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EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & SAFETY


This guide links to emergency preparedness/safety websites for the following: “Gateways” for comprehensive information on dealing with natural disasters (and man-made ones), emergency preparedness for individuals/families/businesses/workplaces, government agencies (federal/state/local), news, travel advisories, medical information, and international relief efforts.

For up-to-date information, check these websites frequently, since much information is updated on a regular basis.


American Red Cross (ARC)

•  Founded in 1881, the ARC is America’s oldest and most pre-eminent relief organizations, providing aid for a wide variety of disasters
•  Includes information on blood/tissue donations, volunteering, “planned giving,” donating goods
•  Includes advice/information on pre-disaster preparation (“Family Disaster Planning”) and post-disaster relief efforts
•  Includes information on advice/services for specific audiences: children, business owners, military members/families, pet owners
•  Also available in Spanish
•  Includes excellent FAQ feature
•  Outstanding; one of the best sites for all-around information on how to minimize the impact of disasters and how to deal with their aftermaths


Are You Ready?: An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness

•  FEMA’s “most comprehensive guide to personal emergency preparedness”
•  Provides advice on preparing a disaster plan, dealing wit 12 types of natural catastrophes/disasters (fire, floods, earthquakes, tornados, etc.); also includes advice for dealing with “technological hazards” (hazardous waste, nuclear power plants, terrorism)
•  Also links to “Disaster Public Education,” “Independent Study Courses”
•  This extensive guide may be printed in its entirety (108 pp.) or by section; Adobe Acrobat required to download pdf files
•  Print copies may be ordered from FEMA’s publications warehouse
•  Outstanding; this well-written guide has many excellent tips on dealing with a variety of dangerous situations


CBS News Disaster Links

•  Sponsored by CNBSNEWS.com; maintained by Dan Dubno, Special Events Unit co-ordinator
•  Directory of links to an amazing array of over 600 disaster-oriented sites, including “comprehensive” sites, “disaster education,” emergency management, media, relief agencies/organizations, “How to Help,” media, federal agencies, “disaster agencies” by state (includes states’ Homeland Security office, emergency preparedness agencies, health departments), NGOs for international crises
•  Links to “natural disaster” sites for the following: avalanches, communicable diseases, droughts, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tornadoes, tsunamis, typhoons, volcanoes, wildfires
•  Also links to man-made disasters, both accidental (plane crashes, nuclear accidents, oils spills) and intentional (biological/chemical weapons, September 11 attacks, terrorism)
•  No evaluative commentary
•  Outstanding; one of the most comprehensive and easy-to-navigate disaster information sites


Criminal Justice Resources: Emergency Management

•  Maintained by Jon Harrison, Social Sciences Collections coordinator, Michigan State University Libraries
•  Links to hundreds of sites pertaining to emergency management, including federal government sites, commissions’ reports, guidelines, “think tank” analysis/reports, manuals, professional associations/organizations, journals articles
•  Also links to category-specific sub-pages for the following: agro-security, bioterrorism, bomb threats/radiological incidents, terrorism, transportation security, “weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)”
•  Excellent (and often extensive) annotations accompany most sites; excellent cross-referencing
•  “Continually updated and expanded”
•  Outstanding; comprehensive for all aspects of emergency management and security-related issues; superb, in-depth commentary on links is of the highest caliber; this is the site to go to for any research on these topics


Current Travel Warnings

•  Sponsored by the Bureau of Consular Affairs (BCA), U.S. Department of State
•  Lists countries which the State Department considers to be dangerous to travel to or in; each country’s advisory discusses reasons for its inclusion on the list
•  There are currently 25 countries on the list; all advisories were updated in 2004
•  “Consular Information Sheets” provide information for each country on the following: entry requirements, safety/security, crime, medical facilities/insurance, traffic safety/road conditions, customs regulations, criminal penalties for visitors, children’s issues; information on adoption procedures for non-nationals is also provided, in many cases
•  Best official U.S. source for information for visitors to other countries on a variety of issues/topics, including safety


Disaster Finder

•  “Developed and maintained by the NASA Solid Earth and Natural Disaster Hazards Program (Code YO), NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., USA”
•  Directory of links to over 600 disaster relief/emergency preparedness links
•  Over 200 of these links are to basic planning/response resources; there are also numerous links to organizations (government agencies on federal/state/local levels, NGOs, universities); also links to 22 topic-specific categories (types of disaster)
•  Excellent annotations accompany links; indicates date link was added, number of “hits”
•  Welcomes site submissions
•  Searchable
•  Outstanding; comprehensive, easy-to-navigate, frequently updated


DisasterHelp

•  “Part of the President’s Disaster Management Egov Initiative – a larger initiative aimed at greatly enhancing Disaster Management on an interagency and intergovernmental basis”
•  “Will focus on providing information and services relating to the four pillars of all-hazards disaster management: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation”
•  Target audiences: local/state/tribal government, “individual citizens,” private sector businesses, non-government organizations (NGOs), federal agencies
•  “Disaster Management Partners” include 28 federal agencies, 4 NGOs
•  Links to assessment/supply/service resources for the following disaster categories: diseases, droughts, earthquakes, fires, floods, food supply security, “hazmat,” hurricanes, power outages, tornados, terrorism
•  Continually updated
•  Outstanding resource which utilizes the resources of emergency preparedness/disaster relief efforts on multiple levels of government, NGOs


Disasters and Emergencies

•  Part of “FirstGov.gov,” “the U.S. Governments Official Web Portal”
•  Intended audience is state/local employees faced with dealing with disasters/emergencies
•  Links to government agencies, NGOs and professional associations/organizations for a variety of resources including best practices/preparedness/training, grants, managing during a crisis, relief/recovery, terrorism, topic-specific disasters/emergencies
•  Also links to government contact information (e-mail, telephone, “in-person”) on federal/state/local levels
•  Excellent; this “government-to-government” federal initiative provides much-need information on useful policies/procedures for government on non-federal levels


