Disaster Resources

This 4-day course provides tribal representatives with an understanding of reducing potential losses from natural or other hazards using mitigation opportunities and techniques, examples of mitigation success stories, and an overview of available FEMA Mitigation Programs. Primary emphasis is on helping tribal emergency managers and planners identify mitigation planning requirements and identifying mitigation opportunities to protect their communities.

The ITLTRF is a tribal non profit with a mission to strengthen and coordinate disaster services on tribal lands in Southern California. Their mission is to help American Indian people and Tribal Nations in California affected by wildfires and other disasters recover and become resilient.

Floods are one of the most common hazards in the U.S. Flood effects can be local - impacting a neighborhood or community, or very large - affecting entire river basins and multiple states. Provides step-by-step directions on preparing for a flood, what to do during, and what to do after.

The Sendai Framework is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.

The Aid and International Development Forum (AIDF) is the world leading forum specialising in disaster relief, resilience, mobile for development, food security and water security. They maintain a Disaster Relief webpage, featuring news on ongoing disasters, literature and other resources for disaster relief.

The Urban Adaptation Assessment (UAA) is an interactive database funded by the Kresge Foundation and led by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) that collates a rich dataset within a visual platform to give leaders the data they need to make decisions on how best to adapt and prepare. Encompassing data from over 270 cities within the United States, including all 50 states and Puerto Rico, whose populations are above 100,000, the UAA allows you to explore the connection between vulnerabilities to climate disasters, adaptive capacities, and how these are distributed within a city. Our easy-to-use tool gives you metrics to see your city’s risk and readiness in seconds. It also enables you to download extensive datasets, and examine which neighborhoods to focus your efforts. 

The mission of NASA’s Western Water Applications Office (WWAO) is to help solve important and pressing water-resource problems that the western United States faces today. To do this, WWAO equips water decision-makers with useful, accessible and sustained remote-sensing-based information. Read more about their work from NASA Western Water Application Office's 2019 Report here.

The FEMA Emergency Management Institute has independent study courses to teach about the Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS). Courses recommended to be taken for community disaster prevention and hazard mitigation include:ICS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command SystemICS-200: ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action IncidentsIS-700: National Incident Management System, An IntroductionIS-800: National Response Framework, An IntroductionMore advanced courses are available and may require an instructor.

The Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer is designed to increase wildfire awareness, give a comprehensive view of wildfire risk and local fire history, and educate users about wildfire prevention and mitigation resources. The site provides decision support for homeowners, communities, and professionals to identify and prioritize local fire prevention and mitigation efforts.

The right message at the right time from the right person can save lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Joint Information Center (JIC), as part of CDC’s Incident Management System (IMS), developed a key messages document while activated for the 2017 hurricane season response. The 2017 Hurricane Response Key Messages served as a tool to communicate critical health messages and response updates to partners. The JIC worked with CDC subject matter experts to develop key messages that addressed emerging challenges, including food safety, carbon monoxide poisoning, waterborne diseases, and mold. Having an accessible, online document provided jurisdictions with the most up-to-date science to communicate accurately and effectively about exposure and health risks—as well as protective measures—associated with hurricanes and flooding. After the hurricane response, CDC expanded the scope of the key messages document to include messages on preparedness, safety, and recovery. The purpose of the Preparedness and Safety Messaging for Hurricanes, Flooding, and Similar Disasters is to provide a preparedness and response resource for all jurisdictions. Jurisdictions can add the preparedness and safety messaging document as a resource to their communication plans that address hazards expected from extreme weather involving strong wind and high water, like hurricanes and floods.

The Washington Coastal Resilience Project (WCRP) is a three-year effort to rapidly increase the state’s capacity to prepare for coastal hazards, such as flooding and erosion, that are related to sea level rise. The project will improve risk projections, provide better guidance for land use planners and strengthen capital investment programs for coastal restoration and infrastructure.

One of the objectives of the WCRP is to develop an updated assessment of projected sea level change for coastal Washington State and its relationship to coastal hazards such as flooding and erosion. Washington State has two previous assessments of sea level rise; one published in 2012 by the National Academies of Science (NRC, 2012), and another in 2008 (Mote et al., 2008). This report provides an updated set of sea level rise projections that incorporates the latest science, provides community-scale projections, and is designed for direct application to risk management and planning. Subsequent reports will describe new findings related to storm surge, waves, and efforts to integrate sea level rise in coastal planning and management.

Natural and human-caused hazards affect individuals, communities, health care facilities and public health systems. In Oregon, potential hazards include winter storms, heat waves, earthquakes, tsunamis, emerging infections, pandemics and bioterrorism. Public health agencies and communities should be prepared to respond to and recover from these hazards. Hazard vulnerability assessments (HVAs) can inform public health emergency preparedness planning. HVAs help communities recognize relevant hazards and take steps to deal with them. This helps lessen the impact on the community when a public health emergency unfolds.

