You are here

Disaster Response

Rio+20: Disaster Risk Reduction

submitted by Linton Wells http://www.ustream.tv - June 17, 2012
Video streaming by Ustream
Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

How Crises Model the Modern World

submitted by Robert G. Ross

atlantis-press.com - Journal of Risk Analysis and Crisis Response - May 2012

Abstract:

Crises are our new reality. “Black swans” are increasingly becoming the norm; our systems, environments, contexts are structurally prone to crises. Doing more of the same will not be the appropriate way to deal with modern crises: a paradigm shift is needed, based on a more accurate understanding of the dynamics of complex systems. This paper is an invitation to change the theoretical vision of crisis and crisis management, and the education and training of all actors involved.

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Simulating the Effects of Different Actions to Minimize Disaster’s Consequences

submitted by Linton Wells

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - June 1, 2012

The European CRISMA project prepares for disasters by developing a decision-support tool to help the authorities, responders, communities, and private parties to prioritize the most important measures for saving lives and mitigating the effects of the crisis.

The CRISMA project, coordinated by VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, is developing a planning tool for crises which have immediate, extensive, and often irreversible consequences to the population and society. Crises of this type include natural disasters, toxic emissions, forest fires, and aircraft accidents.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Special Report - Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX)

28 March 2012

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) on 28 March. The report assesses the evidence that climate change has led to changes in climate extremes and the extent to which policies to avoid, prepare for, respond to and recover from the risks of disaster can reduce the impact of such events. Please click here for an IPCC press release on the report, and here for the report itself.

http://www.ipcc.ch/news_and_events/news.shtml#.T3UOlfXh98F

Special Report - Overview

http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/

Special Report - Press Release (4 page .PDF file)

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Global Warming Presents Historic Disaster Risk, Report Says

submitted by Samuel Bendett

      

Mumbai is among the densely populated cities that scientists say is at great risk. (Photo: Getty Images)

by Seth Borenstein - Associated Press - yahoo.com - March 28, 2012

WASHINGTON — Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts, and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international panel of climate scientists said in a new report issued Wednesday.

The greatest threat from extreme weather is to highly populated, poor regions of the world, the report warns, but no corner of the globe — from Mumbai to Miami — is immune. The document by a Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones and more frequent heat waves, deluges, and droughts.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Exercise 24: Using Social Media for Crisis Response

submitted by Samuel Bendett

      

worldfinancialreview.com - By George H. Bressler, Murray E. Jennex & Eric G. Frost

“Can populations self-organize a crisis response? This is a field report on the first two efforts in a continuing series of exercises termed Exercise 24 or X24. These exercises attempted to demonstrate that self-organizing groups can form and respond to a crisis using low-cost social media and other emerging web technologies.”

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Predicting Locations of Emergency & Damage During Disaster Using VGI Data

submitted by Alister Wm Macintyre

                                                     (CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW - TO ENLARGE)

      

ushahidi.com - by Prateek Budhwar

The VGI data obtained from the Ushahidi-Haiti platform during the first 72 hours of Earthquake in Haiti can be used for predicting the locations of ‘Emergency and damaged areas’ using Ushahidi Reports in Port-au-Prince. Two rapid and very successful VGI deployments helped coordinate disaster response after a devastating magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010.

OpenStreetMap (OSM) project volunteers working outside Haiti created a digital street map of Port-au-Prince and other places in Haiti very rapidly using fine-resolution imagery to trace vector maps of streets and other features.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Mexico Quake Tweet Volume and Characteristics

submitted by Samuel Bendett

Sender: crisismappers
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:55:14 -0700
To: <crisismappers>
ReplyTo: crisismappers
Subject: [CrisisMappers] Mexico quake tweet volume and characteristics
Some relatively random data points...

We've saw about 10,000 English tweets in the first hour and 23,000 in the second. Third hour is down, will be about half the rate of the second hour if sustained.

Recurring themes include words like rattle, suffer, long slow roller, hard, saddened, worried, awful, hate, bad.

I'm seeing a fair bit of "help us report" tweets, which is coming from a tweet that said "earthquake preparedness helps us report none to minor damage and no victims so far," from Mexico City.

English-language tweets from Mexico are making up 8 percent of the total. 55 percent are from the U.S.

Spanish tweets - 488 in the first hour, 1,400 in the second and current rate will product about 1,000 in the third hour.

Most common words in the Spanish tweets are disfrutar and malo.

Spanish tweets are coming almost 50/50 from Mexico and the U.S.

Almost 75 percent of the Spanish tweets were from men, v. a close to 50/50 split for English.

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Subject: [DISASTR-OUTREACH-LIB ] Hospital Librarians Survey - Emergency/Disaster Involvement

----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Amy Donahue To: ***@***.*** Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 3:10 PM Subject: [DISASTR-OUTREACH-LIB ] Hospital Librarians Survey - Emergency/Disaster Involvement Please forgive the cross-posting! But do feel free to forward this on to your hospital librarian colleagues through state or regional lists (I've got Wisconsin covered) - I would very much appreciate it as I'm trying to reach as many hospital librarians as humanly possible. The objective of this survey is to look at whether hospital librarians are actively involved in their organizations' emergency & disaster preparedness activities and, if so, how. Some demographics will also be captured. By exploring what roles currently exist and presenting these findings in a poster at the 2012 Annual Medical Libraries Association Conference in Seattle, WA, it is the author's hope that hospital librarians can continue their involvement in this vital area and learn from each other. Disclaimer: This survey has been exempted from Institutional Review Board oversight as the Aurora Health Care IRB has determined it does not constitute human subject research. Results will be kept confidential and presented only in aggregate.

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Death Toll in Visayas Quake Continues to Rise

A strong magnitude-6.9 quake hit Negros Oriental before noon today prompting authorities to raise tsunami alert level 2. (Image from Phivolcs)

By Jun Pasaylo and Dennis Carcamo The Philippine Star Updated February 06, 2012 12:35 PM

 

MANILA, Philippines - More than a dozen people have been reported killed in Negros Oriental province after it was hit by a strong quake before noon today.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chief Benito Ramos reported at past 4 p.m. today that a total of seven have been confirmed killed by the agency.

Ramos disclosed that four of the fatalities were recorded in Guihulngan City, two in Tayasan town and one more in Jimalalud.

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Pages

Subscribe to Disaster Response
howdy folks