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In 2006 Fritz Institute initiated the development and implemention of a process to create “disaster resilience” in faith and community based organizations that provide services to vulnerable populations in California. The process included undertaking background research on the attributes of disaster resilient organizations; development of intervention strategies to promote organizational resilience, developing a definition of “soft” and “hard” resilience applicable to the non-government sector; and the development and implementation of A Disaster Resilience Standard for Community- and Faith-Based Service Providers. This process necessitated the creation of a constituency for a standard, convening of peer networks to support organizational change, and the formulation of a strategy to sustain application of the standard.

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The National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) Steering Committee consists of representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. The program addresses three major components: hazard assessment, warning guidance, and mitigation. The first two components, hazard assessment and warning guidance, are led by physical scientists who, using research and modeling methods, develop products that allow communities to identify their tsunami hazard areas and receive more accurate and timely warning information. The third component, mitigation, is led by the emergency managers who use their experience and networks to translate science and technology into user-friendly planning and education products. Mitigation activities focus on assisting federal, state, and local officials who must plan for and respond to disasters, and for the public that is deeply affected by the impacts of both the disaster and the pre-event planning efforts. The division between the three components softened as NTHMP scientists and emergency managers worked together to develop the best possible products for the users given the best available science, technology, and planning methods using available funds.

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