The Public Entity Risk Institute has assembled the following list of official resources and links to help local governments gather information about managing a Swine Flu outbreak in their community.

This is a presentation on volunteer liability given by PERI Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel Claire Lee Reiss, J.D., ARM, CPCU, at the 2008 CAJPA Fall Conference.

Contents of this publication include 27 essays by emergency-response experts representing corporations, local chambers of commerce, federal and local government, academe, and humanitarian-aid organization.

This article by Gerard Hoetmer, Executive Director, Public Entity Risk Institute appeared in the October 2005 issue of The Journal of County Administration.

This is the final report on a project sponsored by PERI and the National Fire Fighters Foundation to find ways to reduce firefighter line of duty deaths and injuries (LLODDs/Is).

This presentation by PERI's Deputy Director and General Counsel Claire L. Reiss was given at the California National Emergency Preparedness Conference.

This publication provides news and information about homeland security and emergency management.

The Century Time Line is a full color chart that highlights major focusing disaster events and their outcomes, as documented in the book Emergency Management: The American Experience 1900-2005.

These time lines depict in a graphical manner major disaster and/or terrorism events by year and the related outcomes- - reports and analyses; federal statutes, regulations and executive orders; federal response plans; and major federal organizational changes.

This publication offers a unique historical view of emergency management with the U.S. The book is intended to answer two key questions: Why did the federal government get involved in emergency management? and Why and how has that role changed?

This page contains links to various reports focusing on the planning, response, recovery, and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The 2007 Risk Management Resource Guide is a detailed directory of sources for risk management information and training.

This training presentation provides important information for emergency managers on emergence and convergence with a special emphasis on the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. Emergence (unplanned action in response to an event by an individual or groups) and convergence (the influx of people and resources into the disaster zone) are closely related, and are among the most significant public behaviors that emergency managers will encounter after disaster.

This training presentation demonstrates the importance of improvisation in disaster response. Even where detailed plans exist, circumstances may dictate that improvisation is required for an effective response. Using the World Trade Center Disaster as an example, this presentation discusses the various ways improvisation can emerge.

This report from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) summarizes the findings of a series of workshops on Transportation Operations Preparedness and Response held in 20 regions across the United States. The report consolidates the common issues identified at the workshops on topics such as interagency coordination and communication; emergency operations; equipment; intelligent transportation systems; and mutual aid.

This training program addresses how the laws currently protect – and fail to protect – disaster volunteers, and the efforts underway to expand this protection.

This book by Eric Auf der Heide addresses the interdisciplinary aspects of disaster response management. The book deals with emergency medial care as well as the organizational systems (procedures, management structures, and designation of responsibilities) that can impact the effectiveness of emergency medical care.

This publication presents a detailed perspective on terrorism events since 1988 and what has occurred as a result, including changes to laws, regulations, and organizational structures.

This collection of papers from a June 2006 PERI Symposium focuses on the actions and planning a community should be taking now to deal with local effects of a global influenza pandemic.

This paper by Robert D. McEvoy, Symposium Moderator, was presented during the June 2006 PERI Symposium "Preparing for a Local Crisis within a Global Pandemic."

This publication from the National Academies Press assesses the current state of social science hazards and disaster research and provides a set of recommendations that reflect opportunities and challenges in the field.

This 70-minute documentary-style DVD, produced by the American Bar Association (ABA), Section of State and Local Government Law, addresses the key legal issues in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.

This report documents the management of unaffiliated volunteers, those who spontaneously – often with no disaster training – offered their assistance to the relief effort, by various agencies in Florida during the 2004 Hurricane season.

This training program was originally presented by Claire Reiss, J.D., ARM, CPCU, PERI's Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel, to the Texas Citizen Corps Conference. The program explore basic concepts in liability law as it affects Citizen Corps in Texas, but the concepts maybe useful to organizations beyond Texas

This paper by Joseph E. Trainor of the University of Delaware Disaster Research Center examines the inter-organizational effectiveness of the Incident Command System (ICS) in the formal search and rescue response to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The author explains why the Incident Command System worked better in fire suppression than it did in search and rescue operations, and what that means for the National Incident Management System advocated by the federal government.

This dissertation paper was written by Tricia Wachtendorf of the University of Delaware.

This paper by Thomas Sullivan, Director of Public Safety, Montgomery County, Penn. was presented in a May 2004 PERI Symposium entitled "Risk Assessment and Planning for Volunteer Fire Departments"

This speech was delivered by Gerard J. Hoetmer, Executive Director, Public Entity Risk Institute at the 40th Anniversary Conference of the University of Delaware Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Disaster Research Center on April 30, 2004.

