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Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2013
This issue presents an overview, both global and regional, of the catastrophes that occurred in 2013 and their impacts in terms of number of victims and economic and insured losses. It includes a chapter on fostering climate change resilience, which argues that dealing with climate change requires a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions alongside an integrated approach to disaster risk management and describes how cost-effective adaptation measures could avoid up to 68% of climate change risks. It also focuses on Typhoon Haiyan, which was the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of the year.
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Available online: http://media.swissre.com/documents/sigma1_2014_en.pdf
Published by: Swiss Re ; 2014
This issue presents an overview, both global and regional, of the catastrophes that occurred in 2013 and their impacts in terms of number of victims and economic and insured losses. It includes a chapter on fostering climate change resilience, which argues that dealing with climate change requires a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions alongside an integrated approach to disaster risk management and describes how cost-effective adaptation measures could avoid up to 68% of climate change risks. It also focuses on Typhoon Haiyan, which was the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of the year.
According to this report, in 2013, there were 308 disaster events, of which 150 were natural catastrophes and 158 man-made. Almost 26 000 people lost their lives or went missing in the disasters. The report shows that disaster events continue to generate increasing financial losses alongside ongoing economic development, population growth and global urbanization, in spite of the emergency preparedness and disaster risk management progress in 2013.Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free)Tags: Climate change ; Disaster Risk Financing, Disaster risk transfer ; Tropical cyclone ; Flood ; Philippines
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GOES-R ABI: Next Generation Satellite Imaging
This extension of the COMET lesson “GOES-R: Benefits of Next Generation Environmental Monitoring” focuses on the ABI instrument, the satellite's 16-channel imager. With increased spectral coverage, greater spatial resolution, more frequent imaging, and improved image pixel geolocation and radiometric performance, the ABI will bring significant advancements to forecasting, numerical weather prediction, and climate and environmental monitoring. The first part of the lesson introduces the ABI's key features and improvements over earlier GOES imagers. The second section lets users interactively ex ...
Available online: https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_module.php?id=987
Published by: The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research ; 2013
This extension of the COMET lesson “GOES-R: Benefits of Next Generation Environmental Monitoring” focuses on the ABI instrument, the satellite's 16-channel imager. With increased spectral coverage, greater spatial resolution, more frequent imaging, and improved image pixel geolocation and radiometric performance, the ABI will bring significant advancements to forecasting, numerical weather prediction, and climate and environmental monitoring. The first part of the lesson introduces the ABI's key features and improvements over earlier GOES imagers. The second section lets users interactively explore the ABI's 16 channels. The third section contains movies that show the advancements that the ABI will bring to the following application areas: convection, flooding, wildfires, land cover, hurricanes, climate, air quality, aviation, fog and low visibility, and coastal and marine. The final section contains additional resources pertaining to the ABI. The lesson has numerous takeaways, including ten application movies and an interactive spectrum.
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WMO shall not be liable for any damages incurred as a result of the use of its website. Please do not misuse our website.Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Standard Copyright)Tags: Climate ; Tropical cyclone ; Aerosols ; Weather forecasting ; Hurricane ; Numerical weather prediction ; Wildfire ; Turbulence ; Ozone ; Air quality ; Fog ; Lesson/ Tutorial ; Satellite Skills and Knowledge for Operational Meteorologists
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From disaster to renewal: the centrality of business recovery to community resilience
RAI, 2013This document is the summary of the findings of Griffith University, which was commissioned by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) to examine the experiences and learnings arising from the communities that have experienced the challenges of recovering from and adapting to the impact of disasters. Four case studies were undertaken to research communities recovering from disasters such as cyclones, floods and bushfires.
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Available online: http://www.regionalaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/From-Disaster-to- [...]
Published by: RAI ; 2013
This document is the summary of the findings of Griffith University, which was commissioned by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) to examine the experiences and learnings arising from the communities that have experienced the challenges of recovering from and adapting to the impact of disasters. Four case studies were undertaken to research communities recovering from disasters such as cyclones, floods and bushfires.
Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free)Tags: Natural hazards ; Disaster management ; Tropical cyclone ; Flood ; Wildfire ; Australia
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Topics geo natural catastrophes 2012: analyses, assessments, positions
Munich-Re, 2013This report shows that the natural catastrophe statistics for 2012 were largely dominated by atmospheric events, with no catastrophic earthquakes. Due to a number of major weather-related catastrophes, including severe tornado outbreaks in the spring and a record drought in the US Midwest, the USA accounted for an exceptionally high proportion of natural catastrophes. However, Russia also experienced unusually hot, dry conditions, and vast tracts of land were devastated by wildfires.
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Available online: http://preventionweb.net/go/33975
Published by: Munich-Re ; 2013
This report shows that the natural catastrophe statistics for 2012 were largely dominated by atmospheric events, with no catastrophic earthquakes. Due to a number of major weather-related catastrophes, including severe tornado outbreaks in the spring and a record drought in the US Midwest, the USA accounted for an exceptionally high proportion of natural catastrophes. However, Russia also experienced unusually hot, dry conditions, and vast tracts of land were devastated by wildfires.
Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free)Tags: Natural hazards ; Climate change ; Severe cold ; Tropical cyclone ; Drought ; Earthquake ; Flood ; Heat wave ; Landslide ; Tornado ; Tsunami ; Volcanic Eruption ; Wildfire ; Statistics
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Factsheet: overview of disaster risk reduction in the Arab region
UNDP, 2013This publication provides a short overview of disaster risk reduction in the Arab region. It focuses on the major risks, why in particular cities are at risk and what are the drivers of disaster risk in the region. Further, the factsheet provides information about the achievements and challenges for the future.
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Available online: http://www.preventionweb.net/files/31693_drrfactsheetarabregionfinal.pdf
Published by: UNDP ; 2013
This publication provides a short overview of disaster risk reduction in the Arab region. It focuses on the major risks, why in particular cities are at risk and what are the drivers of disaster risk in the region. Further, the factsheet provides information about the achievements and challenges for the future.
Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free)Tags: Natural hazards ; Disaster Risk Management (DRM) ; Climate change ; Urban zone management ; Tropical cyclone ; Drought ; Earthquake ; Flood ; Heat wave ; Landslide ; Tsunami ; Wildfire ; Region I - Africa ; Region II - Asia ; Algeria ; Bahrain ; Comoros ; Djibouti ; Egypt ; Iraq ; Jordan ; Kuwait ; Lebanon ; Libya (State of) ; Mauritania ; Morocco ; Oman ; Palestinian Authority ; Qatar ; Saudi Arabia ; Somalia ; Sudan ; Syrian Arab Republic ; Tunisia ; United Arab Emirates ; Yemen
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Investing in resilience: ensuring a disaster-resistant future
NCCARF, 2013This report examines the impacts on the built environment of increased intensities in weather-related natural hazard events, in order to identify the possibilities of using the regulatory mechanisms of building construction, housing insurance and planning in climate change adaptation. The research findings are restricted to these three aspects of the built environment, and further concentrated on adaptation responses that may be required in mitigation of the impacts of three types of hazards; tropical cyclones, floods and bushfires. Adaptation of the built environment to climate change is pred ...Permalink![]()
Disaster-induced internal displacement in the Philippines: the case of Tropical Storm Washi/Sendong
2013This report, from a consortium of experienced international and Filipino actors, highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the response to the Sendong disaster and the recovery process. It describes in detail the Philippines’ developing corpus of laws on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and draws out linkages between disaster preparedness, disaster impacts, responses, displacement and the subsequent, often prolonged, search for durable solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs).Permalink![]()
WorldRiskReport 2012: focus - environmental degradation and disasters
UNU, 2012The WorldRiskIndex seeks answers to the following questions: How probable is an extreme natural event, and will it affect people?
