Virtual Disaster Viewer
Although areas affected by earthquakes are often off-limits immediately following the event, the Virtual Disaster Viewer allows users to access information about building damage, humanitarian response, infrastructure loss, and landslides on the fly. The viewer allows users to see satellite imagery of an area pre- and post-event, based on a number of analysis categories. An overlay of images is available for easy comparison. The project—powered by the efforts of ImageCat, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, and others—began with data on the May 2008 Wenchuan Quake and recently added data on the L’Aquila earthquake in April.
Paramedic Alltop News Aggregator
Those with any interest in EMS news and events will find something to keep them clicking at the Paramedic Alltop site. With nearly 30 categories of information, the site offers daily news tips, events, announcements, podcasts and blogs, training opportunities, and time wasters. Don’t care about EMS? They have one for firefighters and scientists, too.
Microsoft Vine
Vine, which Microsoft bills as a “game-changing social Web application,” is meant to help family and friends keep in touch during emergencies. Accessible by desktop (Windows only), Web, text, and e-mail, Vine combines alert reporting, Facebook-like status updates from your peeps, and news reports. Other information, such as Twitter feeds, are expected to be added soon. The software is still in beta testing—enter your e-mail on the site and you could be chosen to give it a whirl.
Phreeway
Don’t get jammed up looking for great resources on disaster risk reduction when you can hop on Phreeway, which has compiled a variety of maps, reports, news, and information on events, internships, and teaching. Special sections hold information on disaster risk reduction for teachers and in Africa, and a forum allows registered users to share ideas.
Coping With Disaster Factsheet
Mental Health America created this collection of resources to assist people dealing with the effects of natural disasters, war, and terrorism. Information for caregivers and responders, such as Blueprint for Responding to Public Mental Health Needs in Times of Crisis and Mental Health America’s Emergency Response Task Force, are also included.
VORTEX2 Blog
The faint of heart can now be virtual tornado chasers, thanks to Josh Wurman’s VORTEX2 blog. The blog gives daily updates on the progress of the Verification of the Origin of Rotation in Tornados Experiment 2—or VORTEX2. The experiment will study supercell thunderstorm activity in more than 900 miles of the U.S. Great Plains region to learn what lies at the heart of tornado formation.