Overseas and international resources

Citation

(2007), "Overseas and international resources", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 16 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2007.07316aag.005

Overseas and international resources

ReliefWebwww.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?OpenForm

ReliefWeb is a site maintained by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA – see below) intended to aid national agencies and nongovernmental organizations involved in emergency and disaster relief worldwide. The site addresses prevention, preparedness, and response, and includes country and emergency profiles, a bulletin section with daily updates, a “What’s New” feature that directs the reader to recently added information, and various maps of countries and regions where emergency operations are currently underway.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairshttp://ochaonline.un.org/

This site – the “Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Online” – is the principle source of information on the activities of OCHA, the United Nations (UN) agency responsible for UN response to disasters and complex emergencies. It includes information about the office; its latest emergency reports; emergency information by country/region; sections on coordination and emergency response, and disaster reduction; a list of OCHA publications; news about and from IRIN – OCHA’s Integrated Regional Information Networks www.irinnews.org/); and information on training, conferences, and workshops.

Global Disaster Alert and Coordination Systemhttp://gdacs.org/

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.

The Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasterswww.cred.be

The Center for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters at the School of Public Health, Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium, maintains one of the web’s more comprehensive databases of disaster information. The site includes background information; a “What’s new” update section; the searchable database covering over 10,000 disasters; “Disaster profiles” (now including data on epidemics) presented in three sub-sets: “Top 10,” “Chronological table,” and “Raw data,” and grouped according to country, region, world, and disaster type; summary data; maps; a bibliographic database; and links to other useful sites. Additionally, a country-by-country database compiled by the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assist and CRED is available via the United Nations ReliefWeb site: www.reliefweb.int (see above).

World Bank and Provention Consortiumwww.worldbank.org/hazards/www.proventionconsortium.org/

Because of its increasing awareness of the effects of disasters on development (and development on disasters), in July 1998 the World Bank established a Disaster Management Facility (DMF) to ensure that disaster prevention and mitigation are integral parts of development programs. The DMF web site includes much information on World Bank policy and projects in disaster management, good practices in disaster risk management, market incentives for mitigation investment, recent disasters, World Bank publications, current disaster news, key readings, and useful links.

As part of its disaster management efforts, the bank has created the ProVention Consortium, whose mission is “to help developing countries build sustainable and successful economies and to reduce the human suffering that too often results from natural and technological catastrophes.” More information about specific goals and projects is available from the web site above.The bank’s web site offers other pages addressing hazards. For example, see http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/disastmgmtteam/disastmgmtteamopenar.nsf/Homepage/Homepage?OpenDocument – the section on “Disaster Management and Mitigation in Latin America and the Caribbean” – with information on all the World Bank disaster recovery projects in that region, as well as news about recent and ongoing disasters.

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)www.unisdr.org/

To continue the efforts initiated during the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (1990-2000) the United Nations (UN) established the ISDR, managed by a small UN Secretariat in Geneva. This web site provides extensive background information on the ISDR; a list of ISDR and ISDR-related events; online versions of the ISDR Highlights newsletter; descriptions of various ISDR initiatives; and numerous reports, tools, brochures, and UN documents.

The ISDR’s Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning (www.unisdr.org/ppew/) aims to help the development of early warning and preparedness systems by advocating for better early warning systems. Visit this web site, a growing information resource on early warning systems, and sign up for their quarterly newsletter.

The ISDR’s Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean launched this site, www.eird.org, to promote disaster mitigation in the region and to help the unit better respond to the many information requests it receives daily.

Worldwatch Institutewww.worldwatch.org/features/disasters/

Worldwatch Institute is an interdisciplinary research organization based in Washington, DC. The Worldwatch Institute has launched a two-year project addressing the intersections between natural disasters, environmental degradation, conflict, and peacemaking.

Emergency Preparedness Information Exchange (EPIX)http://epix.hazard.net

The EPIX was one of the original internet disaster sites and remains one of the most comprehensive. Established by the Centre for Public Policy Research on Science and Technology, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada, EPIX contains extensive information about both current situations and disaster management generally.

Regional Disaster Information Center for Latin America and the Caribbeanwww.crid.or.cr/crid/index.html

The Regional Disaster Information Center (Centro Regional de Informacion Sobre Desastres – CRID) for Latin America and the Caribbean is a multi-organizational project, housed in San Jose, Costa Rica, and supported by several international agencies. The main objective of the center is to facilitate access to technical and scientific information to improve disaster management in all countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Specific objectives are to improve and broaden the collection, processing, and dissemination of disaster reduction information in the region; strengthen regional, national, and local capability to establish and maintain disaster information and documentation centers; promote communication through the Internet and develop electronic information services; and contribute to the development of a Regional Disaster Reduction Information System. CRID provides bibliographic searches, either via the internet, by CD, or through direct contact with the center; publishes bibliographic material; offers direct access via the internet to an extensive collection of technical documents in full text (in both Spanish and English); publishes original documents and training materials; and offers many other services.

“Mirror Sites”www.disaster.info.desastres.net

This web site offers access to a collection of “mirror sites” of many of the organizations with important disaster preparedness and prevention information regarding the Latin American and Caribbean region. Sites are hosted in their original language and each participating organization is responsible for the content of their pages.

