Latest news on Disaster Risk Reduction
- The threat of flooding poses a considerable challenge for justice. Not only are more citizens becoming exposed to risk, but they are expected to play increasingly active roles in flood risk management. However, until recently, few efforts have charted broader understandings of disadvantage relating to flood risk exposure.Drawing upon social science...
- This paper discusses the potential role of immersive interactive games in public engagement with environmental science, in this case flood risk management.Recent high magnitude storm events in the UK have fuelled great public interest in flooding. However, there remains an apparent mismatch between the scientific voice of flooding research and the wider...
- GLIDE number: FF-2019-000018-AFG
Disaster type: Flash Flood
Affected countries: Afghanistan
On 1 March, heavy rains struck Kandahar city, Zheri, Dand, Damand, Arghandab, Spinboldak, and Takhtapu Districts. In the last 30 hours, 97mm of rain fell in the affected areas. Flash floods triggered by the heavy rain have reportedly killed 20 people, including a number of children,…
- As farmers in northern Kenya grapple with scarce rain and unpredictable weather patterns, many are replacing their local breeds with South African Dorper sheep. More resilient and capable of retaining their big bodies during droughts, Dorper sheep have spurred business opportunities, including meat selling, and some local breeds are even quite cheap.
- The Rural Resilience Initiative aims to bolster the Ethiopian agricultural sector with protective drought efforts. The initiative takes a holistic approach by combining a climate insurance solution with risk reduction and diversification measures. Thanks to funding from the German government, the project will undergo an upscale to spread further across...
- With a climate that is changing faster than expected, countries should emulate the Philippines' risk management approach. Its method entails reducing vulnerability and risk instead of relying on reactive emergency response. A national structure governs and accelerates this shift. Moreover, the country has given explicit DRR roles to key non-government...
- Over the past 70 years, Peruvian engineers virtually eliminated glacial lake flood risks associated with the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. But an increasingly warm climate has caused the volume of the Cordillera Blanca's glacial lakes to expand rapidly. Complicating matters, government support and funding have dwindled, compounding the risk.
- A new conceptual framework assesses the climate-smart village approach in Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam, quantitatively evaluating livelihood strategies and outcomes targeted by villages. The outcomes highlight food security and asset ownership. Researchers also analysed the gender element by evaluating the distribution of on- and off-farm tasks among...
- A new methodology determines the credibility and effectiveness of urban adaptation policies, and reveals that improvements are needed even in cities that are the most advanced in their efforts. With climate uncertainty playing a major role in decision-making, another project is tracking urban adaptation in 136 coastal cities to gauge their risk planning.
- Beyond building capacity and strengthening stakeholder relationships, FAO and partners have helped the cassava and potato value chains in Africa by unlocking access to credit, savings, insurance and tailored climate risk management tools. Farmers have also received financial literacy and business management sessions.