All hazards

Citation

(2001), "All hazards", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 10 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2001.07310eag.001

All hazards

All hazards

Federal Emergency Management Agency's Higher Education Projecthttp://www.jema.gov/emi/edu

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Higher Education Project is a major agency effort to promote emergency management training in colleges and universities across the USA. The project's Web site offers details about this program as well as information on available training. For example, the project maintains a list of all colleges offering (or even considering) emergency management or disaster courses, indexed in various ways. In addition to the current listings (by degree offered) the site is adding: an alphabetical listing of emergency management collegiate programs; a listing of emergency management collegiate programs by state; and a listing of emergency management collegiate programs by type. The site also now provides a compilation of college syllabi from hazards and emergency management courses.

UK Department for International Development (DFID)http://www.redcross.org.uk (click on "Our work" then on "International activities")

For the past two years, a team funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and managed by the British Red Cross has been researching the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in natural disaster mitigation and preparedness. The project's findings are now available from this Web site. They comprise:

• •

  an overview of research results;

• •

  a series of short case studies for project planners, illustrating the range and nature of NGO work in this area and highlighting key issues. When complete, the series will contain 15 to 20 case studies;

• •

  a study of the mitigation/preparedness work of international relief and development NGOs based in the UK and the factors affecting this work; and

• •

  similar studies of NGOs in Bangladesh, Nicaragua, The Philippines, and Zimbabwe.

These documents can all be downloaded from the project Web page indicated above; click on "NGO Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness Project" for the research reports and overview paper or "NGO initiatives in risk reduction" for the short case studies. Questions and comments can be directed to the project's e-mail address: dmp@redcross.org.uk or the research team leader, John Twigg, j.twigg@ucl.ac.uk

British Columbia, Canada, Provincial Emergency Program (PEP)http://www.pep.bc.ca (click on "Tools for Change: Emergency Management for Women's Services")

The British Columbia, Canada, Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) Web site has made an entire workbook on disaster preparedness and response among women's services available online. It Can Happen to Your Agency – Tools for Change: Emergency Management for Women's Services, prepared by the British Columbia Association of Specialized Victim Assistance and Counselling Programs, focuses on how women's service agencies can prepare to meet the problems and increased demands for services that will accompany any disaster.

Congressional Natural Hazards Caucushttp://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis107/hazards-caucus0101.htmlhttp://www.agiweb.org/workgrouphttp://www.ucar.edu/communications/awareness/2001/hazards

On January 22, the Congressional Natural Hazards Caucus kicked off its activities in the new 107th Congress with a roundtable event to consider the impacts of the recent earthquake in El Salvador and to discuss the broader natural hazards challenges facing the USA. In conjunction with the event, caucus co-chairs Senator John Edwards (Democrat, NC) and Senator Ted Stevens (Republican, AK) released a discussion piece prepared for the caucus, highlighting why the nation is becoming more vulnerable to natural disasters and what actions Congress could take to address the problem. That paper is available for download from the second URL above. It identifies numerous challenges for Congress, both in the near future and long term, and offers suggestions for dealing with them. A separate administration transition document was prepared earlier by a working group of the caucus. Entitled A National Priority: Building Resilience to Natural Hazards, it is available at the third URL.

Insurance Services Officehttp://www.iso.com

The Web site of Insurance Services Office, Inc. (an insurance industry supplier of statistical, actuarial, underwriting, and claims data) provides information such as estimates of anticipated national insured catastrophe losses for the entire insurance industry on its news page (www.iso.com/docs/news.htm), as well as timely studies regarding important issues facing the insurance industry and society as a whole on its studies and analyses page (http://www.iso.com/docs/studies.htm).

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)http://www.adpc.ait.ac.th/default.htmlhttp://www.adpc.ait.ac.th/infores/ir.html

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) Web site includes a large section on "Information, research and network support" at the second URL above that offers 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 a recently added searchable, annotated database of ADPC library holdings. ADPC staff have also created a new Web section to support reconstruction following the January earthquake in Gujarat, India (click on "India earthquake" at the bottom of the left-hand column of the main page at the first URL above). That section provides reports from various agencies, an annotated bibliography on reconstruction after disaster, information about an e-mail listserve established to support reconstruction, as well as an archive of past listserve messages. The listserve is open to anyone interested in or working on post-disaster reconstruction, development planning, and disaster management. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Rebuild_gujarat-request@ait.ac.th with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. Messages intended for list members should be sent to rebuild_gujarat@ait.ac.th

Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies (ICDDS)http://www.icdds.org

The Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies (ICDDS) is the UK's oldest international learned society wholly devoted to international disaster studies and research. Founded in 1938, the ICDDS recently went through a reorganization and renewal. It now has an international multidisciplinary membership, publishes a quarterly journal, and organizes seminars and workshops, usually in collaboration with kindred organizations. In addition, ICDDS is now publishing a series of disaster research papers on various aspects of natural, technological, and other human-made hazards, as well as nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare. For more information about ICDDS, see the Web site above, or contact G.A. Whitehead, Honorary General Secretary and Journal Editor, ICDDS, PO Box 74, Worcester, WR2 4YE, UK; e-mail: gw@icdds.fsnet.co.uk

New discussion listemergency-management@yahoogroups.com

Another new discussion list has been established to promote communication about all aspects of the discipline among emergency management professionals and other interested persons. Individuals can subscribe by e-mailing: emergency-managementsubscribe@yahoogroups.com or consulting groups consulting groups.yahoo.com/group/Emergency-Management on the WWW. Additionally, anyone desiring more information can contact the listmaster, Steve Davis. e-mail: steve@davislogic.com

American Red Crosshttp://www.redcross.orghttp://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/

The American Red Cross Web site has been redesigned and reorganized and now offers both a cleaner look and a more user-friendly navigation system. Disaster information is only one or two clicks away from the home page (rather than three or four), and the content is organized clearly and intuitively to meet the needs of the general public.

US Small Business Administration (SBA)http://www.sba.gov/disaster

To support its disaster assistance program, the US Small Business Administration (SBA) has established this Web site that not only offers information about the agency and its disaster loan programs, but also provides general information about disaster preparedness, current disasters in which the SBA is involved, and other aid programs available from the federal government.

City of Tampa, Florida, "Local Hazard Mitigation"http://www.ci.tampa.fl.us/dept-Planning/planning-section/LMS

This City of Tampa, Florida, "Local hazard mitigation" Web site is intended to educate citizens regarding the city's efforts to minimize future impacts of natural or human-caused disasters. The site could well serve as a model for other localities that want to use the Web to inform and be informed about reducing disaster losses. It includes a brief introduction regarding the nature and benefits of local mitigation, as well as four mitigation strategy documents covering local hazards, critical facilities, mitigation projects, and background reports.

Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centrehttp://www.bghrc.com

The Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre, in London, has recently added two new publications to the center's Web site. The first is Guidance Notes on Participation and Accountability in Disaster Reduction, intended to help practitioners in disaster mitigation and preparedness. The notes cover principles and practice and contain a number of case studies. Because they are still in draft form, comments and additional case studies are welcome. A copy can be downloaded by going to the "Disaster management" pages of the Benfield Greig site and looking under "Other publications". The second publication, Sustainable Livelihoods and Vulnerability to Disasters, summarizes recent thinking on this topic. In particular, it looks at a sustainable livelihoods framework currently being developed and includes a list of selected references and sources of information. It also comments on issues arising from current theories on livelihood options for disaster risk reduction. Copies are also available from the "Disaster management" page's "Working papers" section. The Benfield Greig Centre has also recently published the first issue of its newsletter, BGHRC Alert, via this Web site. BGHRC Alert is intended to disseminate information about the work of the center – one of Europe's leading academic hazard research centers – and to help stimulate dialogue and understanding related to contemporary issues in risk science and disaster management. It will be published and available to all, free of charge, four times a year. The BGHRC site includes much other information resulting from the center's work; topics range from Atlantic tsunami risks, to other geological and meteorological hazards, to NGO initiatives in disaster reduction. In short, the center's interests span the whole range of hazards issues.

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)http://www.iadb.org/sds/env/site-2493-e.htmhttp://www.iadb.org/sds/env/publication2530-e.htmhttp://www.iadb.org/idbamerica/english/mar01e/mar01e8.html

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has made a major commitment to addressing natural disasters as an integral part of its overall mission to promote development in the Americas. The IDB Natural Disaster Management Web site at the first URL describes the bank's mission, strategy, and work program in this area and, at the second address, offers three publications for download from the site:

• •

  A Matter of Development: How to Reduce Vulnerability in the Face of Natural Disasters, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and IDB, 2000, 45 pp.

