Natural Hazards Observer
| May 2006 | Volume XXX | Number 5 |
Below are brief descriptions of a sampling of recent publications on hazards and disasters received by the Natural Hazards Center. Information on how to obtain copies is included.
All Hazards • Hurricanes and Wind Storms • Tsunamis • Other Coastal Issues and Floods • Earthquakes and Volcanoes • Climate Change • Technological Disasters • Homeland Security • GAO Reports
Munich Re and Swiss Re have released their annual catastrophe reviews for 2005:
Topics Geo—Annual Review: Natural Catastrophes 2005. 2006. 56 pp. Free. Available from Münchener Rückversicher-ungs-Gesellschaft, Königstrasse 107, 80802 München, Germany; +49 (0) 89/3891 5291; www.munichre.com/publications/302-04772_en.pdf. (Supplements, maps, and a list of 2005’s significant natural events are available online at www.munichre.com/.)
Natural Catastrophes and Man-Made Disasters in 2005: High Earthquake Casualties, New Dimension in Windstorm Losses. Aurelia Zanetti and Susanna Schwarz. Sigma No. 2/2006. 2006. 40 pp. Free. Available from Swiss Reinsurance Company, Economic Research and Consulting, Mythenquai 50/60, PO Box, 8022 Zurich, Switzerland; +41 43 285 2551; e-mail: sigma@swissre.com; www.swissre.com/sigma.
Natural Hazards: Earth’s Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes. Edward A. Keller and Robert H. Blodgett. ISBN 0-13-030957-5. 2006. 432 pp. $52.00. Available from Pearson Education, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458; (800) 922-0579; e-mail: he-csweb@pearsoned.com; www.prenhall.com/. This college-level, nontechnical survey of Earth’s surface processes that have direct impacts on humanity is designed to help instructors guide nonscience majors through these processes and their societal repercussions. Instructional resources include Hazard City: Assignments in Applied Geology, a CD-ROM that comes free with every text.
United States: Disaster Information Needs of Ethnic Minorities. OECD Studies in Risk Management. Reza Lahidji and Stephine Poston. 2006. 35 pp. Available free online from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); www.oecd.org/dataoecd/35/61/36099573.pdf. This questionnaire is the result of a request by the U.S. Department of State to the OECD Secretariat to develop a self-assessment tool for the “disaster information needs of Native American tribes in the state of New Mexico and the Four-Corners region of the United States.” The objective was to build a tool that the tribes could use to assess their exposure and vulnerability to hazards as well as their capabilities and needs for preventing, mitigating, and responding to disaster risks.
Telling the Tale of Disaster Resistance: A Guide to Capturing and Communicating the Story. 2001. 65 pp. Available free online from the Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.fema.gov/pdf/fima/telling_the_tale.pdf. Across the United States, individuals, businesses, and communities are taking action to reduce or prevent future disaster damage. In many cases, these actions already have proven to be successful. In others, the test is yet to come. Either way, there is a story to tell. The challenge is to capture and promote these efforts in an interesting and effective way to motivate others to similarly protect themselves and their communities. This guide features examples of best practices and provides key considerations for successfully telling the tale of disaster resistance—developing story leads, researching and documenting projects, creating a finished product, and promoting those projects.
Promoting Community Resilience in Disasters: The Role for Schools, Youth, and Families. Kevin R. Ronan and David M. Johnston. ISBN 0-387-23820-4. 2005. 210 pp. $59.95. Available from Springer New York, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013; (212) 460-1500; e-mail: service-ny@springer-sbm.com; www.springer.com/. The premise of this book is that two of the groups most vulnerable to disaster are children and their family members. As such, this book is designed to assist those charged with helping these groups respond to and rebound from major traumas (e.g., school psychologists and counselors, emergency managers and planners, and mental health professionals). This book offers both clinicians and researchers guidance on hazards preparedness as well as early response and intervention practices. It emphasizes an evidence- and prevention-based approach that is geared toward readiness, response, and recovery phases of natural and human-caused disasters.
2005 Cost of Risk Survey. 2005. 27 pp. $45.00. Available from the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI), 11350 Random Hills Road, #210, Fairfax, VA 22030; (703) 352-1846; www.riskinstitute.org/. Sponsored by PERI and the Public Risk Management Association, this survey was created to gather information about the property and casualty trends and practices of public entities during fiscal year 2004. The comprehensive survey report presents findings such as how the risk management budgets were spent, what cost-cutting measures were used most often, and liability, workers’ compensation, and property costs as a percentage of total operating budget.
