Operation Fresh Start
Operation Fresh Start is designed to empower individuals and communities as they recover from hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters by providing resources and tools that can help rebuild communities, businesses, and homes using sustainable principles and technologies.

Federal Emergency Management Agency 
FEMA offers a wealth of on-line information. In a special "Reducing Risk through Mitigation" area, you can find information on all disaster types geared to businesses, homeowners, communities, and building professionals. You can also review the National Mitigation Strategy and learn more about the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. In the Reference Library section is a complete list of FEMA publications. Also see the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration for more information on mitigation activities.

U.S. EPA Green Communities Action Plan—Natural Disasters
The tools section of this website offers an extensive list of links for organizations, agencies, publications and tools related to planning for and dealing with many specific types of natural disasters.

The Business Continuity Planning Guide
This tool was created by a team of experienced disaster recovery experts, the BCP Generator allows you to develop a comprehensive disaster-recovery plan quickly and easily, no matter what level of experience you already have.

Natural Hazards Center 
The Natural Hazards Center, located at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is a national and international clearinghouse for information on natural hazards and human adjustments to hazards and disasters. The Natural Hazards Center carries out its mission in four principal areas: information dissemination, an annual workshop, research, and library services.  

Energy Efficiency as an Insurance Loss-Prevention Strategy 
This site was established by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Center for Building Science, a U.S. Department of Energy facility. This site provides suggestions on how the insurance industry can use energy efficiency to reduce both ordinary insurance losses and the extraordinary losses resulting in recent years from global climate change. It also offers links to other key disaster, insurance, and climate change sites. 

Surviving Disaster with Renewable Energy
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory outlines its role in emergency preparedness, disaster mititgation and relief, and sustainable development through this website.

Association of State Floodplain Managers 
This association fosters communications among those responsible for flood-hazard activities, provides technical advice to governments and other entities about proposed actions or policies that will affect flood hazards, and encourages flood hazard research, education, and training. Web site include more information on the association, as well as a list of useful flood-related publications and links.

International Hurricane Center
This center at Florida International University in Miami focuses on "interdisciplinary projects to promote and coordinate research related to hazard mitigation, disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and redevelopment." The Center was one of the organizers of the Hemispheric Congress on Disaster Reduction and Sustainable Developmenti. The Congress brought together 200 key stakeholders from North, South, and Central America and the Caribbean.  

Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH)
has as one of its major goals the reduction by at least 10 percent of loss of life, injury and property destruction from natural hazards. Specific progress toward this goal is reported at this PATH web page.

Disaster Information Network
Provides the on-line latest news on disasters throughout the U.S.

Disaster News Network
On-line news and volunteer opportunties for disaster response.

The National Emergency Management Association features an on-line State Hazard Mitigation Grant Program database that allows users to search state-by-state for information on communities that have been helped by this federal program. 

The Florida Solar Energy Center is a national leader in the application of solar-electric technologies to disaster response efforts. The publication, Photovoltaic Applications for Disaster Relief, is available from the Center, as well as Rebuilding for Efficiency: Improving the Energy Use of Reconstructed Residences in South Florida. On-line resources include a glossary, reference PV codes and standards, and links to PV manufacturers, researchers and installers.

The Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association, International (DERA) assists communities worldwide in disaster preparedness, response and recovery, and to serve as a professional association linking professionals, volunteers, and organizations active in all phases of emergency preparedness and management. 

Books/Publications 

The Alliance to Save Energy’s 1994 policy piece, "The Greening of Federal Disaster Relief Policies," calls on federal agencies to create a "SWAT" team approach to help disaster-stricken communities rebuild using environmentally sound technologies. This and other documents are described in their site’s Publications Catalog section.

Last updated: January 31, 2005

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