All hazards
Below are new or updated internet resources that the Natural Hazards Center staff have found informative and useful. For a more complete list, visit www.colorado.edu/hazards/resources/sites.html
All hazards
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)www.fema.gov/
FEMA’s web site now contains thousands of pages of hazards/disaster information – text, graphics, photos, tables, maps – about the agency itself and its ongoing programs; current disaster situations; and disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation generally. The home page provides immediate access to news about recent and ongoing disasters,general news about policy and program developments, and much background information about both the agency and natural disasters.
FEMA has also posted a map of the USA that lists federally declared disasters for each state in a given year at www.fema.gov/disasters That page links to descriptions of FEMA response and other information about these disasters. Additional information on different types of hazards and disaster maps may be found at www.fema.gov/hazard/Dozens of links to other internet resources are available via its Global Emergency Management Service (GEMS) page at www.fema.gov/gems/
The site’s mitigation planning section (www.fema.gov/plan/mitplanning/)offers information on what individuals, families, and businesses can do to lessen disaster impacts. It includes current mitigation news, links to mitigation documents available from FEMA, information about the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, and information about FEMA’s HAZUS disaster loss estimation software. It also offers extensive sections on mitigation for homeowners, building professionals, communities, businesses, and school and childcare facilities, as well as mitigation best practices and case studies. The Mitigation Best Practice Portfolio (www.fema.gov/fima/bp.shtm) is a collection of ideas,activities, projects, and funding sources that can help reduce or prevent the impacts of disasters. This Web page also invites users to submit their own mitigation best practices for review and possible inclusion in the portfolio.
The agency also offers emergency management training materials and courses online at www.fema.gov/emi/training.htmThe Emergency Management Institute section also provides much of the information developed by the Institute’s Higher Education Project (http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu),which offers online indices of emergency management education programs offered in the USA as well as the complete course materials developed by educators for the project.
National Response Planwww.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0566.xml
The National Response Plan establishes a comprehensive all-hazards approach to enhance the ability of the USA to manage domestic incidents. The plan incorporates best practices and procedures from incident management disciplines– homeland security, emergency management, law enforcement, firefighting,public works, public health, responder and recovery worker health and safety,emergency medical services, and the private sector – and integrates them into a unified structure. It forms the basis of how the federal government coordinates with state, local, and tribal governments and the private sector during incidents. The plan, updates, and the Quick Reference Guide to the National Response Plan are available at this web site.
Nationwide Plan Review: Phase I Reportwww.iaem.com/documents/Phase1Report-SubmittedtoCongress.pdf
Released in February 2006, the US Department of Homeland Security’s(DHS) Nationwide Plan Review: Phase I Report (36 pp.) provides the status of catastrophic planning in every state and 75 of the nation’s largest urban areas. The report to Congress presents the initial findings based on the self assessments of emergency operations plans conducted by states, territories, and urban areas. It indicates that while current plans are generally consistent with existing federal planning guidance and voluntary standards, many states,territories, and urban areas are concerned about the adequacy and feasibility of their plans to deal with catastrophic events.
National Incident Management System (NIMS) Integration Centerwww.fema.gov/emergency/nims/nims.shtm
The NIMS Integration Center oversees all aspects of NIMS, including the development of compliance criteria and implementation activities at federal,state and local levels. It provides guidance and support to jurisdictions and incident management and responder organizations as they adopt the system. The site also includes information on NIMS training, downloadable documents, and tools and templates.
Telling the Tale of Disaster Resistance: A Guide to Capturing and Communicating the Storywww.fema.gov/pdf/fima/telling_the_tale.pdf
Across the USA, individuals, businesses, and communities are taking action to reduce or prevent future disaster damage. In many cases, these actions already have proven to be successful. In others, the test is yet to come. Either way,there is a story to tell. The challenge is to capture and promote these efforts in an interesting and effective way to motivate others to similarly protect themselves and their communities. Available free online from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (2001), this guide features examples of best practices and provides key considerations for successfully telling the tale of disaster resistance – developing story leads, researching and documenting projects, creating a finished product, and promoting those projects.
National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Disaster Reductionhttp://sdr.gov/
The Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR) is an element of the President’s National Science and Technology Council and facilitates national strategies for reducing disaster risks and losses that are based on effective use of science and technology. Chartered in 1988, the SDR provides a unique federal forum for information sharing; development of collaborative opportunities; formulation of science- and technology-based guidance for policy makers; and dialogue with the US policy community to advance informed strategies for managing disaster risks. Grand Challenges for Disaster Reduction is a ten-year strategy for disaster reduction through science and technology formulated by the SDR, in collaboration with scientists and engineers around the world. It presents six grand challenges and provides a framework for prioritizing the related federal investments in science and technology to improve America’s capacity to prevent and recover from disasters. The Grand Challenges document as well as several other national reports are available at this web site.
