Disaster risk reduction

New Era of AI: How can foundation models help disaster risk reduction?

Paulo Hader February 5, 2024

Photo credit: Image by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels (Pexels licence)

In recent decades, AI-based methods have increasingly been adopted to tackle various problems in the field of natural hazards. The escalation of climate change has fuelled the complexity of tasks within the field of disaster risk reduction, such as capturing the formation of an extreme event timely to evacuate an area at risk. In this context, with the greater availability of data and computerised ...[Read More]

Training of Trainers to improve Geological Disasters Resilience in Malaysia

Navakanesh M Batmanathan October 30, 2023

A total of 46 indigenous teachers participated in the experiential learning program in Malaysia on 22nd August 2022 to increase local resilience for landslides.

Over the years, we have witnessed a growing number of geological disasters due to climatic shifts. One such disaster is the landslide, and the main culprit of such occurrences can be attributed to intense rainfall coupled with high slope angles, especially in areas previously not expected to be susceptible. In this post we share a successful experience of ‘training of trainers’ in Mala ...[Read More]

Is culture the missing link to disaster risk reduction?

Asimina Voskaki September 11, 2023

The City of Kobe, Chuo Ward (photo credit: Asimina Voskaki)

Sophocles, a great tragic writer of Classical Athens, said that “success is dependent on effort”. When it comes to disaster risk reduction, are we doing enough to develop a culture of resilience and how do cultural factors affect people’s willingness to protect themselves and build an effective disaster reduction and reconstruction mechanism? In 1995 (17/01/1995), Kobe, Osaka (Ja ...[Read More]

The 2023 Carnival disaster in São Paulo: an all time record for rainfall in Brazil

Paulo Hader May 22, 2023

Photo credit: Image by Mati Mango from Pexels (Pexels licence)

In February 2023, Brazil experienced its largest rainfall event on record, which devastated the northern coast of the state of São Paulo. This event caused landslides, floods, and numerous fatalities, making it even more tragic than previous disasters in the region, which already have been elaborated on in another blog post. The situation highlights the urgent need for effective emergency manageme ...[Read More]