- AlertNet's Disasterpedia brings together the basic facts about disasters, from the very definition of the word to how the world's most deadly disasters can be averted.
Our collection of articles seeks to dispel myths as well as to answer your questions, from queries about donations -- is your old sweater useful to a tsunami survivor? -- to enquiries into the adoption of children orphaned by disaster.
We've also included a host of background information about disasters and environmental degradation, people at risk in disasters, disaster relief, and what can be done to spread awareness, even at the most fundamental level, about disasters and disaster preparation.
DISASTERS OVERVIEW* The bluffer's guide to humanitarian disasters What is a humanitarian disaster? What is the difference between a humanitarian disaster and a natural disaster? What are the biggest killer diseases? Our guide answers even the most basic questions you might be afraid to ask.
* Graphic: Natural disasters since 1900 Our map locates some of the worst disasters of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
* Advice to tsunami donors: Send cash, not bread Relief groups have some friendly advice for people who want to lend a helping hand to desperate tsunami survivors: Don't donate that old sweater or a loaf of bread. Just send cash.
* Mass burials do more harm than good ' experts Irrational fears of epidemics lead to the unnecessary burial of victims in mass graves, experts say.
* Indian tsunami orphans shun adoption Children who lost their parents in the Indian Ocean tsunami are refusing adoption offers, preferring to stay close to home.
* Top six myths of disaster relief
* Talking Point: Aid agencies hammer out standards Sphere, a global project to make relief work more professional, sets guidelines for disaster response. French version: D'bat-Les agences de secours forgent des normes
DISASTERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT* VIEWPOINT: Put disasters high on climate change agenda Salvano Brice'o, director of the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, says disaster reduction should be central to the scientific and policy debates on climate change.
* TALKING POINT: Why is Haiti so prone to disaster? Haiti's extensive deforestation, caused by the impoverished population's need for wood to use as charcoal for cooking, has left the country vulnerable to deadly flooding.
* Tsunami-hit nations look to save mangroves The Indian Ocean tsunami highlighted the life-saving benefits of mangroves and reefs, officials and environmentalists say, leading some Asia nations to look at replanting lost or damaged mangrove forests.
WHO'S AT RISK IN DISASTERS?* One man's hazard is another man's disaster When natural disasters strike, some people are more vulnerable than others; 98 percent of people killed or affected by natural disasters live in developing countries.
* Photo Album: Women are vulnerable in disasters
* Photo Album: Elderly people are vulnerable in disasters
DISASTER RELIEF* FACTSHEET: How does tsunami relief fit together? After the Indian Ocean tsunami struck U.N. agencies, governments, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, local relief charities and global NGOs acted in concert as the donor dollars rolled in.
* Give tsunami survivors cash not food, thinktank tells NGOs Two reports from the London-based Humanitarian Policy Group of the Overseas Development Institute highlight the present and future needs of tsunami disaster survivors.
DISASTER PREVENTION* How do you stop a disaster becoming a crisis? Simple measures can save lives, even in the poorest communities, from word-of-mouth early warning systems to rescue training and basic first aid.
* Disaster prevention needs more than technology Countries at risk from disasters like the Asian tsunami must invest in educating people about the threats and not just in technologies such as warning systems, says IFRC.
KOBE DISASTERS SUMMIT* INTERVIEW- Help tsunami nations help themselves, says IFRC Interview with Markku Niskala, Secretary-General of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on the opening day of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan.
* CASE STUDY - Bangladesh takes on poverty and disaster A hazard-prone country tries to break the vicious cycle that leaves millions at risk.
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