How vulnerable are the people to the natural hazards? To what extent can societies cope with acute disasters? Is a society taking preventive measures to face natural hazards to be reckoned with in the future?Permalink![]()
TC/TD, 0004. The second assessment report on the influence of climate change on tropical cyclones in the typhoon committee region
This report assesses the current state of the science on the relationship between climate change and tropical cyclone (TC) activity in the Western North Pacific (WNP) basin. It focuses in particular on identifying any possible influences of anthropogenic climate change on tropical cyclone track and impact area in this region.Permalink![]()
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TCP, 52. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Satellite Analysis of Tropical Cyclones
The first WMO International Workshop on Satellite Analysis of Tropical Cyclones (IWSATC) was organized by the WMO Tropical Cyclone Programme (TCP) in collaboration with the WMO World Weather Research Programme (WWRP), and the World Data Center (WDC) for Meteorology which is maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The main purpose of IWSATC is to increase the accuracy and reliability of satellite analyses of tropical cyclones (TCs) by sharing the latest knowledge and techniques amongst operational forecasters of the major warning centers and researchers. The or ...Permalink![]()
JCOMM Technical Report, 62. Proceedings: 7th TCP-JCOMM Workshop on Storm Surge and Wave Forecasting (SSW-7)
The Seventh TCP/JCOMM Workshop on Storm Surge and Wave Forecasting was held at Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), Macao, China, from 10 to 14 October 2011.
This series of workshop is co-organized by the Tropical Cyclone Programme (TCP) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) that is jointly supported by WMO and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), with a view to enhancing capacities of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) for reduction of mari ...Permalink![]()
Special Evaluation Study on ADB's Response to Natural Disasters and Disaster Risks
Asian Development Bank (ADB) - ADB, 2012Four of five cities classified as extreme risks among the world’s fastest growing urban areas are in Asia. The region accounts for half of the estimated economic cost of disasters over the past 20 years. By one estimate, floods and landslides cost the People’s Republic of China some $18 billion in 2010 alone, and Thailand an estimated $45 billion in 2011. Policymakers need to recognize that investments in disaster risk management are an essential means to sustain growth.Permalink![]()
Reducing risk of future disasters: priorities for decision makers
This report offers a strategic overview of the present and future potential of science to inform and enhance disaster risk reduction (DRR) over the next three decades. It considers disasters whose primary causes are natural hazards. Its focus is on disasters that occur in developing countries, but lessons from past disasters in developed countries are also drawn upon. It explores the diversity of impacts, and the extent to which these are, or should be, considered by decision makers but does not review in detail the scale of past and present disasters.Permalink![]()
Recovery from disaster: resilience, adaptability and perceptions of climate change
NCCARF, 2012Focused on four disaster-impacted communities in Australia - Beechworth, Bendigo, Ingham and Innisfail, this report makes recommendations for emergency management and local government policies. It presents a study that used Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory to analyse individual and, by proxy, community resilience to disasters. The theory provided a comprehensive framework to evaluate the interacting factors that support resilience across different disaster sites and communities. While Bronfenbrenner’s theory has been used extensively, the authors believe that this is the first tim ...Permalink![]()
MJO, Equatorial Waves, and Tropical Cyclogenesis
This case study focuses on monitoring of the MJO and equatorial waves and their role in tropical cyclogenesis. Learners will use conceptual models to understand the structure of the MJO and equatorial waves. They will identify and monitor those circulations using geostationary satellite images. 850-hPa synoptic analysis is used to track equatorial Rossby and mixed Rossby-gravity waves. Focus is on May 2002, a period when an MJO and associated equatorial waves spawned sets of twin cyclones over the Indian Ocean. This case study is similar to a synoptic meteorology laboratory exercise but is des ...Permalink![]()
JCOMM Technical Report, 68. 8th JCOMM-TCP Workshop on Storm Surge and Wave Forecasting (SSW-8): proceedings
The Eighth JCOMM-TCP Workshop on Storm Surge and Wave Forecasting (SSW-8) was held at the Institute for Meteorological Training and Research (IMTR), Nairobi, Kenya, from 19 to 23 November 2012.
