Hospital Surge Model
This updated Web tool from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality allows a user to enter the initial number and severity of casualties from 13 different chemical or biological "attack types," ranging from a dirty bomb to anthrax (although pandemic flu somehow made it onto the list). The model then creates tables and graphs projecting daily counts of patients arriving at the hospital and the number of inpatients in emergency department, floor, and ICU beds until all patients are either dead or discharged. The instructions are clear about the assumptions used in modeling each scenario, but they don't say whether the model is intended to estimate demand immediately after an incident or just for morbid time-killing on a slow hospital night shift.
International Best Practice Case Studies on Climate Change Adaptation
GRaBS—the European Green and Blue Space Adaptation for Urban Towns and Eco Towns project—has collected 15 in-depth case studies emphasizing the public processes different cities have used to gain support for and implement their climate change adaptation plans. The existing case studies cover diverse topics and places, from "using vegetation to limit the hazards of landslides" in Seattle to "financial contributions of planning applications for prevention of heathland fires" in Dorset. However, if the website wants to continue to bill itself as a "database of case studies," it needs to include at least one example from the global South.
The Day the Earth Shook
In this new disaster preparedness game, where your avatar wears a virtual reality headset (provided by helpful space aliens who prophesize an impending earthquake), kids walk around looking for items to stock their disaster kit and practice what to do once the shaking begins. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois Terrorism Task Force, and University of Illinois created the game "to demonstrate a new educational approach for children to learn effective disaster preparedness and response strategies." Despite the strange premise, 1980s keyboard navigation, and a Max-and-Ruby-esque lack of parents, the game is mesmerizing. But there no word on the website about how that translates into changing children's behavior, so you'll have to download the game and decide for yourself.
A Governor's Guide to Homeland Security 2010
Just three years after it published the first edition, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices has updated its Governors Guide to Homeland Security. The revised guide has five additional chapters and has been reorganized into major sections addressing preparedness, prevention, response, and—new in this edition—recovery. The guide continues to be noteworthy for its concise explanation of federalism and disaster response authority from a state governor's perspective. A 75-page PDF version can be downloaded from the website linked above.