How Google Will Pitch in to Help FEMA During Disasters

Google, Microsoft, Intel and other tech companies will start helping the Federal Emergency Management Agency during major disasters. Seven tech groups signed an agreement with FEMA to offer tools and expertise to the agency’s new Tech Corps that will improve how the agency responds to disasters.

Trained volunteers from the organizations will work with FEMA at disaster sites on projects like setting up temporary Internet and phone communication, navigation and mapping systems and analyzing data to speed up rescue and recovery.

Another industry/government partnership may also be of interest. See: As Hurricane Season Approaches, IBM and The Weather Company Collaborate on Emergency Management for Cities

From the Preventionweb site: Community resilience framework: lessons from the field

FEMA launches disaster dataviz tool

Thanks to a new data visualization tool from FEMA, citizens and local emergency managers can get a better understanding the relative risk and impact of disasters. The interactive tool maps historical disaster declaration data in an effort to help communities plan for disasters and understand assistance spending.

As part of the OpenFEMA initiative, the Federal Emergency Management Agency both released the raw historical data and made it available through interactive and readable maps.

From Disaster-Zone blog, by Eric Holdeman: British Columbia Earthquake Preparedness Report. The report is 70 pages.

It is in trouble with its donors, with the general public, and with Congress apparently, over it rebuilding efforts in Haiti. First Pro Publica and now the NY Times have covered the story. See: The Red Cross and the Mystery of Its Haiti Aid

Update: Please read the comments for additional information on this hot topic.

The Diva is sympathetic to the Red Cross and in this case is just re-reporting articles from other media sources.

Article from Guardian: Worst Refugee Crisis Since Second World War.

Article on the topic from the NYTimes.

Direct link to full report ( 35 pp).

From fellow blogger, Eric Holdeman, his posting about a new report by Stephen Flynn et al., which he titled The Odds are Stacked Against Disaster Resilience.

Here is the direct link to the full report (111 pages):  Bolstering Critical Infrastructure – Resilience After Superstorm Sandy

Update:  a couple of serious researchers give this report high marks. Be sure to check it out.