Humanitarian and Natural Disaster Prevention and Relief

The World Wide Web has many useful disaster-related sites. Below is a selection of those that we find most useful. To help you get to the specific information you need fast, we've divided them into the following categories:

Disaster Relief Agencies

American Jewish World Service
"A not-for-profit nonsectarian organization founded to help alleviate human suffering, poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the world regardless of race, religion or nationality."

Amnesty International On-line
"A worldwide campaigning movement that works to promote all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards."

CARE
"CARE is one of the world's largest private international relief and development organizations providing sustainable development and emergency aid, and reaching tens of millions of people each year in more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America."

Crisis Corps
"Crisis Corps is a new program within the Peace Corps that provides short-term assistance to countries that have experienced natural disasters or humanitarian crises."

International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC)
Provides assistance to the poor, either in response to emergencies or long term socio-economic development needs.

Lutheran World Relief
Works in overseas development and relief on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church.

MAP International Relief and Development
"A nonprofit Christian relief and development organization whose goals include disaster relief in the form of medicines and supplies to support health workers in affected areas."

Mennonite Central Committee
"Overseas, MCC is involved in development work such as education, health and agriculture, peace and justice issues, relief work and job creation, among other things."

Pan American Health Organization
"A program that provides emergency preparedness and disaster relief coordination."

The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors
"An international non-profit organization whose mission is to uplift and inspire anyone affected by the devastation of a burn injury through peer support, education, collaboration and advocacy."

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
"Assists in caring for communities adversely affected by crisis and catastrophic events."

Project HOPE
"Sponsors programs appropriate to the country through training, health systems development, health policy analysis, and immediate humanitarian assistance."

Red Cross
This site is the online resource for finding out about the American Red Cross, locally, nationally, and worldwide.

International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies
"The International Federation exists to improve the situation of the world's most vulnerable people. It provides assistance without discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. From mobilizing emergency response units to information on humanitarian rights."

Salvation Army International Headquarters
"Works in over 100 countries providing a wide range of social, medical, educational and other community services to respond to fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane or other natural or human disaster."

UNICEF
"United Nations Children's Fund is the only organization of the United Nations dedicated exclusively to children to provide community-based services in primary health care, nutrition, basic education and safe water and sanitation to the developing world."

UN World Food Programme
"WFP is the food aid arm of the United Nations system whose one of many goals is to provide food to sustain victims of man-made and natural disasters."

United Methodist Committee on Relief
"UMCOR assists churches in direct ministry to persons in need in the areas of emergency response, hunger and poverty, and refugees and immigration."

World Health Organization
"The objective of WHO is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health, as defined in the WHO Constitution, is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

Disaster-Related Links

The Disaster Center
A platform for people to post information; provide coverage, before, during, and after some of the larger disasters; and create the largest index of linkages to disaster information by subject and by geographic area. 

Disaster News Network (DNN)
DNN is an independent news source exclusively reporting U.S. disaster response -- on the Internet and in print.

Pacific Disaster Center
"The Pacific Disaster Center is a federal information processing facility that supports emergency managers in the Pacific and Indian Ocean Regions. PDC works closely with federal, state, local and regional entities involved in emergency management to provide timely, accurate information using state-of-the-art technology."

Weather

CNN Weather
"A site with up-to-the minute information on weather around the world including weather maps, storm centers, allergy reports, and business traveler advisory."

National Warnings Area
"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides immediate access to all available warnings for the United States. The site "REFRESHES" every 60 seconds to provide the most current data on tornadoes, flash floods, winter storms, special marine, floods, severe thunderstorms, and hurricanes."

NOAA's Interactive Weather Site
Interactive Weather Information Network allows you to pick any state you want detailed information on, from current hourly reports to special weather statements.

University of Hawaii Meteorology
An educational web site with information on weather in the Central Pacific including conditions in Hawaii with bulletins for tsunamis, hurricanes and typhoons.

The Weather Channel
A 24-hour, 7 day network devoted entirely to weather. Also tries to raise national awareness of the need to plan and prepare for severe weather, and shows  how to prepare by giving the information needed to remain as safe as possible during a weather emergency.

 

Earthquake

Earthquakes Around the World
A USGS NEIC site with national and international earthquake epicenter maps, with links to current earthquake information, general  earthquake information, earthquake links, earthquake search and reports an earthquakes.

National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC)
"The NEIC operates a 24-hour-a-day service to determine the location and magnitude of significant earthquakes in the United States and around the world as rapidly and accurately as possible and to disseminate this information."

Hurricane/Typhoon

Hurricanes, Typhoons & Tropical Cyclones
"The tropical cyclone data presented at this site are intended to convey only general information on current storms."

National Hurricane Center 
"Tropical Prediction Center (TPC) issues watches, warnings, forecasts, and analyses of hazardous weather conditions in the tropics for use in both the domestic and international communities."

University of Hawaii: Storm Strike Probabilities for Various Locations
"Site gives information on strike probabilities for hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones  in locations from Australia to the British Virgin Islands."

Volcanoes

Global Volcanism Program
A site with the latest information on preliminary and current notices of volcanic activity worldwide.

Michigan Technological University Volcanoes Page
"A worldwide volcanic reference map (color elevation map of the world with numbers for volcano locations), as well as information on recent and ongoing volcanic activity, information on volcanic hazards mitigation and remote sensing of volcanoes. Links to Decade Volcano information and 21 on-line journals related to volcanology."

NOAA Volcanic Ash Forcast Transport and Dispersion (VAFTD)
Maps of the Northern Hemisphere showing the location of volcanic ash.

Government Information

Center for Disease Control (CDC) Travel Information Page 
CDC is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that promotes health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. This site gives suggestions and information for travelers.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
FEMA is an independent agency of the U.S. government whose mission is to provide extensive resources - from announcements of aid available to disaster survivors to suggestions about ways to protect property prior to a disaster. 

United Nations
Among a number of other humanitarian services, the UN works to promote respect for human rights, protect the environment, fight disease, foster development and reduce poverty. 

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
USAID is an independent federal government agency working to achieve both sustainable development and advancing U.S. foreign policy objectives in countries needing assistance.