May 5, 2017

What happened this week?

Canada.

1. The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-6.3 aftershock has shaken the corner of British Columbia, near the boundary with Alaska, nearly two hours after a magnitude-6.2 earthquake hit the same area...Read more
2. An Argentine mountain climber is stranded alone about halfway up Canada's highest peak, braving high winds and awaiting a rescue that may still be days away...Read more

Cuba. Almost 1 Million Cubans Impacted by Intense Drought; the reservoirs on the island are registering 36.5 percent of their filling capacity. In the central provinces of Sancti Spiritus, Ciego de Avila and Camaguey, where the drought is especially acute, reservoirs are below 25 percent...Read more

Dominican Republic. Torrential rains put thousands more at risk of flooding and disease, more heavy rains are expected in the Dominican Republic over the next couple of weeks, more than 9,000 people have already been forced to leave their homes into shelters as heavy rains and flooding have swept over southern Dominican Republic since late April...Read more

United States.

1.      At least 10 people have been killed by tornadoes or flooding in the South and Midwest by a storm that also dumped a rare late-season blizzard in western Kansas on Sunday...Read more

2.     Dozens of firefighters were battling a brush fire that broke out in the Highgrove community of Riverside County Sunday afternoon and was spreading rapidly, threatening several homes; in Highgrove, California...Read more

3.     Thunder storms ripped across Texas, the South and Midwest this weekend killing at least 15 and spawning tornadoes and floods that left parts of the countryside devastated...Read more

4.     Southwest Missouri received considerable amounts of rain late Friday night and into Saturday. Areas are flooded, roadways are closed, sink holes in some parts and the town of Seneca is completely closed down due to the flooding...Read more

Interesting Facts

Earthquake probability maps show nearly all of Japan at risk. Compared with the 2016 data released in June, the sharpest rise in probability for an intensity-6 quake was around the city of Sanyo-Onoda in Yamaguchi Prefecture. It increased by 3.6 percentage points to 17.1 percent...Read more

How drone swarms could help protect us from tornadoes. In the future, envisions meteorologists flying drone swarms into severe weather to measure the parameters at specific points throughout the storm. Fed into a computer model, this information could indicate whether a thunderstorm is likely to turn into a tornado from a safe distance...Read more

Monitoring groundwater drought without measuring it. Seventy-five percent of EU inhabitants depend on groundwater for their water supply, which makes groundwater management extremely important. To manage groundwater effectively during drought periods like 2015, data about groundwater levels are needed in (near-) real time. However, observations of groundwater levels are rarely available in real time, even in Europe, one of the most densely monitored areas of the world...Read more

Researchers develop radar simulator to characterize scattering of debris in tornadoes. The first numerical polarimetric radar simulator studies and characterizes the scattering of debris particles in tornadoes and transmits radio wave pulses horizontally and vertically...Read more

What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Arab region sets stance for Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. The Doha Declaration focuses on the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2030, with a strong emphasis on aligning the region’s efforts with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a 15-year plan adopted by the international community in 2015...Read more

Caribbean Rolls Out Plans to Reduce Climate Change Hazards. The regional plan of action you will adopt . . . will help and guide national and local governments in their efforts to strengthen the links between the 2030 agenda for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction...Read more

Ottawa gets it right on funding for disaster mitigation. The investment is designed to reduce the almost $9-billion spent by the federal government in unbudgeted disaster relief expenditures from 2005 projected through 2020...Read more

Overcoming Barriers to Meeting the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Canada’s adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction represents an important opportunity to manage flood risk, which is the most common and costly hazard facing Canadians...Read more