Back to the HRL Home Page. [The "Natural Hazards Observer" is the Natural Hazards Center'sbimonthly printed newsletter. Disaster Research and the Observercontain some of the same information, but they are by no meansidentical. The Observer is available free to subscribers within theU.S. Subscriptions elsewhere cost $15. To subscribe, contact theCenter's publications clerk, Janet Clark: jclark@colorado.edu.]
Coalitions Texas Style: Educating the Public about Emergencies and Disasters
- A Joint Effort -
In 1990, the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center (HRRC) at Texas A&MUniversity and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service (TAEX) joinedtogether to use the vast communication network of TAEX to improveinformation transfer regarding emergencies and disasters from theresearch community to the general public.
Since that time, the coalition has expanded to include the statecoordinating chapter of the American Red Cross (ARC) represented bythe coordinator of Community Disaster Education for Texas, and hasreceived support from local Red Cross chapters. The TAEX-HRRC-ARCproject has continued to expand and works in consultation with theFamily Preparedness Program (FPP) of the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA), under the direction of the Texas Division of EmergencyManagement. Including all these relevant agencies has maximized theopportunity for effective public outreach and education.
The goal of the disaster education program is to minimize propertydamage, injuries, and loss of life by informing and educating thepublic. The joint resources of the participating organizations offer aunique opportunity, with TAEX providing over 800 extension agentsthroughout Texas, all professionally trained, to deliver theeducational programs.
- Program Foundation -
The products developed by the coalition were based on the followingassumptions:
"The Extension Agent's Handbook" includes comprehensive information ongeneral preparedness as well as hazard-specific information; it isfully adaptable to specific locales. The section on general issues isdevoted to individual preparedness and mitigation, while the secondsection covers preparation and response for 10 hazards: floods, fires,hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, earthquakes, drought,radiological accidents, hazardous materials accidents, and volcaniceruptions.
- The Workshop -
During the past two years, the TAEX-HRRC-ARC program has focused onthe development and pilot-testing of an "Extension Service Workshopfor Conducting Community Disaster Education." This workshop isdesigned to:
Additional goals for this program include offering the workshop to allextension districts in Texas by 1997 and, with the assistance of 4-Hprograms, developing a youth component in Texas. In addition, TAEXwill work to strengthen its relationship with the Puerto RicanExtension Service, so that this information is readily available inSpanish. For the long term, the coalition hopes to firmly establishthese educational programs in each of the 12 TAEX districts,emphasizing both youth programs and rural outreach.
David Bilbo
Associate Professor of Construction Science and
Coordinator of Extension Service for the
Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center
Texas A&M University
Action Humanitaire Internationale (AHI) is a french NGO working ondisaster assistance programs. We have the capacity to conductevaluations and conduct emergency assistance programs. We also developprograms of prevention and preparedness, in which we developinformational and educational materials.
AHI is looking for information on disaster programs in West Africa(Senegal), such as deforestation, famine, drought, etc. Allinformation concerning reports, contacts, programs are welcome. Pleasesend your information to our e-mail with reference: Senegal/Disaster-Prevention.
Thank you.
Bernard Huon-Dumentat
Action Humanitaire Internationale (AHI)
ahi@pactok.peg.apc.org
Paris headquarters: 74723.1553@compuserve.com
[Address: nets@hoshi.cic.sfu.ca]
We in a local county government would like to explore using our GISsystem to help in emergency management. We have a terminal in ouroffice but lost our "expert" prior to getting any Emergency Managementsupport in place and would like to turn our expensive paperweight intoa contributing asset. Would like to know how others are using GIS insupport of Emergency Management.
Thanks,
John Therriault
bcounty@nicoh.com
For the past couple of years, the Natural Hazards Center hasmaintained on its Web site a list of researchers using orinvestigating the use of geographical information systems (GISs) inhazards/disaster research. That index is now being managed by theHazards Research Laboratory (HRL) at the University of South Carolina,one of the principle centers of GIS/hazards research in the nation(and thus a more appropriate venue for the directory).
To update the list, we are asking any and all GIS/hazards researchersto contact the HRL with a brief note describing who they are and whatthey are doing. Please be sure to include contact information -addresses, phone/fax numbers, e-mail addresses, and Web URLs - ifavailable. Send information to Mike Scott, mscott@ecotopia.geog.sc.edu.
In the previous issue of , we posted a query fromLinda Berry Linda.Berry@jcu.edu.au, a Masters student at James CookUniversity, North Queensland, Australia, regarding the care andmanagement of pets in disasters. Below is a response that we thoughtmight be of interest to other readers.
From: Rocky Lopes LopesR@USA.REDCROSS.ORG
. . . The American Red Cross and The Humane Society of the UnitedStates are pleased to announce a brand new brochure called, "Pets andDisaster: Get Prepared." This informative brochure providesinformation about creating a pet disaster plan; having a safe place totake pets; recommended pet disaster supplies; what to do when adisaster approaches; and special tips for birds, reptiles, and smallmammals.
