USEFUL Links

Central America

·        Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de los Desastres Naturales en América Central –CEPREDENAC- CEPREDENAC is a regional institution integrated in the System of Central American Integration (SICA).  Its goal is to promote the process of reduction of natural disasters in Central America, through the exchange of experience, technology, and information, through the analysis of common strategic problems, and by channeling external cooperation aid.  

o        Michoacán

  

General

·        American Red Cross The mission of American Red Cross Disaster Services is to ensure nationwide disaster planning, preparedness, community disaster education, mitigation, and response that will provide the American people with quality services delivered in a uniform, consistent, and responsive manner. 

·        Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness -CCEP- The Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness was incorporated in 1993 as a partnership between the Regional Municipality of Hamilton- Wentworth and Hamilton's Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology. Its mandate is to assist communities, governments and private business to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from man-made or natural disasters.  The CCEP has emerged as one of the most recognized emergency response educational organizations in Canada. Through its affiliations and partnerships, it has gained recognition in the United States and throughout the world.  In addition to the World Conference on Disaster Management held annually in Hamilton, the CCEP provides emergency planning services to neighbouring municipalities, training and professional certification for disaster recovery/business continuity planners and emergency response managers, and is currently establishing an International Emergency Preparedness Training Centre. The CCEP is financially self-sufficient through its own revenues.

·        Colombian Red Cross National Societies embody the work and the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. They provide relief and development activities tailored to each country's individual needs. They act as auxiliaries to their countries' public authorities by providing a range of services: from disaster relief to social assistance to first aid courses.  Its goals are to protect life and health and ensure respect for the human being, particularly in times of armed conflict and other emergencies; To work for the prevention of disease and for the promotion of health and social welfare; to encourage voluntary service and a constant readiness to give help by members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and a universal sense of solidarity towards all those in need of its protection and assistance. 

·        Doctors Without Borders MSF is the world's largest independent medical aid agency and is committed to two objectives: providing medical aid wherever it is needed, regardless of race, religion, politics or sex and raising awareness of the plight of the people we help. 

·        International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. It directs and coordinates the international relief activities conducted by the Movement in situations of conflict. It also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. 

·        International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction The purpose of this effort is to strengthen the response capacity of the humanitarian relief community through the timely dissemination of reliable information on prevention, preparedness and disaster response. 

·        International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is an international humanitarian organisation with a unique worldwide network.  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.  The International Federation, founded in 1919, has a presence in almost every country in the world today through its national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. The Red Crescent is used in place of the Red Cross in many Islamic countries. Our strength lies in the global network of National Societies and the Federation Secretariat with its delegations strategically located to support Red Cross and Red Crescent activities in various regions. This network allows us to be there - on the spot - so we can respond to crises effectively and rapidly.  The Federation provides humanitarian relief to people affected by disasters or other emergencies and development assistance to empower vulnerable people to become more self-sufficient. 

·        Latin American Disaster Net This database provides information about several natural disasters that have affected Central America in recent years, as well as current threats.  It provides links to other organizations that deal with natural disasters. 

·        NASA Disaster Finder Disaster Finder is a service developed and maintained by the NASA Solid Earth and Natural Hazards Program (Code YO), NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., USA. This service was created for the disaster community at-large so that the best links in disaster information could be found quickly and easily.  If you're looking for the latest links in disaster information, the Disaster Finder finds them for you, and even lets you preview your selections with brief site descriptions. All sites are clickable from the Disaster Finder's category screens. The Disaster Finder also allows you to perform quick or detailed searches of its links database. 

·        PAHO/WHO In 1976, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean asked PAHO to create this technical program to help the health sector to develop a disaster preparedness, response and mitigation program.  Disaster preparedness includes institutional strengthening, which supports the creation and enhancement of disaster programs in the Ministries of Health and promotes coordination with other sectors involved in disaster reduction. The program also includes training, preparation and distribution of training materials, disaster mitigation, and disaster response. PAHO has established a Voluntary Disaster Relief Fund to support post-disaster emergency needs and activities. 

·        Pan-American Center of Sanitary Engineer and Environmental Sciences The Pan American Center for Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences, CEPIS, is the specialized center for environmental technology of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).  The Center was established in 1968 and is located in Lima, Peru. The Peruvian Government provided CEPIS premises and finances some of its operating costs. CEPIS is part of PAHO's Division of Health and Environment and develops its activities with the support of PAHO/WHO Country Representative Offices.  CEPIS mission is to cooperate with the countries of the Americas to evaluate and control environmental risk factors that, directly or indirectly, affect the health of the population. 

·        Red de Estudios Sociales en Prevención de Desastres en América Latina The “Network of Social Studies for the Prevention of Disasters in Latin America” was create in the Costa Rican city of Limón in 1992 by members of ten institutes of Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Canada.  These institutions conduct research on prevention and management of disasters in Latin America from a social perspective.  Its goal is to contribute to strengthen the links among researchers in Latin America, to promote comparative research within a multidisciplinary framework, and to create instruments to publicize their research among several actors in academic, scientific, technical, and political fields. 

·        Reuter Foundation The Reuter Foundation, drawing on Reuters experience in information and communications, is acting as a specialist news supplier and neutral information broker to the international disaster relief community, via the Internet. 

·        The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) is an inter- governmental regional disaster management organisation established in 1991 by an Agreement of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).  Its headquarters are located in Barbados. Following the region's disaster experiences during the past few decades and the conclusion of the Pan Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Project (PCDPPP) in 1991, Caribbean governments decided there was need for a permanent regional mechanism to coordinate regional disaster management activities. At present, CDERA has sixteen (16) Participating States. 

·        The Environment and Latin America Network By Communications for a Sustainable Future (CSF).  CSF was founded on the idea that computer networking could be used to enhance communications with the objective of working through disparate views and ideologies to secure a more promising future. The contents of the archives and the quality of communications on CSF are intended to reflect this purpose. 

·        US National Earthquake Information Service The National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC), a part of the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, is located in Golden, Colorado, 10 miles west of Denver. The NEIC has three main missions. First, the NEIC determines, as rapidly and as accurately as possible, the location and size of all destructive earthquakes that occur worldwide. The NEIC disseminates this information immediately to concerned national and international agencies, scientists, and the general public. Second, the NEIC collects and provides to scientists and to the public an extensive seismic database that serves as a solid foundation for scientific research, principally through the operation of modern digital national and global seismograph networks and through cooperative international agreements. The NEIC is the national data center and archive for earthquake information. Third, the NEIC pursues an active research program to improve its ability to locate earthquakes and to understand the earthquake mechanism. These efforts are all aimed at mitigating the risks of earthquakes to mankind; and they are made possible by the fine international cooperation that has long characterized the science of seismology. 

·        US National Hurricane Center The US National Hurricane Center, at Florida International University, in Miami, provides timely information about hurricanes everywhere in the world.  Special emphasis is placed on those hurricanes that threaten the US and the Caribbean region. 

·        US Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance USAID/OFDA/LAC is the regional office of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) responsible for Latin America and the Caribbean. OFDA is part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  OFDA/LAC's principal function is to provide technical assistance, emergency relief supplies, and funding for relief programs to the region in response to a disaster. Furthermore, OFDA/LAC provides functional and risk management training for the prevention and mitigation of disasters.