Disaster Research 199

June 21, 1996

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

Looking for a Good Book
Searching for Publications/Material on Analysis of Vulnerability to Natural Disasters at the Community Level
Upcoming Hazard Mitigation Courses at FIU
Wetlands on the Net
EMA on the Web
SAR on the Web
FEMA's Tropical Storm Watch Goes Online
And a Lot of Other Weather Stuff on the Web from NCDC
The Quito School Retrofit Project
DOE's Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development
FCIC to Assist the Uninsurables
SBA Reviews, Offers FAQs
Some Recent Hazards/Disaster Research Grants
Conferences and Training

Looking for a Good Book

Does anyone out there know of another book like Kai Ericson's"Everything In Its Path" which might spell out the physical and humanside of an earthquake or another flood or a volcanic eruption? I amlooking for a book to use in place of Ericson for a first-year seminarthis fall. I am hoping that something might be out there which isbased on the Pinatubo eruption or El Chichon or the '94 earthquake inJapan or the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Thanks,
Don Woodrow
woodrow@hws.edu

Searching for Publications-Material on Analysis of Vulnerability to Natural Disasters at the Community Level

The South Pacific Disaster Reduction Programme (SPDRP) is helping Pacific Island countries to mitigate the effects of natural disastersby developing the necessary human resources and institutional capacityto reduce their impact. The programme was launched in February 1994and is being implemented by the South Pacific Programme Office of theUnited Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs, based in Fiji.

SPDRP will soon commence its work on developing guidelines for theconduct of community vulnerability analysis in the South Pacificregion. Since the guidelines should be based on internationalexperiences and approaches, which will be adapted to the SouthPacific, we are now gathering publications and material aboutvulnerability to natural disasters at the community level. We areparticularly interested in guidelines, methodologies, or approaches tocommunity vulnerability analysis that were developed for otherregions/countries.

If your organisation publishes any relevant material, or you haveinformation on where else we could obtain such, we would appreciatevery much hearing from you.

Thanks in advance,
Angelika Planitz
Associate Expert
South Pacific Disaster Reduction Programme
UNDHA South Pacific Programme Office
C/- UNDP
Private Mail Bag
Suva, FIJI
Phone: +679-303239
Fax: +679-304942
Email: undha@is.com.fj

Upcoming Hazard Mitigation Courses at FIU

Introduction to Hazard Mitigation - a three day seminar that willbe offered in two formats: a) as a live seminar, to be given August22-24, 1996, at Florida International University, and b) as a distancelearning course at remote locations, by way of eighteen hours ofvideotape, through the Florida Engineering Education Delivery System[FEEDS], a program of the Engineering Professional DevelopmentDepartment at Florida International University.

This seminar will be conducted by Ricardo A. Alvarez, and it is alsobeing sponsored by the International Hurricane Center.

For more information contact: Laura Ruiz, FEEDS Director, FloridaInternational University: (305) 348-2801; fax: (305) 348-1934; e-mail:laura@eng.fiu.edu; or, Sara Singer, International Hurricane Center:(305) 348-1607; fax: (305) 348-1605; or, Ricardo Alvarez: (305)931-0871; fax: (305) 935-6275; e-mail: malvar04@solix.fiu.edu.

Topics in Hazard Mitigation - a three credit graduate level course,given on Saturdays, during the coming fall term, which begins August26, 1996, at Florida International University, Main Campus, Miami,Florida.

Students and professionals in the fields of engineering [all branches]and architecture, construction management, emergency management,public administration, planning, finance and business administration,sociology and anthropology and many others, will benefit from thiscourse.

The course will be taught by Ricardo A. Alvarez, an architect, formerFEMA Hazard Mitigation Officer and the Associate Director forEducation and Training at the International Hurricane Center. Thecourse is also sponsored by the Department of Construction Managementat Florida International University.For information contact Livia Triminio or Prof. Jose Mitrani: (305)348-3172; fax: (305) 348-2766.

