This study explore the feasibility of using a combination of recent and traditional satellite products to estimate the grassland fire fuel availability across space and time over Australia. We found a significant relationship between both recent and traditional satellite products and observed grassland fuel availability and develop an estimation model. We hope our estimation model will provide a more balanced alternative to the currently available grass fuel availability estimation models.

This study of a historical tornado that occurred about 100 years ago was motivated by the fact that rich photo material of the inflicted damage was available. It is important to rate particularly strong tornadoes, because their number is generally low, and statistics of the frequency for such events and the subsequent risk assessment heavily rely on a sound data basis. The tornado reached maximum winds of F4 intensity and caused 34 fatalities. A working method is presented for similar events.

We present a method for acquiring very-high-resolution images for 3-D mapping of gullies over kilometre-square areas using kites. Kites used in appropriate conditions can be an advantageous alternative to light unmanned aircraft when local regulations or weather conditions hamper their use. We proved that kites can acquire images, allowing for high-quality 3-D coverage of large areas. We automatically detected and mapped gullies from a decimetre kite DEM with 74 % accuracy of the length.

Aerial multi-perspective images can be used for the effective assessment of post-disaster structural damage. Alternatively, rapidly available video data can be processed for the same purpose. However, video quality characteristics are different than those of images taken with still cameras. The use of video data in post-disaster damage assessment has not been demonstrated. Based on a comparative assessment, our findings support the application of video data in post-disaster damage assessment.

Landslides are causing serious problems worldwide. To improve the risk communication, a Web-based interactive landslide simulator is used in this study. The ILS tool is based on the assumption that landslides occur due to environmental factors (spatial geology and rainfall) as well as human factors. The ILS also provides feedback in terms of fatality, injury, and property damage due to landslides. Results of an experiment with ILS suggest improved performance with repeated and rich feedback.

The paper presents a statistical analysis of socioeconomic factors influencing vulnerability and exposure to severe weather. By means of statistical modelling, the risks of weather impacts can be predicted at very high spatial resolutions. Such models can serve as a basis for a broad range of tools or applications in emergency management and planning and thus might help to enhance resilience to severe weather.

This paper analyzes the connection between the so-called atmospheric rivers (ARs, long and narrow structures of anomalously high water vapor flux located in the warm sector of extratropical cyclones) and floods in the northwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula through the use of the weather types classification adopting the subjective procedure of Lamb.

We assessed the evolution of the rural–urban interface (RUI) in Portugal based on land cover changes. A significant increase in artificial surfaces was registered near the main metropolitan communities, whilst the abandonment of agricultural land near the inland urban areas led to an increase in uncultivated semi-natural areas. Consequently, RUI increased more than two-thirds and burnt areas within the RUI doubled, emphasizing the importance of RUI monitoring for land and fire managers.

This study constructs a comprehensive dataset of global strong ground motion data to define new concepts of earthquake location and strong shaking area. These concepts can help to facilitate a more effective communication of the natural hazard of earthquakes that is focused on surface shaking. Past earthquake shaking is analyzed to support a transition of the discussion of earthquakes from seismology to a geography context and thus foster improved social science research on earthquake impacts.

Storms are common in tropical coasts and can cause dangerous flooding. To assess coastal flood hazards and the mechanisms controlling water levels, this study uses numerical modelling, applied to the north-western Yucatán Peninsula. Results suggest that (a) wave set-up is tidally modulated and can be an important process (up to 14 % of the extreme water levels), and (b) the tidal phase (low, high, rising, receding) and its occurrence probability have to be taken into account for risk assessment.

We have evaluated two methodologies widely accepted in the tsunami building vulnerability assessment taking advantage of the tsunami occurred in 2015 in central-northern Chile with the aim of validating their potential use in other Chilean cities. Our results show that version 3 of the model obtains is a better approach to the expected damages distribution and can therefore be a helpful tool for the assessment of futures mitigation measures in the land-use policies to come.

The difference in susceptibility might lead to a difference in warning threshold for rainfall-induced landslides. Here we divided slope units into three susceptibility levels and established their thresholds separately. It was found that the threshold values gradually increased as the susceptibility decreased for the same alert level. This showed that classifying susceptibility and establishing thresholds separately might provide refined thresholds for disaster prevention.

This paper aimed to develop and test a data-driven model for the identification of road sectors that are susceptible to be hit by shallow landslides triggered in slopes upstream of infrastructure. Most susceptible road traits were those located below steep slopes with a limited height (lower than 50 m), where sediment connectivity is high. The results of the susceptibility analysis can give asset managers indispensable information on the relative criticality of the different roads.

The most challenging aspect of forecasting volcanic eruptions is the correct identification and interpretation of precursors during the episodes that normally precede eruptive activity. We show an easy and useful approach to the understanding of the information recorded by the monitoring system and show how this information can be used to forecast an eruption and its potential hazards in real time. This methodology can be used to facilitate communication between scientists and decision-makers.

This paper provides a detailed introduction to the disaster situation of the 8 August 2017, M_s 7.0 earthquake that occurred in Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan Province, China, and specifically describes the emergency response activities of all levels of the government, various departments, rescue teams, enterprises and public institutions as well as social organizations. The characteristics of the earthquake disaster and the emergency responses are analysed and summarized.

Indonesia is one of the most vulnerable countries to disasters and climate change. The author did a systematic literature review on research topics and roles of Indonesian researches, indexed within Scopus from 1900 to 2016. Three major topics are found: natural hazard and disaster assessments; disaster risk reduction; and climate change risks, impacts and adaptation. Indonesian researchers still have limited progress in high-quality publications and international scientific collaborations.

Gravel cushions are widely used for rockfall prevention in open-pit mines to absorb energy; the energy-consumption and buffer mechanism of different thicknesses and particle sizes of gravel cushions under the impact effects are studied. A series of laboratory tests for different cushions are conducted, combining the blocks' volume and drop height. It provides a theoretical and practical basis for the wide application of cushion design to control rockfall.