Disaster Research 196

May 17, 1996

This newsletter is reprinted with the full knowledge and consent of theHazardsResearch and Applications Information Center in Boulder, CO.

Table of contents

  1. New Publications from the Natural Hazards Center
  2. University of Puerto Rico Launches Disaster Management Degree Program
  3. PAHO Establishes Disaster Management E-Mail List for Spanish-Speaking Americas
  4. NSF Seeking Research Proposals
  5. Computer Software Booklet Available
  6. Seeking Emergency Management Home Pages
  7. ReliefWeb Update
  8. Disaster Recovery Business Alliance (DRBA) Formed
  9. A Grab Bag of Web Sites
  10. Upcoming EENET Offerings
  11. A Call for Papers
  12. Conferences and Training


New Publications from the Natural Hazards Center

Here are the newest printed works available from the Natural HazardsCenter. Ordering information is provided below.

Disaster Evacuation Behavior: Tourists and Other Transients, byThomas E. Drabek (Monograph #58, 1996, 375 pp., $20.00, plus shipping[see below]).

Two years ago Tom Drabek, sociologist at the University of Denver,published "Disaster Evacuation and the Tourist Industry," a hard lookat disaster planning (and the lack of it) among hoteliers and otherswhose livelihood centers on tourism. His conclusion was that thetourist industry represented a "ticking time bomb" because of its lackof preparation for disaster.

Even before that study was complete, Drabek had begun looking at thebehavior of tourists themselves when disasters struck. He subsequentlyexpanded this study to include other transient individuals - businesstravelers, migrant workers, and homeless persons - and the results ofthat research are now available in "Disaster Evacuation Behavior."

The book addresses the basic question: When people are away from homeand are impacted by disaster, how do they respond? More specifically,it covers the five objectives of Drabek's research: 1) to describe thebehavior that culminates in evacuation from disaster sites by personswho are away from their residences; 2) to describe the range ofvariation in this behavior among different types of evacuees, events,disaster phases, and locations; 3) to identify factors that affectvariation in these behavioral sequences; 4) to document perceptions ofdisaster victims regarding evacuation policies and proceduresimplemented by private firm executives and government representatives;and 5) to formulate policy recommendations for local emergencymanagers and business executives.

Through interviews with over 800 individuals who were affected by oneof three hurricanes or two earthquakes, the study arrives at twobroad, but important, conclusions: 1) policies and procedures for thetimely evacuation of tourists and other transients are spotty at bestand frequently leave victims critical of those they feel areresponsible for their safety, and 2) investments in community disasterplanning through public-private partnerships can reduce a community'svulnerability to catastrophe - a vulnerability that otherwise worsensdaily.

Drabek concludes by constructing a set of prediction models to answerthe question: Who leaves first, and why?, and then presents an "ActionAgenda" for both disaster managers and tourist industry personnel.

In a sense, this book is part of Drabek's attempt to defuse the``ticking time bomb'' before it's too late.

From the Mountains to the Sea - Developing Local Capabilities,Proceedings of the 1995 Annual Conference of the Association of StateFloodplain Managers, May 22-26, 1995, Portland Maine (SpecialPublication #31, 1996, 486 pp., $20.00, plus shipping [see below]).

This year's ASFPM proceedings volume contains 85 papers covering a*broad* range of floodplain management issues. This volume should beuseful to all floodplain managers and policy makers - from the localto the national level.

The Socioeconomic Aspects of Flooding in the U.S.: A Topical Bibliography, by John Wiener (Topical Bibliography #19, 1996, 50 pp.,$20.00, plus shipping [see below]).

This bibliography is now also available free from the Hazard Center'sWorld Wide Web Page: http://adder.colorado.edu/~hazctr/Home.html

Following the widespread flooding in the Midwest in 1993, the FederalInteragency Floodplain Management Task Force established a ScientificAssessment and Strategy Team to examine that event and undertake amassive data-gathering and interpretation project. Part of that effortinvolved the compilation of this bibliography of the social aspects offlooding in the U.S., which addresses federal policy; natural hazardsin general; disaster relief; the impacts of the 1993 flood; social,health, and psychological impacts; insurance and the national floodinsurance program; agricultural assistance; land values, flood risks,and flood hazard mitigation; local governments; nonstructuralmeasures; wetlands; navigation; and economic analysis.

