Disaster Science Meta-Library

Copyright 2002 by Walter G. Green III.  All rights reserved.

Recognized as a BEST PRACTICE by the METRO RICHMOND EMERGENCY PLANNING GROUP (March 2000).

SITE INTRODUCTION:

The Disaster Science Meta-Library is a site designed to assist students of emergency management and disaster science in research in the discipline. The Meta-Library is posted and maintained by Dr. Walter G. Green III of the University of Richmond. All sites are checked at least quarterly to ensure that URLs are still functional. Comments on the value of this site and suggested additions are welcomed and should be addressed to the contact address at the bottom of the page.

POLICY ON COPYRIGHT VIOLATION AND PLAGIARISM:

The Disaster Science Meta-Library supports academic integrity. This site does not knowingly link to any site that infringes the copyright of any author in print or electronic media. This site does not knowingly link to any site that plagiarizes the work of other authors, on the Internet, in print, or in manuscript. If you believe that any site to which this site is linked violates either of these standards, please provide particulars to the contact address below.

SITE SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT:

Not all sites associated with emergency management are included in this site's links. Sites included are selected based on the following criteria (note that all interpretations of criteria are the site manager's alone although I welcome input from users):

(1) Credibility of the site. This does not necessarily mean that information on the site is accurate or truthful. Some sites are selected even though they are clearly not truthful; in these cases sites are selected because they are good examples of a particular viewpoint or value set.

(2) Currency and accuracy. Some sites selected are not current, but will be retained as long as the link survives for their possible historical value. Sites which purport to be accurate, but clearly have errors, as opposed to differences of interpretation of reality, have been excluded to the greatest extent possible.

(3) Depth, breadth, and uniqueness of information. In general, sites rich in information original to the site have been preferred.

(4) Research value. Sites are generally selected based on their possible contribution to research in the discipline.

Sites are assessed as a guide to selecting the most productive sources. These assessments do not imply anything about the value of the site to others or to the originating organization or individual; they are intended as a guide only within the context of this research tool. 

The assessment scale used is as follows:

3

a site that is particularly rich in material of possible value for academic research - includes original source documents, statistical information, or academic research

2

a site of value primarily as an overview or summary of a subject or which is of excellent quality but the material is largely peripheral to the field of emergency management or disaster science

1

a limited site with supporting information or which does contribute to general understanding of the subject or of the range of uses of the Internet in emergency management

M

a site which consists primarily of large collections of links

X

a site which exists but is under construction

Within the 1, 2, and 3 assessments, plus and minus are used to distinguish higher or lesser levels of applicability to the focus of this site.

REEVALUATION:

All sites listed are reevaluated at least every six months for content, and those marked as under construction are visited more frequently to ensure they are appropriately assessed.


Reference and Academic Sites

Emergency Management Related Bibliography

Federal Emergency Management Agency Higher Education Project maintained bibliography (Entry 0204262)


Hazard Sites

Hazards - Volcanoes

sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific volcanoes and patterns of volcanism - see also Hazards - Earthquakes

Hazards - Earthquakes

sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific earthquake events and patterns of seismicity - see also Hazards - Volcanoes and Hazards - Tsunami and Hazards - Infrastructure Failure: Dam Collapse

Hazards - Tsunami

sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific tsunami events - see also Hazards - Earthquakes

Hazards - Avalanches

sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific snow avalanches, including sites with current snow avalanche condition reports - see also Hazards - Landslides

Hazards - Landslides sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific landslides, rockslides, and ground slips - see also Hazards - Avalanches

Hazards - Flooding

sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific flooding and flash flooding events - see also Hazards - Infrastructure Failure: Dam Collapse and Hazards - Tsunami and Hazards - Hurricanes and Typhoons

Hazards - Tornadoes sites including research about tornadoes, specific tornado events, and tornado spotter and warning systems

Hazards - Hurricanes and Typhoons

sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific tropical storm events, including hurricanes and typhoons - see also Hazards - Flooding

Hazards - Northeasters sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific northeasters.

Hazards - Asteroids and Comets

sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific asteroid, comet, other near earth object, and other space based threats - see also Hazards - Mass Extinctions

Hazards - Mass Extinction

sites including research about, operational descriptions of, and information on specific theories regarding mass  extinctions - see also Hazards - Asteroids and Comets

Hazards - Infrastructure Failure: Bridge Collapse

sites describing and picturing prior bridge failures 

Hazards - Infrastructure Failure: Building Collapse

sites describing specific building collapse incidents and suggesting methods for their assessment and management 

Hazards - Infrastructure Failure: Dam Collapse

sites describing prior dam collapses and providing methods for assessing future collapse hazards

