National Dialogue on Preparedness
If you’ve got an opinion on what needs to happen to get the U.S. public more prepared for disasters and emergencies, the National Dialogue on Preparedness website is accepting suggestions until August 31. The site also allows visitors to vote and comment on the concepts submitted, resulting in finely tuned recommendations. These final suggestions—only 48 have been submitted so far—will inform the congressionally mandated task force as it puts improve American preparedness.
Ch16.Org
Channel 16—a name taken from the frequency of an international distress signal—is a collaboration aimed at delivering humanitarian and crisis news on the ground. Billing itself as a frontline for response, the site has a variety of tools for reporting eyewitness accounts of events and resources on how to take action.
Online Hurricane Response Training
This free online course is aimed at helping emergency managers make sound decisions when their communities are threatened by hurricane conditions. The course includes information on storm climatology, possible impacts of storm activity, preparedness and response tools offered by federal agencies and analyzing information to formulate plans.
CalAdapt
Sure the icecaps are melting and temperatures are rising, but how’s an average Joe supposed to know what that means in his neighborhood? CalAdapt can help him figure it out—as long as he lives in California. The California Energy Commission has released a prototype of its CalAdapt website that lets visitors use Google Earth to view customizable climate change scenarios from the entire state or just their driveway. The site is slated to be complete by September, but you can play with climate data, sea level rise, wildfire frequency, and snow pack projections right now.
Pacific Disaster Center Disaster Alerts
If you have an iPhone or iPad, you have a direct line to minute-by-minute disaster information from around the world, including maps, disaster status, and links to more information. The Pacific Disaster Center has created a free app that uses the DisasterAWARE system to keep you informed. Visit the PDC website for screenshots and downloads.