Wetlands on the Net

The Association of State Wetland Managers has now entered cyberspace.The association's new e-mail address is ASWMI@aol.com, and their newWeb page URL is:

http://members.aol.com/ASWMI/homepage.html

The Web site includes information about the structure, activities, andmembership procedures of the association, as well as information abouttheir 1996 national symposium, a complete list of books available fromthe association book service, and a national registry of wetlandprofessionals.

EMA on the Web

The home page of Emergency Management Australia (EMA) (the antipodalequivalent of the Federal Emergency Management Agency):

http://www.ema.gov.au/

includes information about the mission, organization, and programs ofthe agency, including its training arm, the Australian EmergencyManagement Institute. The site also offers sections on preparing fordisaster, disaster response, postdisaster recovery, education andtraining, seminars and conferences, the International Decade forNatural Disaster Reduction in Australia, information services, and EMApublications and reports.

SAR on the Web

The SARINFO! home page:

http://mindlink.net/sarinfo/sarinfo.htm

is designed to provide information to and improve communication amongall persons and organizations involved in search and rescue. Itssections include: SAR News, SAR Calendar, SAR Briefings, Tech Tips,SAR Links, and Weather & Avalanche Bulletins. The site includes anextensive file library.

FEMA's Tropical Storm Watch Goes Online

[From FEMA's Office of Public Affairs - eipa@fema.gov]

As the 1996 hurricane season begins, the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA) is launching its Tropical Storm Watch page on the WorldWide Web:

http://www.fema.gov/fema/trop.html

This is the second year for FEMA's popular online service.

"Last year we were amazed by the increasing popularity of the FEMAWeb site," FEMA Director James Lee Witt said. "By the time HurricaneOpal hit Florida in late September, users checked our files more than225,000 times in just one week. In fact, since last May, our Web sitefiles have been accessed five million times."

The Tropical Storm Watch page offers hurricane preparednessinformation, fact sheets, maps and links to key Web sites with weathersatellite images, forecasts, and advisories. The FEMA Web site isupdated daily . . . sometimes hourly . . . with news releases,situation reports and graphics. As a hurricane approaches landfall,users can see the projected path of destruction and learn how FEMA iscoordinating the federal government response.

The FEMA homepage address is

http://www.fema.gov

And a Lot of Other Weather Stuff on the Web from NCDC

The Web site of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC):

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov

includes weather data from 8000 stations around the world, as well assatellite images, technical reports, and many other products,publications, and services. The site provides on-line data access,"interactive visualization of climate data," descriptions of variousclimate research programs, and much information about NCDC itself.

The Quito School Retrofit Project

The first phase of a project to identify schools threatened byearthquakes in Quito, Ecuador, has inspired local philanthropicorganizations and businesses to gather funds to mitigate the danger.The financial support will help pay for low-cost retrofit measuresdesigned by GeoHazards International and Ecuador's Escuela PolitecnicaNacional.

Initiated in 1994, the Quito School Earthquake Safety Project hadthree objectives:

to evaluate the vulnerability of the city's schools to earthquakes;
to design affordable strengthening techniques for vulnerable schools; and
to strengthen selected schools.

Subsequently, 15 high-risk schools were chosen, and retrofit designswere created for each. The affordable designs use local materials andconstruction techniques.

Significant progress has already been made in this project. Localfunding has been secured to retrofit 11 of the 15 buildings, and theU.S. Agency for International Development and Ecuador's NationalDirectorate for School Construction have agreed to sponsor the designof new, earthquake-resistant school modules to be used for futureschool construction throughout the country.

For a copy of a report describing this project (in both English andSpanish), contact Geoffrey Hoefer, GeoHazards International, StanfordUniversity, Stanford, CA 94305-2215; (415) 723-3655; fax: (415)723-3624; e-mail: geohaz@pangea.stanford.edu; or Jeannette Fernandez,Escuela Politecnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador; tel: 593-2/507-144, ext.606; fax: 593-2/567-848; e-mail: janet@mail.epn.edu.cc.

