Tag Archives: Floods

World Economic Forum: Top Stories- Aug 19, 2023

World Economic Forum (August 19, 2023) – This week’s top stories of the week include:

0:15 Beijing’s heaviest rain in 140 years – Downpours have caused severe flooding across the city, destroying roads, infrastructure, and businesses. More than 20 people are known to have died. 1.5 million people have been evacuated from Beijing and the surrounding Hebei province. The floodwaters could take a month to recede.

1:41 This racing car is made from eWaste – It’s made from discarded phones, disposable vapes and old circuit boards. It’s called the Recover-E Car. It’s life-size and fully driveable . It was designed by British artist Liam Hopkins in collaboration with motorsports team Envision Racing to highlight the growing problem of e-waste.

3:30 These crops are suffering the most from change – Experts rank the food supply crisis as one of the world’s top 5 currently manifesting risks. This German farmer has started planting lavender. It’s best suited to the sandy soils and sunshine of the Mediterranean but climate change is bringing these conditions to southern Germany. The lavender is used in cosmetics and perfumes. Matthias Tafelmeier planted his first lavender crop in 2019 after what he says was a decade of declining soil quality. Farmers in the region are also trying other crops more suited to warmer climates such as chickpeas and kidney beans.

5:16 Cutting edge tech helps paralysed man feel again – Keith Thomas was paralysed from the chest down in a diving accident in 2020. But thanks to a historic trial, he’s recovering sensation in his arms and hands, letting him feel his sister’s handshake.

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The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

Review: A German Flood Warning System Failure?

00:00 The death toll from Germany’s devastating flood disaster has risen to more than 160, as emergency workers continue to search for dozens of people still unaccounted for. German authorities insist their flood warnings worked, even though there was massive loss of life. Some experts say Germany’s flood warning system failed and has led to such widespread devastation. They say authorities knew what was coming, but failed to prepare.

02:28 DW reporter Giulia Saudelli is on the ground covering the latest developments. She joins us from the town of Altenahr, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, which was especially hard hit by the flooding.

05:19 DW reporter Emily Gordine is covering the latest developments in Schönau, in the southern German state of Bavaria. 09:40 Jeff Da Costa, he’s a researcher focusing on flood warning systems at the University of Reading and has been personally affected by events as his family’s home in Luxembourg was flooded.

Housing: Flood Insurance Is Spurring Buyers To Live In Dangerous Areas (CNBC)

2020 is officially the busiest hurricane season on record and flooding is one of a storm’s most devastating consequences. FEMA estimates one inch of flood water can cause up to $25,000 in damage. The U.S. began offering nationalize flood insurance in 1968 but the program, called the NFIP, is now over $20 billion in debt. Private companies are starting to offer flood insurance as well. However, flood insurance is more complicated than it may appear. Watch the video to better understand how flood insurance works, and doesn’t work, in the U.S.