American Red Crosswww.redcross.org
The American Red Cross provides extensive information on disaster mitigation,management, and recovery. In particular, a large collection of individual and community disaster preparedness, response, and recovery information is available from www.redcross.org/services/disasterThe material is available in many foreign languages. The Red Cross, in conjunction with several other public and private agencies that deal with disasters, also published the online Talking About Disaster Guide for Standard Messages – a set of standard disaster safety messages on 13 hazards, as well as general disaster safety information. Through this project,major national agencies have agreed on standard messages about disaster safety,and they encourage others to consult this guide when preparing information to ensure consistency in the messages presented to the general public.
Disaster Education, Preparedness, Planning, and Mitigation Librarywww.tallytown.com/redcross/educate.html
The Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross in Tallahassee, Florida,has prepared this comprehensive library of disaster education, preparedness,planning and mitigation articles, brochures, fact sheets, checklists, and publications from a wide variety of sources to support disaster preparedness and planning activities in the home, neighborhood, workplace, school, and community.
US Geological Survey (USGS)www.usgs.gov
The USGS maintains many web sites with much useful information on geologic hazards, including a Hazards Theme Page (www.usgs.gov/themes/hazard.html)with sections on earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes, floods, and coastal storms as well as maps showing the distribution of hazards.
Their Natural Hazards Support System (http://nhss.cr.usgs.gov/)is a web-based tool that helps monitor, respond to, and analyze natural hazards events across the country and around the world. The web site contains dynamic,near real-time natural hazards information from a wide range of sources.
USGS also provides online access to its Publications Database via http://usgspubs.georef.org/usgsns.htmThe database includes comprehensive bibliographic information on USGS reports and maps published from 1880 to the present as well as references to non-USGS publications by USGS authors published from 1983 to date.
National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) Natural Hazards Datawww.ngdc.noaa.gov/ngdc.html
The NGDC Natural Hazards Data web site contains databases, slide sets, and publications available from NGDC on geophysical hazards such as earthquakes,tsunamis, and volcanoes and includes the Natural Hazards Data Resources Directory (www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/hazard/resource)published jointly with the Natural Hazards Center.
NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Servicewww.nesdis.noaa.gov
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) maintains many tools and assets for observing and analyzing hazards; conducts several programs for detecting, monitoring, responding to, and mitigating hazards; and offers numerous resources (primarily via the web) to educate the general public about these risks. In addition, NESDIS manages extensive databases concerning historical and current disaster events.
GAO Disaster Bibliographywww.gao.gov/docsearch/featured/dprr.html
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has posted this bibliography of its disaster-related products.
CRS Report: Federal Disaster Recovery Programs: Brief Summarieshttp://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/52792.pdf
This report from the Congressional Research Service summarizes principal federal disaster assistance programs. A number of federal agencies provide assistance to disaster victims; to state, territorial, and local governments;and to non-governmental entities following a disaster. Among other forms of assistance, federal programs can provide grants, loans, loan guarantees,temporary housing, and counseling. This report will be updated as significant legislative or administrative changes occur.
HazNetwww.haznet.org
In 1998, the National Sea Grant network created HazNet, a web site devoted to coastal hazard awareness and mitigation. The HazNet site gathers information and resources from Sea Grant programs, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other public- and private-sector sources to help people meet the challenges presented by such natural hazards as hurricanes, flooding, storm surge, coastal erosion, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and even volcanoes. Besides providing information about all these hazards, the site lists resources under the headings of Mitigation and the Built Environment, Mitigation Policy/Planning, Hazards Communication/Education, and Hazards Bibliography. The site also supports a bulletin board and discussion group and archives much other data and educational information.
ESRI Hazards Informationwww.esri.com/hazards
Under the Project Impact initiative, FEMA and the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) formed a national partnership aimed in part at providing multi-hazard maps and information to US residents, business owners,schools, community groups, and local governments via the internet. The information provided via the ESRI web site is intended to assist in building disaster-resistant communities across the country by sharing geographic knowledge about local hazards. This site allows users to create online hazard maps for which they can specify both location and the hazards to be shown. It also directs users to other sources of information – both on the web and in the real world.
