Natural Hazards Observer
| July 2005 | Volume XXIX | 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, visit http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/resources/sites.html.
All Hazards • Earthquakes and Volcanoes • Tsuanmis • Severe Weather •
Floods and Coastal Issues
• Fire • Climate Change • Hazardous Materials • Health • Terrorism
All Hazards
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/pfd.pdf
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/children.pdf
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/f&web.pdf
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/pfd_all.pdf
Four preparedness booklets supplement the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s recently rereleased Are You Ready. They are Preparing for Disaster, Helping Children Cope with Disaster, Food and Water in an Emergency, and Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and Other Special Needs. These guides and more can be found at http://www.fema.gov/preparedness/prepare_guides_links.shtm.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL32863.pdf
Homeland Security Department: FY2006 Appropriations from the Congressional Research Service is a guide to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal year 2006. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32837.pdf
This Congressional Research Service report, Science and Technology Policy: Issues for the 109th Congress, discusses the influence that science and technology have over a wide range of policy issues and the related funding challenges.
http://www.mipt.org/pdf/CRS_RL32803.pdf
The National Preparedness System: Issues in the 109th Congress from the Congressional Research Service provides background information on the six National Preparedness System documents and identifies related issues, such as compliance and federalism, that may be subject to congressional debate.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/pdf/seniors_disabilities_english.pdf
http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/pdf/rny_smallbiz.pdf
As part of its ongoing effort to help all New Yorkers better prepare for emergencies, the New York City Office of Emergency Management has released Ready New York for Seniors and People with Disabilities and Ready New York: Emergency Planning for Small and Mid-Sized Companies.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11274.html
The 12th Disasters Roundtable workshop focused on grand challenges in science and technology related to society’s vulnerability to disaster. Agencies and stakeholders from the disaster research and policy community gathered to discuss research and program priorities for the future. They identified problems in science and technology that might be resolved by coordinated and sustained investments in research, education, communication, and the application of knowledge and technology. The summary is available here.
http://www.riskinstitute.org/newsite/uploads/PDR_FinalReport_04_22_05.pdf
This is the final report on the Oregon Natural Hazards Workshop’s (ONHW) Public Entity Risk Institute-supported three year project to coordinate the implementation of the Institute of Business & Home Safety Showcase State program in Oregon. Learn about the challenges and opportunities of coordinating a statewide disaster mitigation effort and how ONHW plans to continue promoting disaster mitigation in Oregon.
http://www.pdc.org/atlas/html/atlas-init.jsp
The Pacific Disaster Center has redesigned and enhanced its Web-based hazards atlas to support disaster management and humanitarian assistance communities in the Asia-Pacific region and Hawaii. The updated atlas provides a geospatial framework through which a wealth of hazards-related information can be viewed, including real-time and historical tropical cyclone tracks, earthquake locations, wildfires, and tsunami runup zones.
http://www.redcross.org/financialplanning/
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the AICPA Foundation, the National Endowment for Financial Education, and the American Red Cross have launched this new, broad-based disaster preparedness and planning guide to help consumers take steps to minimize financial loss before a disaster strikes.
http://www.cwserp.org/training/forum.php
Select video presentations from the 2004 Church World Service Emergency Response Program Forum on Domestic Disaster Ministry are available here. Presentations include “Overview of Disaster Research,” “Participatory Action Research,” “Preparing Neighborhoods for Disasters,” and “Breaking Out of Cycles of Trauma.”
http://www.iscram.org/
Papers presented at the recent ISCRAM2005 meeting (the second International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management) are available online. Site registration is required to access the papers.
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/jobmarket.asp
This report, Emergency Management and Related Labor Market Data and Statistics, 2005, was conducted for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Management Higher Education Project in response to requests from collegiate academics and administrators interested in developing emergency management type programs on their campuses.
http://www.air-worldwide.com/_public/html/whitepaper.asp
To help insurers and reinsurers analyze and prepare for future multiple-catastrophe years, AIR Worldwide Corporation has released Analyzing and Preparing for Multiple Event Seasons.
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/step/
The U.S. Geological Survey has launched this Web page that shows the probability of earthquake shaking in the next 24 hours in California. Maps graphically illustrate the change in earthquake probability during aftershock and possible foreshock sequences. The maps are updated at least once an hour.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/supervolcano/game.shtml
In conjunction with Supervolcano, the BBC’s docudrama that imagines how a super-eruption would devastate the planet, the network created this interactive online game that casts players as emergency managers tasked with saving communities from a volcanic eruption.
Tsunamis
http://www.asce.org/files/pdf/Tsunami.pdf
This article from the American Society of Civil Engineers’ journal Civil Engineering examines the possibility of a tsunami, such as the one that struck in the Indian Ocean in December, happening in the United States, off the coast of Southern California in particular.
http://www.eeri.org/lfe/clearinghouse/sumatra_tsunami/presentation.html
The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) has released “The Great Sumatra Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami,” a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation intended for use by individuals who are giving presentations to colleagues, community groups, and others. It explains the origins of the earthquake and tsunami and documents the damage they caused. It also includes slides on tsunamis in the United States and a discussion of tsunami risk reduction methods.
http://www.unisdr.org/ppew/tsunami/ppew-tsunami.htm
This new section of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning Web site provides information on developments pertaining to the organization of a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean. It also contains a concise summary of information on tsunamis and links to other tsunami Web sites.
