A rapid geospatial analysis of the impact of the Hunga Tonga volcano eruption

A rapid geospatial analysis of the impact of the Hunga Tonga volcano eruption
Author: Jalal, R., Ikram, Q., Mushtaq F., Ghosh, A., Gauny, J., Barelli, D., Muchoney, D., Cassam, K., Falcone, M., Henry, M.
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 60
Release: 2022-06-07
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9251358699

On the 15th January 2022 the underwater Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha?apai volcano, located in the north of Tongatapu (the main island of Tonga), erupted following several minor eruptions over the previous weeks. It was reported as the largest recorded eruption in the past 30 years. On 14 January 2022, the Tonga Geological Services issued an alert of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcanic activity and a tsunami marine warning. The powerful eruption subsequently resulted in a tsunami in Tonga and the surrounding region, with effects reaching countries including Fiji, America Samoa and as far as Chile and Peru. With around 86 percent of Tongans engaged in agriculture, the impacts of the eruption and tsunami may have impacted all agriculture sectors, including fisheries, crops and livestock. The volcanic plume reached 30 km into the atmosphere, releasing volcanic gases and aerosols that were subsequently carried over neighbouring countries, potentially impacting public health and the environment. The Government of Tonga declared a state of emergency on 16 January 2022.

A rapid geospatial analysis of the flood impacts on crops in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa in 2022

A rapid geospatial analysis of the flood impacts on crops in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa in 2022
Author: Ghosh, A., Mushtaq, F., Jalal, R., Henry, M., Adhikari, S., Hove, L., Kassa, S., Gauny, J., Barelli, D., Merzouk, Q., Moloinyane, S., Muchoney, D.
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2022-08-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9251366632

South Africa is the southern most country on the African continent with the 121 309 ha of land area and highly dependent on agriculture sector (79 percent of agricultural land area) for food, income, and employment. Natural disasters like drought, floods, storms, cyclones etc. causes significant socio-economic damages and losses, as well as negatively impacting the agricultural sector. From 11–13 April 2022, heavy rainfall caused severe flooding and landslides affecting the south and south-eastern part of South Africa. Particularly, in the Provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, authorities reported loss of lives, infrastructure damages and inundated cropland. Disaster Charter 755 was activated for South Africa. From 19–20 April, moderate rainfall waa forecast over north-eastern South Africa, while no heavy rainfall was expected over the already affected Provinces. In this context, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Geospatial Unit of the Land and Water Division (NSL) with support from SFS REOSA conducted a rapid geospatial assessment on crops and the exposure of rural people during the period 10–20 April 2022. This assessment provides information at the district, local municipalities and ward levels in the area of interest (AOI). This analysis combines Sentinel 1 (S1) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Sentinel 2 (S2) imagery (both at a 10 m spatial resolution) with Planet imagery (5 m spatial resolution) and 2020 population data from Worldpop (100 m spatial resolution) to determine: (1) flood extent; (2) cropland area; (3) flooded crop area; and (4) exposure of population to flooded cropland. The results are provided in the form of maps by administrative units and tabular with descriptive statistics for the aforementioned indicators. With recent advances in geospatial and information technologies and updated land cover maps, crop specific information adapted to national conditions with tailored field campaigns have the potential to better support response programmes and agricultural development in the future. The key findings from this rapid assessment are that for Area of Interest (AOI): 1) total flooded area in the Province of Eastern Cape is 373 868 ha and in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal is 137 601 ha; 2) total cropland area estimated in Area of Interest is 1 386 941 ha; 3) overall inundated cropland is 51 601 ha (4 percent of the total land in AOI); and 4) the most affected districts in respect to people exposure to floods are Cacadu (54 616).

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption 2022 – Household food security and agriculture

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption 2022 – Household food security and agriculture
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 77
Release: 2023-01-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9251374937

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HT-HH) undersea volcano in the Kingdom of Tonga erupted on 15 January 2022 at 17.10 hours local time in a blast that was felt across the world. As a result of the eruption, the Government of Tonga declared a state of emergency on 16 January 2022. The eruption resulted in two events with potential impacts on agriculture livelihoods and all agriculture sub-sectors (crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture and forestry): a volcanic ash cloud and a tsunami. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the Ministry of Fisheries, together with FAO, conducted a Volcano Eruption Household Impact Survey. Data collection was facilitated by Mainstreaming of Rural Development Innovation (MORDI) Tonga Trust, a national partner for project implementation. The household survey was conducted in the three most impacted divisions – ‘Eua, Ha’apai and Tongatapu. A total of 854 households were interviewed across the three divisions. The data collection process was challenged by various issues, including movement restrictions due to COVID-19 lockdown. This impact report outlines the findings of the survey and proposes medium- and long-term recommendations.

