All hazards

Citation

(2001), "All hazards", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 10 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2001.07310cag.001

All hazards

All hazards

Federal Emergency Management Agencyhttp://www.fema.gov/library/

Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency's on-line library has been cited before, it deserves additional mention since it is one of the better Internet repositories of disaster information and since several new documents have been added. Some of the library's current offerings include:

1. 1.

   From the Mitigation section: http://www.fema.gov/library/lib06.htm

2. 2.
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     Protecting Building Utilities from Flood Damage-FEMA 348;

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     NFIP Study Guide-Student Manual for Independent Study Course #9, Managing Floodplain Development Through the NFIP.

3. 3.

   From the Response and Recovery section: http://www.fema.gov/library/lib08.htm

4. 4.
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     Assessment of the Economic Impact of Hurricane Floyd on New Jersey Communities;

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     Assessment of the Economic Impact of Hurricane Floyd on Virginia Communities;

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     Assessment of the Economic Impact of Hurricane Floyd on North Carolina Communities;

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     Remote Sensing in Federal Disaster Operations – Standard Operating Procedures;

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     Your Civil Rights and Disaster Assistance.

5. 5.

   The Legal section: http://www.fema.gov/library/lib10.htm

6. 6.
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     includes copies of disaster legislation, including the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief Act, the Code of Federal Regulations, Emergency Management and Assistance, Executive Orders, FEMA congressional testimony, official notices, and all proposed and final FEMA rules from the Federal Register.

7. 7.

   The Preparedness, Training, and Exercises section: http://www.fema.gov/library/lib07.htm

8. 8.
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     contains numerous publications on personal, family, and business mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery – many in multiple languages. Indeed, the library has an entire section devoted to Spanish language publications.

Federal Emergency Management Agency's Multi-Hazard Identification and Risk Assessmenthttp://www.fema.gov/mit/tsd/ft_mhira.htm

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Multi-Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment document is now available on-line. As part of the agency's national effort to mitigate human and economic losses caused by disasters, FEMA initiated a research project to document previous efforts to identify natural and technological hazards and assess associated risks. Subsequently, Multi-Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment was prepared to summarize the findings. It reviews virtually all atmospheric, geologic, hydrologic, and other natural hazards, as well as numerous technological risks. It then summarizes several risk assessment approaches, identifies the various activities that compose the National Mitigation Strategy, and concludes with a summary and numerous appendices.

The Public Entity Risk Institute (click on "Clearinghouse")http://www.riskinstitute.org

The Public Entity Risk Institute has recently upgraded the "Clearinghouse" section of its Web site. This searchable database now lists nearly 900 resources in five areas:

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  Sources and Resources – brief profiles of organizations, groups, companies, or Internet-based resources with contact information.

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  Training, Education and Professional Development – learning opportunities, including conferences, courses, seminars, certification programs, self-directed programs, on-line training, and workshops.

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  Publications and Products – print and electronic publications and other media.

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  Services – professional consultation and other services offered by the organizations listed in Sources and Resources.

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  Information Resources – electronic or resource-center-based information services, such as databases, directories, clearinghouses, and special libraries.

Multihazard Mitigation Council (MMC)http://www.civil.buffalo.edu/aawe

(click on "Publications")

In the late 1990s, FEMA prepared a National Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan, and subsequently asked the Multihazard Mitigation Council (MMC) to review it. The plan's premise is that the nation must place a stronger emphasis on the implementation of pre-disaster mitigation measures. It includes vision and mission statements and a list of guiding principles and goals for achieving long-term disaster resiliency. The draft plan can be viewed on-line or downloaded from this American Association for Wind Engineering Web site.

Congressional Natural Hazards Caucushttp://www.senate.gov/~edwards/cnhc/index.html

Senators John Edwards of North Carolina and Ted Stevens of Alaska have formed a Congressional Natural Hazards Caucus to promote ways to reduce disaster losses and streamline disaster aid. On June 21, 2000, they convened the "Congressional Natural Hazards Caucus Forum on Reducing America's Vulnerability to Disasters" and heard testimony from several national disaster experts. Senator Edwards also called on a caucus work group to prepare a report on US natural hazards mitigation that could serve as a basis for discussion by the full Senate. Subsequently, Senator Edwards' office established this caucus Web site, which provides background information and testimony from the June meeting.

Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistancehttp://coe-dmha.org/dr

The Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance has made the entire text and appendices of Disaster Response: Principles of Preparation and Coordination, by Erik Auf der Heide, available on-line. The book, first published in 1989, is now out of print. However it remains a comprehensive source of disaster management information. The Web version is not simply the original text, but rather a new hypermedia edition, which the author is currently updating.

Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)http://www.adrc.or.jp/http://www.adrc.or.jp/highlights.asp

Besides information about the center and disaster news of the region, the Web site of the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) in Kobe, Japan, now provides the center's new biweekly newsletter ADRC Highlights. The newsletter is also distributed in English or Japanese through e-mail, fax, or regular mail. To subscribe to the e-mail version send your e-mail address to editor@adrc.or.jp

More information is available from the Asian Disaster Reduction Center, Third Floor, IHD Building 1-5-1, Wakihamakaigan-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe 651-0073, Japan; Tel: 78 230 0346; Fax: 78 230 0347; E-mail: editor@adrc.or.jp

North American Emergency Management Inc.http://www.naern.com/connection.html

The Connection newsletter, published by North American Emergency Management Inc., comprises articles on local preparation for and mitigation of emergencies written by the people involved. It includes profiles of specific local organizations and activities, particularly showcasing Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs). The editors of The Connection welcome article submissions and guidelines are available from the newsletter's Web site. In addition, the editors are assembling a list of CERT-type community programs with contact information for program coordinators. A submission form is also available from the site. For more information about CERTs, see the FEMA Web site: http://www.fema.gov/emi/cert

Disaster Recovery Information Exchangehttp://www.ContinuityPlanner.com

ContinuityPlanner.com is a free service hosted by the Disaster Recovery Information Exchange in Canada. Open to all individuals interested in business continuity planning, the site is non-profit, supported by corporate sponsorship. It includes a job bank; sample business continuity plans, templates, and guides; back issues of the Disaster Recovery E-zine; members' Web pages; information on scheduled training and professional certification; links to other sources of current information; on-line bulletin boards and meeting rooms; and more.

Project for Risk Evaluation, Information and Early Warning (PREVIEW)http://www.grid.unep.ch/preview/

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Global Resource Information Database (GRID) Project for Risk Evaluation, Information and Early Warning (PREVIEW) has developed a new tool for quickly locating relevant Web sites from among 100 organizations offering reports, data, and early warning information on natural and complex hazards. The index covers climatic hazards (floods, droughts, tropical cyclones); tectonic hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, landslides); "eco-degrading" hazards (erosion, forest fires, biodiversity loss, deforestation); and polluting hazards (air, water, soil, oil spills, nuclear waste). Information from the PREVIEW Web site can be accessed by theme or by geographical location. The offerings are not intended to be exhaustive, but instead represent a selection provided by the UN International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) Secretariat. The pages provide the names of the organizations, a description of their products, their objectives, and their Web URL.

United Nations Children's Fundhttp://www.unicef.org/emerg

The United Nations Children's Fund emergency Web site has been revamped. The new format enhances the availability of UNICEF field situation reports, thematic reviews, appeals, and references. Comments about the site and information requests can be e-mailed to emops@uniceforg

Oxfamhttp://www.oxfam.org.uk/policy/papers/fgemg/fgemgsum.htm

Oxfam has recently issued a policy paper entitled, "An end to forgotten emergencies", which is available from this Web site. The paper contends that humanitarian aid clusters around highly visible disasters, while ignoring lower-profile crises and their many victims. It also maintains that donors give vastly disproportionate amounts of aid to a few well-known crises and trivial amounts to hundreds of other, hidden emergencies. The paper concludes with nine specific recommendations for making international aid more equitable.

State of Victoria (Australia) Department of Human Serviceshttp://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/emergency

The State of Victoria (Australia) Department of Human Services has numerous emergency management responsibilities. The department's recently updated Web site brings together all those responsibilities and interests in one site managed by the State Emergency Recovery Unit. The well-organized site includes sections on emergency management and recovery management, the Victoria Medical Emergency Response Plan, as well as dozens of fact sheets on various aspects of emergency planning and response (in 19 different languages!), many other on-line resource materials, and a "What's New" section offering disaster news and describing the latest publications from the department.