News
July 18 '08: The
Disaster Zone blog reported on a new Internet technology which allows blind persons access the web without the expensive technology typically needed. The
WebAnywhere alpha release is an
open source project which was developed by researchers at the University of Washington.
July 11 '08: A new partnership among medical industry stakeholders, federal health agencies and nonprofit organizations have developed the
Rx Response program which seeks to continue delivering medicines to patients on the regional, state and local levels during an emergency. The partnership works by partnering with biotechnology manufacturing and distribution companies as well as hospitals and community-located pharmacies to help solve supply chain problems caused by natural or man-made disasters.
July 1 '08: In Japan, architect
Shuhei Endo has been working on fusing disaster response and recovery capabilities into the design to stadiums,
Architectural Record reported in the June 2008 edition. Endo's design incorporates curved lines and open spaces to maximize the space available for large response operations to move into an area also used by sports teams, AR reviewed. Local communities in the US such as
Charleston, S.C. have been using stadiums to house displaced people after disasters. Similar uses have been put into place during
Hurricane Katrina and during the
Southern California wildfires in 2007.
June 24 '08: Wired reported on a new social network which allows users to build their own social activist network and then link it to other similar networks. The project, called
Change.org was begun by two men in their late twenties, and now boasts up to 2,000 non-profit group now using it, Wired reported.
June 20 '08: The
First Response Team of America is a privately run organization to help communities respond and recover in the first days after a disaster. On its
website, the organization said it helps local, state and federal first responders "by removing the initial obstacles that local emergency and government officials encounter when dealing with a natural or manmade disaster."
Other Stories
Midwest flooding hits communities and food prices hardUniversity creates disaster preparedness website and outreach for diverse and minority communitiesReadyCommunities Partnership Buffalo Symposium and Planning SessionVerizon preps Georgia residents for 2008 hurricane seasonReadyCommunities Partners gather in Buffalo