DOE's Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development

Hazards managers are not the only ones asking how we build andorganize communities so that they survive and thrive. The Departmentof Energy (DOE) is asking the same question, not just in the contextof disasters, but in the broader sense of overall sustainability. Topursue the issue, the DOE has created a demonstration project, theCenter of Excellence for Sustainable Development - an outgrowth ofDOE's work with Midwest communities devastated by the 1993 floods. DOEhelped those communities rebuild, using sustainable developmentstrategies that integrate economic development and environmentalquality. With the creation of the new center, this assistance will beoffered nationwide during a six-month demonstration project, whichbegan in March.

The center's mission is to provide communities with consultationregarding sustainable development and to help them link to othersupporting public and private programs. To accomplish this, the centeroffers information on sustainable activities in other communities;provides a "tool kit," including manuals, workbooks, data bases, casestudies, and model codes and ordinances; and helps identify public andprivate sources of technical and financial assistance.

Many of the center's resources can be found on their World Wide Website:

http://www.sustainable.doe.gov

which includes the report "Rebuilding the Future - A Guide toSustainable Redevelopment for Disaster-Affected Communities"; itemsfrom the tool kit; information on the rebuilding of Pattonsburg,Missouri; and all sorts of information on sustainability in general.

Those who prefer more traditional modes of communication can contactthe Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, U.S. Departmentof Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, DenverRegional Support Office, 2801 Youngfield Street, Suite 380, Golden, CO80401; (800) 357-7732 or (303) 231-5750; fax: (303) 231-5757; e-mail:sustainable.development@hq.doe.gov.

FCIC to Assist the Uninsurables

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) of the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture (USDA) recently announced a final rule for providingdisaster assistance to producers of crops for which insurance is notavailable, meeting the requirements of the Federal Crop InsuranceReform Act of 1994. That act requires the FCIC to provide eligibleproducers with protection comparable to the catastrophic riskprotection provided by crop insurance. It is designed to help reducefinancial losses that occur when natural disasters hinder cropproduction or prevent planting of an eligible crop.

This coverage addresses such events as drought, hail, excessivemoisture, frost and freezing, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes,excessive winds, floods, volcanic eruptions, extreme heat, insectinfestations, and disease. The program will be administered under thegeneral supervision of the FCIC and carried out through state andcounty committees and offices of the Farm Service Agency or otherlocal USDA offices. The final rule can be found in the FederalRegister, Vol. 61, No. 39, pp. 7193-7206 (February 27, 1996).

SBA Reviews, Offers FAQs

In response to a regulatory review directive by President Clinton, theSmall Business Administration (SBA) has completed an extensive reviewof its regulations in order to clarify and streamline them. As aresult, the agency recently published in the Federal Register areorganization of SBA regulations covering its disaster loan program.

In language that is easy to understand, SBA lists responses to theirmost frequently asked questions (FAQs); for example: What are disasterloans and disaster declarations? What kinds of loans are available?What does SBA look for when considering a disaster loan application?Are there restrictions on how disaster loans can be used?

The answers to these questions and other pertinent queries can befound in the final rule, published in the Federal Register, Vol. 61,No. 21, pp. 3304-3310. For further information, contact BernardKulick, Associate Administrator for Disaster Assistance, SmallBusiness Administration, 409 3rd Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20416;(202) 205-6734; WWW: http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/ (click on "Disaster Assistance").

Some Recent Hazards/Disaster Research Grants

"Field Survey of the February 17, 1996, Irian Jaya Tsunami," NationalScience Foundation, $13,464, 12 months. Principal Investigator: CostasE. Synolakis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90007-4363; (213)740-0613; fax: (213) 744-1426; e-mail: costas@mizar.usc.edu.

"Tsunami Survey for the February 21, 1996, Peruvian Earthquake,"National Science Foundation, $12,603, 12 months. PrincipalInvestigator: Harry H. Yeh, Department of Civil Engineering, 167Wilcox Hall, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195; (206) 685-8655; fax: (206) 685-3836; e-mail: harryeh@u.washington.edu.

"The Relationship Between Snowpack and Terrain: Bridger Mountains,Montana," National Science Foundation, $9,075, 18 months. PrincipalInvestigator: Melvin G. Marcus, Department of Geography, Arizona StateUniversity, P.O. Box 871603; Tempe, AZ 85287; (602) 965-7533; e-mail:aomgm@asuvm.inre.asu.edu.

