Disaster Response

United States

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Simulations

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http://www.un-spider.org/about/updates/un-spider-august-2012-updates

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United Nations International Conference on Space-Based Technologies for Disaster Management

Thu, 2012-09-06 22:24 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Luis Kun

un-spider.org - August 2012

Upcoming events

UN-SPIDER Technical Advisory Missions to Solomon Islands and Mozambique
“Risk Assessment in the Context of Global Climate Change” – United Nations International Conference on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Management
Fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2013 announced
4th International Conference of Crisis Mappers(ICCM) - Fellowships available
United Nations International Expert Meeting on Crowdsource Mapping

http://issuu.com/unspider/docs/un-spider_updates_august_2012/1

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Map

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Rethinking Humanitarian Relief: Sourcing Locally Before Disaster Strikes

Thu, 2012-09-06 21:42 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Albert Gomez

good.is - by Rosie Spinks - September 6, 2012

When disaster strikes a place like Haiti, Somalia, or Indonesia, the response in the developed world usually follows a similar trajectory: massive aid appeal from local NGOs supported by celebrity faces, a large influx of funds from reliably generous Americans, and an eventual petering out of urgent media coverage in the ensuing weeks.

While media coverage of international tragedies may appear to reach saturation levels at times, the story of how those aid dollars affect local economies is not so well told.

“After a disaster, there is more money [from donors] than you can shake a stick at,” says Howard Sharman, senior consultant for the UK-based relief project Advance Aid.

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Development

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Why 2013 will be a year of crisis

Wed, 2012-09-05 20:07 — Maeryn Obley

Prediction: 2013 will be a year of serious global crisis. That crisis is predictable, and in fact has already begun. It will inescapably confront the next president of the United States. Yet this emerging crisis got not a mention at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Image: Rotting corn was damaged by severe drought on a farm near Bruceville, Indiana.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

cnn.com - September 3rd, 2012 - David Frum

Prediction: 2013 will be a year of serious global crisis. That crisis is predictable, and in fact has already begun. It will inescapably confront the next president of the United States. Yet this emerging crisis got not a mention at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

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IDF Hosts Int’l Conference on Emergency Planning

Tue, 2012-09-04 23:26 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Mike Kraft

jpost.com - by Yaakov Lappin - September 4, 2012

The IDF Home Front Command is hosting a five-day international seminar in Tel Aviv this week, to share working models on how to manage civilian populations during times of crisis.

Delegates from 19 countries and the United Nations are attending the conference, the ninth of its kind, which is being held at the Dan Panorama hotel in Tel Aviv.

“The aim is to share our information and experience in Israel on how to handle crises, whether caused by war or natural disaster,” said Col. Itai Peleg, of the Home Front Command. “We also want to hear from participants on how they tackle the challenges.”

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Images: Venezuelan Refinery Under Scrutiny After Deadly Blaze

Tue, 2012-09-04 13:16 — Maeryn Obley

Image: Venezuela's Amuay refinery during the disaster. (Photograph from Nuevo Dia/European Pressphoto Agency)

news.nationalgeographic.com - Brian Handwerk - August 30th, 2012

Fires raged at Venezuela's Amuay refinery after a predawn explosion rocked the facility on August 25 and left at least 42 dead, dozens wounded, and hundreds of homes demolished. The blast was the world's deadliest refinery accident in 15 years.

The catastrophe's exact causes haven't been determined, but Energy Minister Rafael Ramírez, president of the state's oil company Petróoleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), said on Venezuelan television that a gas leak had appeared in a fuel storage tank area and formed a cloud that burst into a ball of flame despite the efforts of workers.

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U.K. - Rapid Response Network Ready if Crises Hit

Sun, 2012-09-02 23:40 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Department for International Development (DFID) - March 7, 2012

Britain is to establish a new rapid response network of top UK-based businesses and charities to provide emergency relief when major international crises hit - such as floods, famines and earthquakes.

The network, called the Rapid Response Facility, will mobilise life-saving support in the critical hours following a humanitarian disaster, Andrew Mitchell said today.

It is the first time a British government has brought together the power of the private sector as well as non-governmental organisations in this way to take part in emergency relief.

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Communication

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When contagion strikes, it's Honolulu you should avoid

Wed, 2012-08-08 15:34 — Corey Watts

submitted by Cody Shearer

Image: Christos Nicolaides/Juanes Research Group

www.guardian.co.uk - July 24, 2012 - Posted by Nadja Popovich

When the next outbreak of Sars or Swine flu hits, New York's John F Kennedy airport and Los Angeles's airports will likely be the key spreaders of disease, according to a new study. But while the influence of these super-hubs may not come as much of a surprise, the third most outbreak-friendly airport in the states is far smaller, and far less obvious – Honolulu International.

In a paper published Monday in the journal PLoS One, a team of researchers from MIT outlined a new computer model that predicts how the 40 largest American airports may contribute to the diffusion of contagious disease within the first few days of a potential epidemic.

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Calculating the global health consequences of the Fukushima nuclear disaster

Sat, 2012-07-21 17:13 — Maeryn Obley

submitted by Luis Kun

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - July 18th, 2012

Radiation from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster may eventually cause approximately 130 deaths and 180 cases of cancer, mostly in Japan, Stanford researchers have calculated. The estimates have large uncertainty ranges, but contrast with previous claims that the radioactive release would likely cause no severe health effects. The numbers are in addition to the roughly 600 deaths caused by the evacuation of the area surrounding the nuclear plant directly after the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and meltdown.

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Executive Summary - Slideshare

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Fukushima Disaster “a Profoundly Man-Made Disaster”: Investigative Commission

Tue, 2012-07-10 01:11 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Luis Kun

Homeland Security News Wire - July 5, 2012

Executive Summary - (88 page .PDF file)

NAIIC Report

The commission investigating the Fukushima disaster of March 2011 concluded that although the combination of the tsunami and earthquake was unprecedented in its ferocity, the disaster was largely man-made because it was amplified by what came before it and what followed it. The disaster itself, the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, said was sandwiched by practices and conduct which were the result of government-industry collusion and the worst conformist conventions of Japanese culture.

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Earthquake

Radiation

Tsunami

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