Internet Pages
Below are new or updated Internet resources that Natural Hazards Center staff have found informative and useful. For a more complete list of some of the better sites dealing with hazards and disasters, see http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/resources/sites.html.
All Hazards
http://www.geohazards.mtu.edu
Michigan Tech University and the U.S. Peace Corps have announced an opportunity for students who want to work abroad and are interested in the mitigation of geological hazards. The program offers field-based experience through a Peace Corps assignment. It initially targets Central American countries facing significant challenges in geological hazards. For details, contact William Rose, Michigan Tech University, Houghton, MI 49931; (906) 487-2367; e-mail: raman@mtu.edu.http://www.disaster-info.net/newsletter/92/helid.htm
The 2003 edition of the Health Library for Disasters, an on-line collection of information resources on public health in disasters and complex emergencies, has just been released by the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization. The library is fully searchable with a variety of key terms.http://www.fema.gov/kids/games/board
The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has unveiled an interactive web-based board game for children as part of its commitment to educating young people about disaster preparedness and risk reduction. The board game is called "Disaster Discovery."http://online.northumbria.ac.uk/geography_research/gdn/resources/bibliographies.html
This URL is a link to a newly revised gender and disasters bibliography.http://www.fema.gov/tab_education.shtm
At this URL, FEMA offers a community-based predisaster mitigation curriculum designed to involve emergency management and community and faith-based organizations (CBOs/FBOs) in predisaster mitigation at the local level.Also through FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is introducing a new course to raise awareness for the need to reduce the consequences of disasters on small businesses. Small- to medium-sized businesses, which provide nearly 80% of the jobs in an average community, are at great risk for failure after a disaster. To help prevent business losses, this course, offered by FEMA's Emergency Management Institute (EMI), brings together state and local officials, economic development leaders, emergency managers, and other stakeholders to develop business loss prevention strategies, share concerns, and raise awareness of each other's priorities. Information about these classes, along with many others offered through EMI, can be found at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/.
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/facultypos.asp
FEMA's Higher Education Program, a division of EMI, mentioned above, has begun posting emergency management faculty vacancies on the Higher Education web site.http://www.naem.com/connection.html
Since January 2002, there has been nearly a 100% increase in the number of states where Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training is available. The Connection newsletter, comprising articles written by the people from around the country who are involved in community preparedness on a daily basis, is seeking contributions. Suggested topics include emergency responses in which CERT teams were involved, schools and preparedness training, innovative CERT ideas, and how CERTs are maintaining skills and motivation. Complete guidelines for article submission can be found at http://www.naem.com/connection/guidelines.html.http://www.nmfi.org/index.htm
The National Mass Fatalities Institute (NMFI), an organization established to help communities, businesses, industries, government, and disaster response agencies effectively plan for, respond to, and recover from a mass fatalities incident, now offers an on-line newsletter, which will be sent out periodically to provide updated news, information, and event listings to help communities and organizations prepare for mass fatality incidents. To sign up for this free newsletter, send an e-mail to nmfi@kirkwood.edu.http://www.geoplace.com/gw/2003/0311/0311gngis.asp
The relationships between geospatial data, geographic information systems, and risk analysis for natural disasters, technological accidents, terrorist attacks, and regional conflicts are explored in this column at GeoSpace.com, a resource for geospatial information.http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=8412
The FEMA web site recently featured a series of three articles entitled "North Carolina: Mitigation in Action" that describe measures taken to alleviate flood and hurricane damage. In particular, they look at steps taken after recent devastating storms, such as hurricanes Fran in 1996 and Bonnie in 1998, and show how those measures prevented further damage last summer when Hurricane Isabel came ashore. The articles offer numerous examples and tips that could be adopted elsewherehttp://www.ibhs.org/publications/list.asp?id=72
The Institute of Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has posted presentations from insurance company representatives, emergency management officials, academics, government officials, and others, who participated in the 2003 IBHS congress.http://www.tiems.org/
The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS) has unveiled a new and updated web site that provides access to proceedings and papers from past TIEMS conferences.http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/ics/index.html
The Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released its latest web-based training tool on the Incident Command System (ICS). This web course highlights planning, preparation, and implementation of an ICS system, and includes a section outlining OSHA standards that affect ICS workers, along with additional guidance applicable to emergency response safety and health.http://www.riskinstitute.org/lib_art.asp?art_id=1081
On its web site, the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) has posted abstracts of the articles in the volume Beyond September 11th: An Account of Post-disaster Research, published by the Natural Hazards Center (see the Observer, Vol. XXVIII, No. 2, p. 3). These articles were authored by researchers who studied the immediate effects of September 11, 2001, in the days, weeks, and months following the disaster.http://gets.ncs.gov/
The Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS), provided by the Office of the Manager, National Communications System (OMNCS), supports federal, state, and local government, industry, and nonprofit organization personnel in performing national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) missions. GETS provides emergency access and priority processing in the local and long distance segments of the Public Switched Network (PSN). It is intended to be used during an emergency or crisis when the probability of completing a call over normal or alternate telecommunication means is low.http://www.txregionalcouncil.org/cc_cert/citizen_corps.htm
The Texas Association of Regional Councils local Citizens Corps Councils web page includes an overview of the state's Comprehensive Citizen Corps program in Power Point format from a recent presentation given at the Volunteers in Homeland Security Conference in November. The presentation covers statewide program goals, structure, funding, and activities.Homeland Security
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0355.xml
