CRID on Internet a Window for Information
By Ileana Sánches y Raquel Morales

CRID on the Internet: A Window for Information

The Regional Disaster Information Center (CRID) is sponsored by six organizations1 that decide to pool their efforts to improve the gathering and dissemination of disaster information in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Starting in February 2000, CRID opened its Web site to the public. www.crid.or.cr is a source of specialized information on issues such as risk, hazards, prevention, mitigation, planning, response and recovery.

The Web site is directly managed by CRID, based on the information it receives every day from individuals and institutions involved in the field who act as CRID contributors. CRID is also constantly on the lookout for information that will help to keep its site up to date and ensure that the efforts of other institutions are known to the public.

Site Structure
The site includes the following sections:

What is CRID?
It describes CRID’s mission, objectives, and functions, as well as sponsoring institutions and contact information.

Services
It describes the services provided by CRID, namely:

DESASTRES Database: Clicking on this link enables the user to consult over 12,500 bibliographical records pertaining to the documents in CRID’s collection. The database uses the WWWISIS search engine, designed and developed by the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME). The search options are: basic search, and advanced search, in which combinations of terms can be used alongside Boolean operators (e.g., AND, OR). Searches can be performed by author, title, keywords, language, and date of publication, among others. CRID is gradually digitalizing this collection, making far more documents available through the Internet than the nearly 250 already online that are accessible from the database itself.

Specialized Bibliographies (BIBLIODES): CRID has so far published 29 specialized bibliographies on a variety of disaster-related subjects, five of which are available digitally at the CRID site. Their topics are Prevention, Hurricanes, Information, Water, and Education.

Virtual Disaster Library (VDL): A collection of electronic documents on disasters, including publications by PAHO/WHO and other organizations, made available online in collaboration with CRID and the International Decade on Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), now the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). The VDL contains over 250 publications, in English or Spanish, on disaster preparedness, mitigation, and response. Searches can be performed by individual words or phrases, by subject, title, or organization.

Electronic Documents: A collection of documents in English, Spanish, and French, in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, HTML, or Microsoft Word. All of these documents can be downloaded and saved or printed. This Web page also includes links to other Internet sites with related information.

Bibliographic Tools: This section describes the methodological tools used by CRID to process and disseminate information.

Training: A section with didactic information including the definition of basic concepts, the management of disaster information units, practical public health information, basic standards for humanitarian operations, what to do in the event of a disaster, and guidelines on the care of the disabled and older adults in emergencies.

Latin America and the Caribbean: A listing per country of institutions or organizations that work in the disaster prevention field in the region.

Regional System: This section describes the Regional Disaster Information System, an initiative for regional interinstitutional cooperation aimed at providing the best information available to facilitate decision-making for disaster reduction.

Related Sites: Links to other sites that specialize in disaster issues. This section is organized by type of disaster, by country, and by organization. Each link includes a brief description of the site in question.

News: Information about upcoming courses and seminars, new publications and events in the region, as well as any other relevant, timely information. Also, an inventory of disasters and emergencies in Central America.

Support CRID

CRID requires your support to keep its information and bibliographic collection up to date. You can help, either by sending us documents in print or electronic format, or by informing us of any changes or news related to the various sections of our Web site, such as Contacts in Latin America and the Caribbean, Courses and Seminars, Related Sites, News, and so on.

Electronic documents have the advantage of being more easily disseminated to a larger number of users more quickly and at a lower cost. Bearing this in mind, we would urge you to submit your documents in this format whenever possible.

For more information or to send your suggestions, please contact: Regional Disaster Information Center (CRID)
Apdo. 3745-1000, San José, Costa Rica
crid@crid.or.cr
http://www.crid.or.cr