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FLASH NEWS - APRIL 2026

  16/04/2026  

Flash News from the
Disaster Risk Management
Knowledge Centre

 

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A building block of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network's Science Pillar

As we publish this new edition of the DRMKC Flash News, we mark an important milestone: it’s been one year since the Commission adopted the Preparedness Union Strategy. Over the past year, the urgency of strengthening Europe’s preparedness has only grown, in a context shaped by climate extremes, geopolitical instability, hybrid threats, and the continuing human toll of conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. The message emerging across recent policy and scientific discussions is clear: preparedness must move from principle to practice, and from reaction to anticipation.

In this effort, science is more essential than ever: not only to understand risks, but to help translate them into action, investment, and practical solutions for institutions, territories, and citizens. This edition of the newsletter reflects that ambition. It brings together some of the latest scientific developments, tools and evidence produced by the JRC and key scientific partners to support prevention, anticipation and preparedness.

In these turbulent times, this newsletter aims to contribute, modestly but concretely, to a growing science-for-preparedness community. By sharing knowledge, evidence and practical advances, we hope to support all those working to make Europe better prepared for the crises of today and the risks of tomorrow.

Flagship Reports and News

2025: The EU's Most Destructive Wildfire Season on Record

Over a million hectares burned — the worst season ever in the EU. The result of a season that started early, heatwaves, and fires reaching higher latitudes.

 
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Local and Regional Success Stories of Investing in Disaster Resilience

From Spain to Central Europe, recent disasters have shown what is at stake. A new storymap shows the strategies and investments of local and regional authorities to build resilience.

 
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Disaster Storylines and Knowledge Graphs from Global News

Applied AI for DRM: an LLM and RAG pipeline transformed global news into structured disaster storylines for 3,000+ events between 2014 and 2024. All the data and code are openly available.

 
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Tools and Datasets

Compositing High-Resolution SDGSAT-1 Nighttime Light Data

A new method makes annual high-resolution nighttime light mapping achievable for the first time. High-resolution data is now more reliable for urban, infrastructure, and environmental analysis.

 
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INFORM Risk 2026 Released

INFORM is an open-risk assessment for humanitarian crisis and disasters. It now captures intensity and instability of humanitarian, development, and remittances flows. Data are accessible on the INFORM website, API, and dashboards.

 
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How have – and will – cities evolve?

How have the world's cities grown, shrunk, or transformed over five decades? The GHSL Cities portal maps 11,000 urban centres since1975, with long-term projections until 2100.

 
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Launch of the new Copernicus Rapid Mapping Viewer

Includes a redesigned layout, a new statistics section, an API access to integrate activation details with other systems, among other improvements.

 
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Release of the New EFAS Version 5.6

The European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) version 5.6 brings an updated map viewer and improved website navigation. Check the updated user guide for the details.

 
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Events and Calls

5th Global Flood Forecasting and Monitoring Meeting — Register Now

The 5th annual Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS) and Global Flood Monitoring (GFM) meeting will run on 20–21 April, online. On the agenda: GloFAS v5's new hydrological model, the revamped map viewer, combined Sentinel 1A/1C use in GFM and more.
 
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2026 Call for Proposals: Knowledge for Action in Prevention and Preparedness (KAPP)

The 2026 KAPP call is open. Applying organisations can focus on 3 priorities: population risk awareness, early warning, and civil protection capacity. The deadline is 19 May.
 
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IRISCC Third Open Call for Transnational Access

The third IRISCC call for research infrastructure access is now open, closing on 26 April. The focus is on climate change-related risks. Travel and subsistence support available up to €2,000 per proposal.
 
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Additional Resources

How Personalized Disaster Warnings Can Save Lives

Generic warnings often fail to drive action. This paper calls for personalised, context-aware alerts and proposes expanding the UN’s Early Warnings for All initiative into EW4All+U.
 
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Human Settlement Dynamics of the Arctic: Insights from Remote Sensing and Census Observations

The Arctic is changing fast. This study uses remote sensing and census data from the new GHSL Arctic Edition 2025 to analyse long-term human settlement and population dynamics as a baseline for future monitoring.
 
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Earth Observation for Urban Climate Adaptation

While the demand for EO in urban climate adaptation is growing, uptake remains significantly under-exploited. A new brief identifies where the value chain falls short and pushes the development of policy-focused risk and outcome indicators.
 
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Real-Time Forecasting and Mapping Flood Extent from Integrated Hydrologic Models and Satellite Remote Sensing

This study maps a complete real-time flood forecasting cycle, from precipitation forecasting to inundation mapping, showing where tracking inundation with remote sensors is limited.
 
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EMO-1: An Improved Version of the High-Resolution Multi-Variable Gridded Meteorological Dataset for Europe

EMO-1 is the improved successor to EMO-5, a high-resolution multi-variable gridded meteorological dataset for Europe. Developed to support operational flood forecasting (EFAS/CEMS), it serves hydrological modelling and model calibration.
 
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Aridification Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in the World's Drylands: A Review

Global aridity is intensifying. This review is among the first to systematically examine biophysical and socioeconomic impacts of aridification, assessing the adaptation measures being implemented in drylands worldwide.
 
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Reducing Risk Together: Moving towards a More Holistic Multi-Hazard and Multi-Risk Approach

Managing disaster risk in silos is not enough. This paper synthesises key learnings from the MYRIAD-EU project on systems thinking, cross-hazard dependencies, and coordinated governance for holistic risk assessment and management.
 
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Regional Economic Climate Risks in Europe

Climate risks are not evenly distributed across Europe. This analysis across seven impact categories shows that Southern and Eastern regions face a disproportionate burden, with potential implications for the EU’s cohesion policy.
 
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Climate, conflict and the energy transition: security challenges ahead

Climate change can increase the risk of armed conflict, but it is not the only driver. While the green energy transition is essential for mitigating climate risks, it may also create new security challenges.
 
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Better Climate Change Adaptation through Transformative Innovation

Adaptation is happening, but not fast or widely enough. This JRC analysis explores eight transformative innovation dimensions across five European regions and proposes practical ways forward for each.
 
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Accounting for Stakeholder Values, Power Relationships and Language in Constructing Trustworthy Climate Information

Climate information is not value-neutral: it shapes and is shaped by social priorities, equity, and decision-making power. This paper guides scientists in producing and using climate knowledge responsibly across complex stakeholder contexts.
 
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Broadening Climate Migration Research across Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation

Climate migration research has primarily documented climate-movement links, often overlooking migration's role in adaptation and mitigation. Here are four key research gaps to address this imbalance.
 
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