In recent years, Algeria and other parts of Northern Africa, Europe, Asia, and America have been impacted by forest fires. Unfortunately, in July 2023, severe forest fires again impacted several regions of Algeria, killing around 30 people, including firefighting officers and injuring others.

In the aftermath of the September 2023 Derna flood disaster in Libya, a number of different tools allowed rapid assessment of the situation to facilitate the response and reduce further risks. An open-source tool that has been used is “RiskChanges”, a resource for effective multi-hazard risk assessment and management.

As in the case of other regions of the world, Latin America is exposed to various types of geological and hydro-meteorological hazards which trigger disasters.  To contribute to strengthen the skills of professionals that contribute to disaster response efforts through the generation of space-based information, UN-SPIDER, ECLAC and the International Charter Space and Major Disasters organised the training course "Project Management using the ESA Charter Mapper".   The training course brought together 15 professionals with skills in project management in case of activ

In 2015 the United Nations declared that each year 5 November would be observed as World Tsunami Awareness Day – a reminder that when a tsunami strikes, everyone must be ready to get to high ground.

The Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) organized from 23 to 25 October 2023 the International Workshop on Aerospace Application of Earthquake Early Warning and Quick Response in Istanbul, Türkiye. The workshop brought together around 110 participants from Bangladesh, Belgium, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, the Russian Federation, Thailand, the Republic of Türkiye, and the United States. In addition, experts from the Copernicus programme and UN-SPIDER were invited to participate in the workshop.

The United Nations University with its Institute for Environmental and Human Security (UNU-EHS) published the Interconnected Disaster Risks Report 2023. The report paints a bleak picture of a world hurtling towards critical "risk tipping points." These points signify thresholds where essential systems, like water and food supplies, face potential collapse, leading to catastrophic consequences, while human activities are accelerating these changes.

This article is based on a news announcement by the JRC from 11 October 2023: "Drought Risk Atlas: heightened risk threatens the environment and the economy". Find the full article here.