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Preparedness

Resources Reference Materials Preparedness

Reference Materials: Preparedness

  • American Red Cross
  • American National Standards Institute's Homeland Security Standards Panel (ANSI-HSSP). The American National Standards Institute’s Homeland Security Standards Panel (ANSI-HSSP) has as its mission to identify needs and facilitate the development and enhancement of homeland security standards, serve as the private/public sector partnership for standards issues, support the work of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s Office of Standards, provide a forum for information sharing on homeland security standards and conformity assessment issues, and facilitate dialogue and networking on key issues for homeland security stakeholders.
    • Final Workshop Report: "Achieving Preparedness Through Standards Implementation: Challenges and Opportunities for Small Business" (August 2011)
  • Association of State and Territorial Heath Officials
  • Canada: Catastrophic Earthquake Preparedness. Auditor General Russ Jones’ latest report, Catastrophic Earthquake Preparedness, which was released on Mar. 25, 2014, states that British Columbians are at significant risk if a catastrophic earthquake were to occur today. The audit found that Emergency Management BC (EMBC), the organization tasked with preparing government’s response to such an event, is not adequately prepared for a catastrophic earthquake. The audit also found that neither the Province nor EMBC has made preparing for one a priority. Download press release and report.
  • Canada: Research Project Measuring Municipalities’ of Ontario Level of Emergency Logistics Preparedness, by Jennifer Robitaille,
    President, DOCK24 Inc. Download report.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Radiation Emergency Resources. In the event of a radiation emergency, whether intentional or accidental, emergency managers can play an important role in making certain the public receives timely and accurate information that will be helpful in saving lives. There are CDC resources available online that focus on the key information that people should know: protection in a radiation emergency; types of radiation emergencies; health effects of radiation; and medical treatments. CDC tools for professionals include: FAQ sheets, a media toolkit, communication tools, training, and messaging.
  • Children and Disaster Resources. This resources page, created and maintained by the IAEM Children and Disaster Caucus is now divided into five sections: Resources for EM Practitioners; Children and Disasters; Disasters and Schools; Disasters and Child Care; and Resources for Children and Families.
  • Children’s Disaster Book List. (updated June 10, 2020) A living document prepared and maintained by the IAEM Children and Disaster Caucus that provides a quick look into (e.g. list) what is available to enable disaster preparedness conversations with young children and youth.
  • Citizen Corps: Are You Ready? A Guide to Citizen Preparedness. The guide is a 100-page publication that provides a step-by-step outline on preparing a disaster supply kit, emergency planning for people with disabilities, evacuation, and planning for family pets.
  • Department of Health & Human Services: National Health Security Strategy.
  • Deptartment of Health & Human Services: Information on fourth generation agents, also known as Novichoks or A-series nerve agents.
  • Dept. of Homeland Security. Official Web site of the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security.
  • Hazus 3.2. Free download of new version of Hazus software now available. (31 Oct 2016)
  • DHS Tribal Resources Guide. DHS’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs developed this guide to highlight some of the DHS resources available to tribal nations to keep our nations safe and secure. This document summarizes and provides links to training, publications, guidance, alerts, newsletters, programs, and services available from across the Department to federally-recognized tribal nations. This document is not exhaustive and will be maintained as a living document.
  • DHS Private Sector Resources Catalog. The Private Sector Resources Catalog, published by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, facilitates your organization's access to the resources you need to participate in the homeland security enterprise and help keep our country secure. The first to be targeted specifically towards private sector partners and encompassing the entire Department, this document collects the training, publications, guidance, alerts, newsletters, programs, and services available to the private sector across the Department. Recognizing the breadth and diversity of the available resources as well as the Department's continually evolving work, this catalog will be updated regularly to publicize new resources and increase private sector awareness.
  • Disaster Help Portal. The DisasterHelp.gov portal is part of the Disaster Management e-gov initiative. It is intended to reach five overlapping audiences: (1) Local / State / Tribal Governments, (2) individual Citizens, (3) private sector businesses, (4) non-Government organizations, and (5) Federal agencies. The intergovernmental audience is the primary focus at present, and that audience is seen as composed of: political and civil service leadership, emergency managers, homeland security advisors, and first responders (including fire and law enforcement, emergency medical services, etc.).