US Department of Energy Center of Excellence for Sustainable Developmentwww.sustainable.doe.govwww.sustainable.doe.gov/disaster/disintro.shtml
The US Department of Energy’s Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development web site includes an extensive section on disaster planning that contains segments on key principles, case studies, codes/ordinances,articles/publications (lots of good ones), educational materials, and other resources. These pages offer information on how long-term community sustainability can be incorporated into disaster preparedness, mitigation, and recovery.
Institute for Business and Home Safetywww.ibhs.org
The Institute for Business and Home Safety is a consortium of insurance and reinsurance institutions dedicated to making natural disaster safety a core value among homes and businesses. Visitors to the IBHS site will find information about ongoing IBHS projects and other insurance industry initiatives, as well as online copies of many IBHS publications and safety brochures.
Federal Alliance for Safe Homes-FLASH, Inc./Blueprint for Safetywww.flash.orgwww.blueprintforsafety.org
The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes – FLASH, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting disaster safety and property loss mitigation. This public-private alliance of like-minded partners includes government agencies, construction and insurance industries as well as volunteer organizations. Blueprint for Safety is FLASH’s education program on techniques in disaster-resistant construction.
Natural Hazards.orgww.naturalhazards.org
This well-designed site provides quick access to basic information on all types of natural hazards. For each hazard, information about the locations and seasons of greatest risk is provided, as well as links to selected web sites and educational products. A glossary of associated terms is also included.
Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistancehttp://coe-dmha.org
The Center of Excellence (COE) in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance provides education, training, and research regarding international disaster management and humanitarian assistance. COE is a partnership of the United States Pacific Command, the Pacific Health Services Support Area of Tripler Army Medical Center, and the University of Hawaii. Focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, the center conducts needs assessments, program development and evaluation, curriculum development, conferences, training programs, and research. The COE web site describes the many training and education opportunities supported by the center, incorporates an online version of the Center’s magazine The Liaison, and provides much other information and publications about disaster management and humanitarian aid both in the Pacific Rim and worldwide. In particular, it includes an online version of Disaster Response: Principles of Preparation and Coordination, a classic text by Erik Auf der Heide.
Noah’s Wishwww.noahswish.org/index.htm
Noah’s Wish is an organization devoted to ensuring animal welfare during disasters. The site provides a variety of information and resources, including schedule information and requirements for their extensive national volunteer training program.
American Veterinary Medical Associationwww.avma.org/disaster/
The web site of the American Veterinary Medical Association provides educational materials to assist veterinarians, animal owners, and others interested in the well-being of animals in preparing for animal safety in the event of a disaster.
Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN)www.eden.lsu.edu/
EDEN works to develop or enhance educational resources on disasters and to educate and train state cooperative extension services staff. The EDEN web site provides extensive information about the network and many of the disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation resources the network has identified or prepared. EDEN maintains a shared database of disaster-related resources available from member states in addition to direct links to extension service disaster information available online. The site also provides a directory of state EDEN delegates with complete contact information.
PrepareNow.orgwww.PrepareNow.org
The Community Preparedness Website Project was undertaken to insure that the needs and concerns of vulnerable populations are addressed in the area of emergency preparedness and response. To achieve this, the PrepareNow web site attempts to integrate community-based organizations into emergency planning and management. Vulnerable populations include (but are not limited to) persons who are physically or mentally disabled, limited or non-English-speaking,geographically or culturally isolated, medically or chemically dependent,homeless, frail/elderly or children, or owners of pets or service animals. The PrepareNow web site provides a collection of disaster preparedness information in various languages; information on vulnerable populations; links to traditional emergency service providers and other disaster resources; an index of California Community Collaborative Groups; an events calendar; direct e-mail links to Bay Area programs addressing preparedness concerns of special needs populations; sample disaster plans, guides, and checklists; and other disaster preparedness information.
FAMCom is an online kit designed to help families plan how to get in touch quickly during a crisis and prepare for potential crisis situations. The goal of FAMCom is to empower families and help them realize possible challenging situations and identify the steps they can take to be sure they will be able to communicate in any situation. The letters “F,” “A,”“M” and “COM” spell out the most important part of the guide - encouraging families to identify methods of “First communication,”“Alternative communication,” “Meeting place” and “COMmunication with others.”
US Department of Health and Human Services Disasters and Emergencieswww.hhs.gov/disasters/index.shtml
The Department of Health and Human Services Disasters and Emergencies web site provides categorized information relating to terrorism and other disasters. Topics include biological, chemical and radiological weapons; bioterrorism;disasters and emergencies; emergency medical services; environmental disasters;natural disasters and extreme weather; mental health and traumatic events; and safety of the water supply.