Our Latest Quick Response Reports:

QR80: Effects of Investigation of a Fatal Air Crash on 13 GovernmentInvestigators, by Carolyn V. Coarsey-Rader. 1996. 15 pp.

QR81: Newspaper Reporting in the Wake of the 1995 Spring Floods inNorthern California, by Ute J. Dymon and Francis P. Boscoe. 1996.12 pp.

Printed copies of all Quick Response Reports cost $5.00, plus shipping[see below]. The reports are also available on the Hazards Center Webpage: http://adder.colorado.edu/~hazctr/Home.htm.

Each of these publications can be ordered from the Publications Clerk,Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, CampusBox 482, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0482; (303)492-6819; fax: (303) 492-2151; e-mail: jclark@colorado.edu.

Shipping and Handling Charges

Shipping and handling charges must be added to all orders based on theTOTAL number of pages ordered, and may be calculated as follows:

                           DomesticNumber of Pages        Printed Matter            First Class    0 - 35                 $3.00                    $3.00   36 - 80                 $3.50                    $4.00   81 - 450                $4.00                    $5.00                       Canada and MexicoNumber of Pages     Surface Printed Matter     Air Printed Matter    0 - 35                 $3.00                    $3.00   36 - 80                 $3.50                    $4.50   81 - 450                $5.00                    $6.00                         InternationalNumber of Pages      Surface Printed Matter    Air Printed Matter    0 - 35                 $4.00                    $5.00   36 - 80                 $5.00                    $6.00   81 - 450                $6.00              Please call for price


University of Puerto Rico Launches Disaster Management Degree Program

[Adapted from the Pan American Health Organization Disaster Section'sexcellent newsletter, "Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in theAmericas"]

Puerto Rico's State Civil Defense and the University of Puerto Ricorecently signed an agreement to create a Bachelor's Program onEmergency Management. Courses will begin in September 1996. For moreinformation, contact Dr. Juan Bigio Ramos, Associate Dean, Universityof Puerto Rico, Apartado 21876, Estacion Postal UPR, San Juan, PR00931-1876; fax: (809) 753-3081.


PAHO Establishes Disaster Management E-Mail List for Spanish-Speaking Americas

[Also adapted from the PAHO newsletter]

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in a joint project withthe National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is promoting accessto the Internet in Central America by updating software in healthinstitutions and emergency management agencies, and sponsoringworkshops at the subregional and national levels on how to make thebest use of the Internet's most useful features. As part of thateffort, disaster managers and other interested persons with e-mailaccess can now subscribe to a newly created e-mail "list" - i.e., anInternet-based discussion group - called " desastres-ca," which ismaintained by PAHO's country office in Nicaragua. Communication viathe list will be predominantly in Spanish. To subscribe todesastres-ca, send an e-mail note to majordomo@ops.org.niwith no subject and the sole instruction in the body of the message: subscribe desastres-ca [your e-mail address here]You will then automatically receive messages sent by others todesastres-ca. To send a message yourself, simply e-mail to desastres-ca@ops.org.ni


NSF Seeking Research Proposals

[Adapted from the "Earthquake Engineering Research InstituteNewsletter"]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting proposals forresearch in a number of areas related to earthquake hazard mitigation,including mitigation of urban earthquake disasters, next generation ofcodes for seismic safety, and composite and hybrid structures.Information on these and other research opportunities may be obtainedby contacting Drs. S.C. Liu and W. Anderson, National ScienceFoundation, (703) 306-1361.


Computer Software Booklet Available

The 1996 "Computer Software for Earthquake Engineering" booklet is nowavailable. It includes abstracts covering 73 software programsdeveloped as a result of research in earthquake engineering andrelated fields. To obtain a copy, contact Kenneth K. Wong,NISEE/Computer Applications, University of California at Berkeley,404A Davis Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720; (510) 642-5113; fax: (510) 643-5264; e-mail: info@nisee.ce.berkeley.edu.


