Natural Hazards Observer
| September 2004 | Volume XXIX | Number 1 |
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.geodata.gov/
This "one-stop" federal Web site features access to federal, state, and local geographic data. It also includes information and resources on geospatial data and related issues.
http://mtjune.uoregon.edu/website/hazardmaps/webapp/hazardsViewer_content.html Oregon Partners for Disaster Resistance and Resilience has produced a regional hazard viewer to provide information about hazard risk throughout the state as part of Oregon's natural hazard mitigation plan.
http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/ep/index.htm
This U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy report is from a 2003 conference on emergency preparedness titled "Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities: An Interagency Seminar of Exchange for Federal Managers."
http://www.house.gov/rohrabacher/homesecevent.htm
Representative Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46) sponsors a variety of disaster mitigation and hazard-related events and training opportunities. A complete schedule is available on the congressman's Web site.
http://www.worldbank.org/hazards/news/conferences/gender_agenda.htm
Notes, presentations, and session videos from the April 2004 World Bank International Workshop on Integrating Community, Gender, and Women's Empowerment Issues into Disaster Recovery and Risk Management Operations are available online at this World Bank Web site.
http://nedies.jrc.it/index.asp?ID=67
The Natural and Environmental Disaster Information Exchange System (NEDIES) is a European Commission project to support European Union policies in the area of prevention, mitigation, and management of natural risks and technological accidents. This site features news about NEDIES activities, access to publications, and links to glossaries and other resources. Authorized users can access a lessons learned disaster database and can share their own related information.
http://www.preparingforemergencies.gov.uk/
An information booklet titled Preparing for Emergencies-What You Need to Know is being sent to every home in the United Kingdom. The booklet, which will be available in multiple formats and languages, contains practical common sense advice on what to do in an emergency and can be downloaded at this site.
http://www.hari.org/EmergencyPreparedness.shtml
The Hospital Association of Rhode Island has released an after-action report on the 2003 Station nightclub fire.
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/wtc_victims_location.htm
Since 2002 the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been conducting a comprehensive investigation into the World Trade Center disaster. An interim analysis of the location of the victims, one aspect of the study, is available on this Web page. General information about the NIST project is available at http://wtc.nist.gov/.
Earthquakes
http://qfaults.cr.usgs.gov/
This site, maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), contains maps and information on faults and associated folds in the U.S. believed to be sources of M>6 earthquakes during the Quaternary (the past 1,600,000 years).
http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/perc/
The University of Memphis, the USGS, and the Mid-America Earthquake Center recently opened an earthquake learning center, with a strong online component, to help visitors understand earthquakes and the New Madrid seismic zone.
Wildfire
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fire-service/wildfire/update_2004.shtm
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Special 2004 Wildland Update Web page directs firefighters and community leaders to the latest safety and situational information related to wildland fire. The site includes resource links, weather predictions, current aviation strategy, community programs, and a daily "Six Minute Safety Briefing."
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2004/releases/07/university-wisconsin.shtml
The Forest Service and the University of Wisconsin have released maps depicting the wildland urban interface (WUI) in the lower 48 states. This consistent nationwide representation of the WUI makes mapping and analysis possible at national, state, and local levels.
Climate/Environmental Change
http://www.pewclimate.org/pewbrookings.cfm
This site contains webcasts and transcripts from a Pew Center on Global Climate Change/Brookings Institution conference at which government officials and other leaders debated the future of U.S. policy on climate change.
http://dels.nas.edu/abr_clim/
This National Academies Web site addresses abrupt climate change, defining it as a large shift in climate (such as marked changes in average temperature, altered storm patterns, floods, or droughts) that persists for years over widespread areas.
http://www.chiex.net/
The Collaborative Research Network sponsors the Climate and Health Information Exchange Web site, which features articles, training opportunities, and ongoing projects that deal with climate variability and human health impacts.
http://www.ecohealth101.org/
This new educational Web site from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health focuses on global warming and other environmental threats and their links to human health. "EcoHealth" is intended for students and teachers as well as other interested individuals.
Hurricanes
http://www.hurrevac.com/
Information about and support for the latest version of HURREVAC (HURRicane EVACuation program), software designed to track hurricanes and assist with decision making, is available here.
http://hurricane.csc.noaa.gov/hurricanes/index.htm Meteorologists, emergency planners, and coastal residents can find out how tropical storms could affect their communities with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's recently updated database of tropical cyclones.
Health
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/masstrauma/index.asp
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently updated its Mass Trauma and Preparedness Web pages to include a variety of new information.
http://www.ruralhealth.hrsa.gov/ruralems/
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has unveiled this new Web site for rural emergency medical services and technical trauma assistance.