Back to the Home Page. Several readers alerted us to our goof in the previous DR. The correctnumber for obtaining Federal Emergency Managemeny Agency (FEMA)informational faxes is:
(202) 646-FEMA
(202) 646-3362
(hope we get it right this time . . .)
Does anyone know of an emergency preparedness organization/groupespecially for hospital emergency planners?
I would appreciate any information you might have.
Thank you.
Jim Floyd
jimfloyd@in.net
[Please send copies of responses to hazctr@colorado.edu (attn:David Butler)]
I wish to find out whether any work has been done on risk perception andair pollution. If you have any information regarding such studies couldyou please contact me.
Dawn Ives
Centre for Environmental and Risk Management
University of East Anglia
Norwich
Norfolk, NR4 7TJ.
UK
Tel: (01603) 592696
Fax: (01603) 507719
e-mail: D.Ives@UEA.ac.uk
Seeking Information on Recovery Plan for B.C. Community
Lions Bay Village is a community of some 1500 people situated on theWest Coast of British Columbia, Canada. The Emergency Response Committeeis currently in the process of preparing a Recovery Plan. The villagehas a Disaster Plan for covering such disasters as earthquake, forestfire, train derailment, highway washout and multi-vehicle accidents. Weare now in the process of preparing a Recovery Plan and were wonderingif any similar sized communities have a Recovery Plan and whether theywould be willing to share ideas, format etc. with us.
Sincerely,
Sandy Barclay
Provincial Emergency Program
Box 508
Lions Bay, B.C.
Canada V0N 2E0
sbarclay@unixg.ubc.ca
I am looking for information on Computer Aided Dispatch programs. Thearea would have a population of around 500,000, and the case load wouldbe 100-160 ems, 400 police and 120 fire calls per week. I would likeinformation on the name of the CAD program, the platform it is runningon, and contact details for a supplier. Many thanks.
Paul Bladen
Information and Research Centre
Australian Emergency Management Institute
Mt. Macedon
Victoria
AUSTRALIA
3441
ph: (+6154) 261 205
fax: (+6154) 262 479
email: robf@vifp.monash.edu.au
I would like to tell you about the Unofficial Disaster Management HomePage that I have put together on the web. It contains to my knowledgethe longest list of DM related internet sites along with other data ondisaster management:
http://rvik.ismennt.is/~gro/disaster.html
I am constantly working on adding to it, so I guess it can be called aconstruction site. Hope you like what you see there...
Cheers
Gisli Olafsson
gro@ismennt.is
Robert Cook
Program Manager, HTIS
rcook@dgscg4.dgsc.dla.mil
Several Australian insurance organizations have collaborated to promoteresearch on natural hazards risk assessment by providing a three-yeargrant establishing the Natural Hazards Research Centre (NHRC) atMacquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Other funds have beenprovided through research grants and contracts with the AustralianGeological Survey, the Australian IDNDR Committee, and industry.
Current NHRC research addresses earthquake damage and probable maximumloss, deaths due to natural hazards, tropical cyclone records anddamage, heatwaves in Australia, construction of a landslide data base,hail loss, and formation of a tsunami data base. Indeed, much of thework of the NHRC now focuses on the development of data bases, andnatural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, tropicalcyclones, bushfires, floods, hailstorms, and heatwaves are beingcataloged. NHRC intends to use these data bases to generate analysesthat can contribute to effective disaster reduction, risk assessment,and risk management in Australia. NHRC research is also focusing onestimating potential losses in Australian capital cities produced byearthquakes and on reviewing the losses to domestic housing resultingfrom the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. Other major studies currently inprogress include an analysis of the consequences of the 1994 Rabaul,Papua New Guinea, eruption and wind and hail storms in Sydney. Thecenter is also involved in the development of integrated natural hazardrisk assessments for various areas of Australia.
Overall, the NHRC aims to expand collaborative research with otherinstitutions in Australia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region; todevelop innovative models for hazards, vulnerability, and riskassessment; to attract post-graduate students to this area of research;and to foster understanding between industry and hazards specialiststhrough the promotion of information networking, conferences, and shortcourses.
The center produces a quarterly newsletter covering its work. For moreinformation, contact the director: Russell Blong, Natural HazardsResearch Centre, School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University, NewSouth Wales 2109, Australia; tel: 61-(0)2-850 9683; fax: 61-(0)2-850-9394; e-mail: rblong@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au.
