Global Design Village
It’s time to put your thinking cap on: Global Design Village is calling for students, professionals, and the public to take disaster risk reduction into their own hands byproposing creative solutions to reduce disaster impacts. The group’s first international design competition challenges designers worldwide to submit innovative ideas on hazard mitigation or hazard intelligence. Winners will be chosen from every continent and honored in Helsinki on the International Day for Disaster Reduction, October 10, 2012.
U.S. Cyber Challenge
This nationwide talent search seeks America’s best—like American Idol, but with hackers instead of singers. The U.S. Cyber Challenge asks Americans to put their computer skills to work protecting the country. Challenge competitions will identify the top guns of cybersecurity in a variety of interest and skill sets. With 1.8 billion cyber attacks each month, the challenge comes at a time when “cyber defenders” are needed most.
Living With Levees: Know Your Flood Risk
You know your social security number, your mother’s birthday, and your shoe size; but do you know your flood risk? The California Department of Water Resources website aims to answer that question while raising awareness of flood risk in California. With fact sheets, brochures, and links providing information on flood mitigation, the site is a useful flood resource for those in any state.
GuLF STUDY
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill's environmental and economic impacts dominated the headlines after the catastrophe. Now the National Institutes of Health is looking at a different aspect of the oil spill—its impact on the health of the clean up workers. The GuLF STUDY, conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, will look at the effect of crude oil and dispersants on the physical and mental health of oil spill workers and volunteers over the long term. More information on the study—the largest ever on oil-spill health impacts—and how to participate is included on the site.
Traditional Knowledge and Red Cross Disaster Preparedness in the Pacific
Better together—that’s the conclusion of this recently releasedAustralian Red Cross report on incorporating local knowledge into disaster preparedness planning. The report touts the benefits of combining traditional and scientific knowledge to reduce disaster impacts—a combination that can lead to increased understanding about risks, empowerment of the local population, and increased community engagement with preparedness. Case studies from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea further illustrate the power of indigenous knowledge in preparing for disasters.