Since pets are not permitted in Red Cross shelters, this informationhas been widely sought to provide the public instructions andinformation on recommended pet safety procedures and alternatives forpets when they go to a public shelter.
"Pets in Disaster: Get Prepared" (4 pp., May 1996), prepared by theAmerican Red Cross and The Humane Society of the United States isavailable from Red Cross chapters in the United States for $4.25 perpackage of 25 brochures, plus shipping. Orders must be processedthrough a local Red Cross chapter; orders sent to Red Cross nationalheadquarters will be returned.
The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) now has its ownsharp new home page on the World Wide Web:
EERI is a national, nonprofit, technical society of engineers,geoscientists, architects, planners, public officials, and socialscientists - including researchers, practicing professionals,educators, government officials, and building code regulators - all ofwhom are concerned about mitigating earthquake hazards.
The EERI Web site provides an introduction to the institute; a list ofupcoming EERI meetings and other events; descriptions of EERIservices; a catalog of publications, slides, and videos available fromthe institute; and other information and news about earthquake hazardmitigation. Additionally, EERI now has several full-text earthquakereconnaissance reports on-line, as well as other information aboutcurrent events.
Boulder County, Colorado, spans several ecological zones - fromprairie to alpine to subarctic - and the invasion of human structuresinto the forested mountain regions, where natural fires have notreduced flammable vegetation in decades, has resulted in an extremewildland fire hazard. The Wildfire Hazard Information and MitigationSystem (WHIMS) is a project undertaken by Boulder County government tomitigate that hazard. WHIMS combines expertise in hazard assessment,forest management, wildfire behavior, and fire suppression with therapidly advancing technology of geographical information systems(GISs), an. It is designed to address all elements of hazardmitigation=FEhazard identification, risk assessment, homeowner educationand motivation, pre-attack planning, emergency response, land-useplanning, and disaster assessment. The project represents apartnership among almost all of the groups and individuals dealingwith the problem, from local residents to federal agencies. The WHIMSWeb site:
http://www.boco.co.gov/gislu/whims.html
includes a project summary describing WHIMS in detail, as well asspecific information about what people can do to protect their homesfrom wildfire. Questions about WHIMS should be directed to NanJohnson, Boulder County Land Use Department, P.O. Box 471, Boulder, CO80306; (303) 441-3930; e-mail: nanlu@boco.co.gov.
With support from the National Science Foundation, the Natural HazardsCenter oversees a Quick Response Program that enables researchers togo to the site of a disaster soon after it occurs to examine variousaspects of impact, response, and recovery. The newest reports include:
QR82: "Early Response to Hurricane Marilyn in the U.S. VirginIslands," by Betty Hearn Morrow and A. Kathleen Ragsdale, 1996.
QR83: "Response to a Damaging Earthquake in an Environment ofPolitical Turmoil (Dinar, Turkey, October 1, 1995)," by William A.Mitchell, 1996.
QR84: "Impact of Hurricane Opal on the Florida/Alabama Coast," DavidM. Bush et al., 1996.
These findings are available both in print and on the Hazard Center'sWorld Wide Web site:
http://adder.colorado.edu/~hazctr/Home.html
To determine the cost of printed copies and to place an order, contactJanet Clark, Publications Clerk, Natural Hazards Research andApplications Information Center, IBS #6, Campus Box 482, University ofColorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0482, (303) 492-6819; fax: (303) 492-2151;e-mail: jclark@colorado.edu.
Researchers at the Environmental Change Unit of the University ofOxford, U.K., are looking for U.S. researchers who have conducted workon windstorms and/or sea-level rise to contribute to an upcomingpublication, "Climate Change and Extreme Events: Altered Risk, Socio-Economic Impacts, and Policy Responses." Persons interested incontributing should contact Thomas E. Downing, Climate Impacts andResponses, Environmental Change Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13TB, U.K.; +44 1865 281180; fax: +44 1865 281181l; e-mail:Tom.Downing@ecu.ox.ac.uk; WWW: http://info.ox.ac.u.departments/ecu/.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced a newcompetition for earthquake engineering research centers, to be fundedthrough its Earthquake Hazard Mitigation Program in the Directoratefor Engineering. NSF notes that, while the focus of this program is ongeotechnical and structural engineering, earthquake hazard mitigationis a multidisciplinary problem and thus earthquake-related research inarchitecture, planning, and the social sciences will also besupported. Additionally, this program will provide funds for educationand information dissemination, especially the transfer of informationto researchers and professionals in engineering, architecture, andplanning.
Proposals are due October 15, 1996. For information on submission,contact William Anderson, Clifford Astill, or S.C. Liu, EarthquakeHazard Mitigation Program, Division of Civil and Mechanical Systems,Room 545, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard,Arlington, VA 22230; (703) 306-1362; WWW: http://www.nsf.gov.
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