This national analysis, by the Union of Concerned Scientists, identifies the number of US homes at risk from chronic flooding over the coming decades due to sea level rise. It also shows the current property value, estimated population, and portion of the property tax base at risk. Information is available by state, community, and zip code. For this analysis, chronic flooding is defined to be flooding that occurs 26 times or more per year, a level of disruption also referred to as chronic inundation. Two time frames are featured. The first falls within the lifespan of a 30-year mortgage issued today. The second extends out to 2100, when more than 2.4 million of today's homes could be at risk. The challenges and choices that come with rising seas are profound and have significant implications for coastal residents, communities, and the broader economy. We explore these implications in the closing section.

"Fire behavior can be characterized as the manner in which a fire reacts to the interaction of fuel, weather, and topography - the "fire behavior triangle." The four main parameters used to describe fire behavior include: rate of spread, fireline intensity, flame length, and flame height."

This supersedes the 2010 Tribal Multi-Hazard Mitigation Planning Guidance. The purpose of this Guide is to mitigation plan reviewers so that they can assess tribal mitigation plans in a fair and consistent manner and to ensure that approved tribal mitigation plans meet the requirements at Title 44 CFR Part 201, including 44 CFR, § 201.7, Tribal Mitigation Planning.

Different populations may face similar risks of exposure to the negative effects of environmental and man-made disasters, but their actual vulnerability is dependent on their socio-economic conditions, civic and social empowerment, and access to mitigation and relief resources. Individuals with disabilities are disproportionately affected in disaster, emergency, and conflict situations due to inaccessible evacuation, response (including shelters, camps, and food distribution), and recovery efforts.

The socio-economic impacts of climate change continue to grow incrementally with each event. Higher temperatures, changing landscapes, rising seas, increased risk of drought, fire and flood, stronger storms with greater storm damage, increased heat related illness and disease and higher economic losses are all directly related to climate change. Disaster preparedness will not prevent the effects of climate change, but can drastically reduce the impacts upon people and community.

GAO's recent work highlights both the progress and challenges in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) efforts to lead national preparedness efforts, particularly efforts to assess emergency support capabilities and enhance logistics capabilities. Assessing capabilities is critical to ensure that they will be available when needed in emergencies.

The Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS) process supports planning by local decision makers concerned about coastal management and climate change vulnerability and adaptation.

Communities are facing a changing world- a world of warmer temperatures , less predictable weather patterns, and rising sea levels. While impacts vary by location, these and other impacts threaten the reliable delivery of many community services. This resource discusses how climate change is affecting community services, presents sample adaptation strategies, gives examples of successful community adaptation actions, and provides links to other key federal resources.

The Template for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Management Options (TACCIMO) integrates climate change science into land management and planning. This tool generates reports capturing and organizing information for a specific location and natural resource issue by synchronizing climate change literature with mapping tools and climate models. Learn more about this information delivery tool here.Please note, as of 9/16/22, the TACCIMO site is currently experiencing technical issues.

This study discusses, "the role of fire and fire risk as a driver of land use change, the ways land use changes impact drivers of fire, and suggest that the integration of land use teleconnections into the fire/land use discussion can help us better understand and manage the complex interactions between fire and land use". It discusses California's fire and land management systems and local planning endeavors.

Many Native American tribal governments are lacking in emergency preparedness, a part of the emergency management cycle where planning for disasters happens. These governments need assistance planning for future disasters. Federal, and state governments, along with other agencies and organizations, have the knowledge and resources to help tribal governments develop emergency response plans. This handbook is a resource to help tribes develop and implement an emergency preparedness plan for responding to natural and man-made disasters if and why they occur.

This guides provides information and resources that may be helpful to Tribal partners. The guide explains the Agency's policies related to tribal engagement, outlines key FEMA programs and how they specifically relate to federally-recognized tribes, and provides contact information for the Agency's tribal liaisons.

The Local Mitigation Planning Handbook (Handbook) is the official guide for local governments to develop, update and implement local mitigation plans.

The Red Guide to Recovery – Native Edition was created to assist disaster survivors in Tribal communities by making available a single source of pertinent, easy to read disaster recovery information that will walk them step-by-step through the recovery process while raising awareness of the many pitfalls that may present themselves in post-disaster scenarios. - See more here.

This database catalogs existing support and resources for archives, libraries, museums and other repositories of historic and artistic works who are in need of disaster mitigation planning.

Getting Ready in Indian Country is an invitation to consider emergency preparedness specifically for Native American interests. Developed with support from the National Park Service and the Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance of the Department of the Interior, this new initiative is intended to advance emergency preparedness, stimulate discussion, and inspire new projects for the care and protection of tribal heritage. This website features a brief report summarizing key issues, an inventory of disaster resources for cultural heritage, and a question list designed to help tribal archives and cultural centers maintain emergency preparedness.

This guidance document is designed to assist tribes in developing emergency response plans to address oil and hazardous materials spills; natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and fires; and other types of emergencies.

Drought occurs when rain, snow and other precipitation are lower than average for an extended period of time. Oregonians are familiar with drought, but climate changes are likely to increase the duration and effects. The health impacts of drought are numerous and far reaching. Some drought-related health effects are experienced in the short-term and can be directly observed and measured. However, the slow rise or chronic nature of drought can result in longer term, indirect health risks that are not always easy to anticipate or monitor.