Newsroom
Arrival in Haiti; Start of a Recovery Mission
Reports from the ground in Haiti When I got off the airplane in Port-au-Prince, there was a band playing what sounded like New Orleans French Quarter music. That tells you something right there. And it is hot, even by Louisiana standards. I’ll tell you what was hotter – standing in a madhouse group of people […]
Hospital Preparedness: A Critical Community Infrastructure
Hospitals are community symbols. Their ability to provide patient care is an indicator of a functioning society. During disasters their continued ability to provide patient care is essential, not only for disaster victims, but for their role in representing a resilient community that can withstand adversity. Hospitals are also dependent upon critical infrastructures, e.g., power, […]
Become an Expert at Word: Tips from a Know-It-All
Before coming to IEM, I thought I was a master at Word. Up to that point, I had gotten everything I needed out of the program and didn’t think there was anything more I could learn. I was young and egotistical back then. Since coming to work here as an editor, however, I’ve learned many […]
Information Sharing in Disasters
The crisis in Haiti is unfolding in a world that has never been more connected in terms of information, people, and emotion. The 2001 terrorist attacks, the 2004 tsunami, and 2005’s Hurricane Katrina showed us that the web can be a responsible source of information for billions of people all over the world. However, the […]
Padma Shri Awarded to Dr. Arvind Kumar
IEM computational physicist Dr. Neeraj Mainkar penned the following letter to his father, Dr. Arvind Kumar, who was recently awarded a Padma Shri, one of India’s highest awards. Dr. Kumar was honored for his many years of work in science education for the underprivileged population in rural India. A letter from a proud son Dear […]
The Scale and Economic Impact of the Haiti Disaster
The scale of death and destruction in Haiti as a result of the earthquake on January 12 (and its aftershocks) is difficult to imagine, even with constant news coverage and video. Part of my job is to estimate economic damages that result from natural disasters, and my research on Haiti and past earthquakes suggests that […]
The earth heaved up a catastrophe in Haiti
The earth heaved up a catastrophe in Haiti. The immediate tasks fall into the lowest and most basic of the Maslow Heirarchy of Needs – rescue from the rubble to be able to breathe, food, water, shelter, medical care. This will later wrap into concern for temporary housing, family reunification, and eventually long-term recovery. Haitians […]
Social Media in Disaster Exercises
In case you don’t know, my full-time job for the past number of years has been as a consultant putting on various types of large-scale disaster exercises across the country. I have designed and developed exercises for all levels of government and many different programs. As emergency managers and public information officers struggle to incorporate […]
Tornado Tracks of Moore & El Reno, Oklahoma Tornados Show an Eerie Correlation with Heavily Populate Areas
On May 31, the area around Oklahoma City, already battered by tornadoes a little over a week before, experienced several more tornadoes that caused damage including loss of life. A tornado reaching an EF-3 (Severe) wind speed and damage rating touched down just southwest of the city of El Reno, approximately 30 miles west of […]