  • DHS Fact Sheet on Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Program. Department of Homeland Security regulates security at high-risk chemical facilities through the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. Facilities that manufacture, use, store, or distribute certain chemicals may be required to complete an online questionnaire, which the Department uses to determine the facility’s level of risk. Don’t let chemicals in your community be the target of a terrorist attack – learn more about the CFATS program at www.dhs.gov/critical-infrastructure-chemical-security. To anonymously report a non-emergency concern about a facility, call the CFATS Chemical Facility Security Tip Line: 877-394-4347 (877-FYI 4 DHS). Call 911 or contact your local FBI field office instead if this is a security emergency or terrorist incident.’
  • Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). EMAP is a voluntary accreditation process for state and local programs responsible for coordinating preparedness for and response to disasters, whether natural or human-caused.
  • Environmental Protection Agency, Water Security Division, 9-minutes video: Don’t Get Soaked: Why It’s Important to Invest in Emergency Preparedness, Prevention and Mitigation Activities at Your Utility (12 Mar 2014). The purpose of the video is to educate decision makers at drinking water and wastewater utilities such as managers, board members, elected and appointed officials on the importance of investing in preparedness, prevention and mitigation activities at the utility.
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA is tasked with responding to, planning for, recovering from and mitigating against disasters.
  • FEMA El Niño resources web page (17 Nov 2015)
  • FEMA's "Preparing for Disaster" Brochure. English: PDF | TXT Spanish: PDF | TXT
  • FEMA Higher Education Project. One goal of FEMA is to encourage and support the dissemination of hazard, disaster, and emergency management-related information in colleges and universities across the United States. In support of this effort, the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland, has undertaken several projects with the aim of promoting college-based emergency management education for future emergency managers and other interested personnel. For a listing of colleges and universities offering emergency management courses, certificates or degree programs, go to The College List.
  • FEMA Healthcare Public Threat Briefing.
  • FEMA Prep Talks. PrepTalks are a partnership between FEMA, the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), the National Emergency Management Association, the National Homeland Security Consortium, and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. PrepTalks are given by subject-matter experts and thought leaders to spread new ideas, spark conversation, and promote innovative leadership for the issues confronting emergency managers now and over the next 20 years. Each PrepTalk release includes videos of the presentations and the question-and-answer (Q&A) sessions, a discussion guide to support local action, and additional resources. PrepTalks Discussion Guides are companion documents to the PrepTalk videos. When used together, these guides help translate the research and expertise showcased in each presentation into action steps to improve disaster preparedness.
  • FEMA's RASPLOT 3.0 software program, released Aug. 25, 2015, is designed to allow users to create flood profiles and floodway data tables.
  • FCC's PSHSB Clearinghouse. This Clearinghouse was established for the collection, evaluation and dissemination of public safety communications information.
  • Fire Science Online's Emergency Management Careers: A Guide to Training Options and Career Programs.
  • Foundation for Higher Education Accreditation. The Foundation for Higher Education Accreditation (FFHEA) facilitates and supports the efforts of students, researchers, academicians, administrators and practitioners to develop standards that will strengthen the disaster/emergency management profession. The organization is dedicated to excellence in teaching; research and public outreach in disciplines contributing to the disaster phases and the security of the homeland; and the promotion of collaborative opportunities between the public, private and academic communities. Its mission is to serve the emergency management educational communities by developing post-secondary coursework and programs, including those for use in associate, baccalaureate and graduate degree programs.
  • GAO Rep
  • National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) - NETEC’s mission is to set the gold standard for special pathogen preparedness and response across health systems in the U.S. with the goals of driving best practices, closing knowledge gaps, and developing innovative resources
    • EMS Training Materials - EMS and Pre-hospital preparedness for special pathogens is important and these resources can help with training and preparation
    • Frontline Facilities – Bio-preparedness -  Training course on how to identify and isolate a special pathogen patient and inform appropriate officials while continuing to provide the necessary care until the patient is transferred to a selected care facility
    • Ask our Experts – If you have a specific question or request related to special pathogens/high-consequence infectious diseases, complete our request form and we will match your question with the right experts on our team.