National Renewable Energy Laboratorywww.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster
Among its many missions, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory includes the integration of sustainable development and renewable energy into disaster preparedness, response, relief, recovery, and mitigation. This portion of the lab’s web site highlights technology, programs, publications, and other resources to further that end.
National Disaster Education Coalition (NDEC)www.disastereducation.org
The NDEC web site is composed of federal government agencies and national non-profit organizations that work together to develop and disseminate consistent educational information for the public about disaster preparedness. NDEC member agencies ensure that disaster safety messages are appropriate,accurate, research-based, and crafted appropriately for the audience by using understandable language.
National Academic Consortium for Homeland Securityhttp://homelandsecurity.osu.edu/NACHS/
The primary role of the National Academic Consortium for Homeland Security is to promote, support, and enhance academic research, technology development,education and training, and service programs dealing with all aspects of international and homeland security, through collaboration and information sharing.
Homeland Security/Defense Education Consortiumhttp://hsdec.org/
The Homeland Security/Defense Education Consortium is a network of teaching and research institutions focused on promoting education, research, and cooperation related to and supporting the homeland security/defense mission. The consortium is committed to building and maintaining a community of higher education institutions supporting this mission and the overall homeland security effort through the sharing and advancement of knowledge. Web resources include suggested syllabi, course materials, and links to relevant web sites.
Disaster Research in the Social Scienceswww.udel.edu/DRC/drc40conference/
The Disaster Research Center has established this web site featuring results from its spring 2004 conference “Disaster Research in the Social Sciences:Lessons Learned, Challenges, and Future Trajectories.”
NIMSonline.comwww.nimsonline.com/
NIMSonline.com was launched to support federal, state, local, and tribal efforts to implement the National Incident Management System (NIMS). As an independent, multi-jurisdictional, and multidiscipline clearinghouse, this web site provides current NIMS news and open-source document access and serves as an information guide for the developing NIMS Community.
DHS/Homeownership Alliance Emergency Preparedness Guidewww.homeownershipalliance.com/documents/emergency_final.pdf
The result of a collaborative effort between the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Homeownership Alliance, this new “Emergency Preparedness Guide” outlines the steps homeowners can take to prepare for an emergency. It includes information on emergency supplies, effective family emergency plans, threats that homeowners may face, and resources available to homeowners through DHS, the Homeownership Alliance, and local government and community officials.
Federal Highway Administration – Homeland Securitywww.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/OpsSecurity/
The Federal Highway Administration has reengineered and expanded its emergency transportation operations and homeland security web site with the continued purpose of providing state and local agencies with valuable information to help them make wise decisions to improve the security of roadway operations. Resources are organized based on prevention, preparedness, response,and recovery classifications. New content includes sections on cybersecurity and funding.
Identification and Analysis of Factors Affecting Emergency Evacuationswww.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/contract/cr6864/
Available free online from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the objective of this study was to assess the emergency evacuation process in the USA, including evaluating evacuation experience (e.g. time to complete evacuation, traffic issues, deaths or injuries, etc.) and identifying critical factors affecting emergency evacuations (e.g. training, drills, preparedness, ad hoc versus pre-planned, etc.). The study examined public evacuations of 1,000 or more persons in response to natural disasters, technological hazards,and malevolent acts in the USA between 1 January 1990, and 30 June 2003. A total of 50 evacuation incidents were selected for case study analysis.
Disaster Timelinewww.disaster-timeline.com/dtl.html
The latest version of the “Disaster Time Line” chart, which includes events and outcomes from 1979 through 2005 is available here.
72hours.orgwww.72hours.org/
Available in English, Spanish, and Chinese, this web site from the San Francisco, California, Office of Emergency Services instructs residents on how to prepare themselves and their families for emergencies. It also provides information on what to do in response to specific disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
National Science Foundation Disasters Serieswww.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/disasters/
Disasters, a special online report series from the National Science Foundation (NSF), highlights some of the disaster research supported by NSF.
Top Priority: A Fire Service Guide to Interoperable Communications (2005)www.iafc.org/home/nextel_handbook.asp
The purpose of this guide is to provide fire and emergency service agencies with a comprehensive understanding of interoperability. This understanding, in turn, can form the foundation for increasing the effectiveness of emergency response services and improving the safety of emergency response personnel. The guide proposes a common operational definition of interoperability, discusses the foundation for interoperable communications, and provides direction to establish interoperability between and among public safety services. Although written from a fire-service perspective, it is recommended for use by fire departments, emergency medical services, law enforcement agencies, and emergency managers. Available for free from the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