This series of workshop is co-organized by the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) and the WMO Tropical Cyclone Programme (TCP), with a view to enhancing capacities of the National Hydrological and Meteorological Services (NMHSs) in providing necessary forecasting and warning services against natural marine hazards that complement b ...Permalink![]()
Pounds of prevention, a disaster risk reduction story: focus on Mozambique
This edition travels to Mozambique and presents a cyclone early warning system that combines technology with community organization and mobilization, which enables people in Mozambique to be better prepared to take the right action at the right time every year when the cyclone season arrives and flooding threatens the countryside. The paper asserts that countless lives have been saved and that the resources spent mounting a humanitarian response have decreased.Permalink![]()
Disaster risk financing and insurance in Sub-Saharan Africa : review and options for consideration
World Bank, 2012This report is a preliminary effort to present a body of knowledge on the state of disaster risk financing and insurance in Sub-Saharan Africa. It aims to contribute to a strengthened understanding and collective knowledge within Sub-Saharan Africa on disaster risk financing and insurance, and to encourage open dialogue between stakeholders on how strategies can best be developed to increase financial resilience against natural disasters. It is targeted at policy-makers and actors in the international community with an interest in this agenda. In the context of this report, disaster risk finan ...Permalink![]()
Environmental legislation for disaster risk management: module 1
Gupta Anil K.; Nair Sreeja S.; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ); et al. - India Government, 2012“Environmental Legislation for Disaster Risk Management”, training module is based on the analysis of global context of environmental laws, policies and approaches of integrating environment and disaster risk management. This module cites examples of legal and policy framework from across the world, along with special references to the Indian legal framework and disaster management.Permalink![]()
Turn down the heat: why a 4°C warmer world must be avoided
This report spells out what the world would be like if it warmed by 4 degrees Celsius, which is what scientists are nearly unanimously predicting by the end of the century, without serious policy changes. It provides a snapshot of recent scientific literature and new analyses of likely impacts and risks that would be associated with a 4° Celsius warming within this century, ranging from sea-level rise to increases in tropical cyclone intensity, unprecedented heat waves, severe drought, and major floods in many regions, with serious impacts on ecosystems and associated services.Permalink![]()
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TCP. WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones - Thirty-ninth session : final report
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ; Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) - WMO, 2012Permalink![]()
Coastal communities and climate change: maintaining future insurability
Lloyd's, 2012This report looks at the impact of climate change on flood risk at a number of coastal locations around the world, considering sea-level rise, the effect of wind speed on storm surges and, at one location, changes in land use. It investigates the impact on: (i) an unprotected property with no flood defences on a Caribbean island, the coasts of which are exposed to hurricanes and their associated storm surges; (ii) a building on the coast of a northern European country protected by flood defences against up to a 1-in-100 year storm surge event; (iii) a property on the coast of a northern Europe ...Permalink![]()
Multi-hazard business continuity management guide : Guide for small and medium enterprises
ILO, 2012This document is intended to contribute to increase constituents’ resilience, mitigate risks and enhance preparedness for crisis and business recovery. The scope covers different types of major-scale, natural hazards, i.e. geophysical, hydrological, meteorological, climate and biological, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, tropical storms, over-floods, flash flows, mud flows, droughts, desertification and landslides. It aims to inform and guide decision makers and technical service providers on how to manage business continuity vis-à-vis the multiple hazards that may threat t ...Permalink![]()
Disaster risk reduction in school curricula: case studies from thirty countries
Selby David; Kagawa Fumiyo; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); et al. - UNESCO, 2012This publication captures key national experiences in the integration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the curriculum, identifying good practice, noting issues addressed or still lacking, and reviewing learning outcomes. The study researched DRR related curriculum development and integration, pedagogy, student assessment, teacher professional development and guidance, learning outcomes and policy development, planning and implementation aspects covering thirty countries.Permalink![]()
Annual disaster statistical review 2011: the numbers and trends
In 2011, 332 natural disasters1 were registered, less than the average annual disaster frequency observed from 2001 to 2010 (384). However, the human and economic impacts of the disasters in 2011 were massive. Natural disasters killed a total of 30 773 people and caused 244.7 million victims worldwide (see Figure 1). Economic damages from natural disasters were the highest ever registered, with an estimated US$ 366.1 billion [...]Permalink