Seeking Emergency Management Home Pages

We are seeking emergency management Internet home page addresses. AdaCity-County Emergency Management is a local emergency managementagency in Boise, Idaho. Recently we created an Internet home page:(http://netnow.micron.net/~accem). We would like to provide links toother emergency management home pages, and are particularly interestedin home pages for local emergency management agencies. If you have ahome page please feel free to add a link to ours. If you would like usto add a link to yours just send an e-mail to: accem-rc@micron.net,with your home page address.
Thank you.
Ray Carino (accem-rc@micron.net)


ReliefWeb Update

[Adapted from a recent news release from the U.N. Department ofHumanitarian Affairs]

VISIT OUR NEW SITE AT http://www.reliefweb.int

These past few weeks have marked tremendous progress in the growth anddevelopment of ReliefWeb. Noteworthy highlights include: a new designand working structure; DHA On-line; formation of the Working Groups onInformation and Technical Issues; development of informationagreements; additions to the ReliefWeb team and the installation ofAzerWeb, an information system for the humanitarian relief community,in Baku, Azerbaijan.

- Structure -
The new structure allows for access that is personalized and specificto emergencies. Country and emergency profiles have been replaced withnot just two but a number of access points to information related toemergency preparedness and response. Moreover, information is groupedso that users have choices as to whether to access the informationthey want by format, category, or source.

A bulletin section allows for daily updates on humanitarian reliefissues. This section can also be received by e-mail and comes with itsown submission form. Moreover, a "What's New" feature directs the userto recently added information. A map centre provides views of regionsand countries within regions, and later developments will add more in-depth spatial data to aid response and relief work.

- DHA On-Line -
As the electronic source of DHA information and promotion, DHA On-Linewill form the central nucleus of ReliefWeb. From here on, thedevelopment of DHA On-Line and ReliefWeb will be completelyintegrated. DHA On-line will be available for public access via theWeb as of 31 May 1996.

- Working Groups on Information and Technical Issues -
Following a recommendation of the ReliefWeb Working Group meeting inJanuary, two working groups have been formed. Broadly speaking, thegroups are responsible for overseeing the development of ReliefWeb andmaking recommendations regarding its future. The groups compriseexperts from the UN family, international organizations, andinternational NGO partners. The groups' Terms of Reference and minutesfrom meetings are available through the ReliefWeb Secretariat.

- Information Agreements -
The ReliefWeb team is busy pursuing such agreements with donors,United Nations agencies, International Relief NGOs, and others in aneffort to ensure that a comprehensive base of information is madeavailable to ReliefWeb subscribers. As parties to the agreement, eachsignatory contracts to provide designated information to theHumanitarian Community via ReliefWeb. As host, UNDHA's ReliefWebundertakes to ensure that the information is timely and readilyaccessible 24 hours a day through the ReliefWeb site on Internet.

- The ReliefWeb Team -
The team, with its secretariat located in the United NationsDepartment of Humanitarian Affairs, Geneva, now comprises sevencontracted or seconded personnel. Of course, this is simply the coregroup. Members of DHA's Information Dissemination Unit also supportthe many ongoing information management tasks.

- Azerweb -
Recently, UNDHA and Response.Net sponsored the implementation of an information system for the benefit of improved communications betweenand among major relief actors in Baku, Azerbaijan. The system will behosted by Save the Children (US) whose summary of the activities ofthe relief community will, in future, reach ReliefWeb directly.Moreover, future links with the WFP network in Georgia will help toencourage regional coverage of the Caucasus.

- Future Planning -
ReliefWeb, featuring its new design and information on threeemergencies - the Great Lakes, Sudan, and the Caucasus - as well asits former prototype countries - Angola, Colombia, and Malawi - willbe available as of 3 June 1996 at the following address: http://www.reliefweb.intIn addition to all kinds of interesting information and links, lookfor maps that can be downloaded and printed. Finally, access to DHAOn-line will be featured with its new structure, situation reports,and financial tracking.


