Hometown Security
Just because your organization doesn’t have a role in emergency management doesn’t mean it won’t be called on to act in a dire situation. Increasing episodes in public areas such as nightclubs, malls, and other gathering places have shown it’s a good idea for private sector groups to know a bit about staying safe. The Department of Homeland Security has the tools to do just that—learn how to connect with public safety officials, plan for a variety of scenarios, and train employees to respond if the unthinkable does happen.
Protecting the Health of Your Friends and Family
Youth are often considered among the most vulnerable groups in disasters, but this website from U.S. Health and Human Services capitalizes on how they can help instead. The site offers a number of tools—including an activity guide and brochure—that will help youth think about ways they can take care of others in disasters.
Implementation Guidelines: Establishing a Federal Earthquake Risk Management Standard
These guidelines, recently released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, provide recommendations for implementing an executive order to establish an earthquake risk management standard for federal buildings. The order, which was issued in February 2016, requires that newly constructed or remodeled federal buildings incorporate earthquake-resistant design.
Inoculating the Public Against Misinformation About Climate Change
In a world of “alternative facts,” this timely report looks at whether action can be taken to help protect the public from targeted campaigns that undermine the veracity of scientific findings on human-caused climate change. The authors find that, although the increasing politicization of the topic can be damaging, it is possible to counteract misinformation by providing information on expert consensus, as well as political motivation behind misleading communications.
IMPACT All-Hazards Tool for First Responders
For first responders to make an impact in emergencies, they need be able to use all the tools available. This software developed by Oakridge National Laboratories does just that by allowing data to be used with map-based tools to create visuals and simulations. The free tool is available to federal, state, and local governments (and their partners) to aid in efforts such as evacuation planning, search and rescue operations, severe weather monitoring, and numerous other needs.
National Inventory of Dams
While the exact number of dams in the United States is unknown, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers keeps this database of an estimated 79,000 dams, including information on their hazard classifications. Recently updated with information from 2016, the site allows lookups by state, hazard potential, height, purpose, and a variety of other identifiers.