"Multiple Autonomous Mobile Robots for Search and RescueApplications," National Science Foundation, $102,800, 24 months.Principal Investigators: Robin Murphy, Mathematical and ComputerSciences, SH-408; Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois, Golden, CO80401-1887; (303) 273-3874; e-mail: rmurphy@mines.colorado.edu, andJulian Martinez, Department of Mining Engineering, Colorado School ofMines, 1500 Illinois, Golden, CO 80401-1887; (303) 273-3608; e-mail:jmartine@mines.colorado.edu.

"Estimating the Economic Impact of Catastrophic Urban Earthquakes,"National Science Foundation, $181,870, 24 months. PrincipalInvestigators: Stephanie E. Chang and Charles Scawthorn, EQEInternational, Inc., Yatsunami Building, 6F, 4-2, Minami Aoyama, 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107, Japan; tel: (03) 3475-6020; fax: (03)3475-6021; e-mail: crs@eqe.com.

"Normative Foundations in Risk Judgments," National ScienceFoundation, $64,992, 12 months. Principal Investigator: Carl F.Cranor, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, University ofCalifornia - Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521-0101; (714) 787-3572; e-mail: carl@chss.cr.edu.

"Earthquakes in the Utah Science Core Curriculum," Federal EmergencyManagement Agency, $50,000, 12 months. Principal Investigator: DeedeeO'Brien, Earthquake Education Services, Department of Mines and EarthSciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112; (801) 581-6201; e-mail: DOB@geode.umnh.utah.edu.

Upcoming 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

Second National Symposium on Dentistry's Role and Responsibility inMass Disaster Identification. Chicago, Illinois: June 28-29, 1996.Contact: Dr. Donald Collins, (312) 440-2500, ext. 2895.

Certified Lightning Safety Professional Training Course. Offered by:National Lightning Safety Institute (NLSI). Boulder, Colorado: July16-17, 1996. Contact: Rich Kithil, NLSI, 891 North Hoover Avenue, P.O.Box 778, Louisville, CO 80027-0778; (303) 666-8817; fax; (303) 666-8786; e-mail: rkithil@ix.netcom.com; WWW: http://www.lightningsafety.com.

Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) 1996 Conference. University ofSunderland, U.K.: July 19, 1996. Contact: IFE, 148 New Walk,Leicester, U.K. LE1 7QB; 0116 255 3654; fax: 0116 247 1231; e-mail:info@ifep.demon.co.uk.

The Atlantic and Gulf Coasts Mitigation Conference. Sponsor: NorthCarolina Division of Emergency Management. Wilmington, North Carolina:September 8-11, 1996. Contact: Tammy Russo, (919) 733-3617.

Eighth International Disaster Recovery Symposium and Exhibition.Sponsor: Disaster Recovery Journal. Atlanta, Georgia: September 9-11,1996. Contact: Disaster Recovery Journal, P.O. Box 510110, St. Louis,MO 63151; (314) 894-0276; (314) 894-7474

Seventh Annual Conference of the Colorado Association of Stormwaterand Floodplain Managers. Vail, Colorado: September 18-20, 1996.Contact: Kevin Gingery, RBD Inc., 209 South Meldrum, Fort Collins, CO80521; (970) 482-5922; fax: (970) 482-6368.

32nd Annual Conference and Symposium on GIS and Water Resources.Sponsor: American Water Resources Association (AWRA). Fort Lauderdale,Florida: September 22-26, 1996. Contact: AWRA, 950 Herndon Parkway,Suite 300, Herndon, VA 20170-5531; (703) 904-1225; fax: (703) 904-1228; e-mail: awrahq@aol.com; WWW: http://www.uwin.siu.edu/~awra.

Sixth Biennial Watershed Management Conference. Sponsor: WatershedManagement Council. Crystal Bay, California/Nevada: October 23-25,1996. A call for poster presentations has been issued; abstracts of250 words or less are due by August 1 and should be sent to JimBergman, Truckee Ranger District, 10342 Highway 80 N, Truckee, CA96161; (916) 587-3558; fax: (916) 587-6914. For conference details,contact: Gina Ferrell, (916) 752-7999, e-mail: gmferrell@ucdavis.edu;or, Sue Enos, (916) 752-8057, e-mail: saenos@ucdavis.edu.