Treatise on Geomorphology

Treatise on Geomorphology
Author:
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 6392
Release: 2013-02-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080885225

The changing focus and approach of geomorphic research suggests that the time is opportune for a summary of the state of discipline. The number of peer-reviewed papers published in geomorphic journals has grown steadily for more than two decades and, more importantly, the diversity of authors with respect to geographic location and disciplinary background (geography, geology, ecology, civil engineering, computer science, geographic information science, and others) has expanded dramatically. As more good minds are drawn to geomorphology, and the breadth of the peer-reviewed literature grows, an effective summary of contemporary geomorphic knowledge becomes increasingly difficult. The fourteen volumes of this Treatise on Geomorphology will provide an important reference for users from undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic. Information on the historical development of diverse topics within geomorphology provides context for ongoing research; discussion of research strategies, equipment, and field methods, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations reflect the multiple approaches to understanding Earth’s surfaces; and summaries of outstanding research questions highlight future challenges and suggest productive new avenues for research. Our future ability to adapt to geomorphic changes in the critical zone very much hinges upon how well landform scientists comprehend the dynamics of Earth’s diverse surfaces. This Treatise on Geomorphology provides a useful synthesis of the state of the discipline, as well as highlighting productive research directions, that Educators and students/researchers will find useful. Geomorphology has advanced greatly in the last 10 years to become a very interdisciplinary field. Undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic will find the answers they need in this broad reference work which has been designed and written to accommodate their diverse backgrounds and levels of understanding Editor-in-Chief, Prof. J. F. Shroder of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, is past president of the QG&G section of the Geological Society of America and present Trustee of the GSA Foundation, while being well respected in the geomorphology research community and having won numerous awards in the field. A host of noted international geomorphologists have contributed state-of-the-art chapters to the work. Readers can be guaranteed that every chapter in this extensive work has been critically reviewed for consistency and accuracy by the World expert Volume Editors and by the Editor-in-Chief himself No other reference work exists in the area of Geomorphology that offers the breadth and depth of information contained in this 14-volume masterpiece. From the foundations and history of geomorphology through to geomorphological innovations and computer modelling, and the past and future states of landform science, no "stone" has been left unturned!

Global Volcanic Hazards and Risk

Global Volcanic Hazards and Risk
Author: Susan C. Loughlin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 409
Release: 2015-07-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1107111757

The first comprehensive assessment of global volcanic hazards and risk, with detailed regional profiles, for the disaster risk reduction community. Also available as Open Access.

Measuring Vulnerability to Natural Hazards

Measuring Vulnerability to Natural Hazards
Author: Birkmann
Publisher: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Total Pages: 582
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9788179931226

Measuring Vulnerability to Natural Hazards presents a broad range of current approaches to measuring vulnerability. It provides a comprehensive overview of different concepts at the global, regional, national, and local levels, and explores various schools of thought. More than 40 distinguished academics and practitioners analyse quantitative and qualitative approaches, and examine their strengths and limitations. This book contains concrete experiences and examples from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe to illustrate the theoretical analyses.The authors provide answers to some of the key questions on how to measure vulnerability and they draw attention to issues with insufficient coverage, such as the environmental and institutional dimensions of vulnerability and methods to combine different methodologies.This book is a unique compilation of state-of-the-art vulnerability assessment and is essential reading for academics, students, policy makers, practitioners, and anybody else interested in understanding the fundamentals of measuring vulnerability. It is a critical review that provides important conclusions which can serve as an orientation for future research towards more disaster resilient communities.

FAO: Challenges and Opportunities in a Global World

FAO: Challenges and Opportunities in a Global World
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2019-05-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 925131411X

This illustrated volume identifies the challenges and opportunities facing food and agriculture in the context of the 2030 Agenda, presents solutions for a more sustainable world and shows how FAO has been working in recent years to support its Member Nations in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Natural Disaster Hotspots

Natural Disaster Hotspots
Author: Maxx Dilley
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2005
Genre: Hazardous geographic environments
ISBN: 0821359304

This synthesis summarizes the findings of the Global Natural Disaster Risk Hotspots project. The Hotspots project generated a global disaster risk assessment and a set of more localized or hazard-specific case studies. The synthesis draws primarily from the results of the global assessment. Full details on the data, methods and results of the global analysis can be found in volume one of Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis. The case studies are contained in volume two (forthcoming).

Migration, Environment and Climate Change

Migration, Environment and Climate Change
Author: Frank Laczko
Publisher: UN
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2009
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Gradual and sudden environmental changes are resulting in substantial human movement and displacement, and the scale of such flows, both internal and cross-border, is expected to rise with unprecedented impacts on lives and livelihoods. Despite the potential challenge, there has been a lack of strategic thinking about this policy area partly due to a lack of data and empirical research on this topic. Adequately planning for and managing environmentallyinduced migration will be critical for human security. The papers in this volume were first presented at the Research Workshop on Migration and the Environment: Developing a Global Research Agenda held in Munich, Germany in April 2008. One of the key objectives on the Munich workshop was to address the need for more sound empirical research and identify priority areas of research for policy makers in the field of migration and the environment.

Building Urban Resilience

Building Urban Resilience
Author: Abhas K. Jha
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2013-03-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821398261

This handbook is a resource for enhancing disaster resilience in urban areas. It summarizes the guiding principles, tools, and practices in key economic sectors that can facilitate incorporation of resilience concepts into decisions about infrastructure investments and urban management that are integral to reducing disaster and climate risks.