March 18, 2016

What happened this week?

Chile. National summary and wildfires update: As of March 13, 2016, it was reported at the national level: 16 active fires in 4 regions, an area of 941 hectares of vegetation has been affected; 66 fires controlled and extinguished in 8 regions with 4,851 hectares of vegetation loss. Currently there are no reports of deaths or injuries or displaced population... Read more

Brazil. 21 dead due to floods and landslides in the region of São Paulo: A rainstorm and subsequent flooding has affected the metropolitan region of São Paulo in São Paulo state since March 12, 2016. At least 21 deaths, as well as dozens of injured were reported by authorities. Some of the deaths and injuries resulted from landslides in the municipalities of Mairiporã and Itapevi and the city of Francisco Morato... Read more

Ecuador. Flooding in the Napo province: Twelve hours of heavy rainfall in Napo province caused four rivers to overflow and flood homes on March 13, 2016. 20 families were relocated into shelters while 20 other families stayed with relatives... Read more

United States. Floods South Central U.S.

• Heavy rains and severe weather caused flooding in eastern TX, LA, southern AR, and parts of MS on March 13, 2016.
• In Louisiana, nearly 18 thousand voluntary evacuations were registered statewide; evacuations were along the Sabine River. As of March 14, 2014 there were 3 confirmed deaths; 252 persons have been housed in 16 shelters. Road closures have been widespread due to flooding.
• In Mississippi, 649 homes were impacted by the floods of which 200 were severely damaged. As of March 14, 2016 5 shelters were open with 29 occupants. In Tennessee, 7 homes were evacuated and 1 confirmed fatality.
• In Texas, More than 400 homes flooded and 7 shelters open with 112 occupants as of March 15, 2016, 4 injuries and 1 missing. The Governor has issued an Emergency Proclamation for 17 counties. Mandatory/voluntary evacuations are in effect for Orange County and Deweyville due to flood waters... Read more

Bolivia. 

• The effects of El Nino since it began in November 2015: Severe weather brought on by El Niño has affected 60,000 people in Bolivia and left 19 people dead from November 2015 to Mach 15, 2016, according to the Defense Minister. In addition, 31,000 hectares (76, 603 acres) of crops and 15, 800 livestock have been affected, as reported by the Civil Defense. Currently, the government is focusing on humanitarian assistance... Read more
• Heavy rainfall and hail storm caused power outages and damaged a hospital in Cochabamba Department: A hailstorm followed by heavy rainfall on March 13, 2016 destroyed crops in the municipality of Quillacollo and caused flooding in the towns of Ironcollo and Marquina in the department of Cochabamba. The events caused power outages to some villages and damaged the roof and hospital equipment of a health center in Marquina... Read more

Interesting Facts

Using statistics to predict rogue waves. Scientists have developed a mathematical model to derive the probability of extreme waves. This model uses multi-point statistics, the joint statistics of multiple points in time or space, to predict how likely extreme waves are... Read more


What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Mexico to host 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. The National Coordinator of Civil Protection of Mexico, Mr. Luis Felipe Puente, and the head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Mr. Robert Glasser, today announced that Mexico will host the next global conference on how to reduce loss of life and economic losses from disasters caused by man-made and natural hazards, the most important multilateral forum in its kind... Read more

World salutes Sendai Framework. The international community today celebrated the first anniversary of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the world’s most comprehensive blueprint for curbing the impact of natural and man-made hazards, with 20 million people taking to social media to mark the occasion... Read more