Natural Hazards Project of the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment, Organization of American Stateswww.oas.org/nhpwww.oas.org/usde/publications.htm

The web page of the Natural Hazards Project of the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment, Organization of American States contains information, in Spanish and English, about the project’s various natural hazard mitigation activities – including programs in the areas of transportation vulnerability reduction, education vulnerability reduction (including effective post-disaster school reconstruction), and floodplain management – as well as announcements about upcoming activities, the project’s internship program, and contact information.

At the second address above, the Unit for Sustainable Development and the Environment has made the complete text of several disaster-related publications available on the web, including its 1991 publication Primer on Natural Hazard Management in Integrated Regional Development Planning, as well as Disaster, Planning and Development: Managing Natural Hazards to Reduce Loss, and Reduction of Vulnerability to Floods in River Basins. Many other documents on sustainable development are available. Spanish versions of some of these publications and other useful documents in Spanish are also available.

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA)www.cdera.org

CDERA is an intergovernmental, regional disaster management organization with 16 participating states and headquarters in the Barbados. CDERA’s main function is to launch an immediate and coordinated response to any disastrous event affecting any participating state, once the state requests such assistance. The CDERA web site provides information on the organization and programs of the agency; details about emergency management arrangements in each of the participating states; a list of upcoming events; situation reports; links; weekly news; fact sheets on the various hazards of the region; and details about CDERA’s “Disaster Emergency Response and Management Systems” (DERMS) Project.

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canadawww.ocipep.gc.ca/index.html

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada offers emergency management and preparedness information in English or in French.

Canadian Disaster Databasewww.psepc-sppcc.gc.ca/res/em/cdd/index-en.asp

This database contains historical information on disasters that have directly affected Canadians, at home and abroad, over the past century. It includes references to all types of Canadian disasters, including those triggered by natural hazards, technological hazards, or conflict (not including war).

Emergency Management Australiawww.ema.gov.au

Emergency Management Australia has jazzed up its web site with a new look and new information. The site includes a section describing the agency’s programs and structure as well as pages covering current EMA activities, EMA media releases, and emergency management generally. It also provides a virtual library, community information, a summary of available education and training, and a list of conferences. It also provides an extensive new section on “Disaster Education for Schools,” with pages for teachers, students, and school communities, as well as a news section and an index of school disaster education resources – from web sites to books and videos.

The site is linked to Risk Frontiers (www.es.mq.edu.au/NHRC/web/front/homepagetables.htm) and the “Australasian Disaster and Hazard Research Directory” – a fully searchable online index that includes synopses, complete contact information, and other details for various hazards research projects in the Australia-South Pacific region.

New Zealand Office of Civil Defensewww.ew.govt.nz/regionalservices/civil/

The New Zealand Office of Civil Defense deals with natural and technological hazards and emergencies – providing national coordination and a range of support for local government and other emergency services. The office’s web site describes the agency, its programs and available training; offers tips on personal preparedness, as well as an overview of New Zealand hazards and disasters (particularly volcanoes); provides updates on ongoing emergencies; and furnishes an on-line version of the office’s excellent periodical, Tephra Magazine (www.mcdem.govt.nz/memwebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/ The-Emergency-Sector-Publications-And-Documents-Tephra?OpenDocument& Start=1&Count=1000&ExpandView).

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)www.adpc.net

The ADPC, in Bangkok, is a regional center committed to the protection of life, property, and the environment in Asia and the Pacific. It assists local, regional, and national governments in developing their capabilities and policies through training, information provision, and technical assistance to mitigate the impact of disasters. The center web site includes pages about the ADPC, its information and research programs, learning and professional development programs, the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program (AUDMP), its international consultancies and alumni coordination efforts, and its disaster network. The section on “Information, Research and Network Support” offers pages providing disaster information resources (categorized as hazard-specific information, country-specific information, disaster organizations, and reference resources), the center’s newsletter – Asian Disaster Management News, several ADPC online documents, a description of ADPC library services, and now, a searchable, annotated database of the ADPC library holdings.

Humanitarian Early Warning Servicewww.hewsweb.org/

The United Nation’s World Food Programme set up this new web site to monitor natural hazards around the world and help the international community anticipate humanitarian crises. HEWSweb (Humanitarian Early Warning Service) is updated daily with forecasts from a range of specialized institutions on droughts, floods, tropical storms, earthquakes, and rarer events such as El Nino. It represents an interagency partnership project aimed at establishing a common platform for humanitarian early warnings and forecasts for natural hazards and socio-political developments worldwide.

Asia-Pacific Natural Hazards and Vulnerabilities Atlaswww.pdc.org/atlas/html/atlas-init.jsp

The Pacific Disaster Center designed this web-based hazards atlas to support disaster management and humanitarian assistance communities in the Asia-Pacific region and Hawaii. The updated atlas provides a geospatial framework through which a wealth of hazards-related information can be viewed, including real-time and historical tropical cyclone tracks, earthquake locations, wildfires, and tsunami runup zones.

Pacific Disaster Center/Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative Disaster Risk Management Communication Toolwww.pdc.org/emi/

The Pacific Disaster Center and the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative developed this Megacities Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Base, an internet-accessible risk communication tool. The purpose of the knowledge base is to share and understand sound practices for disaster risk reduction and management that have been implemented in some of the world’s most disaster-prone urban environments.

Benfield Hazard Research Centre Disaster Reduction Gatewaywww.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.

Benfield Hazards Research Centrewww.benfieldhrc.org/disaster_studies/rea/rea_index.htm

The Benfield Hazard Research Center’s rapid environmental assessment in disaster response web page has a training schedule, background papers, resources, and links to other information about environment and disasters.