Hurricanes—More Intense, More Frequent, More Expensive: Insurance in a Time of Changing Risks. 2006. 44 pp. Free. Available from Münchener Rückversicher-ungs-Gesellschaft, Königstrasse 107, 80802 München, Germany; +49 (0) 89/3891 5291; www.munichre.com/publications/302-04891_en.pdf. Munich Re and American Re released this publication in response to the many exceptional meteorological events and losses for the insurance industry in recent years. It calls for adjustments in the models that simulate hurricane risk in the North Atlantic and more consideration for secondary hazards associated with tropical cyclones, such as storm surge and inland flooding. It examines climate change, the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, losses and underwriting aspects, and consequences for the insurance industry.
Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes. Kerry Emanuel. ISBN 0-19-514941-6. 2005. 296 pp. $45.00. Available from Oxford University Press; (919) 677-0977, (800) 451-7556; www.oup.com/. In this blend of history, science, and art, the author reveals how hurricanes and typhoons have literally altered human history. Interwoven with the scientific account are descriptions of some of the most important hurricanes in history and works of art and literature that relate to them, for example, the early seventeenth-century hurricane that likely inspired Shakespeare’s The Tempest and led to the British colonization of Bermuda.
“Shelter from the Storm: Repairing the National Emergency Management System after Hurricane Katrina.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. William L. Waugh, editor. ISSN 0002-7162. Vol. 604, No. 1. March 2006. 332 pp. $34.00. Available from Sage Publications, 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320; (805) 499-9774, (800) 818-7243; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; http://ann.sagepub.com/. The articles in this volume address some of the more serious issues raised by Hurricane Katrina. These include the responsibility of public officials to ensure that the system works, the president’s role in disasters, disaster myths and erroneous assumptions that underlie current programs, emergent and prosocial behavior in disasters, individual and community vulnerabilities, sheltering and housing very large numbers of evacuees, physical and mental health impacts of disaster, the need to promote disaster resiliency to facilitate recovery, the need to mitigate hazards and ensure against losses, the need to develop national partnerships for recovery, and the need to work effectively within the federal system with its shared responsibility for homeland security and emergency management. A 45-page quick read synopsis is available free at www.aapss.org/uploads/Annals_v604_QRS.pdf.
Hurricane Katrina Task Force Subcommittee Report. 2006. 55 pp. Available free online from the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Law and National Security, 740 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 662-1035; www.abanet.org/natsecurity/scolns_hurricane_katrina_report_feb_2006_2.pdf. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the ABA formed a task force to examine the legal authorities available to guide the preparation and response to a catastrophic incident, whether from terrorism, accidental, or natural causes. Chapter headings include Federalism and Constitutional Challenges; State, Local, and First Responder Issues; Posse Comitatus and Military Involvement; and Private Sector Integration. Conclusions and recommendations are offered to help guide legislators, regulators, and responders as they prepare for future catastrophes and emergencies.
The Repopulation of New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina. Kevin McCarthy, D.J. Peterson, Narayan Sastry, and Michael Pollard. ISBN 0-8330-3940-7. 2006. 60 pp. $18.00. Available free online from the RAND Corporation, Customer Service, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138; (310) 451-7002, (877) 584-8642; e-mail: order@rand.org; www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR369/. In November 2005, New Orleans city leaders asked RAND to estimate the repopulation of the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Bring New Orleans Back Commission needed estimates of the city’s population in the immediate and near-term future to guide the redevelopment planning process. A conceptual framework based on the costs and benefits of migration and on the role of social networks and physical constraints guided the estimates. With housing habitability as the key driver of the future population of New Orleans, the researchers concluded that the population of New Orleans will likely reach about 272,000 in September 2008—56 percent of the pre-Katrina population.
Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster. Michael Eric Dyson. ISBN 0-465-01761-4. 2006. 258 pp. $23.00. Available from Perseus Books Group, Customer Service Department, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103; (800) 371-1669; e-mail: perseus.orders@perseusbooks.com; www.perseusbooksgroup.com/. Combining interviews with survivors of Hurricane Katrina with his knowledge of black migrations and government policy, the author puts forth what he believes to be the disaster’s true lesson: to be poor or black in today’s ownership society is to be left behind. In calling for a change in the way the United States relates to the black and the poor, he explores the legacy of black suffering in America since slavery, ties its psychic scars to today’s crisis, and critiques the way black people are framed in the national consciousness.
Lessons Learned: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 2006. 77 pp. Published by the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (LOHSEP). Available free online from the Hurricane Katrina and Rita Clearinghouse; http://katrina.lsu.edu/downloads/LOHSEP%20LESSONS%20LEARNED.pdf. This report concentrates on lessons learned in functional areas of LOHSEP tasked to provide support and aid to Louisiana citizens. Specifically, these lessons learned look at the emergency support functions of command and control; emergency communications; procedures, planning, staffing, training, facility; logistics; and public information. In each area, accomplishments, concerns, and challenges are noted. This analysis also identifies strengths to be maintained and sustained, potential areas for further improvement, and recommendations for follow-up actions.
After Katrina: Building Back Better Than Ever. 2005. 190 pp. Available free online from the Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal ( Mississippi); www.governorscommission.com/. The product of three months of intensive research and public discussions, this report presents the Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal assessment of damage from Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and their recommendations for restoring what was lost in a way that responds to the governor’s charge to build back “better than ever.”
Hurricane Katrina: Through the Eyes of Storm Chasers. Jim Reed and Mike Theiss. ISBN 1-56037-377-6. 2005. 96 pp. $19.95. Available from Farcountry Press, PO Box 5630, Helena, MT 59604; (406) 444-5100, (800) 821-3874; www.farcountrypress.com/. This photo book offers a glimpse into Hurricane Katrina and its devastating aftermath. The authors, an extreme-weather photographer and a storm-chaser/videographer, document the disaster at every stage, from preparation to evacuation to landfall and beyond. The compilation includes photographs of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Before and after images demonstrate the power of the hurricane. Captions detailing personal stories and weather facts accompany the photographs.
Hurricane Charley, August 9-15, 2004. Service Assessment. 2006. 29 pp. Free. Available from the National Weather Service (NWS), Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services, 1325 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; www.weather.gov/os/assessments/pdfs/Charley06.pdf. Hurricane Charley was a small but powerful hurricane that caused 10 direct fatalities in the United States and an estimated $14 billion in economic losses. This assessment evaluates the service of the NWS before and during Charley’s landfall and provides recommendations, particularly in the areas of education and communications, to improve services in the future. It takes into consideration the affected audiences in the media and emergency management communities as well as the public.
Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room Inside Your House. FEMA 320. 2004. 34 pp. Free. Available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); (888) 565-3896; www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/saferoom/FEMA_320.shtm. FEMA, in cooperation with the Wind Engineering Research Center of Texas Tech University, has developed designs for wind shelters that homeowners can build inside their houses. This booklet includes an introduction to wind hazards, a homeowner risk assessment worksheet, guidance for selecting a shelter location and design, and cost estimates. Detailed construction plans for builders and contractors are also available.
West Coast Tsunami Warning, June 14, 2005. Service Assessment. 2005. 29 pp. Free. Available from the National Weather Service (NWS), Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services, 1325 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; www.weather.gov/os/assessments/pdfs/WestCoastTsunamiFinal.pdf. As the result of a June 2005 earthquake off the coast of California, a tsunami warning was issued by the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. Although a small tsunami was generated, it was determined to be nondestructive and the warning was cancelled. The warning prompted the successful evacuation of numerous coastal communities and beaches, created a large amount of public interest, and generated national media coverage; however, not all aspects of the warning system functioned properly. This assessment examines NWS operations and services and provides 19 recommendations for possible improvements in areas such as the systems used to disseminate information, the content of the messages, and the public response to the warning.
The Orphan Tsunami of 1700: Japanese Clues to a Parent Earthquake in North America. Brian F. Atwater, Musumi-Rokkaku Satoko, Satake Kenji, Tsuji Yoshinobu, Ueda Kazue, David K. Yamaguchi. ISBN 0-295-98535-6. 2005. 144 pp. $24.95. Available from the University of Washington Press, PO Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145-5096; (206) 543-8870, (800) 441-4115; e-mail: uwpord@u.washington.edu; www.washington.edu/uwpress/. In 1700, a mysterious tsunami flooded fields and washed away houses in Japan. It arrived without the warning that a nearby earthquake usually provides. Samurai, merchants, and villagers recorded the event, but nearly three centuries would pass before discoveries in North America revealed the tsunami’s source. This book, published with the U.S. Geological Society, tells the story of a historical catastrophe that now guides preparations for future earthquakes and tsunamis in the North Pacific through primary sources: Japanese documents and North American sediments and tree rings.
