Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Online tools 'decentralising disaster relief efforts' - SciDev.Net

Online tools 'decentralising disaster relief efforts' - SciDev.Net: Researchers writing in Disasters evaluated the experiences of Harvard University's Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA) during the Sichuan and Haiti earthquake responses in 2008 and 2010, respectively.

Friday, February 01, 2013

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Haggling over Hurricane Sandy relief: The unraveling of a rational disaster relief policy - The Hill's Congress Blog

Haggling over Hurricane Sandy relief: The unraveling of a rational disaster relief policy - The Hill's Congress Blog: The frustrating delay in moving Hurricane Sandy relief through Congress reflects more than regional resentments and the fiscal conservatism of some House members.

1 | Sandy's Driftwood Becomes Color-Blocked Art For Charity | Co.Design: business innovation design

1 | Sandy's Driftwood Becomes Color-Blocked Art For Charity | Co.Design: business innovation design: Two New York art directors collected, dried, and painted wood they found on the Jersey Shore after the hurricane. Now, the pieces are being sold to benefit local reconstruction efforts.

Mega disaster relief fund could be on cards | Sunshine Coast Daily

Mega disaster relief fund could be on cards | Sunshine Coast Daily: A MEGA disaster relief fund to shield taxpayers from sudden levies to recoup costs after significant weather events could be discussed once the Queensland floods enter a recovery phase.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan would not discuss whether his government would introduce another flood levy, as it did after the 2011 Queensland floods, on Monday.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

How to Do Disaster Relief Right - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

How to Do Disaster Relief Right - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: The debate over the size and content of the legislation providing relief for residents of New York and New Jersey whose homes and communities were devastated by Superstorm Sandy raises questions beyond why some feckless Republican members of Congress voted to deny this region the kind of relief that the U.S. government has previously provided (in a much faster way) to other regions hit by natural disasters. How does one do disaster relief properly? This is an area where nonprofits can teach legislators what works and what isn’t all that helpful.

A very good teacher is Juanita Rilling, the executive director of the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI), which works to educate the public, nonprofits, and government agencies about the best ways to provide international disaster relief. Because it isn’t a disaster relief organization itself, it isn’t pitching for this or that kind of disaster aid, but simply for smarter disaster relief in general. Rilling spoke to the Nonprofit Quarterly shortly after Superstorm Sandy struck.

Disaster Update: American Red Cross Contributes $50,000 to Zimbabwe Disaster Relief � American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom

Disaster Update: American Red Cross Contributes $50,000 to Zimbabwe Disaster Relief � American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom: Disaster Update: American Red Cross Contributes $50,000 to Zimbabwe Disaster Relief

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 – The American Red Cross is contributing $50,000 to help those affected by food insecurity caused by drought and below-normal rainfall in Zimbabwe.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Microsoft Launches Free Disaster Relief App

Microsoft Launches Free Disaster Relief App: Microsoft has recently released a new Disaster Relief app that goes under the name HelpBridge. The application is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8. The application allows you to do two things: ask for help and give help. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to call for help, you can send a message out via Facebook, SMS and email to a preassigned list of contacts with your location and a message. As of now, the app doesn’t support Twitter. HelpBridge also allows users to alert family and friends that they’re OK after a disaster strikes.

Haiti: United States Has Disbursed $2.5 Billion Since 2010 Earthquake

Haiti: United States Has Disbursed $2.5 Billion Since 2010 Earthquake: he United States has disbursed more than $2.5 billion in Haiti since the earthquake in January 2010, according to a State Department release issued Wednesday.

That number represents disbursements through the end of September 2012. The US had committed more than $3.6 billion toward “relief, recovery and reconstruction” in the same period, it said.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Charity at the top of these slopes | Boston Herald

Charity at the top of these slopes | Boston Herald: hat’s how, just a half-year after the end of one of the toughest financial seasons in ski resort history, the folks in Vermont made things happen, donating close to $100,000 to disaster relief from the storm.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Using Hollywood to Teach People About Disaster Giving - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Using Hollywood to Teach People About Disaster Giving - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Using Hollywood to Teach People About Disaster Giving

January 10, 2013, 4:15 pm

By Caroline Preston

Mike Rea, founder of Give2Asia, calls the 2004 Asian tsunamis the “first global disaster of our time.”

Now an employee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Rea wanted to use the disaster’s 10th anniversary to investigate what had become of the millions of dollars his group contributed and the many people it aspired to help.

Using Hollywood to Teach People About Disaster Giving - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Using Hollywood to Teach People About Disaster Giving - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Using Hollywood to Teach People About Disaster Giving

January 10, 2013, 4:15 pm

By Caroline Preston

Mike Rea, founder of Give2Asia, calls the 2004 Asian tsunamis the “first global disaster of our time.”

Now an employee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Rea wanted to use the disaster’s 10th anniversary to investigate what had become of the millions of dollars his group contributed and the many people it aspired to help.

Mobile Service Disruption from Great Japan Earthquake Visualized

Mobile Service Disruption from Great Japan Earthquake Visualized: When the tragic earthquake hit Japan back in March of 2011, mobile communications were severely disrupted in the affected regions, even in metropolitan Tokyo. The University of Tokyo’s Center for Spatial Information Science has put together an incredible visualization which dramatically illustrates how mobile activity almost completely stops in the minutes after the earthquake hit at 14:46PM on that afternoon.

Red Cross Releases Report on Haiti Earthquake Donations

Red Cross Releases Report on Haiti Earthquake Donations: The American Red Cross recently released a three-year update on its response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, made possible by donations from the public.

The report, which can be found at www.redcross.org/Haiti, shows that hundreds of thousands of people are living in safer homes and have improved access to water and health services thanks to the generous donations following the earthquake.

Japan: National Diet Library Begins Testing of Great East Japan Earthquake Archive | LJ INFOdocket

Japan: National Diet Library Begins Testing of Great East Japan Earthquake Archive | LJ INFOdocket: he Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, jointly with the National Diet Library, on Jan. 10 will start tests [protoype available] of a “Great East Japan Earthquake Archive,” an integrated data management system for more than 100,000 items related to the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.

It plans to complete the system in early March and increase the number of items to more than 300,000, including related data.

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Earthquake efforts in Japan earn Lori Henderson MBE - Dundee / Local / News / The Courier

Earthquake efforts in Japan earn Lori Henderson MBE - Dundee / Local / News / The Courier: A DUNDEE woman’s services to Japan’s reconstruction following the country’s devastating earthquake have earned her an MBE.

Sandy Shows Disaster-Relief Funding Is a Disaster - Bloomberg

Sandy Shows Disaster-Relief Funding Is a Disaster - Bloomberg: The Hurricane Sandy aid discussion has been noticeably lacking in common sense. On Jan. 4, the House of Representatives approved a scaled-back $9.7 billion aid package and promised to debate the additional $51 billion offered by the Senate on Jan. 15. But the most obvious solution to disaster-relief spending remains unexplored: budgeting for it ahead of time.

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Panera Bread Collects $4,000 for American Red Cross Disaster Relief - Dedham, MA Patch

Panera Bread Collects $4,000 for American Red Cross Disaster Relief - Dedham, MA Patch: Panera Bread Collects $4,000 for American Red Cross Disaster Relief

In just under two weeks, the customers at 16 New England-based Panera Bread locations, including the Dedham location, were able to raise more than $4,000 for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief fund.