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a new web page for information on grant opportunities from the department and elsewhere in the federal government, including public health preparedness grants under Health and Human Services, counter-terrorism grants under the Department of Justice, and water-security grants from the Environmental Protection Agency.http://www.fema.gov/compendium
DHS has recently launched a searchable web-based "compendium of federal terrorism training," a database originally developed by the army in 1998 and significantly updated and redesigned by FEMA's Emergency Management Institute. This new resource provides state and local officials with a single location from which they can easily find information on terrorism training available from federal departments and agencies. Users can query specific subject areas, departments, or agencies and print out customized lists of available training.Earthquakes
http://www.eeri.org/
The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) has unveiled a newly reorganized web site. EERI is a national, nonprofit, technical society of engineers, geoscientists, architects, planners, public officials, and social scientists.Floods and Severe Weather
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/water/turnaround.shtml
Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than because of any other thunderstorm-related hazard. "Turn Around Don't Drown" is a new campaign begun by the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) and the National Weather Service to educate people about flood risks. This site includes information about the program along with downloadable signs and brochures.http://www.wvca.us/flood.php
The West Virginia statewide flood protection task force is in the final stages of developing a statewide flood protection plan. This site presents the draft plan. For additional information, e-mail Russ Campbell, rcampbell@wvca.us; or Richard Drum, richard.g.drum@lrh01.usace.army.mil.http://www.climatecentre.org
The Netherlands Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies recently signed an agreement confirming cooperation for a new "Center on Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness" to facilitate working relationships between Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies and country or regional climate experts in areas relevant to disaster preparedness. Along with a variety of projects, the center has already conducted climate change and disaster preparedness assessments in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and locations in the Pacific. Work is continuing in Nicaragua (through the Nicaraguan Red Cross) in three communities to raise awareness about risks due to climate change, train volunteers to assist with emergency response, and strengthen partnerships with government agencies and others already working on these issues.Fire
http://www.osha.gov/dep/fire-expmatrix/index.html
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently developed this on-line "Fire and Explosion Planning Matrix" to help employers reduce their vulnerability to, or the consequences of, a terrorist explosive device or act of arson.http://www.redcross.org/disaster/masters/
The Red Cross is now providing lesson plans and activities for children ages 5-13 to help them and their families prepare for a fire. The materials, developed with support from the United States Fire Administration (USFA), are aimed at reducing the injuries and fatalities among children due to residential fire. The information is obtainable by clicking on the "fire prevention and safety" icon on this web site.http://www.usfa.fema.gov/inside-usfa/newsletter/2003/news100103.shtm
The USFA has also begun publishing an on-line newsletter available at this URL.http://www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/publications/
Every year, more fire departments are implementing geographic information systems (GIS) in their departments for geographical analysis and display of department activities. To facilitate this change, the USFA has released a CD-ROM tutorial, which offers an introduction to GIS for the fire service and links to more advanced information and key resources. Included with the CD-ROM is a video called "Mapping the Future of Fire," which demonstrates actual use by the Wilson, North Carolina, fire department. The tutorial can be obtained at no cost at the URL above (search for publication FA-259)http://www.firesafety.gov/
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Fire Safety Council have joined to create this one-stop information resource for residential fire safety and prevention information that is distributed by the federal government.http://geomac2.cr.usgs.gov/
The Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination web site was started at the request of fire managers who needed real-time geospatial information on the status, location, and proximity of wildfires to life, property, and infrastructure. A visual presentation of active fires gives managers a better idea of where to focus resources. This site received an unprecedented number of hits during the recent California wildfires. Server capabilities have been updated to accommodate future events.Avalanche
http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Lmh/Lmh55.htm
Snow Avalanche Management in Forested Terrain, a Canadian Ministry of Forests publication, is available on-line in PDF format at this site. The book addresses snow and avalanche phenomena in a forestry setting and outlines harvest design and silvicultural strategies to reduce avalanche risk.Hurricanes
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/whhistry.htm
This hurricane web site, maintained by USA Today, includes historical information and a wide variety of hurricane-related resources and links.http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/cra
The Coastal Risk Atlas (CRA), a joint project of the National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center (CSC), is an on-line risk/vulnerability tool for analyzing coastal storms. The site features several Internet map services providing hazard, demographic, and critical facility information for the Mississippi Gulf Coast and northeast Florida. It also offers maps providing other spatial data as well as real-time observations.During the 2003 Natural Hazards Workshop held in Boulder, Colorado, this past summer, a group of 50 participants met to discuss common interests in hazards applications of geographic information systems/sciences (GIS). Acting on a recommendation from the group, a new web site has recently been launched to encourage sharing of information about how the hazards community is using GIS for hazards-related activities and to provide useful and easily accessible resources for everyone. The web site can be found at http://hazards.lsu.edu.
The site is active, and the managers have issued a general call to all those who are interested in GIS and hazards, encouraging them to link to the web page and provide suggestions, pertinent links, comments, or anything else they consider useful. There are countless potential cosponsors and participants for this effort from the various public, private, and nonprofit agencies and organizations currently working with hazards and GIS.
Specifically, site organizers are looking for the following input: information on any available GIS resources for hazards-related data, hazards research that is using GIS, and any other general suggestions. Please contact either Lavanya Gandluru, lgand1@lsu.edu; or John C. Pine, Department of Environmental Studies, 42 Atkinson Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803; (225) 578-1075; e-mail: jpine@lsu.edu; http://hazards.lsu.edu.
Table of Contents for This Issue of the Natural Hazards Observer