• •

  Facing the Challenge of Natural Disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean: An IDB Action Plan, IDB, 2000, 34 pp.

• •

  Natural Disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Overview of Risk, Celine Chaveriat, 2000, 104 pp.

These publications can also be obtained by sending an e-mail to env@iadb.org or by contacting the Environment Division, Stop W-500, Inter-American Development Bank, 1300 New York Avenue, Washington, DC 20577; http://www.iadb.org/exr/pub/index.asp

At the third URL, the bank recently announced the publication of a new volume – Social Protection for Equity and Growth (2000, 238 pp., $22.50, plus shipping), edited by Ann Moline. The book focuses on the extreme vulnerability of the poor in Latin America and discusses how governments in the region can plan for (rather than simply respond to) disasters and severe economic fluctuations. The authors argue that the impact of disasters in Latin America can be mitigated by instituting financial and land-use reforms, developing social systems, encouraging entrepreneurship, and creating disaster reserve funds. They hold that a coherent social protection strategy will improve a nation's overall economic status after a crisis by reducing the exposure of the poor to risk and boosting their participation in economic activities with higher returns, thus ultimately preparing a country to deal with inevitable future disasters. More information, excerpts, and an order form are available from the site. Orders should be directed to the IDB Bookstore, 1300 New York Avenue, N. W" Washington, DC 20577; http://www.iadb.org/exr/pub/pages/Order.asp

Risk Management Resource Centerhttp://www.eriskcenter.arg

The goal of the Risk Management Resource Center is to provide information that can help local governments, non-profit organizations, and small businesses manage risks effectively. The center is a collaborative effort of the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA), the Nonprofit Risk Management Center (NRMC), and the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI). The materials available include conference papers, reports, and publications; databases of information resources; and hundreds of links to other useful Internet sites. Specifically, among its many resources, the site provides the "PRIMAFile" Online Library – abstracts of materials contained in PRIMA's reference library (complete copies can be ordered online); NRMC Risk Management Briefs – 25 free, downloadable papers summarizing knowledge about various aspects of risk management; papers and presentations from PRIMA, PERI, and NRMC conferences and symposia; PERI's Risk Management Clearinghouse – a database of resources on risk management; as well as numerous other publications, Web links, and resources.

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)http://www.emapanline.arghttp://www.nemaweb.arg

The National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) has launched a new Web site at the first URL to support its Emergency Management Accreditation (EMAP) program. In addition, individuals who want to be regularly updated on EMAP activities can request such information by e-mailing edemers@csg.arg

American Institute for Conservation (AIC)http://www.aic.stanford.edu/disaster/

The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) site offers an entire section on disaster recovery. It includes tips for the care of water-damaged objects of all kinds – from family heirlooms to books, textiles, and photographs – as well as links to other resources and information on the protection and conservation of valuable and/or historic artifacts.

Montgomery County, Marylandhttp://www.eventbasedscience.cam

This set of classroom resources prepared by the Montgomery County, Maryland, school system for middle and high school students includes disaster preparedness curricula on such hazards as asteroids, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, oil spills, tornadoes, toxic leaks, volcanoes, and disease outbreaks. Each module involves students adopting different roles dealing with the specific hazard – from architect or planner to emergency responder. The site links to multiple resources for each module and also encourages students to consider careers in relevant fields.

New Discussion Grouphttp://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/emlegislation

A new Yahoo! Internet discussion group has been established to disseminate legislation, regulatory notices, and other federal government news (such as Federal Register documents, GAO reports, and texts of bills) that might affect emergency management professionals. Additionally, this e-mail list will serve as a forum for discussion of emergency management policy issues. To subscribe, send an e-mail to emlegislation-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit the group's Web page above. The group moderator would like to establish partnerships with others who can provide information for the group. If you are interested, contact Mary Ann Marrocolo, e-mail: mmarroco@oem.nyc.gov or mmarrocolo@aol.com

New Information and Discussion Grouprisk-com@listserver.itd.umich.edu risk-com-request@umich.edu

A new information and discussion list has been established to promote discussion among persons interested in risk communication. Persons wishing to subscribe should send an e-mail message to the second address above with the word "subscribe" as the subject of the message.