Highlighting the History of ‘Hazard Highlights’

PDC first began publishing the Global Flood Survey in January 2012, and each week, the report highlighted areas of extreme flooding worldwide, enabling disaster managers and the general public to monitor flood events around the globe. Hazard Highlights grew from the Global Flood Survey, and in this 100^th Hazard Highlights report, we revisit the Global Flood Survey by highlighting areas affected by flooding this week.

PDC Global Hazards Atlas, centered on Asia, displaying PDC Active Hazards and Accumulated Rainfall (1 Day) layers.

Localized heavy rainfall from monsoons triggered floods in northern Pakistan (CPC). Over the next five days, widespread moderate-to-heavy rains are expected to increase the risk of flash flooding in areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Kashmir (NDMA). The Chitral District, which has been cut off from other areas for the last week, has been the hardest hit, with an estimated 275,000 people affected (ECHO). Heavy rainfall is also expected to affect sea conditions, which are likely to remain rough along the Sindh Makran coast until Monday (July 27) (NDMA).

 Heavy rain associated with the Southwest Monsoon, enhanced by two tropical cyclones (Linfa and Chan-hom), triggered flooding and landslides that affected more than 124,000 people (as of July 21) on the Luzon and Visayas Islands of the Philippines (NDRRMC). Flood advisories remain in place for the Calabarzon and Bicol regions (PAGASA).

 More than 59,000 people (as of July 20) have been affected by flooding in the states of Sagaing and Kachin in Myanmar (AHA Centre). Sagaing is a crucial rice-producing region, and reports indicate that 40,000 acres of farmland have been affected (ReliefWeb).

RVA Country Profile: Pakistan

RVA Country Profiles were added to Hazard Highlights earlier this year to provide a more in-depth look into how hazards may affect a country based on indices such as:

• Multi-Hazard Risk: the combination of multi-hazard exposure, susceptibility to impact, and the relative inability to absorb, respond to, and recover from negative impacts that do occur over the short term
• Lack of Resilience: the combination of susceptibility to impact and the relative inability to absorb, respond to, and recover from negative impacts that do occur over the short term.
• Vulnerability: considered to be the result of pre-event conditions that make a country more susceptible to the damaging effects of a Hazard.
• Coping Capacity: the ability of a country to absorb and respond to negative impacts associated with a hazard event.

As heavy rainfall and flash flooding is expected to continue affecting northern Pakistan over the next five days, we’ll take a look at the country’s overall Multi-Hazard Risk.

This Week in Hazards

PDC introduced Hazard Highlights in August 2013 as a way to highlight major disaster events around the world. Rather than solely focusing on flooding, Hazard Highlights also reports on natural hazards such as major drought, earthquakes, fire, storms, tropical cyclones, volcanic events. More recently, Hazard Highlights has also begun reporting on biomedical hazards.

• On July 21, Tropical Cyclone Halola regained typhoon status (NASA). As of the most recent advisory from the NWS Forecast Office in Guam (0800 CHST), Halola is located approximately 340 miles east-southeast of Okinawa, with maximum sustained winds at 90 miles per hour (NWS Guam Advisory #55). Halola is expected to begin weakening on Saturday.

• Recent activity at the Kick em Jenny submarine volcano has led officials to issue an “Orange” level alert, indicating that eruption may begin with less than 24-hour notice (UWI Seismic). Reports indicate that seismic activity has increased, with more than 200 micro and small earthquakes recorded since July 11 (CDEMA).

Current Hazard Warnings

Tropical Cyclone: Halola

Flood: United States (Central, Southern), Pakistan, Philippines

Storm: Canada (Ontario), Malaysia

Tornado: Canada (Alberta)

Wildfire: United States (California, Alaska, Montana), Canada (Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia), Croatia

Volcano: Grenada

Drought: Caribbean Islands, Central America, United States (Western), Thailand, Laos

Extreme Temperature: Eastern Europe

Biomedical: West Africa

For real-time information on current disasters download PDC’s free Disaster Alert mobile app available for your iOS or Android devices today! Also be sure to monitor PDC on Twitter, Facebook, and by accessing the Global Hazards Atlas.