Disaster Relief

ANSS Subject and Bibliographic Access Committee Question/Answer on Cataloging Issues – June 2011
What kinds of subject headings are applied to works on disaster relief and natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina?

 

The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) thesaurus has a number of different terms for the various aspects of disaster relief. The primary term is Disaster relief which can be subdivided by the location of the disaster. This term can also be subdivided by a number of specific aspects of disaster relief. For example:

Disaster relief—Finance

Disaster relief—Finance—Law and legislation

Disaster relief—Public relations

Disaster relief–Research

There are also a number of narrower terms such as:

Disaster medicine

Drought relief

Earthquake relief

Emergency clothing supply

Emergency communication systems

Emergency food supply

Emergency housing

Emergency public utility services

Emergency sanitation

Emergency transportation

Emergency water supply

Evacuation of civilians

Food relief

Public shelters

Red Cross and Red Crescent

Rest centers (Disaster relief)

Tsunami relief

War relief

All of these terms can be subdivided geographically.
A number of related terms are also available. For works on disaster relief and churches the subject heading Church work with disaster victims is used. There is also the term Disaster victims and a few narrower terms such as: Child disaster victims; Older disaster victims; and Women disaster victims.
Individual natural disasters are established by name in LCSH. The following are examples of some that are already established. There are many more in the thesaurus as well.

Hurricane Agnes, 1972

Hurricane Andrew, 1992

Hurricane Bob, 1991

Hurricane Diana, 1984

Hurricane Emily, 2005

Hurricane Floyd, 1999

Hurricane Fran, 1996

Hurricane Frances, 2004

Hurricane Gloria, 1985

Hurricane Gustav, 2008

Hurricane Hattie, 1961

Hurricane Igor, 2010

Hurricane Ike, 2008

Hurricane Iris, 2001

Hurricane Isabel, 2003

Hurricane Ivan, 2004

Hurricane Jeanne, 2004

Hurricane Juan, 2003

Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Hurricane Rita, 2005

Hurricane Stan, 2005

Hurricane Wilma, 2005

Labor Day Hurricane, 1935

New England Hurricane, 1938

Other natural disasters are also established individually. Some examples follow:

Cyclone Colina, 1993

Cyclone Heta, 2004

Cyclone Mahina, 1899

Cyclone Nargis, 2008

Cyclone Orissa, 1999

Cyclone Sidr, 2007

Cyclone Tracy, 1974

Erwin Storm, 2005

Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2004