Hazards - Technological Failure

sites describing hazards associated with manufacturing processes, hazardous wastes, and similar technological hazards

Hazards - Technological Failure: Nuclear Power Plants

sites describing hazards associated with nuclear power plants, types and locations of nuclear power facilities, and reports of actual accidents

Hazards - Public Gatherings

sites describing the mechanism and types of hazards presented by public gatherings, including stadium disasters

Transportation Accidents - Aviation

sites describing major aviation transportation accidents including aircraft and airships and providing information on accident causation and location - see also Transportation Accidents - Aviation Conspiracies

Transportation Accidents - Aviation Conspiracies

sites offering alternative conspiracy and cover-up based explanations of aircraft accidents - see also Transportation Accidents - Aviation

Transportation Accidents - Maritime

sites describing major maritime transportation accidents including ship sinkings, fires, and explosions and providing information on accident causation and location

Transportation Accidents - Railroad

sites describing railroad, interurban rail, light rail, streetcar, and subway or underground railroad accidents and providing information on accident causation and location.


War and Conflict Sites

Nuclear War

sites describing nuclear war, technological and biological impacts, nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, command and control, and warfighting strategy - see also Continuity of Government and Civil Defense in the Cold War and Chemical and Biological Weapons

Chemical and Biological Weapons

sites describing chemical and biological weapons and assessing the probabilities of chemical and biological weapons use by governments or terrorists - see also Nuclear War  


Operational Agency Sites

US Local and Regional Organizations

links to local (county, city, borough, town, township, village) civil defense and emergency management agencies and associations in the United States

US State Emergency Management Agencies

links to state government emergency management agencies in the United States

US State Emergency Management Associations

links to state emergency management professional associations in the United States

US Federal Emergency Management and Emergency Response Agencies

links to United States Federal Government agencies with emergency management and disaster response roles

Continuity of Government

links to sites describing continuity of government and continuity of operations programs - see also Civil Defense in the Cold War and Nuclear War

Canadian Emergency Preparedness Organizations

links to Canadian national, provincial emergency, and local emergency measures organizations

International Emergency Management Agencies, Associations, and Activities

links to international, regional, inter-governmental, and other country emergency management sources and reports of emergency management and civil defense activities - see also Ground Observer Corps


Voluntary Disaster Response Organizations

Volunteer Emergency Communications

sites for international, national, and local volunteer emergency communications organizations that provide disaster services 

Voluntary Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations

links to international and national voluntary and non-governmental organizations with significant disaster roles (including members of the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster)

Government Volunteer Programs links to government programs that use volunteers in disaster response roles

Emergency Plans, Procedures, and Facilities

Emergency Operations Plans links to jurisdiction (state, county, city, town) emergency operations plans
Emergency Communications Plans links to examples of a variety of approaches to emergency communications planning
Health, Medical, and Animal  Population Disaster Plans links to examples of ESF-8 related disaster plans and guidance for their preparation
Museums, Libraries, and Collections Disaster Plans links to examples of disaster plans for libraries, museums, botanical gardens and other types of collections and guidance for their preparation
Business Continuity Plans links to examples of business continuity plans, including information technology continuity plans, and guides for their preparation
Standard Operating Procedures links to examples of emergency and disaster related organizational standard operating procedures
Emergency Checklists links to examples of a variety of types of emergency checklists
Incident Command Systems links to descriptions of incident command and management systems
Command Posts links to material describing or picturing fixed and mobile command posts and procedures for their operation - see also Emergency Management Software
Emergency Operations Center Activation Levels descriptions of the activation levels in common use in emergency operations centers - see also General Alert Levels
General Alert Levels descriptions of alert levels used to posture resources for disaster response - see also Emergency Operations Center Activation Levels
Emergency Management Software links to sites describing or evaluating emergency management software - see also Command Posts
After Action Reviews materials describing the after action review process, actual reports from exercises and disasters, and exercise reporting systems

Historical Data

World War II Air Raid Precautions 

information on air raid shelters, air raid wardens, Civil Defense activity, and personal experiences in air raids - see also Ground Observer Corps

Civil Defense in the Cold War

information on programs and attitudes about Civil Defense in the period from World War II through 1989 - see also Continuity of Government and Hazards - Nuclear War and Ground Observer Corps

Ground Observer Corps

links to sites describing the role of ground observers in early warning for civil defense and radiological reporting - see also World War II Air Raid Precautions and Civil Defense in the Cold War


Electronic Journals

Electronic Journal of Disaster Science

journal published by faculty and students of the University of Richmond (Entry 0204141)

Notes on the Science of Extreme Situations journal published by faculty and students of the University of Richmond (Entry 0409501)
Journal of Homeland Security electronic journal published by ANSER, a research institute (Entry 0204142)

To contact the site editor by e-mail.