What's New in Knowledge | March 2025

The Centre for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance has released an updated Australia Disaster Management Reference Handbook. Here is also the European Commission’s 2024 Annual Climate Summary and Global Climate Highlights publication.

The latest edition of the Australian Journal of Emergency Management for January 2025 is also available to read online.

Germanwatch have released a climate risk index for 2025 which highlights who is suffering the most, and who has suffered the most since the year 2000.

National Emergency Management Agency, Te Rākau Whakamarumaru, have released the first version of the catastrophic event handbook for New Zealand.

In understanding consequences and recovery, this detailed article looks at an example of Germany’s resilience plan. In LA, schools are looking at how they can learn from other places devasted by disasters and how they can recover if it happens to them. Here is an interesting article looking at a system for community lifeline and resource optimisation in disaster management and planning. This paper looks at functional isolation and the compounding burden on community capacity when there are infrastructure failures and access disruption after a disaster, while this article also acknowledges the complexities of disaster and emergency management.

In thinking about systemic risk, here is an article that looks at political instability, poor human decisions, and climate change that can be a recipe for disaster. This one looks at the hits and misses of the global Sendai framework. An article written by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies discusses how we can navigate systemic issues and risks of conflict and violence to strengthen community resilience.

In disaster risk reduction, this is a briefing note on preparedness for winter weather across Europe and Central Asia. This article looks at relational symmetries (looking at oneself as another) of disaster resilience through the Sendai Framework’s guiding principles. This article looks at the nexus between food, energy, and water and community driven approaches for heat adaptation in developed and developing countries.

An article from Sweden looks at nature-based solutions for stormwater management. This article looks at the importance of building disaster resilience through trust and risk awareness. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Network are looking at early action plans for heat/extreme heat issues.

In looking at disaster risk reduction and infrastructure, this article looks at the role of social infrastructure and its pivotal role in fostering trust and cooperation. On a similar note, this paper covers how local knowledge can foster community resilience in disaster risk management through community-based education.

Focusing on First Nations knowledge, traditional indigenous medicine has and will continue to play a role in treating heat related injuries. Here is a review on the social and emotional wellbeing model/concept, also known as the SEWB model, which has guided Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities health for millennia.

For children and young people, the National Centre for Resilience in Scotland has created a card game called ‘Are you Prepared?’ that aims to teach children things they can do to prepare and deal with disasters, and to help spark conversations around natural hazards in the country. On the other side of the world, in the US, the wildfires in California have sparked the interest of students studying STEM and social impact, and have been introduced to climate change topics and how STEM professionals are critically needed in this area of work. On a less positive note, this article suggests that climate change and heat may be causing delays in births.

For animals in disasters, here is an article on the experiences of a bushfire impacted region on the community efforts of caring for animals during such climate related disasters, and what recommendations they have.

Recognising inequity, here is an agenda focusing on justice and equity in climate change. This journal piece looks at re-gendering the Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction and looks at the experiences of gender diverse groups in India and the Philippines. Here is an article that looks at post-truth politics and disaster risks and how this can undermine evidence-based decision making, promote divisive narratives, and erode the rights of vulnerable groups. This paper highlights how extreme weather fuels forced labour and unwanted marriages.

Looking at weather matters and climate change, here is a global snapshot of climate related school disruptions across 2024. The Bureau of Meteorology in Australia has indicated that the Monsoon season in Darwin has arrived late this year, making summer even more hot, sticky and to many, unbearable.

There has been quite a focus on many different hazards this month, at the University of Texas El Paso campus, research has shown that wind erosion has caused upwards of $154 billion worth of damage annually (across the US). Wind has also been connected to landslides. Across the waters in Europe, earthquake swarms are causing damage across Greece are aren’t set to cease for months. Another major hazard, drought, is hitting hard in many places across the world. This article indicates that some cities are getting water usage during droughts under control. Here is what is driving Queensland’s deadly record-breaking floods.

Focusing on extreme heat, here is a resource package on urban extreme heat management that has been created as a part of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 project in response to the UN-Secretary General’s call to action on extreme heat. A half a degree rise in global warning could be enough to triple the area of Earth that is too hot for humans. Heat stress and extreme heat is becoming a silent killer, affecting mental health in many workers. Without rapid action, extreme heat will kill millions across Europe.

In health, here is the ARC-D toolkit user manual for community health resilience. Here is a point of view paper on taking an urban resilience approach to climate, health and equity. This article that focuses on the impacts of disasters on healthcare workers who work with climate related events. A similar article focuses on the occupational health impacts of climate-related events on health system workers in British Columbia, Canada. This systematic review highlights flood impacts on healthcare facilities and disaster preparedness.

Looking at governance, leadership and capacity building, this article looks at policy and decision making in the Indian Ocean Basin in a multi-hazard context, while this paper highlights the importance of catalysing business engagement in early warning systems. Here is a paper on a framework for combining risk governance and knowledge towards integrated disaster risk management and climate change adaptation.

This practical toolkit provides guidance for decision-makers navigating international protection claims that involve climate change and disasters. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has released an integrated housing policy for settlement planning and disaster management. Many articles, like this one, are looking at the impacts of the freezing of US Agency for International Development will have on the ground.

This month the first Global Heat Health Information Network Forum was held in Singapore to launch the Southeast Asia hub.

Looking at knowledge development and translation, this article shows how national statistical offices can contribute to data for climate action under the Paris Agreement. This ‘how to build a climate story’ guide has been developed to help practitioners to communicate topics related to climate change and to help communicate complex data, models and knowledge in an easier to read way.

Examining the frontiers in technology, the feasibility of adopting virtual reality as a method for natural hazard risk communication is being looked at. In the US, artificial general intelligence is posing a high risk to national security and is posing significant challenges to policy makers and strategists.

Back in time, this month marks 50 years since the Moorgate train disaster in London. This month also marks 25 years since a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit just outside the city of Kobe in Japan.

Did you know that for years artists painted the city of LA on fire, now life in LA is a charred canvas.

WNIK TV

A new segment where we list the webinars/films that have been released in the last month. This month’s interesting webinar series is the ‘UK Resilience Lessons Digest’, created by the Cabinet Offices Emergency Planning Office.

Sources: Prevention Web, Nature, The Conversation, UNDRR, International Journal on Disaster Risk Reduction, LinkedIn, Sandy Whight, Isabel Cornes, Darryl Glover.                                      

Compiled by John Richardson and Lexi Barrington