Wave of Destruction: The Stories of Four Families and History’s Deadliest Tsunami. Erich Krauss. ISBN 1-59486-378-4. 2006. 256 pp. $24.95. Published by Rodale, 33 East Minor Street, Emmaus, PA 18098; (610) 967-5171, (800) 914-9363; e-mail: info@rodale.com; www.rodalestore.com/. This book tells the stories of four Thai families who escaped the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami but not the horror that followed. It begins with a history of the village and the families and then depicts their experiences with the tsunami, from the arrival of the water to the hunt for the missing and the road to recovery.
Assessment of Capacity Building: Requirements for an Effective and Durable Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System in the Indian Ocean—Consolidated Report for 16 Countries Affected by the 26 December 2004 Tsunami. IOC/INF-1219. 2005. 195 pp. Available free online from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); http://ioc3.unesco.org/indotsunami/nationalassessments.htm. Between May and September 2005, national assessments of 16 countries in the Indian Ocean were conducted to identify capacity-building needs and support requirements for developing an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. This report summarizes the results of the assessments conducted by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the World Meteorological Organization, and others.
Other Coastal Issues and Floods
Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005. Louise Wallendorf, Lesley Ewing, Spencer Rogers, and Chris Jones, editors. ISBN 0-7844-0774-6. 2005. 832 pp. $175. Available from the American Society of Civil Engineers, Book Orders, PO Box 79404, Baltimore, MD 21279-0404; (703) 295-2723, (800) 548-2723; e-mail: marketing@asce.org; www.asce.org/. Eighty papers presented at the Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005 conference make up this conference proceedings. They focus on the science and research tools, management procedures, and solutions that are explored and used during coastal disasters, primarily along the U.S. coastlines of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 2, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss along the U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast. Robert A. Morton and Tara L. Miller. Open-File Report 2005-1401. 2005. 40 pp. Available free online from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/shoreline-change/. A principal purpose of this USGS shoreline change research is to develop a repeatable surveying methodology so that shorelines for the continental United States and portions of Hawaii and Alaska can be periodically and systematically updated in an internally consistent manner. This report summarizes historical changes in the U.S. Southeast Atlantic shoreline, both accretion and erosion, but emphasizes the erosion hazard because it impacts natural resources and the economy. A data catalog and Internet Map Server that complement the report are also available.
The National Flood Insurance Program’s Market Penetration Rate: Estimates and Policy Implications. Lloyd Dixon, Noreen Clancy, Seth A. Seabury, and Adrian Overton. ISBN 0-8330-3908-3. 2006. 138 pp. Available free online from the RAND Corporation; www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR300/ and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); www.fema.gov/pdf/nfip/market_pen.pdf. FEMA is conducting a major evaluation of the goals and performance of the National Flood Insurance Program. This report contributes to the evaluation by developing more reliable estimates of the proportion of households that have flood insurance (the market penetration rate); identifying factors that determine the market penetration rate; and examining opportunities for, and the potential benefits of, increasing the market penetration rate. Among the findings: only about half of homeowners living in some of the most flood-prone areas of the United States buy federal flood insurance, leaving millions of families at risk for severe financial losses when floods strike.
Field Manual: Postearthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings. Second Edition. ATC 20-1. 2005. 143 pp. $24.00. Available from the Applied Technology Council, 201 Redwood Shores Parkway, Suite 240, Redwood City, CA 94065; (650) 595-1542; e-mail: atc@atcouncil.org; www.atcouncil.org/. The procedures and guidelines provided in this manual are written specifically for volunteer structural engineers as well as building inspectors and structural engineers from city building departments and other regulatory agencies who would be required to make on-the-spot evaluations and decisions regarding the continued use and occupancy of damaged buildings. This edition includes updated rapid evaluation and detailed evaluation forms, new examples, a chapter on mobile homes and manufactured housing, guidance on aftershocks and entering damaged buildings, and resources available on the Internet pertaining to postearthquake safety evaluation.
