Disaster Lit® Database Daily Updates

Disaster Lit® Database Daily Updates

Disaster Assistance: FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Has Taken Steps Toward Better Supporting Individuals Who Are Older or Have Disabilities

07/23/2019 12:00 AM EDT

Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Published: 7/23/2019. This 15-page document is Congressional testimony that describes reported challenges faced by individuals aged 65 and older and those with disabilities in accessing disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its non-federal partners following the 2017 hurricanes. It discusses the extent to which FEMA has implemented changes in how it supports these individuals, and is based on a May 2019 Government Accountability Office report and selected updates. (PDF)

Health and Climate Change in Kansas

07/22/2019 12:00 AM EDT

Source: Kansas Health Institute (KHI). Published: 7/22/2019. This four-page issue brief discusses the health conditions most likely to be exacerbated by key climate factors and examines the feasibility of using climate change literature and data sources to estimate impacts in Kansas. As a result of global climate change, the major environmental effects expected in Kansas are increasing temperatures and more variable precipitation. Rates of cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and other chronic conditions are likely to increase under projected climate change scenarios. (PDF)

Strengthening Collection and Use of Data on Persons with Disabilities for Inclusive Humanitarian Action

07/01/2019 12:00 AM EDT

Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Published: 7/2019. On May 9-10, 2019, a meeting was held to take stock of current initiatives and make recommendations for making humanitarian response more inclusive through better use of disability data. This 10-page report summarizes the meeting, where participants were asked to reflect on disability data-related initiatives that took place, review these accomplishments in terms of their significance, discuss the learning that took place, and detail the next steps necessary to leverage the achievement. (PDF)

Complex Humanitarian Health Crisis: Venezuela in Emergency

12/05/2018 12:00 AM EST

Source: World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM). Published: 12/5/2018. During the past four years, Venezuela has plunged into a humanitarian, economic, and health crisis. This 56-minute webinar discusses how In this context, the rapid resurgence of previously well-controlled diseases, such as vaccine-preventable (measles, diphtheria) and arthropod-borne (malaria, dengue) diseases, has turned them into epidemics of unprecedented magnitudes. In response to Venezuela’s rapidly decaying situation, a massive population exodus is ongoing toward neighboring countries. (Video or Multimedia)

Older Adults in the Eye of the Storm

10/26/2018 12:00 AM EDT

Source: World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM). Published: 10/26/2018. This 41-minute webinar discusses research on long-term health effects of disasters on older adults, where a fundamental premise of the speaker's work is to use novel methods to understand how disasters affect health outside of the common focus on the immediate after-effects, with the aim of building a better disaster response. She discusses how disasters disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, and exacerbate existing vulnerabilities for older adults. (Video or Multimedia)