Disaster Recovery Business Alliance (DRBA) Formed

[Adapted from "NCEER Information Service News"]

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has established theDisaster Recovery Business Alliance (DRBA) - a public/privatepartnership that will apply technology to minimize regional economicloss through predisaster planning. The alliance intends to become aninternational leader in mitigating the physical, economic, andecological impacts of natural and human-caused disasters to people,property, and business. A DRBA steering committee has been formed andseveral pilot programs have already been identified - including thedevelopment of "Regional Disaster Recovery Business Alliance Centers."For more information, contact Stephen Baruch, Executive Director,DRBA, EPRI, 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304; (415) 855-8912;or, Janet Workman-Gorman, Regional Alliances Director, DRBA, Pasadena,CA; (818) 304-9110.


A Grab Bag of Web Sites

http://h2o.usgs.gov/
This is the main water resources page of the U.S. Geological Survey.Headlines on the page direct readers to reports of current floods orother hydrologic events. Many of the local sites post notes from fieldcrews and provide special reports on emergency activities.

http://h2o.usgs.gov/public/realtime.html
This page offers current streamflow conditions for many states. Tablesand hydrographs of streamflow may be seen for provisional data. Moststations are updated every 4 hours.

All World Wide Web pages of the USGS can be reached through the USGSHome Page: http://www.usgs.gov

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov
This Web site of the National Climate Data Center is theclimate/weather researcher's Shangri-la. It includes data fromthousands of weather stations around the world, as well as hundreds ofimages, numerous technical reports on extreme weather events, and*lots* of other climate/weather data.

http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov
[Adapted from "EOS - Transactions of the American Geophysical Union]
Now if it's data you want, this Global Change Master Directory (GMCD)can keep you swimming in data for weeks. It offers an on-line searchand retrieval system for persons interested in identifying earthscience data sets for educational and research needs. The heart of thedirectory is a data base of 3400 earth science entries. It includesreferences to data held at many federal agencies, universities, andforeign countries. It covers atmospheric, land, ocean and solid earthscience.

http://www.disaster-resource.com
This is the on-line version of the "Disaster Resource Guide,"published by the Emergency Lifeline Corporation in Santa Ana,California. It includes information about new developments in disasterand recovery planning; an extended article on business continuityplanning; additional articles on lessons learned from the Kobeearthquake and Oklahoma City bombing; pieces on personnel care andmanagement, communications, and information systems; and directoriesof the people and services available to support disaster planning.

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/eqhouse.html
The excellent Web site of the Association of Bay Area Governments(ABAG) now includes this page with excerpts of text and images fromABAG's new publication, "Shaken Awake! Estimates of UninhabitableDwelling Units and Peak Shelter Populations in Future EarthquakesAffecting the San Francisco Bay Region." This is but another additionto the ABAG site's wealth of information on potential earthquakeeffects in the Bay Area.


Upcoming EENET Offerings

The following videoconferences are offered through the FederalEmergency Management Agency's Emergency Education Network (EENET). Fordetails about the conferences, contact EENET, National EmergencyTraining Center, Room E217, Emmitsburg, MD 21727; (800) 527-4893;(301) 447-1068; fax: (301) 447-1363; e-mail: sdownin@fema.gov.

June 6, 1:00-3:00 pm      "The Emergency Alert System: Making It Work"June 20 1:00 pm           "Act Now: Disaster Preparedness and Fire                            Prevention - 'Making It Happen' "
The latter FEMA Family Preparedness Program videoconference will befollowed by an on-line Internet conference 7:00-9:00 pm EDT. For moreinformation, check the FEMA Home Page: http://www.fema.gov/homepage.html and look under "Upcoming Conferences . . ."


A Call for Papers

In conjunction with the 1996 National Coordinating Council onEmergency Management (NCCEM) Annual Conference, to be held October 19-23 in Anchorage, Alaska, the American Society of ProfessionalEmergency Planners (ASPEP) has issued their annual call for papers.All disciplines are encouraged to participate by writing on any aspectof the emergency management field. Selected papers will be publishedin the 1996 edition of the "ASPEP Journal." Submissions are due July12. For details about formats, contact the ASPEP Journal Committee,attn: Mike Selves, CEM, 111 South Cherry Street, Suite 100, Olathe, KS66061-3441; (913) 764-8484; fax: (913) 791-5002.


