Additional Resources

Interested in learning more about disaster risk mitigation? Curator Edmond Mathez recommends these external resources.

The United States Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Program.  Find information about past earthquakes and the science underlying earthquakes; about hazards, such as seismic hazard maps; about hazard analysis tools and tools for first responders, such as real-time feeds and notifications; and about monitoring programs, as well as summaries of research.

The United States Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program. This website includes reports on current activity and volcano fact sheets; describes and assesses eruption hazards; and includes images, educational resources, and scientific publications about the underlying science.

National Earthquakes Hazard Reduction Program. This partnership brings together resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation, and the United States Geological Survey to improve “understanding of earthquake hazards and to mitigate their effects.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Plan, Prepare & Mitigate section of FEMA’s website describes actions to protect homes, businesses, and communities before, after, and during a disaster.

Weather-Ready Nation. This initiative from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) focuses on “building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events.” Online resources included here are geared to helping understand and reduce risks related to severe weather, floods, tsunamis, heat waves, hurricanes, rip tides, and lightning.

National Flood Insurance Program. This national program provides insurance coverage for floods associated with storms, hurricanes, and other events to help homeowners, renters, and business owners close the gap in standard homeowner insurance.

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. The site of this membership organization for insurers and reinsurers describes specific measures that can be taken in the home to reduce the risks associated with earthquakes, floods, freezing weather, hail, high winds, hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, and wildfires. Specific risks are identified by area code, and states are rated in terms of the strengths of their building codes. Research reports on how damage to homes occurs are also available.

Designing for Disaster. This exhibition at the National Building Museum (Washington, DC), which runs through August 2, 2015, “examines how we assess risks from natural hazards and how we can create policies, plans, and designs yielding safer, more disaster-resilient communities.” A list of links to additional mitigation resources is included here.