The study of the management of weather-related disaster risks by municipalities has attracted little attention even though these organizations play a key role in protecting the population from extreme meteorological conditions. This article contributes to filling this gap with new evidence on the level and determinants of Quebec municipalities' preparedness for weather hazards and response to r...

Information management in disaster situations is challenging, yet critical for efficient response and recovery. Today information flows are difficult to establish, partial, redundant, overly complex or insecure, besides the interoperability between heterogeneous organisations is limited. This paper presents a novel system architecture that enables combining of several communication technologies...

The Bandar Bushehr, Iran earthquake of April 9, 2013 gravely illustrates how disaster-prone areas of the world are compounding their risk of disaster and major public health emergencies when there is a geographical convergence of natural and technological hazards. Scientists must emphasize to policy makers that ever-increasing regional industrialization and the broader introduction of nuclear f...

OBJECTIVES To measure physical assets in Australasian hospitals required for the management of mass casualties as a result of terrorism or natural disasters. DESIGN AND SETTING A cross-sectional survey of Australian and New Zealand hospitals. PARTICIPANTS All emergency department directors of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM)-accredited hospitals, as well as private and non...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine how agencies in South Carolina that provide in-home health care and personal care services help older and/or disabled clients to prepare for disasters. The study also examines how agencies safeguard clients' records, train staff, and how they could improve their preparedness. METHODS The relevant research and practice literature was reviewed. N...

Asset-mapping is a strategy used in disaster preparedness planning, however participation is typically limited to a small number of organizations with specific expertise related to disaster response. Broader strategies are needed to ensure identification of assets is comprehensive and to stimulate innovative thinking about which attributes of a community are potential assets for response and re...

UNLABELLED Disasters can have wide-ranging effects on individuals and their communities. Loss of specific resources (e.g., household contents, job) following a disaster has not been well studied, despite the implications for preparedness efforts and postdisaster interventions. OBJECTIVE To provide information about the effects of loss on postdisaster distress, the present study assessed assoc...

This study examined disaster preparedness and decision-making by caregivers of community-dwelling persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's or a related dementia (ADRD). Interviews were conducted with 20 caregivers in South Florida. Twelve of these interviews include caregiving experiences during the highly active 2004-2005 hurricane seasons. Results indicate that persons in earlier stages of ADRD can...

The Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) develops and provides access to health information resources and technology for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. DIMRC focuses on maintaining access to health information at all phases of disasters, developing innovative products and services for emergency personnel, conducting research to support disaster health informat...