Social Media 4 Emergency Management
Social media in emergency management is on the rise and the newly established Social Media 4 Emergency Management website is here to help those ready to jump into the fray. The site’s been tracking updates, sharing best practices, building wikis, and standardizing Twitter hashtags (check out #SMEM, for example). Blog post topics range from the challenges of social media in government to international website reach. With tips on establishing a social media presence and lists of upcoming events, budding socialites will have plenty to guide them.
Topical Fire Report: Fire Risk to Children in 2007
The tragedy of fire-related deaths is compounded by the U.S. Fire Administration’s recent findings that young children have more risk of dying in a fire, with children younger than four accounting for more than half of all child fire-related deaths. Although the risk of death is lower for kids than the general population, fire and burn-related deaths are the second leading cause of accidental death in children younger than 15, according to the report, which was just released this month. Young children are vulnerable because they depend on adults for safety, have trouble comprehending danger and how to escape, and don’t respond to fire alarms in the same way as adults.
Photographs Relating to Disasters and Emergency Management, 1998-2008
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the approximately 8,000 photographs recently released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency is a fortune in disaster documentation. The collection, now available through the National Archives, covers a range of FEMA work, including Hurricane Katrina and Tropical Storm Kay, tornados and flooding, political leaders, damaged landscapes, and survivors. Browse the images individually or search by keyword, but take a moment to peek into this treasure chest of disaster graphics.
North Central U.S. Spring Flood Risk
Punxsutawney Phil might have predicted an early spring, but the folks at The National Weather Service have offered a little more detail. The NWS preliminary spring flood outlook predicts a high chance of heavy flooding in the North Central United States, especially in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NWS is considerably less optimistic than Phil, stating there could be a “colder than normal last month of winter” in the area. The final NWS 2011 Hydrologic Assessment will be released March 17, although sadly not from Phil's Gobbler’s Knob tree stump.
Girl Scouts Emergency Preparedness Patch Program
It looks like the Boy Scouts just lost their Be Prepared monopoly, thanks to a collaboration between the Girl Scouts and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Citizen Corps. The two groups were able to rendezvous and create the Be Prepared Emergency Preparedness Patch Program, which will allow girl scouts to identify emergency risks, learn about alerts and warning systems, prepare for emergencies, and get trained in community emergency planning.