http://ioc.unesco.org/indotsunami/mauritius05/mauritius05_outcome.htm
The result of the Second International Coordination Meeting for the Development of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean, the Mauritius Declaration posted here, complements the Paris Communiqué issued in March and further outlines the way forward toward the development of a tsunami warning system for the region.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/conflict_disasters/bn_tsunami_women.htm
This report from aid agency Oxfam International about the impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami on women shows that up to four times as many females as males may have been killed by the tsunami. It examines some of the reasons why and what can be done to address the disproportionate impact on women in general.
http://www.e-aceh.org/
eAceh.org is an effort by the government of Indonesia and the donor community to bring together the stakeholders rebuilding lives, livelihoods, and communities in Aceh and northern Sumatra devastated by December’s earthquake and tsunami. Information from all government agencies, international institutions, bilateral donors, international NGOs, and local Lembaga Swadaya Masyakarat participating in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh will be made available on this site.
http://www.adrc.or.jp/publications/Srilanka_survey/en/Index.html
The Asian Disaster Research Center conducted a field survey on the awareness of disaster risk in the Galle district of Sri Lanka to identify the current situation and characteristics of the community’s capacity to respond to natural disasters. The survey was conducted for the purpose of proposing a strategy for dissemination of disaster knowledge and raising public awareness for reducing the negative impact of natural hazards. The results are available here.
Severe Weather
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/hurricane_2005.html
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched this Web page highlighting their hurricane research. The page is a compilation of data from various satellites and computer models, and it explains why and how NASA investigates hurricanes.
http://www.pdc.org/perspectives/2004_hurricanes.pdf
The Pacific Disaster Center has released 2004—Year of the Storms or Typical Storm Year? A Warning Worth Heeding as part of its Perspectives publications series.
http://www.worldweather.org/
http://severe.worldweather.org/
The Hong Kong Observatory developed and operates these sites on worldwide official weather forecasts and warnings, the World Weather Information Service and the Severe Weather Information Centre, on behalf of the World Meteorological Organization.
Floods and Coastal Issues
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/archive/
This Web site from the National Weather Service’s Hydrologic Information Center features a U.S. flood summary archive from 1997 to the present.
http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/nps-cvi/
In 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the National Park Service’s (NPS) Geologic Resources Division, began conducting hazard assessments and creating map products to assist the NPS in managing its vulnerable coastal resources. The most recent report, Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CAHA) to Sea-Level Rise, is available here along with details about the project and assessments of other national park units.
http://www.kqed.org/w/coastalclash/home.html
This site supplements KQED Public Broadcasting’s documentary Coastal Clash that takes an in-depth look at the struggle for California’s shores, a struggle that is echoed on coastlines around America. Online features include a “How Beaches Work” animation, classroom content, and a bulletin board.
Fire
http://www.iso.com/studies_analyses/fireProtection/
ISO (Insurance Services Office) conducted this study on fire protection in the United States, Effective Fire Protection: A National Concern, which focuses on the impact of growth to fire service delivery systems.
Climate Change
http://ealert.pewclimate.org/ctt.asp?u=2965528&l=86536
A recent Pew Center on Global Climate Change workshop, Innovative Approaches to Climate Change: A State-Federal Workshop, explored states’ actions while highlighting lessons learned from these efforts for state and federal policy makers. Presentations from the workshop, which included panel discussions and keynote presentations from top state environmental, energy, and transportation officials, as well as representatives of industry and Congress, are available here.
http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/english/
This Web site from the government of Canada addresses climate change issues and features the recently released Moving Forward on Climate Change: A Plan for Honouring Our Kyoto Commitment.
http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/sparc/
The Science Policy Assessment and Research on Climate (SPARC) conducts research and assessments, outreach, and education aimed at helping climate science policies better support climate-related decision making in the face of fundamental and often irreducible uncertainties. SPARC is a joint project of the University of Colorado’s Center for Science and Policy Technology Research and Arizona State University’s Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes and is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
http://ealert.pewclimate.org/ctt.asp?u=2965528&l=86550
The Pew Center on Global Climate Change has compiled answers to key questions raised by Michael Crichton in his latest novel State of Fear.
Hazardous Materials
http://www.ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/05Feb/RS22041.pdf
Legal Issues Concerning State and Local Authority to Restrict the Transportation of Hazardous Materials by Rail from the Congressional Research Service provides an overview of federal statutes pertaining to the transportation of hazardous materials by rail and discusses some of the legal issues with respect to federal preemption and the dormant commerce clause.
Health
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/phtn/stress-05/default.asp
This webcast from the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and Public Health Training Network deals with the physical, emotional, and mental stressors first responders face when called to a technological disaster. It gives practical coping strategies and resources for dealing with stress.
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/nims/NIMSWebArticle1.pdf
This document from the Federal Emergency Management Agency clarifies the relationship between the Hospital Emergency Incident Command System and the National Incident Management System.
http://www.ahrq.gov/research/epri/
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released this new tool, the Emergency Preparedness Resource Inventory, which allows local and regional planners to assemble an inventory of critical resources that would be useful in responding to a bioterrorist attack.
Terrorism
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL32920.pdf
Federal Counter-Terrorism Training: Issues for Congressional Oversight from the Congressional Research Service is an overview of the major training activities and facilities of the federal departments and agencies that provide counter-terrorism training and issues associated with them.
http://www.disaster-timeline.com/ttl.html
The latest version of the Terrorism Time Line chart, which includes events and outcomes from 1993 through 2004, is now available online and for purchase. It shows major focusing events and the influences each event had on major outcomes—reports and analyses; federal statutes, regulations and executive orders; federal response plans; and major federal organizational changes.