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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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April
2005
Volume 8 - Number 3 |
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Humanitarian Early Warning Service
website Content and User Interface Offering By Julie Margolis The Humanitarian
Early Warning
Service website (developed by the World Food Programme) is effective
at establishing a cohesive destination providing valid, updated
information across the spectrum of natural hazards. The content
offering
spans the full range of natural hazards and offers in-depth information
on each
type of disaster along with details of each unique episode. Currently
the site
does not support disasters outside of natural ones, however expanding
the scope
of disaster coverage is part of the World Food Programme’s long-term
plan, and
the site should include "socio-political" content in the next phase
of the site, launching in 6-9 months. The
site is designed to dynamically update so there is
minimal lag time
for users to receive the most recent information available. Consistent top
navigation
throughout the site successfully provides users with an easy way to
browse
content by disaster type. The main page exposes the most recent
disasters
without additional clicks (however a user may need to scroll the length
of the
content for all current listings). When
navigating beyond the HEWS site proper, it would be nice to have a
“back”
navigational feature from the partner sites back to HEWS so users have
a clear
path to return to the original site. Including a HEWS button on the
partner’s
site, supports further promotion and exposure. This site is an
effective resource
for hazard news, research and disaster monitoring on a daily
basis. If
users expect minute by minute information, or in depth tracking of what
is
going on real-time, they will be satisfied. However,
if the user attempts to use this site to alert
them of an event
that may shortly (matter of minutes) affect them, they may want to
supplement
their information portfolio with other resources. I find the name
of the site
compelling because what specific warning mechanism is associated with
this
site? I have a hard time understanding how this site in and
of
itself accomplishes the goal of an Early Warning Service. This
information exists elsewhere (US Geological Survey, Dartmouth Flood
Observatory, Smithsonian Institution, Southwest Volcano Research
Centre,
Tropical Storm Risk, International Crisis Group). How does this
site
achieve the status of an Early Warning Service. In other words,
what does
this site actually do in order to "warn" users and the public?
Is there an alert mechanism of some sort to implement against the
"Warning" promise of the site offering? Perhaps branding
for this site
should be shifted to a more centralized theme, rather than a "Warning”
label. As stated above, the site does an effective job at
bringing timely
relevant information to their audience, and perhaps from the data
people can
extrapolate that an official "Warning" must be announced and that is
the logic behind the brand. As interested
motivated citizens
of the community look for resources to better understand not only their
immediate environment, but desire to gain a more global understanding
of
disasters followed by their impact, these sites are increasingly
valuable. When
there are professionals who depend on these sites for data, to put the
pieces
together in order to mitigate or prepare for a disaster, it is critical
that
these resources fulfill their function effectively. Regardless
of the HEWS website audience, it
successfully delivers relevant information to those seeking out up to
the
minute disaster information. Source: http://www.hewsweb.org/ |