Resources for Disaster Planners

Workplace Safety

sbm2h — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:55:25 +0000

While much disaster planning centers on the effects of weather and other natural phenomena, release of hazardous materials, pandemics, ets., workplace violence is common, and as expressed by the Virginia Tech massacre in April, such events can be truly devastating. Publications such as these put out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health focus on the issue of workplace and institutional violence, particularly as that issue pertains to hospital and health care workers.

FEMA’s Disaster Planning Guide

sbm2h — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 21:45:16 +0000

For management just not sure where to start in working up a disaster plan, the Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry, will take you through the process in a clear, step-by-step approach.

Massive Disaster Links Compendium

sbm2h — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 19:51:25 +0000

The CBS News Disaster Links offers a huge array of links, categorized by disaster types, organizations, and agencies, as well as links to disaster management education.

Global Incident Map

sbm2h — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 02:14:07 +0000

The Global Incident Map is another of those fascinating sites tracking worldwide events. In this case, it details what it terms “terrorism and other suspicious events.” By clicking on the event icons or on the scrolling event summaries, you will see a description of the event and a Google map of the incident location.

Disaster Time Line Charts

sbm2h — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 01:07:16 +0000

The Time Line Series of disaster charts are large format, graphically rich charts available for download. They illustrate major “focusing” events, whether they be natural, technological, biological, or even the result of terrorist activities, and trace out the outcomes of these events in terms of analyses, reports, federal response plans, etc.

Emergency Management Glossary

sbm2h — Sat, 26 May 2007 21:24:11 +0000

The ICDRM/GWU Emergency Management Glossary of Terms was developed by the Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Manaagement at The George Washington University. It establishes terminology for the education and practice of emergency managers and is comprehensive in scope. Many of the citations provided throughout the glossay also link to documents that might prove useful to emergency managers as well.

Comprehensive Data Directory

sbm2h — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:38:12 +0000

The Natural Hazards Data Resources Directory is a comprehensive WebBook with hundreds of links leading to raw data of natural hazards and resources for disaster management planners.

Real Time Alerts

sbm2h — Wed, 16 May 2007 13:13:51 +0000

The DisasterLinks site provides quick access to alerts ranging from storms, floods, and wildfires to pollen counts and meat or poultry recalls.

Continuous Cycle of Preparedness

Dan Wilson — Thu, 10 May 2007 16:59:51 +0000

Below is an excerpt from Disaster Planning Drills and Readiness Assessment presenting a continuous cycle of disaster preparedness. The emphasis of the entire brief is on bioterrorism planning for hospitals.

The Continuous Cycle of Disaster Preparedness

Assemble an interdisciplinary team of key stakeholders for disaster planning.
Review current resources, strengths, and weaknesses.
Develop a detailed, written disaster response plan.
Disseminate and practice the plan through education and drills.
Evaluate the adequacy of knowledge, skills, and resources.
Revise the plan based on objective data and lessons learned.
Modify education and training as needed to target areas of weakness.
Continuously repeat these steps.

Emergency Management/Business Continuity Resource

Dan Wilson — Thu, 10 May 2007 16:58:51 +0000

The DISASTER RESOURCE GUIDE is a comprehensive site providing links to all sorts of resources for emergency preparedness, mitigation, and business continuity planning. Within the Articles menu, you will find a Nuggets link yielding useful, digestible pieces of information.