Housing and Hazards: An International Workshop for PractitionersImplementing Hazard-Resistant Housing. Sponsors: Earth ResourcesCentre, University of Exeter, U.K., and Bangladesh University ofEngineering and Technology (BUET). Dhaka, Bangladesh: December 7-10,1996. Contact: S. Seraj, Housing and Hazards Workshop Secretary,Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineeringand Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh; fax: +880-2-863026; e-mail:librarian.buet@driktap.tool.nl. Alternatively, internationalparticipants can contact R. Hodgson, The Earth Resources Centre,University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QE, U.K.; fax: +44-(0)1392-263907;e-mail: R.L.P.Hodgson@exeter.ac.uk.

Fifth U.S./Japan Workshop on Urban Earthquake Hazard Reduction.Sponsors: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and JapanInstitute of Social Safety Science (ISSS). Los Angeles, California:January 15-17, 1997. Abstracts are due July 31, 1996. Contact SusanTubbesing, EERI, 499 14th Street, Suite 320, Oakland, CA 94612-1934;(510) 451-0905; fax: (510) 451-5411; e-mail: eeri@eeri.org.

Earthquake Engineering Research Center (EERC)-California Universitiesfor Research in Earthquake Engineering (CUREe) Symposium in Honor ofVitelmo Bertero. Berkeley, California: January 30-February 1, 1997.Contact: EERC-CUREe Bertero Symposium, EERC, 1301 South 46th Street,Richmond, CA 94804-4698; (510) 231-9554; (510) 231-9471; e-mail:admin@eerc.berkeley.edu.

13th Interactive Information Processing Systems Conference. Sponsor:American Meteorological Society. Long Beach, California: February 1-7,1997. The society is seeking papers on interdisciplinary topics suchas emergency management, fire, weather, and water resources. Abstractsare due July 4. Contact: Floyd Hauth, (202) 334-3856, e-mail: fhauth@nas.edu.

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) 1997 Annual Meeting.Austin, Texas: February 12-15, 1997. Contact: EERI, 499 14th Street,Suite 320, Oakland, CA 94612-1934; (510) 451-0905; fax: (510) 451-5411; e-mail: eeri@eeri.org; WWW: http://www.eeri.org.

Eighth U.S. National Conference on Wind Engineering. Baltimore,Maryland: June 5-7, 1997. A call for papers has been issued and two-page abstracts are due November 30, 1996. Contact: Prof. Nicholas P.Jones, 8th U.S. National Conference on Wind Engineering, Department ofCivil Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD21218-2686; (410) 516-7874; fax: (410) 516-7473; e-mail:8usncwe@jhu.edu; WWW: http://www.ce.jhu.edu/~8usncwe/index.html

American Water Resources Association (AWRA) 1997 Annual Symposium:"Water Resources, Education, Training, and Practice: Opportunities forthe Next Century." Sponsors: AWRA and the Universities Council onWater Resources. Keystone Resort, Summit County, Colorado: June 29-July 3, 1997. A call for papers has been issued. Contact: AWRA, 950Herndon Parkway, Suite 300, Herndon, VA 22070-5531; (703) 904-1225;fax: (703) 904-1228; e-mail: awrahq@aol.com; WWW: http://www.uwin.siu.edu/~awra.

International Symposium on Landslide Hazard Assessment. Sponsors:Japan Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports; the WorkingGroup for Prediction of Rapid Landslide Motion; the InternationalUnion of Forestry Organizations; and others. Xian, China: July 12-24,1997. Contact K. Sassa, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, KyotoUniversity, Uji, Kyoto 611, Japan; tel: (81)-774-0789; fax: (81)-774-32-5597.

Coastal Zone '97: "Charting the Future of Coastal Zone Management forthe Next 25 Years." Boston, Massachusetts: July 20-26, 1997. Abstractsare due September 1, 1996. Contact Martin C. Miller, U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Attn: CEWES-CR-O, 3909Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180.