Conferences and Training

These are the latest announcements we've received. Most previousissues of DR contain additional notices. For a *comprehensive* list ofupcoming disaster-related conferences, see our World Wide Web page:

http://adder.colorado.edu/~hazctr/Home.html

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is conducting a series ofone-day flood awareness mini-conferences in each of the FEMA regions,focusing on the role of insurance agents and companies, lenders,appraisers, realtors, floodplain managers, disaster and emergencymanagers, and community officials in promoting flood insurance andthus furthering flood loss reduction. The remaining conferences aretentatively scheduled as follows:

FEMA Region V      Madison, WI           July 1996     Region I      Braintree, MA         September 1996     Region IV     Montgomery, AL        January/February 1997     Region VII    Kansas City, KS       May/June 1997     Region II     Long Island, NY       August/September 1997
For more information, contact your FEMA Regional Office or the FederalInsurance Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 CStreet SW, Room 441, Washington, DC 20472; (202) 646-4623; fax: (202)646-3689.

EPA will conduct a series of 4 seminars on "Bioremediation ofHazardous Waste Sites: Practical Approaches to Implementation."Chicago: May 29-30; Kansas City: June 4-5; Atlanta: June, 6-7; and SanFrancisco: June 18-19, 1996. Contact: Eastern Research Group, Inc.,110 Hartwell Avenue, Lexington, MA 02173-3134; (614) 674-7374; fax:(617) 674-2906.

Third Annual Business Resumption Planners Association Conference andExhibition. Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois: June 4, 1996. Contact: MikeJaroscak, (847) 295-5000, ext. 4404.

16th National Short Course on Slope Stability and Landslides. Sponsor:University of Wisconsin-Madison. San Francisco, California: July 8-10,1996. Contact: Engineering Registration, The Wisconsin Center, 702Langdon Street, Madison, WI 53706; 1-800-462-0876; (608) 262-1299;fax: 1-800-442-4214; (608) 265-3448; e-mail: listserv@epd.engr.wisc.edu (send message: "send welcome"); WWW: http://epdwww.engr.wisc.edu.

Northeast Regional All Hazard Conference. Sponsors: MassachusettsEmergency Management Agency and others. Boston, Massachusetts: June26-28, 1996. Contact: Kevin Tully, Area 1 Director, MassachusettsEmergency Management Agency; (508) 640-9500; fax: (508) 851-8218;e-mail: chief@shore.net; WWW: http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/mema

RESCHEDULED (from May 1996):
IDNDR Regional Workshop on Disaster Reduction. Sponsors: UnitedNations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)Secretariat, Italian government, and others. Naples, Italy: September1996. For a complete program or other information contact: IDNDRSecretariat, CH-1211, Geneva 10, Switzerland; tel: (41 22) 798 5850;fax: (41 22) 733 8695; e-mail: idndr@dha.unicc.org.

25th General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission.Reykjavik, Iceland: September 9-14, 1996. Contact: Bardi Thorkelsson,Icelandic Meteorological Office, Bustadavegur 9, 150 Reykjavik,Iceland; tel: 354-560-0600; fax: 0354-552-8121; e-mail:esc96@vedur.is.

Earthquake Design Requirements Seminar. Sponsor: Building Officialsand Code Administrators (BOCA) International, Inc. Mount Vernon,Illinois: September 11-12, 1996. Contact: BOCA Seminar Secretary, 4051West Flossmoor Road, Country Club Hills, IL 60478; (708) 799-2300.

Relief Logistics and Emergency Preparedness Conference. Washington,D.C.: October 7-9, 1996. Sponsors: SOLE - The International Society ofLogistics, and others. Contact: Paul D. Wisniewski or Katherine O'Dea,SOLE - The International Society of Logistics, 8100 ProfessionalPlace, Suite 211, Hyattsville, MD 20785; (301) 459-8446; fax: (301)459-1522; e-mail: SOLEHQ@aol.com.



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Michael Scott / mscott@ecotopia.geog.sc.edu
Last Modified: 05/22/96