After the Ruins, 1906 and 2006: Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. Mark Klett. ISBN 0-520-24556-3. 2006. 134 pp. $24.95. Available from the University of California Press, 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704; (510) 642-4247; e-mail: askucp@ucpress.edu; www.ucpress.edu/. For this rephotography project, the photographer visited locations captured in 45 historic pictures taken in the days following the 1906 earthquake and fires and duplicated each image’s vantage point. Accompanying the photographs are essays by Philip Fradkin and Rebecca Solnit.
The Man Who Predicts Earthquakes: Jim Berkland, Maverick Geologist; How His Quake Warnings Can Save Lives. Cal Orey. ISBN 1-59181-036-1. 2005. 270 pp. $16.95. Available from Sentient Publications, Order Department, PO Box 6071, Boulder, CO 80306; (303) 443-2188, (866) 588-9846; www.sentientpublications.com/. Jim Berkland is a California geologist who predicted the Loma Prieta earthquake as well as at least six other significant earthquakes around the world. This book looks at his theories on earthquake prediction, theories which are based on tides, moons, geyser activity, magnetic-field changes, and strange animal behavior. Additionally, it includes stories of earthquake survivors, details about seismic activity in earthquake prone regions, tales of earthquake cover-ups, and future weather and earthquake predictions.
Living Mountains : How and Why Volcanoes Erupt. Jacques Kornprobst and Christine Laverne. ISBN 0-87842-513-6. 2006. 112 pp. $18.00. Available from Mountain Press Publishing Company, PO Box 2399, Missoula, MT 59806; (406) 728-1900, (800) 234-5308; www.mountain-press.com/. All aspects of vulcanology are explored in this general audience book. The authors use text and watercolor renderings to explain the workings of subduction zones and seafloor spreading, how different lavas form through the partial melting of the earth’s rocks, and why some volcanoes react differently than others. They also describe recent progress in the methods of volcanic surveillance and prediction.
Surviving Climate Change in Small Islands: A Guidebook. Emma L. Tompkins, Sophie A. Nicholson-Cole, Lisa-Ann Hurlston, Emily Boyd, Gina Brooks Hodge, Judi Clarke, Gerard Gray, Neville Trotz, and Lynda Varlack. 2005. 132 pp. Free. Available from the Publications Secretary, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK; +44 (0) 1603 593900; www.tyndall.ac.uk/publications/surviving.pdf. This guidebook was inspired by a collaborative project between the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the Cayman Islands’ Government Department of Environment, which later developed into a UK Overseas Territories capacity-building project. The first section examines the reasons for concern about climate change. The following sections explore understanding climate change risks, assessing vulnerability, and structuring, developing, and implementing a climate change adaptation strategy.
Availability and Affordability of Insurance under Climate Change: A Growing Challenge for the U.S. Evan Mills, Richard J. Roth Jr., and Eugene Lecomte. 2005. 50 pp. Available free online from Ceres, 99 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA 02111; (617) 247-0700; www.ceres.org/pub/docs/Ceres_insure_climatechange_120105.pdf. This paper was authored by a scientist, an insurance actuary and former regulator, and an insurance veteran. It explores the insurability of risks related to extreme weather events and climate change and ways in which insurance affordability and availability could be adversely impacted in the United States in the coming years. It includes examples where affordability and availability of insurance are already at risk from rising weather-related losses and how future financial exposure for insurers, governments, businesses, and consumers could worsen if current climate and business trends continue.
Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. Elizabeth Kolbert. ISBN 1-5969-1-125-5. 2006. 192 pp. $22.95. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing; www.bloomsburyusa.com/. Available from local and online booksellers. In this look at global warming, an experienced journalist aims to convey the reality of the problem as vividly as possible. She does so by reporting on her interviews with researchers and environmentalists, explaining climate science and studies, drawing parallels to lost ancient civilizations, unraveling the politics, and presenting the personal tales of people who make their homes near the poles and are watching their worlds disappear. This book grew out of three articles written for the New Yorker magazine in spring 2005.