Emergency Preparedness & Response

•  Maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
•  Primary emphasis of this page is “Agents, Diseases, & Other Threats,” which include bioterrorism agents, chemical emergencies, radiation emergencies, “mass casualties”
•  Also includes links to natural disaster/severe weather, “outbreaks/incidents” (infectious diseases), lab information, training/information
•  Also includes “Disaster Mental Health Resources”
•  Includes information for specific populations: “general public,” “first responders,” professionals/clinicians/hospital personnel
•  Searchable
•  Also available in Spanish
•  Last updated October 2005
•  Outstanding; while information on technological disaster/safety threats may be found on many sites, this page does an excellent job of providing “one-stop shopping”; “response” advice for emergency/medical personnel is also of particular use


Fielding’s DangerFinder

•  Online condensed version of Robert Young Pelton’s The World’s Most Dangerous Places
•  Provides advisory information for 31 countries perceived as hazardous to travel in
•  Each country’s danger profile includes advice on specific hazardous locales within the country, specific hazards (bribery, jails, kidnapping, landmines, scams, etc.); also includes health information
•  Offers purchasing information for Pelton’s book
•  Excellent; very useful source for safe navigation through the treacherous side of trave


Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN)

•  Founded in 1998, the GDIN “is an active, collaborative association of experts from NGO’s, governments, International Organizations, industry and academia, and donor organizations”
•  “Committed to assist disaster managers find the information they need, particularly when other means have failed”
•  Focuses on “information facilitation” to provide better communication assistance for natural, technological, and man-made disasters/emergencies
•  Includes information on GDIN’s conferences/events, initiatives, programs, projects, services
•  Translations available in Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish
•  Searchable
•  Excellent; this is one of the premier resource organizations for establishing improved communication and co-ordination efforts/procedures for dealing with disasters on an international level


MedlinePlus:Disaster Preparation and Recovery

•  “A service of the U.S. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE and the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH”
•  Formerly known as “MedlinePlus: Disasters and Emergency Preparedness”
•  Best feature of the site is its emphasis on health/medical issues (infectious diseases, trauma, disability issues, safety measures for food/water supplies, insulin, et al)
•  Also links to many topic-specific sites for natural disasters, news financial issues, directories, organizations, legal issues, specific populations (children, women, “seniors”)
•  Most links are from federal/state agencies, NGOs
•  Many links are also available in Spanish
•  Also links to other MedlinePlus pages for related topics
•  Last updated January 2006
•  Outstanding; the links to health/medical issues alone make this page worthwhile


National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT)

•  Established in 1995, the MIPT “… is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preventing of terrorism on U.S. soil or mitigating its effects; … funded through the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness”
•  “I’m Interested In …” links to articles, reports, fact-sheets, journals, and websites for 84 terrorism and terrorism-related topics
•  “Terrorism Knowledge Base” (TKB) contains information on 20,000+ global terrorism incidents from 1968 to the present; also contains extensive data on groups and leaders
•  “Responder Knowledge Base” (RKB) is a resource for emergency responders and other practitioners; provides critical information on products, standards, and equipment which are used in the war against terrorism
•  “Lessons Learned Information Sharing” (LLIS) is a national clearinghouse for “lessons learned and best practices”; it also is the “official repository of lessons learned for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security”
•  Includes information about MIPT’s conferences/events, initiatives, programs, projects, publications, services
•  Links to government agencies, group lists, professional associations/organizations, research institutes, news sources, resource lists
•  “Feedback” options include suggesting a resource/conference, site content/design suggestions, technical issues, outreach/research questions
•  Searchable
•  Outstanding; an extremely important resource for practical advice on combating terrorism and one of the best online resources for a historical perspective on this subject


ReliefWeb

•  Maintained by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), ReliefWeb claims to be “… the world’s leading online gateway to information (documents and maps) on humanitarian emergencies and disasters”
•  “Disseminates timely, reliable and relevant humanitarian information by updating its web site around the clock”
•  Provides regional/country updates on the status of any disaster relief efforts which are currently in progress; includes historical information on past disasters
•  Includes information on appeals/funding, “Policies & Issues” (retrievable by date, source, subject, document type), maps, “Professional Resources” (for 22 topical areas)
•  Outstanding; this clearinghouse is the best, most current source for humanitarian relief efforts; useful for governments, professional associations/organizations, general public


Safety Issues

•  Created and maintained by Yovette Mumford
•  “A multimedia news and information service for the community of interest concerned with safety”
•  This site links to hundreds of “fact/advice sheets,” news items pertaining to 21 categories of personal/home safety issues; sources include government agencies, professional associations/organizations
•  Frequently updated
•  Welcomes feedback
•  Outstanding; an excellent resource for practical advice on dealing with a wide variety of safety issues which affect people’s lives on the family and personal level


Trauma Information Center

•  Maintained by David V. Baldwin, “a licensed Psychologist in Eugene, Oregon”
•  This site, a winner of numerous awards, “… focus[es] primarily on emotional trauma and traumatic stress, including PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), and dissociation”
•  Links to full-text articles, online resources (databases, workshop calendars, professional associations/organizations, a glossary, e-journals, e-mail discussion groups)
•  Also links to other disaster and mental health sites
•  “Continuously online for 9 years”
•  E-mail welcomed
•  Outstanding; intended audience is “clinicians, researchers, students,” but very informative for anyone interested in this topic


Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only. Johnson & Wales University Library is not responsible for the accuracy, content, or stability of any websites linked to this page.

Compiled by Rick Keogh, 12/05; links last checked 12/07

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