The Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library has redirected its web traffic to a specially designed disaster resources page.  The page allows access to only the library’s core electronic resources.

Click here for updates from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

KHOU TV from Houston is streaming live, continuous, coverage of Hurricane Ike.   The shots of flooding in Galveston are quite compelling and landfall isn’t expected until later tonight.

Click here to get the latest library status information from the NN/LM South Central Region’s blog, Blogadillo. We’re all hoping for best!

Source: noaa.gov

Heritage Emergency National Task Force, the folks who brought us the “Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel” and lots of other helpful advice and information, has a new page up on their site called Current Disaster Information , which gathers together many resources aimed specifically at dealing with damage from hurricanes and other powerful weather events and natural disasters.  The page also has a section where cultural institutions can submit damage reports and request assistance, along with the capability to view reports/requests already submitted.  Also, look for the free, downloadable “Guide to Navigating FEMA and SBA Disaster Aid for Cultural Institutions,” a little farther down the page.  This is a rich site, and deserves a close look at the many resources they have provided.  Thanks, Heritage Emergency TF!

Next week is Hurricane Preparedness Week, leading up to June 1st, the beginning of hurricane season.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has put together a nice website filled with hurricane preparedness information.  The primary emphasis of the site is on preparing for associated hazards such as storm surge, high winds, tornadoes, and flooding; however, you will also find links to state preparedness information as well as a Historical Hurricane Tracks website.  A Spanish version is also available.

The beginning of hurricane season is just 25 days away. Although June is statistically a low month for hurricanes (see NOAA chart below), this is a good time to review hurricane preparedness and response procedures.

The University of Colorado has released its 2008 hurricane activity forecast. From the report …

PROBABILITIES FOR AT LEAST ONE MAJOR (CATEGORY 3-4-5) HURRICANE LANDFALL ON AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING COASTAL AREAS:

1) Entire U.S. coastline - 60% (average for last century is 52%)

2) U.S. East Coastline including Peninsula Florida - 37% (average for last century is 31%)

3) Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle westward to Brownsville - 36% (average for last century is 30%)

4) Above average major hurricane landfall risk in the Caribbean

Click here to see the entire report.

Ethel Ullo Madden, Director of the Center for Knowledge Management at the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, Louisiana, reflects on her experiences during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, which affected the hospital library.

Questions:

(1.) What happened in your community (i.e., what was the disaster/emergency)?

(2.) How did the library respond? How did the librarian respond? Were there non-traditional (unusual) roles that the librarian performed?

(3.) How has the library, or the services provided, changed as a result of these events?

(4.) What, in your opinion, are the roles for librarians and libraries in disaster planning, response and recovery efforts?

Thanks to a joint effort by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and coastal localities, the following storm surge maps are now available for coastal Virginia.  The maps are broken down by region and show areas affected based on category of hurricane.