Emergency Preparedness

The bicycle's next frontier: disaster response
Cities in seismically active regions are examining their emergency response policies in the wake of the March 2011 tsunami in Japan; the city of Portland, Oregon, as well as citizen-led Neighborhood Emergency Teams(NET), have been including the cargo bike in their emergency response plans
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Haiti implements national plan for disaster risk reduction
The government of Haiti and the UN Development Program launch Haiti’s National System for Disaster Risk Reduction program; the UN says this is one of the first times that a developing country has taken advance measures to reduce the vulnerability of its people and economy to future earthquakes
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Better policies needed to reduce radiation exposure in nuclear accidents
A new study says that offsite policies and plans should be put in place to reduce the exposure of the public to radiation in the event of a nuclear power plant accident
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If Japan-like disaster happened in U.S., results would be far worse
An estimated 20,000 people died or are still missing after a massive earthquake-induced tsunami struck Japan on 11 March 2011, yet some 200,000 people were in the inundation zone at the time; experts say that if the same magnitude earthquake and tsunami hits the Pacific Northwest, the death toll will be much higher because of the lack of comparable preparation; that 90 percent rate could be the number of victims, not survivors
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New app helps Queensland coordinate volunteers
Researchers from the University of Queensland have developed a new smartphone app to help mobilize and coordinate volunteer efforts during major disasters
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Next-gen weather satellites to improve tornado warnings in South
More than a quarter of the 1,688 twisters confirmed across the United States in 2011 occurred in the four-state region of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee – and most of the 73 tornadoes hitting the United States in January 2012 occurred in those four states; southern tornadoes are especially insidious and challenging to track, and NASA’s weather satellites are now paying special attention to them
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Nebraska debates disaster housing fund
Legislators in Nebraska are currently debating a law that would create a $2.5 million temporary housing fund for families who lose their homes in natural disasters
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Study finds majority of Americans unprepared for disasters
According to the latest survey by the Persuadable Research Corporation, half of the poll’s respondents believe they are unprepared for a disaster
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Union University bolsters emergency response with GPS 911 system
In an effort to bolster its emergency response capabilities Union University in Tennessee recently installed an enhanced 911 system
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Apps, digital tools to help cope with disasters
The Department of Health and Human Services has posted on its Web a list of apps and digital tools which would help individual cope with disasters and the challenges disasters pose
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FEMA grant helps UW create disaster plan
The University of Wisconsin is currently hard at work developing a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan with the help of FEMA
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Midwest preps for multi-state earthquake drill
Emergency management agencies across the central United States are getting ready for a multi-state earthquake preparedness drill next month; led by the University of Southern California’s Earthquake Center, on 7 February at 10:15 AM CST, more than one million people across nine states will participate in the “Great Central U.S. ShakeOut”
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New Jersey enacts new disaster preparedness law
On Tuesday New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed new legislation into law designed to bolster state emergency preparedness
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FEMA aims to increase emergency preparedness with New Year’s resolution
As the New Year begins the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is ramping up its Ready Campaign, a nationwide effort aimed at increasing emergency preparedness
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2011 natural disasters cost U.S. insurers more than $32 billion
2011 saw U.S. government set record for disaster declarations; the severity of the disasters set a record as well, with twelve separate billion-dollar weather/climate disasters in 2011, with an aggregate damage total of approximately $52 billion (this number reflects both insured and uninsured losses)
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