Engineering Catastrophes: Causes and Effects of Major Accidents. John Lancaster. Third Edition. ISBN 1-84569-016-8. 2005. 288 pp. $199.95. Available from CRC Press, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487; (561) 994-0555, (800) 272-7737; e-mail: orders@crcpress.com; www.crcpress.com/. The records of accidents in industry and transport are of great importance. They indicate trends in the incidence of loss or casualties and provide a measure of human behavior. The third edition of this book places emphasis on the human factor. The first two chapters provide a method of analyzing the records of accident and all-cause mortality rates to show their relationship with levels of economic development and growth rates and to make suggestions as to how such processes may be linked. Case histories are included to show how human frailty, the unexpected weakness of materials, or a combination of both can lead to dire and tragic consequences.
The McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Handbook. David G. Kamien, editor. ISBN 0-07-144665-6. 2006. 972 pp. $99.95. Available from McGraw-Hill, Order Services, PO Box 182604, Columbus, OH 43272-3031; (609) 426-5793; (877) 833-5524; e-mail: pbg.ecommerce_custserv@mcgraw-hill.com; www.books.mcgraw-hill.com/. This handbook provides government officials, corporate risk and security executives, first responders, university students, and homeland security and emergency preparedness professionals with an overview of critical homeland security issues for the United States. It features analyses, insights, and practical recommendations from frontline security experts on topics such as terrorist tactics; intragovernment coordination of information; risk management, perception, and communication; emergency management, public health, and medical preparedness; securing critical infrastructure; and the role of the private sector.
Civil Care and Security Studies. Rod Gerber and John Salter, editors. ISBN 0-90824-62-2. 2005. 434 pp. Au$60.00. Available from Kardoorair Press, PO Box 478, Armidale NSW 2350, Australia; e-mail: orders@kardoorair.com.au; www.kardoorair.com.au/. Key themes in the study of civil care and security are the focus of this publication. Since many of the current themes do not restrict themselves to national boundaries, and many lessons, models, and proposed approaches have significant transfer potential, this book uses a global perspective. Presented in five sections, it offers an overview of civil care and security followed by discussions on assessment and analysis, planning, response and operations management, and recovery and postimpact.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports provide background information and insight into key issues and concerns of the U.S. Congress. The office frequently publishes studies regarding hazards and disaster policy. Some recent GAO reports and testimonies that might interest Observer readers are listed below and are available at www.gao.gov/. Printed copies are also available. The first copy is free. Additional copies are $2.00 each. To order, contact the GAO, 441 G Street NW, Room LM, Washington, DC 20548; (202) 512-6000; TDD: (202) 512-2537; www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/ordtab.pl.
Expedited Assistance for Victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: FEMA’s Control Weaknesses Exposed the Government to Significant Fraud and Abuse. GAO-06-403T. 2006. 30 pp.
Agency Management of Contractors Responding to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. GAO-06-461R. 2006. 8 pp.
Hurricane Katrina: Status of the Health Care System in New Orleans and Difficult Decisions Related to Efforts to Rebuild It Approximately 6 Months After Hurricane Katrina. GAO-06-576R. 2006. 15 pp.
Disaster Preparedness: Preliminary Observations on the Evacuation of Hospitals and Nursing Homes Due to Hurricanes. GAO-06-443R. 2006. 24 pp.
Emergency Preparedness and Response: Some Issues and Challenges Associated with Major Emergency Incidents. GAO-06-467T. 2006. 22 pp.
Homeland Security: DHS Is Taking Steps to Enhance Security at Chemical Facilities, but Additional Authority Is Needed. GAO-06-150. 2006. 86 pp.
September 11: Monitoring of World Trade Center Health Effects Has Progressed, but Program for Federal Responders Lags Behind. GAO-06-481T. 2006. 34 pp.
New Resource on Gender and Disaster
What is the link between gender equality and disaster risk? What lessons have been learned in the field and through scientific study? How can this knowledge be applied in practice to reduce risk and respond equitably to disaster events? The Gender and Disaster Sourcebook is an electronic compilation of international resources on policy, practice, and research designed to help answer these questions and address gender concerns in disaster risk reduction. Developed by an international writing team, the sourcebook was supported by the Public Entity Risk Institute and the Pacific Disaster Center of the East-West Center. The sourcebook is available on the Gender and Disaster Network Web site at www.gdnonline.org/. Readers are invited to submit additional resources from their region and sector as they become available.