The United Nations has proclaimed every second Wednesday of Octoberthroughout the 1990s as the International Day for Natural DisasterReduction in order to increase the general public's awareness of theneed for disaster prevention. The International Day for Natural DisasterReduction in 1995 will be October 11, and to support this year's theme -"Women and Children - Key to Prevention" - the United Nations IDNDRSecretariat is seeking successful examples wherein women and childrenplay a proactive role in disaster prevention. Examples will be cited ina special issue of the IDNDR newsletter, "Stop Disasters," and used inother promotional materials. Persons with information about suchprograms or individuals seeking more information should contact N.Domeisen, Promotion Officer, IDNDR Secretariat, United NationsDepartment of Humanitarian Affairs, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva10, Switzerland; tel: (44-22) 798 6894; fax: (44-22) 733 8695; telex:412962 UNO CH; e-mail: dha.idndr.gva@cgnet.com
[Note: The following does not imply an endorsement by the NaturalHazards Center etc. etc. etc.]
America Online will open an Emergency/Disaster Management Forum on March1, 1995, within its Public Safety Center Section. The forum can bereached by signing-on America Online and using the keyword "emergency."It is intended to permit information exchange among those with apractical need for hazard information and emergency organizationguidance. The Emergency/Disaster Management Forum appears among forumsfor law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical services and rescueservices.
Those desiring additional information may send e-mail to: emergent10@aol.com. Free software and a credit for 10 free hours on AOL isavailable for a limited time.
As diligent DR readers know, there are lots of places on the Internetwhere one can garner earthquake information. But in a recent issue ofthe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Earthquake Center of ExpertiseNewsletter - "The epiCenter News" - Brian Barbier lists the followingaddresses as providing the latest information about quakes around theworld. Use the "finger" command - for example, finger quake@fm.gi.alaska.edu - to receive an account of the most recent quakes recorded atthese various seismic stations:
fm.gi.alaska.edu - Alaska networkscec2.gps.caltech.edu - Southern California networkgldfs.cr.usgs.gov - NEIS bulletin of worlwide earthquakesslueas.slu.edu - St. Louis U. networkseismo.unr.edu - Nevada networkeqinfo.seis.utah.edu - U. of Utah networkgeophys.washington.edu - Washington-Oregon networkandreas.wr.usgs.gov - Northern California networktako.wr.usgs.gov - Hawaii Volcano Observatory network
[Adapted from "IDNDR Informs" - the International Decade for NaturalDisaster Reduction Bulletin for Latin America and the Caribbean]
The national IDNDR Committee of France has initiated a collaborativeprogram with countries of the Caribbean and Central America. Followingan organizational meeting last fall on the island of Guadeloupe, thefollowing programs have been undertaken:
For more information, contact Guy Deneufbourg, Executive Secretary ofthe French IDNDR Committee, Tour Mirabeau c/o BRGM, 39/43 Quai A.Citroen, 75.739 Paris Cedex 15, France; fax: (33 1) 4058 8933.
[Also adapted from "IDNDR Informs"]
The Central American Parliament is organizing a seminar/workshop inApril of 1995 to discuss a model law for Central American countries ondisaster management and organization. The seminar will be held inGuatemala and is supported by the Pan American Health Organization(PAHO), the IDNDR Office, and the Central American Center for NaturalDisaster Coordination, Prevention and Mitigation (CEPREDENAC). For moreinformation contact the PAHO/WHO Subregional Office, P.O. Box 3745,1000, San Jose, Costa Rica; fax: (506) 257-02139.
The Network of Social Studies for Disaster Prevention in Latin America -known by its Spanish acronym, LA Red - is an informal network created in1992 to link Latin American researchers and practitioners concerned withthe social aspects of disaster management and mitigation. The group heldits fifth regular meeting in Peru in October 1994 and will next meet inEcuador later this year. Besides hosting conferences, LA RED publishesbooks, a magazine, and a newsletter, and undertakes projects tostrengthen disaster communication and networking in Latin America. Forexample, the network is developing simple software to register disasterevents based on different sources to be used throughout the region. Ithas also begun inventorying existing, appropriate training materials.Future topics identified for research include studying internationalorganizations' roles in the context of the IDNDR; creating a directoryof the principle actors in alert, response, and reconstruction in theregion; documenting the decision-making process to make majorinvestments in disaster mitigation; and finally, documenting therelation between environmental degradation and natural disasters. Formore information on LA RED, contact Coordinacion General de LA RED,ITDG, Casilla Postal 18-0620, Lima 18, Peru; fax: (51 14) 466 621; e-mail: andrew@itdg.org.pe.
Harvard Program on Complex Disasters. Sponsors: Harvard Medical School,Harvard Forum on Disasters, and Harvard School of Public Health. Boston,Massachusetts: April 10-11, 1995. Contact: Kathryn Lord, Harvard Schoolof Public Health, Office of Continuing Medical Education, 677 HuntingtonAvenue, LL-23, Boston, MA 02115-6023; (617) 432-1171; fax: (617) 432-1969; e-mail: contedu@sph.harvard.edu
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