Natural Hazards Observer
| July 2004 | Volume XXVIII | Number 6 |
Below are new or updated Internet resources that the Natural Hazards Center staff have found informative and useful. For a more complete list, see http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/resources/sites.html.
All Hazards
http://www.duryognivaran.org/
The Duryog Nivaran network was established to fill a void in cross border dialog and experience sharing among organizations, governmental or otherwise, working throughout South Asia, the world's most disaster-prone region.
http://www.continuitycanada.com/
This new web site was designed to promote the fields of business continuity and risk management throughout Canada.
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/partnerships/partnerships.htm
The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) has launched an on-line searchable database of CSD-registered partnerships for sustainable development. The database, which contains information based on self-reports from partnerships initiated in the context of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, will facilitate the sharing of experience and knowledge on the implementation of sustainable development projects.
http://www.firstvictims.org/
Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disaster (CARD) was created after the Loma Prieta earthquake and the Oakland Hills firestorm to provide disaster preparedness/response support to the vulnerable, underserved, and special-needs communities in Alameda County, California.
http://www.comcare.org/
Communications for Coordinated Communications and Response in Emergencies (ComCARE) is a public/private partnership of a variety of groups working to encourage the development and deployment of technologies to enhance emergency response capabilities and facilitate cooperation across professional, jurisdictional, and geographic lines.
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/rvat/
A risk and vulnerability assessment helps to identify people, property, and resources that are at risk of injury, damage, or loss from hazardous incidents or natural hazards. This information helps prioritize the precautionary measures that can make a community more disaster resistant. Tools and methods for this work are available at this site.
http://respondersafety.com/news/2003/3/28_video.html
The Emergency Responder Safety Institute is offering a free highway safety awareness video, covering the dangers of incident response on North American highways, to fire, police, and emergency services chiefs and training officers.
http://www.9-11commission.gov/
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the U.S. (the September 11 Commission) has posted statements and testimony from its recent public hearings in New York. This site will be updated with additional statements and testimonies as they become available.
Earthquakes
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has updated and enhanced its global earthquakes page with the addition of hemispheric views and maps.
http://www.iiees.ac.ir/English/Bam_report_english.html
The International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology web site contains a number of new documents about the 2003 Bam earthquake.
http://www.earthquakecountry.info/10.5/
To separate fact from movie fiction, the Southern California Earthquake Center and USGS have created a series of web pages addressing the recent NBC miniseries 10.5.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/bytopic/megaquakes.html
Another web site to debunk earthquake myths and fantasies is sponsored directly by USGS and includes fact sheets and links to other organizational resources.
Bioterrorism
http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2004/hospdrpr.htm
Hospitals must be prepared to respond to sudden demands on services brought on by natural and human-caused mass casualty incidents. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released an evidence-based tool to help hospitals identify strengths and weaknesses in their disaster response.
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/training/historyofbt/
The Emergency Preparedness and Response program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has produced a series of videos titled The History of Bioterrorism. These videos can either be purchased or viewed free on-line.
Wildfires
http://www.fireleadership.gov/
This web site provides information for users about the National Wildfire Coordinating Group's wildland fire leadership development program.
http://www.geog.utah.edu/~cova/evac64.swf
http://www.geog.utah.edu/~cova/evac50sd.swf
The University of Utah has posted animations depicting the spatial and temporal relationships of the wildfires and evacuation orders in California's Old, Grand Prix, Cedar, and Paradise Fires.
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/fdonline/
The National Fire Department Census Database is an on-line searchable database of U.S. fire departments, which features address listings as well as basic information about each participating fire department. The purpose of the census is to guide program decision making and improve direct communication with individual fire departments.
Drought
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/droughtassessment/
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a nonprofit scientific research organization that specializes in agricultural water use and integrated management of water and land resources. IWMI has launched a large-scale regional assessment across India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in an effort to mitigate the effects of recurrent droughts.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/21may_drought.htm?list1172936
A recent issue of Science at NASA, an on-line newsletter, focused on drought and included a variety of drought-related Internet resources.