more

The human cost of the hottest year on record. The hottest year on record, 2015, has confirmed that weather and climate-related disasters now dominate disaster trends linked to natural hazards, according to a new analysis... Read more

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Sendai progress in the spotlight. Governments are this week stepping up efforts to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction by crafting ways to measure progress in curbing deaths and economic losses through to 2030... Read more

West coast earthquake early-warning system gets $3.6 million boost. A $3.6 million grant was awarded to scientists working to advance an earthquake early-warning system that could save hundreds if not thousands of lives on the West Coast... Read more

February 5, 2016

What happened this week?

United States. Continuous Flooding in Oklahoma State: Continuous flooding has been reported in the State of Oklahoma since December 26, 2015. A state of emergency has been requested by the president to receive public and individual assistance for 50 counties and hazard mitigation statewide.  Read more

Colombia. Red alert due to Wild Fires in Caqueta and Santander Department: Wild Fires in four municipalities of Caqueta Department, and 85 out of the 87 municipalities in Santander Department resulted in a red alert for wild fires since January 30, 2016. Severe drought in more than a dozen of the municipalities required at least 60,000 liters of water to be delivered by trucks... Read more

Interesting Facts

Can slow creep along thrust faults help forecast megaquakes? In Japan and areas like the Pacific Northwest where megathrust earthquakes are common, scientists may be able to better forecast large quakes based on periodic increases and decreases in the rate of slow, quiet slipping along the fault... Read more

El Niño lets landslide scientists get back to their research. The El Niño rains pounding the Bay Area are delivering both a threat and an opportunity to some of the region's most precarious hillsides: After four dry winters, scientists are finally getting a chance to gather information that may improve their ability to predict landslides -- a science that has been notoriously imprecise... Read more

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Building back better with Sendai. The ten-year old International Recovery Platform is getting a new lease of life thanks to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction... Read more

White House summit on earthquake resilience. White House officials on Tuesday plan to discuss the West Coast's capability to detect earthquakes as early as possible and how to improve existing systems... Read more