Making Disaster Safer

Making Disaster Safer

Author: Ronni Alexander

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-11-23

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9819945461

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This edited book was produced through a transnational and transdisciplinary UNESCO Chair Project on Gender and Vulnerability in Disaster Risk Reduction Support. Contributors come from five disaster-prone Asian countries, and the chapters reflect their rich knowledge and practical experience in disaster management and humanitarian assistance. The chapters, all with a focus on gender and vulnerability, illustrate that gender can make people, especially women, vulnerable. The chapters address the experiences of state and non-state actors responding to disaster and promoting recovery at the local level. However, while women and vulnerable people may be victims of disasters, they also serve as agents for recovery and voices for better disaster preparedness. In sharing both successes and failures, as well as suggestions for the future, this book speaks to the need for transdisciplinary knowledge and multilevel coordination, as well as full equality for all genders and respect for human rights, in order to cope with increasingly more frequent, intense, and complex emergencies. This book is of interest as a text to students in a variety of disciplines who are focusing on disaster and health emergencies, as well as to practitioners and others promoting disaster risk reduction and resilience.


Foolproof

Foolproof

Author: Greg Ip

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2015-10-13

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 031628596X

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How the very things we create to protect ourselves, like money market funds or anti-lock brakes, end up being the biggest threats to our safety and wellbeing. We have learned a staggering amount about human nature and disaster -- yet we keep having car crashes, floods, and financial crises. Partly this is because the success we have at making life safer enables us to take bigger risks. As our cities, transport systems, and financial markets become more interconnected and complex, so does the potential for catastrophe. How do we stay safe? Should we? What if our attempts are exposing us even more to the very risks we are avoiding? Would acceptance of danger make us more secure? Is there such a thing as foolproof? In Foolproof, Greg Ip presents a macro theory of human nature and disaster that explains how we can keep ourselves safe in our increasingly dangerous world.


Repairing Your Flooded Home

Repairing Your Flooded Home

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13:

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When in doubt, throw it out. Don't risk injury or infection. 2: Ask for help. Many people can do a lot of the cleanup and repairs discussed in this book. But if you have technical questions or do not feel comfortable doing something, get professional help. If there is a federal disaster declaration, a telephone "hotline" will often be publicized to provide information about public, private, and voluntary agency programs to help you recover from the flood. Government disaster programs are there to help you, the taxpayer. You're paying for them; check them out. 3: Floodproof. It is very likely that your home will be flooded again someday. Floodproofing means using materials and practices that will prevent or minimize flood damage in the future. Many floodproofing techniques are inexpensive or can be easily incorporated into your rebuilding program. You can save a lot of money by floodproofing as you repair and rebuild (see Step 8).


Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters

Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-09-10

Total Pages: 532

ISBN-13: 0309316227

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In the devastation that follows a major disaster, there is a need for multiple sectors to unite and devote new resources to support the rebuilding of infrastructure, the provision of health and social services, the restoration of care delivery systems, and other critical recovery needs. In some cases, billions of dollars from public, private and charitable sources are invested to help communities recover. National rhetoric often characterizes these efforts as a "return to normal." But for many American communities, pre-disaster conditions are far from optimal. Large segments of the U.S. population suffer from preventable health problems, experience inequitable access to services, and rely on overburdened health systems. A return to pre-event conditions in such cases may be short-sighted given the high costs - both economic and social - of poor health. Instead, it is important to understand that the disaster recovery process offers a series of unique and valuable opportunities to improve on the status quo. Capitalizing on these opportunities can advance the long-term health, resilience, and sustainability of communities - thereby better preparing them for future challenges. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters identifies and recommends recovery practices and novel programs most likely to impact overall community public health and contribute to resiliency for future incidents. This book makes the case that disaster recovery should be guided by a healthy community vision, where health considerations are integrated into all aspects of recovery planning before and after a disaster, and funding streams are leveraged in a coordinated manner and applied to health improvement priorities in order to meet human recovery needs and create healthy built and natural environments. The conceptual framework presented in Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters lays the groundwork to achieve this goal and provides operational guidance for multiple sectors involved in community planning and disaster recovery. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters calls for actions at multiple levels to facilitate recovery strategies that optimize community health. With a shared healthy community vision, strategic planning that prioritizes health, and coordinated implementation, disaster recovery can result in a communities that are healthier, more livable places for current and future generations to grow and thrive - communities that are better prepared for future adversities.


Library as Safe Haven

Library as Safe Haven

Author: Deborah D. Halsted

Publisher: American Library Association

Published: 2014-08-05

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 1555709133

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Libraries have always played a special role in times of disaster by continuing to provide crucial information and services. The Stafford Act of 2011, a federal government directive, designates libraries as among the temporary facilities delivering essential services, making a Continuity of Operations Plan imperative for libraries. Peppered with informative first-person narratives from librarians recounting emergency situations, Halsted, Clifton, and Wilson cover such topics as: An eight-step approach to developing a risk assessment planHow to draft a one-page service continuity planInformation on how to use mobile devices and social media effectively in times of disasterSample disaster plans, along with model exercises, manuals and customizable communicationsPublished in cooperation with the Medical Library Association (MLA), this nuts-and-bolts resource will enable libraries of all kinds to do their best while planning for the worst.


Are You Ready?

Are You Ready?

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13:

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Accompanying CD-ROM contains additional supporting materials, sample electronic slide presentations, and other resources.


The Ostrich Paradox

The Ostrich Paradox

Author: Robert Meyer

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Published: 2017-02-07

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 1613630794

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"The Ostrich Paradox boldly addresses a key question of our time: Why are we humans so poor at dealing with disastrous risks, and what can we humans do about it? It is a must-read for everyone who cares about risk." —Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow We fail to evacuate when advised. We rebuild in flood zones. We don't wear helmets. We fail to purchase insurance. We would rather avoid the risk of "crying wolf" than sound an alarm. Our ability to foresee and protect against natural catastrophes has never been greater; yet, we consistently fail to heed the warnings and protect ourselves and our communities, with devastating consequences. What explains this contradiction? In The Ostrich Paradox, Wharton professors Robert Meyer and Howard Kunreuther draw on years of teaching and research to explain why disaster preparedness efforts consistently fall short. Filled with heartbreaking stories of loss and resilience, the book addresses: •How people make decisions when confronted with high-consequence, low-probability events—and how these decisions can go awry •The 6 biases that lead individuals, communities, and institutions to make grave errors that cost lives •The Behavioral Risk Audit, a systematic approach for improving preparedness by recognizing these biases and designing strategies that anticipate them •Why, if we are to be better prepared for disasters, we need to learn to be more like ostriches, not less Fast-reading and critically important, The Ostrich Paradox is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand why we consistently underprepare for disasters, as well as private and public leaders, planners, and policy-makers who want to build more prepared communities.