Reducing climate change disaster risk

Updated: Thu, 7 Jun 2018

Pakistan project wins award for shielding villages from natural disasters

Combining satellite images and mapping tools with local knowledge and community participation have made settlements safer

As climate disasters mount, providing aid early gains traction
As a surge in climate-linked disasters frays aid budgets, efforts to provide cash before the storm are being ramped up in Asia, Africa and Latin America By Megan Rowling | Fri, 23 Oct 2020
'Uninhabitable hell': Climate change and disease threaten millions
As climate change-related disasters soar, a failure to act to prevent them is an act of 'wilful' negligence, the UN's disaster chief says By Megan Rowling | Mon, 12 Oct 2020
Uganda wants people to leave flooded wetlands - and not come back
Authorities have been trying to clear the wetlands around Africa’s biggest lake for years. This year’s flooding may have helped their case By Liam Taylor | Thu, 11 Jun 2020
U.S. urged to update flood maps and building rules as risks rise
Green groups petition Federal Emergency Management Agency to update flood maps, set tougher standards for floodplain construction and prepare for climate impacts By Laurie Goering | Wed, 6 Jan 2021
analysis Can virus stimulus vaccinate the poor against future crises?
The pandemic has revealed the extent of vulnerability to unexpected crises - and how much work is needed to change that By Laurie Goering | Thu, 7 May 2020
COVID-19: What lessons can we apply to battling climate change?
What outcomes from the global response to COVID-19 can best help us tackle climate change? By Laurie Goering | Thu, 7 May 2020
Flood prevention could bring 'huge' payoff as global risks rise
As climate change brings growing risks of inundation, especially in Asia, investing now in protection could bring huge savings, researchers say By Laurie Goering | Thu, 23 Apr 2020
interview In Sierra Leone, Freetown's mayor is preparing for COVID-19
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr talks to the Thomson Reuters Foundation about the challenges of keeping residents safe in Sierra Leone's capital By Laurie Goering | Sun, 19 Apr 2020
Climate change could spark 'global systemic crisis' - scientists
Failure to act on climate-related threats could create a "potentially uncontrollable situation in the future if we don't act very soon" By Laurie Goering | Fri, 7 Feb 2020
Storm-hit Zimbabweans endure another rainy season in risky homes
The government is planning to relocate residents of flimsy houses near rivers that flooded when Cyclone Idai hit - but engineers say a comprehensive overhaul of building codes and materials is needed By Farai Shawn Matiashe | Wed, 29 Jan 2020
To avert future flood chaos, Jakarta urged to defend nature
Rapid urbanisation has led to forest loss, while groundwater extraction is causing the coastal city to sink as sea levels rise - a dangerous cocktail that is worsening floods By Michael Taylor | Tue, 7 Jan 2020
As lightning strikes surge, Bangladesh plants a defence
Climate shifts are leading to more deadly lightning - but an effort to plant palm trees could cut the risks By A.Z.M. Anas | Mon, 11 Nov 2019
Conserve or develop? Protecting floodplains could cut flood costs
Buying flood-prone U.S. land and protecting it from development would be far cheaper than paying later for flood damage to homes, say researchers By Carey L. Biron | Mon, 9 Dec 2019
Saving Indonesians from climate disasters, one tweet at a time
Indonesia suffers hundreds of natural disasters every year By Michael Taylor | Thu, 12 Dec 2019
Rising US losses from strong storms flag need for protection
Worsening storms are causing worsening damage - but measures to prepare and protect could help, experts say By Anna Scholz-Carlson | Wed, 13 Nov 2019
Planners urged to look beyond history to judge climate risks
Predictions based on past weather extremes are dramatically underestimating growing threats of extreme heat and rain linked to warming, researchers find By Megan Rowling | Wed, 18 Mar 2020
Water harvesting has added benefit for Kenya: less flooding
Efforts to trap and store more water to battle worsening climate change-related drought are helping cut flood risk too, experts say By Caroline Wambui | Fri, 3 Jan 2020
As wildfires worsen, Californians harness tech for help
To better protect themselves from wildfires worsened by climate change, communities are pulling together to share information By Ellen Wulfhorst | Mon, 11 Nov 2019
Removable solar panels boost storm readiness in Dominica
As the Caribbean island aims to become fully "climate resilient", a volunteer effort is keeping health centres operating - with clean energy By Laurie Goering | Fri, 13 Dec 2019
Mobile phone warnings set to aid climate-vulnerable Somali nomads
Hit by droughts, then floods, Somalia's pastoralists face huge climate risks - but mobile phone warnings could help, backers say By Rosa Furneaux | Thu, 21 Nov 2019
US announces $30 mln to bolster coasts from flooding, rising seas
States like Louisiana will get help to restore wetlands and other natural systems to cut risks from wilder weather and sea level rise By Ellen Wulfhorst | Tue, 19 Nov 2019
South American cities harness tech and nature to tackle floods
Using sensors, green areas, better planning and more advice from communities, cities are battling growing flood risk By Anastasia Moloney | Fri, 22 Nov 2019
Richer nations urged to protect against wild weather as loss jumps
Economic losses to climate catastrophes are surging fastest in temperate countries, which need to move faster to adapt, scientists warn By Laurie Goering | Sat, 12 Oct 2019
Bangladesh tries new way to aid flood-hit families: cash up front
Money in advance of an expected disaster can give vulnerable people resources to avoid the worst losses, backers say By Naimul Karim | Fri, 26 Jul 2019

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