Now is a good time to focus on preparedness. As hurricane season continues, Hurricane Harvey recovery is overlapping with Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia. Meanwhile, wildfires are raging in the northwest US, and an earthquake struck Mexico this morning. This year’s National Preparedness Month Theme is: Disasters don’t plan ahead. You can.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) can help. The NLM Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) has resources to help you prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Our information guides on disaster topics and the Disaster Lit® database provide access to curated, reliable information from vetted federal, state, and local governments and organizations.

Find reliable resources in these information guides to current disasters:

• Hurricanes of 2017 https://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/hurricanesof2017.html NEW! Information on Harvey and Irma on one page
• Fires and Wildfires https://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/wildfires.html Updated September 2017
• Earthquakes https://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/earthquakes.html
• Coping with Disasters, Violence and Traumatic Events https://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/coping.html Updated September 2017

Search the disaster literature:

• Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health https://disasterlit.nlm.nih.gov/
• PubMed https://pubmed.gov
  • MeSH Terms Used in Indexing Disaster-Related Journal Articles https://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/mesh_disaster.html
  • Journals Indexed in PubMed https://disaster.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/medscilit.html#journals

Did you know?

FEMA recognizes libraries as one of the facilities providing “essential services” in case of disaster through the Stafford Act. The means libraries are eligible for federal assistance and temporary relocation facilities following a disaster.  https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/15271?fromSearch=fromsearch&id=3564

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