Latest news on Disaster Risk Reduction

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a global infrastructure for the information society, enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on existing and evolving interoperable information and communication technologies (ITU, 2012). NOTE 1: Through the exploitation of identification, data capture, processing and communication capabilities, the IoT makes full use of…

Soil erosion is defined as the accelerated removal of topsoil from the land surface through water, wind and tillage (FAO, 2020).

Environmental degradation from conflict is defined as the reduction of the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological objectives and needs (UNISDR, 2009:6).

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral infection caused by the chikungunya virus. It causes fever and severe arthralgia (joint pain) which is often debilitating. The disease can be endemic and epidemic in countries (WHO, 2020).

Disaster waste is the waste generated by the impact of a disaster, both as a direct effect of the disaster as well as in the post-disaster phase as a result of poor waste management (UNEP/OCHA, 2011).

Lightning is the luminous manifestation accompanying a sudden electrical discharge which takes place from or inside a cloud or, less often, from high structures on the ground or from mountains (WMO, 2017).

Newcastle disease is an infectious disease of birds caused by Newcastle disease virus, of the Paramyxovirdae family. The disease is seen mainly in chickens, but many bird species and even reptiles and mammals are susceptible to infection (OIE, 2018).

Methanol is a colourless fairly volatile liquid with a faintly sweet pungent odour similar to ethyl alcohol. Outbreaks of methanol poisoning arise from the consumption of adulterated counterfeit or informally produced spirit drinks (adapted from NCBI, 2020 and WHO, 2014).

Typhoid fever is a life-threatening infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. It is usually spread through contaminated food or water. An estimated 11–20 million people get sick from typhoid and between 128,000 and 161,000 people die from it every year (WHO, 2018).

A tornado is a rotating column of air, extending from the base of a cumuliform cloud, and often visible as a condensation funnel in contact with the ground, and/or attendant circulating dust or debris cloud at the ground (WMO, 2017).