Citation
(2006), "All Hazards", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 15 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2006.07315dag.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
All Hazards
Disaster statistics
www.unisdr.org/eng/media-room/statistics/2005-disaster-in-numbers.pdf
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the Belgian Université Catholique de Louvain's Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters released these disaster figures for 2005. In comparison to 2004, there was an 18 percent increase in the number of disasters and an increase in the number of people affected, but a significant drop in the number of deaths.
“Get Prepared”
www.redcross.org/services/prepare/0,1082,0_239_,00.html
This American Red Cross Web Portal titled “Get Prepared” encourages preparation at home, at school, at work, and in the community and offers preparedness tips for a variety of disasters.
Aftershock of Katrina and Rita
www.excelgov.org/UserFiles/File/America%20Get%20Prepared%20report.pdf
The Aftershock of Katrina and Rita: public not moved to prepare, the results of a poll conducted for the Council for Excellence in Government and the American Red Cross before and during Hurricane Katrina and then replicated two months later, shows that 38 percent of Americans were not motivated at all by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to prepare for an emergency.
The Katrina Effect on American Preparedness
www.nyu.edu/ccpr/katrina-effect.pdf
The Katrina Effect on American Preparedness, by New York University's Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response, compares data collected in two surveys, one prior to Hurricane Katrina and one following. It identifies a significant drop in public confidence in government's ability to handle disasters after Katrina and highlights the growth of a perceived preparedness divide between rich and poor.
FEMA's Community Disaster Loan Program
www.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33174_20051205.pdf
FEMA's Community Disaster Loan Program, a Congressional Research Service report, examines the Community Disaster Loan Program, which assists local governments that experience revenue losses and/or increased municipal operating expenses due to a presidential declared major disaster.
NSF Current
NSF Current, a new e-newsletter from the National Science Foundation (NSF), highlights research and education projects supported by the foundation. It is available for free online and through e-mail subscription.
Protecting America
The mission of ProtectingAmerica.org is “to raise awareness, educate the public and policy makers, and offer solutions that will better prepare and protect America from major catastrophe in a sensible, cost-effective fashion.” The web site features information on understanding risks, preparedness and mitigation, legislation, and more.
Federal Hurricane Recovery Coordinator
www.opencrs.com/rpts/RS22334_20051128.pdf
The Congressional Research Service's Federal Hurricane Recovery Coordinator: Appointment and Oversight Issues explores the potential conflict of the executive order directing the secretary of homeland security to establish a federal Gulf Coast recovery and rebuilding efforts coordinator with the constitutional role of Congress in appointment and oversight.
Ready Campus Manual
Ready Campus is a partnership among Pennsylvania's colleges, universities, and communities designed to strengthen preparation for and response to regional or national emergencies by using campus facilities, training campus volunteers, and providing college students with service learning opportunities. Among the resources is the 124-page Ready Campus Manual.
Impact of Natural Disasters on Women
www.globalfundforwomen.org/downloads/disaster-report.pdf
In Caught in the Storm: The Impact of Natural Disasters on Women, the Global Fund for Women shares learnings from direct grant making to women's rights groups during and after emergency situations, highlighting how women are disproportionately affected by disasters.
Regional Approaches to Homeland Security
www.nado.org/legaffair/hssurvey.pdf
The National Association of Development Organizations prepared the report Regional Approaches to Homeland Security Planning and Preparedness, which examines the various regional initiatives, models, and strategies being used by state and local officials to improve preparedness, prevention, and response capacity for disasters.
“Emergency Operations: Evacuations”
www.ntoctalks.com/web_casts_archive.php
An archived recording of the National Transportation Operations Coalition's November 30 webcast “Emergency Operations: Evacuations” is available here.
Interactive Map of Disability and Preparedness Resources
www.nod.org/EPIResources/interactive_map.html
This tool developed by the National Organization on Disability provides an interactive directory of regional, state, and local disability-related emergency management resources. The Interactive Map of Disability and Preparedness Resources is a work in progress, and as new resources are developed and discovered, they will be included.
Disability World
www.disabilityworld.org/12-01_06/disasterneeds.shtml
Disability World, a bimonthly webzine on international disability news, hosts this summary of recent resources regarding the inclusion of people with disabilities in planning for and responding to emergencies and disasters.
Chicago Guide
webapps.cityofchicago.org/ChicagoAlertWeb/
This Internet-based emergency planning campaign from the Chicago, Illinois, Office of Emergency Management and Communications stresses personal preparedness. The site guides visitors through the necessary steps to be prepared for any emergency event, including creating basic family plans and assembling supplies.
Center for Natural Hazards Research
The Center for Natural Hazards Research at East Carolina University focuses on hurricane, tornado, flooding, and erosion hazards as they affect eastern North Carolina and the United States. The web site contains information on the center's research projects as well as related links and resources.
Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS)
The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS), a joint initiative of the United Nations and the European Commission, provides near real-time disaster alerts and tools to facilitate response coordination. The purpose of GDACS is to provide the international response community with a platform to ensure that alerts and information relevant to a disaster's response is exchanged interactively in a structured and predictable manner. GDACS will be activated when major natural, technological, or environmental disasters overwhelm a country's response capacity and international assistance is required.
New US Geological Survey fact sheets
water.usgs.gov/wid/index-hazards.html
The US Geological Survey added the following fact sheets to their series on hazards: Volcano Hazards – A National Threat, Wildfire Hazards – A National Threat, Hurricane Hazards – A National Threat, Tsunami Hazards – A National Threat, Flood Hazards – A National Threat, and Landslide Hazards – A National Threat. Other fact sheets are also available.
Worldwatch Institute
www.worldwatch.org/features/disasters/overview/
The Worldwatch Institute has launched a two-year project addressing the intersections between natural disasters, environmental degradation, conflict, and peacemaking. The project will examine a variety of cases, including the situation in Indonesia and Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Indo-Pakistani relations following the 2005 South Asia earthquake, and earthquake diplomacy between Turkey and Greece.
National Academies Disasters Roundtable
www.nap.edu/catalog/11593.html
This workshop summary distils the proceedings of the October 18, 2005, National Academies Disasters Roundtable: Law, Science, and Disaster. The workshop examined recent developments and trends in hazards and disaster law and its implementation and drew on the September 11 experience to discuss the related issue of victim compensation.
State and Urban Area Homeland Security Plans and Exercises
www.opencrs.com/rpts/RS22393_20060303.pdf
This Congressional Research Service (CRS) report State and Urban Area Homeland Security Plans and Exercises: Issues for the 109th Congress addresses possible policy questions associated with homeland security plans and exercises, including how states and urban areas use federal funding to prepare for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
“Don't Be Scared, be Prepared”
www.christian-aid.org.uk/indepth/512_dispreparedness/disaster%20preparedness.pdf
This briefing paper, “Don't Be Scared, Be Prepared: How Disaster Preparedness Can Save Lives and Money,” from Christian Aid argues that there are inexpensive and effective ways for poor communities to reduce the impacts of disasters and that local community involvement in disaster risk reduction is necessary for success.
Preparing for Future “Katrinas”
www.brookings.edu/comm/policybriefs/pb150.htm
Preparing for Future “Katrinas” is the title of this policy brief from the Brookings Institute that proposes the establishment of an independent federal office to operate a catastrophic reinsurance program, calling for the federal government to formally acknowledge and implement what it already has become: an insurer of last resort for catastrophes.
Benfield Hazard Research Centre
www.disasterreductiongateway.org/
An initiative of the Benfield Hazard Research Centre, Disaster Reduction Gateway promotes information sharing and cooperation among individuals with interests in natural disaster reduction. It includes links to web sites of UK – and European-based organizations and individuals involved in disaster reduction as well as links to courses, conferences, publications, funders, and more.
Learning from Disaster
www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandDefense/bg1923.cfm
The report Learning from Disaster: The Role of Federalism and the Importance of Grassroots Response from The Heritage Foundation discusses the role of the federal government and the role that nongovernmental organizations, private sector initiatives, and individual civic deeds play during extreme emergencies.
A new study by US-based media analysts CARMA International surveyed media coverage from a sample of western countries of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; Hurricane Katrina; the earthquake in Bam, Iran; Hurricane Stan; the ongoing conflict in Darfur, Africa; and the recent South Asia earthquake. It found that it is not human suffering but western self-interest that dictates how disasters are covered in the press.
International Society of First Responders
This new web site is the online home of the International Society of First Responders (ISOFR). The ISOFR is a trade association and professional resource center dedicated to the issues of training, education, best practices, and shared experiences facing first responders in their support of homeland security. The site features a training center, resource library, and more.
National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications
visz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert.php?lang = eng
The National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications, Havaria Emergency and Disaster Information Services in Budapest, Hungary, collects data on current natural and human-caused disasters around the world and provides the information on their web site. A subscription-based e-mail alert and RSS feeds are also available.
Evacuation Planning, Human Factors
trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id = 5206
“Evacuation Planning, Human Factors, and Traffic Engineering: Developing Systems for Training and Effective Response” is featured in the May-June 2005 issue of the Transportation Research Board's TR News. The authors suggest that a real-time emergency planning system could generate evacuation routing and traffic management plans in response to accidents, terrorist attacks, or other catastrophic events that change the capacity or the topology of the road network and could serve as a training simulator for emergency planning.
ProtectingAmerica
www.protectingamerica.org/pdf/06pre301f.pdf
ProtectingAmerica.org released these findings from a national survey that found that nearly half of all Americans feel personally vulnerable to a major natural catastrophe. The survey also found that 70 percent of respondents say the country is still not prepared to deal with catastrophe and that they support congressional action to reduce the financial and economic consequences of catastrophe.