usDART.org - the Animal Disaster Response Team Training Institute

After a very successful deployment to Arkansas (tornado) and Illinois (flood) Noah's Wish is shutting down the emergency animal shelters. As always, the biggest problem Noah's Wish shelter managers face are the unclaimed animals.

Noah's Wish has deployed to Southern Illinois. Volunteers from California and other states are en route to both Illinois (floods) and Arkansas (to relieve volunteers responding to tornado). Noah's Wish Lead Coordinator Charlie Crosby (also DART) is in Arkansas.  More info at http://NoahsWish.org

Well the sun has finally come out in Arkansas – for the first time since Noah's Wish sheltering team arrived last week it’s not raining! According to the weather report, they are supposed to have 5-6 days of dry, warm days. Nobody is happier about the change in weather than the Noah's Wish volunteers onsite! Maybe they’ll have a chance to get warm and dry out. A few dry days may also give the rivers a chance to recede, as well as allow residents to get back in their homes.

April 28, 2011 1:00pm PDT - Alabama: Noah's Wish has been in contact with emergency personnel in Alabama and is currently monitoring the situation. Once initial assessments have been completed and animal needs are determined, we may be contacted.

April 28, 2011 9:30am PDT - Faulkner County Arkansas: The first team of volunteers arrived late yesterday and is currently assessing the situation. There are 20 horses, 2 ponies, a foal, llama, donkey and 29 dogs in the shelter, with an additional 30 dogs offsite. Volunteers led by Alex Reynolds, Lead Coordinator are completing paperwork and caring for the animals in the shelter. The second team of volunteers will arrive shortly and will immediately go to work helping the animals.

As thousands of people and their animals have become victims to tornadoes and floods, animal disaster response has taken off quickly. Most of the current response is through local groups. Noah's Wish and others are responding.

Disaster research is learning a lot about the impact of disasters on the population. The article below discusses how the elderly make up a disproportionate part of the casualties of disasters.

FEMA is conducting an engagement campaign to discuss ideas for strengthening public participation in emergency management and homeland security.  Over the last several months, they have engaged a diverse range of people, organizations, and professions from across the Nation.

Attachments:

File	Description	File size
FEMA - Whitepaper Community Resilience		222 Kb