April 22, 2016

The Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR)

analyze situations in Ecuador

The Inter-American Committee on NaturalDisaster Reduction (IACNDR) held a special meeting at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS), to consider the situations in the Republic of Ecuador on this past Saturday, April 16, 2016, in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that struck this country... Read more

What happened this week?

Ecuador. Earthquake of 7.8 MW with the epicenter between Pedernales and the town of Cojimies: The earthquake’s impact to the north of the province of Manabí affected the provinces along the Pacific coast of Ecuador: Esmeraldas, Manabí, Guayas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. The 6 provinces most affected are: Manabí, Esmeraldas, Guayas, Santo Domingo, Santa Elena and Los Ríos. The population in the area where the magnitude of the earthquake was greater (scale MMI VI to VIII) is 2,480,000 according to USGS/PAGER... Read more

Uruguay. Deadly tornado kills seven and severe storms displace 7,920 people: As of April 19, 2016 seven people were killed by a deadly tornado that occurred in the city of Dolores and constant rains that flooded several areas in the northwest part of the country. SINAE has reported that due to the increase in rainfall, the number of displaced has risen to 7,920 in 18 departments. Of that, a total of 2, 261 were evacuated and 5,659 self-evacuated. INMUET has reported seven departments are under an orange level alert: Artigas, Salto, Rivera, Tacuarembó, Cerro Largo, Treinta y Tres, and Rocha... Read more

United States. Flash Flooding in Texas caused five fatalities: A state of emergency was declared for 9 counties due to severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall which brought 10-18 inches of rain since April 17, 2016 across southeast Texas, including the Houston metro area, causing significant flash flooding. Over 1,200 high water rescues and 1,000 homes are flooded; assessments are ongoing. Multiple roads are closed in the Houston area. 15,000 residents remain without power in Texas; 14 shelters are open. Local and state level responses have been activated. A threat for localized flash flooding and additional significant river flooding will continue through mid-week... Read more

Argentina. Displaced due to flooding: The provinces with the largest number of evacuees are Chaco (4,666) and Santa Fe (2,517). Entre Ríos is the province with the largest number of affected (14,003)... Read more

Interesting Facts

A new Argentinian scientific satellite passed its last exam with honors. The mission of SAOCOM (Microwave Earth Observation Satellites) is composed of 2 high-capacity satellites, the largest ever built in the Southern Hemisphere, weighing 1600 kg each. Their main purpose will be monitoring for the prevention of disasters by means of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The radar emits high power microwave pulses using a large antenna of 2.5 x 10m, and will be able to inspection situations before or as they occur, no matter the hour or weather conditions... Read more

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Seismic safety is a matter of life and death. The hundreds of deaths in Ecuador and the dozens of victims in Japan are a stark reminder of a basic fact about earthquakes: it is buildings, and not the shake itself, that claim most lives... Read more

Paris Agreement must deliver long-term climate stability. The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction called on signatories to the Paris Agreement to go beyond their existing commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if the world is to avoid catastrophic future weather events... Read more