This presentation on Liability Issues and the Medical Reserve Corps was given by Claire Lee Reiss, J.D., ARM, CPCU at the 2004 Medical Reserve Corps National Leadership Conference.

This paper by Raymond Pena, Dane County Emergency Management, Madison, Wisconsin was included in a September 2003 PERI Symposium entitled "Toward an International System Model in Emergency Management."

This publication includes 20 papers by researchers who investigated various questions that arose in the wake of the World Trade Center disaster, as well as a summary of what this post-September 11th research tells us, an overview of "quick response" as a research method, and a report of the preliminary observations made by researchers and first responders at a workshop held only a few months after the disaster.

This concept paper was written by Eelco Dykstra, MD to introduce the September 2003 PERI Symposium "Toward an International System Model in Emergency Management."

This paper by Jorma Hamalainen, Chairman of the working group on the Crisis Management Network Operator (CMO) concept was presented during a September 2003 PERI Symposium entitled "Toward an International System Model in Emergency Management."

This paper by Manfred Koethe, President and Chief Technology Officer, 88solutions Corporation, Newton, Mass. was presented during the September 2003 PERI Symposium "Toward an International System Model in Emergency Management."

This collection of papers from a September 2003 PERI Symposium focuses on issues surrounding an international system model in emergency management. The program was moderated by Eelco H. Dykstra, MD, visiting professor in International Emergency Management, Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Kuopio.

This paper from the University of Delaware Disaster Research Center focuses on the problematic convergence of volunteers, donated suppliers, and supporters following the World Trade Center disaster.

This paper by Kathleen S. Schrank, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., Chief, Division of Emergency Medicine and Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of Miami School of Medicine; and Emergency Medical Service Director, Miami Department of Fire-Rescue was presented in a September 2002 PERI Symposium entitled "Evaluating Community Emergency Services."

This collection of papers from a PERI Symposium is aimed at municipal officials, fire-rescue administrators, and concerned citizens interested in assessing and improving their fire protection, technical rescue, and emergency medical systems.

This paper by John Granito, Coordinator of the Urban Fire Forum, and emergency services consultant and author was presented during a September 2002 Symposium entitled "Evaluating Community Emergency Services."

This paper by Stephen Foley, NFPA Senior Public Fire Protection Specialist and former Fire Chief, was presented during the September 2002 PERI Symposium "Evaluating Community Emergency Services."

This article identifies some basic actions local governments can take to address the risk of biological terrorism, and provides links to resources that provide additional information.

This paper written by James Kendra of the University of North Texas and Tricia Wachtendorf of the University of Delaware is the product of a PERI-funded project conducted by the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware.

This report by the Points of Light Foundation, the Volunteer Center National Network, the United Parcel Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies challenges and opportunities presented by the public's desire to help in an emergency, and some recommended actions that will help make effective use of colunteers in disaster situations.

This article identifies sources and samples of crisis response plans, which every school should have in place. It also includes sources of information for protecting against the threat of biological, chemical, and radiological terrorism and information on sheltering in place.

Characteristics of Effective Emergency Management Organizational Structures is a self-assessment manual designed to help local governments strengthen their emergency management structure. It guides a reader through 20 exercises to help develop or improve a jurisdiction's organizational structure for responding to a disaster.

This paper by Vaughn E. Wagner, Ph.D., B.C.E., M.E., Assistant Professor, Environmental Health Science, Salisbury University was presented during the November 2001 PERI Symposium entitled "Community Response to the Threat of Terrorism."

This collection of Issues and Ideas Papers from a November 2001 PERI Symposium looks at how a community can prepare to respond to the threat of a terrorist incident. The papers cover many perspectives, including those of elected officials, administrators, police, fire, emergency services, public works, and public health. The publication also includes a discussion of cyberterrorism and biological terrorism.

This article written by Deputy Chief James G Fogarty, Emergency Medical Services, City of Clearwater Fire Department, Clearwater, FL was presented in the November 2001 PERI Symposium "Community Response to the Threat of Terrorism."

This paper by Timothy R.S. Campbell, an emergency services and public safety consultant, was presented during the November 2001 PERI Symposium "Community Response to the Threat of Terrorism."

This article written by Lt. John Kane of the Sacramento (CA) Police Department, was presented during the November 2001 PERI Symposium "Community Response to the Threat of Terrorism."