The Disaster Management Reference Handbook Series is intended to provide decision makers, planners, responders and disaster management practitioners with an overview of the disaster management structure, policies, laws, and plans for each country covered in the series. Overviews of natural and man-made threats most likely to affect the country are discussed. The handbooks also provide basic country background information, including cultural, demographic, geographic, infrastructure and other basic country data. Endemic conditions such as poverty, water and sanitation, food security and other humanitarian issues are included. A basic overview of the health situation in the country and disease surveillance is also covered.
The handbooks include information on key national entities involved in disaster management, disaster response and preparation, and the military’s role in disaster relief is discussed. Information on UN agencies, international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), major local NGOs, and key U.S. agencies and programs in the country, are also provided. The overall aim is to provide a guide that brings together important information about disaster management and response for each country in an effort to provide a basic understanding for the reader.
Information in the handbooks are compiled and based primarily on trusted, reliable, publicly available sources. Much of the information used is from U.S. or other government sources, UN sources, NGO websites, scholarly references, foreign government websites, and various media sources.
Organizations
- Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance