Back to the HRL Home Page. I am interested in speaking with or hearing from anyone who may beable to comment upon safety measures (or local legal requirements), toprotect employees working in warehouse environments, where there mayexist the hazards of objects falling during an earthquake.
This may include the provision of guards or restraints on racks,special packaging configurations as well as designated safe areas foremployees during an earthquake. In particular I am interested in howthe level of employee risk can be assessed (assuming that the racks donot collapse), and what extent of measures are implemented.
Regards,
John De Lorenzo
100406.614@compuserve.com
Do you know a good on-line source of information on warningsirens. . . area of coverage, design, costs, etc.? Any suggestionsappreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff Bledsoe
Weatherford, TX
jbledsoe@flash.net
[From the Federal Emergency Management Office of Emergency InformationPublic Affairs eipa@fema.gov]
The Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Plan (CSEPP) is thelatest FEMA program area to be added to the FEMA Web site. The URL is:
Users will find a CSEPP program overview, map of stockpile locations,questions and answers about the program, and important information onseveral other related topics. There is also a link to the U.S. Army'sChemical Stockpile Disposal Program Web site.
World Telecommunication Day (17 May) 1997 will have the motto"Telecommunications in the Service of Humanitarian Assistance". TheWorking Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET) is looking forideas on how to make best use of this unique opportunity to increaseawareness of the role of telecommunications in humanitarian work. Allsuggestions for activities on and around this date are very welcomeand should be addressed to the secretariat of the WGET(goli.farrell@itu.ch).
The Institute of Emergency Administration and Fire Science,St. Petersburg Junior College, Pinellas County, Florida, now offers atwo-year Associate of Science degree in Emergency Administration andManagement (EAM). This is the second program nationwide to offer anemergency management degree. The Director, George Buck, who hasextensive fire service background, recently organized the programfollowing a four-year stint with the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency. He is a graduate of University of North Texas, Denton Texas,the United States' only university offering a Bachelor of Sciencedegree in Emergency Administration and Planning.
The degree program offers residence courses and instruction via theInternet. A wide array of emergency management courses will beoffered.
The organizers expect the greatest interest from fire service, lawenforcement, emergency medical services, and emergency managementpersonnel. However the courses should also be of interest to urban andcommunity planners, public works personnel, public and nonprofitdisaster relief organizations, and businesses.
For more information, check the college web site:
beat1.spjc.cc.fl.us/em/em.html
or contact:
George Buck, Director
Institute of Fire Science and Emergency Management
St. Petersburg Junior College Allstate Center
3200 34th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL
Mailing address:
Post Office Box 13489
St. Petersburg, FL 33733-3489
Phone: (813) 341-4479
Fax: (813) 341-4547
E-mail: buckg@email.spjc.cc.fl.us
nimbo.wrh.noaa.gov/Alert
The Web site of the ALERT (Automated Local Evaluation in RealTime) Users Group provides general information about ALERT warningsystems and the users group, and lists the officers, member agencies,vendors, and upcoming events. It also includes numerous links to othersites concerned with flood warning systems.
www.nws.noaa.gov/oso/oso1/oso12/document/emwin.htm
This Web site contains information about the National WeatherService's Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN) - acooperative effort of the NWS, FEMA, and other public and privateorganizations. EMWIN is intended to provide the emergency managementcommunity with access to basic NWS warnings, watches, forecasts, andother products and involves a suite of methods - including radio,Internet, and satellite - to provide this basic weather information.
www.reliefweb.int
In DR #196 we let you know about the United Nations Department ofHumanitarian Affairs' Web site for agencies and organizations involvedin emergency/disaster relief. ReliefWeb is now up and running, withlots of neat stuff. For example, check out the maps offered to aidresponse organizations entering an emergency zone.
In DR #193 we mentioned that a consortium of earthquake informationproviders had begun exploring ways to better coordinate their effortsand, ultimately, better distribute various kinds of earthquakeinformation to the people who need it. One major outcome of thateffort has been the development of a national earthquake hazards Website - EQNet:
EQNet is a free, one-stop source for locating Internet informationrelated to earthquake hazards mitigation. Although EQNet is still verymuch under construction, it is available to the public, and comments,criticisms, suggested additions and changes are welcome. EQNet is avoluntary, cooperative, nonfunded project supported by variousindividuals from earthquake information centers around the U.S.Comments should be addressed to those people responsible forindividual sections (as listed on the Web site), or to the chairpersonof the EQNet working group, Pat Coty, National Center for EarthquakeEngineering Research (NCEER), c/o Science and Engineering Library, 304Capen Hall, State University of New York-Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260-2200; (716) 645-3377; fax: (716) 645-3379; e-mail: coty@acsu.buffalo.edu.
In 1994 and 1995, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), inconjunction with the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)and the National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management (NCCEM),hosted national meetings in an effort to begin coordinating andimproving information sharing - principally via the Internet and othercomputer-mediated means - among all the various agencies,organizations, and groups using such means to mitigate and managedisasters. The result was the formation of an Emergency InformationInfrastructure Partnership (EIIP) that has now established its own Website:
Much of the site is still under construction. However, personsinterested in finding out what this partnership is all about canperuse the proceedings of the early meetings to learn what is going onand who (hopefully) is doing it.
Through a cooperative agreement between FEMA and NCCEM, Avagene Moore,a former NCCEM president, has been contracted to further thepartnership and has outlined an extensive program for continuing thiseffort to coordinate hazards/disaster information sharing in the nextseveral months. Persons interested in the future of the EIIP shouldcontact Ms. Moore at 1017 Hayes Road, Lawrenceburg, TN 38464-4007;(615) 762-4768; fax: (615) 762-7359; e-mail: amoore@partner.org.
Texas A&M University and its College of Architecture are currentlysoliciting applications for the position of director of the HazardReduction & Recovery Center (HRRC) at the university. The HRRC is amultidisciplinary center conducting basic and applied research onhazard and disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Eligible candidates must hold a Ph.D. and have an outstanding recordof scholarship and grant acquisition in disciplines related to thestudy of hazards and disasters. Their scholarly record must meritsenior faculty status with tenure at a major graduate, researchuniversity. Previous administrative experience is preferred. Priorexperience in administration of research grants is required.
The director is the chief administrative officer of the HRRC, and isresponsible for managing the budget, support staff, and activities ofthe center. The director will also be expected to contribute to theundergraduate and graduate teaching missions of her/his department.
Application review will begin August 1, 1996. Interested applicantsshould submit a copy of their curriculum vita and the names andaddresses of three references to Walter V. Wendler, Dean, College ofArchitecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3137.
For a complete position announcement, contact the HRRC, College ofArchitecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3137;(409) 845-7813; fax: (409) 845-5121.
The National Science Foundation is interested in receiving proposalsfor research in a number of areas related to earthquake hazardmitigation, including Mitigation of Urban Earthquake Disasters, NextGeneration of Codes for Seismic Safety, and Composite and HybridStructures.
Information on these and other research opportunities can be obtainedby contacting Drs. S.C. Liu or W. Anderson, National ScienceFoundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230; (703) 306-1361; fax: (703) 306-0291; e-mail: wanderso@nsf.gov.
The Annual Journal of the American Society of Professional EmergencyPlanners (ASPEP) is currently seeking submissions for its 1996 issue; the deadline is August 15. Never-before-published papers of 1500 wordsor more on any aspect of emergency management will be considered. Forspecifics, contact Avagene Moore, ASPEP, 1017 Hayes Road,Lawrenceburg, TN 38464-4007; (615) 762-4768; fax: (615) 762-7359;e-mail: amoore@partner.org.
The quarterly journal "Disaster Management," published by the JointAssistance Centre Trust in India, will devote a future issue to thetheme "Training and Education for Disaster Reduction." Personsinterested in contributing are invited to send reports or articles ofup to 2,500 words, along with one or two accompanying black and whitephotographs. Material should be sent to, and additional informationabout format and content is available from, the Editor, DisasterManagement, G-17/3, Qutab Enclave-1, Gurgaon-122002, Haryana, India;tel: 0124-352141, 353833; fax: 0124-351308; e-mail:nkjain@jac.ernet.in.
Material on diskette is appreciated.
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:
adder.colorado.edu/~hazctr/Home.html
Operational Recovery Course (Part of the University of California atBerkeley-Extension's Emergency Preparedness Planning & Managementcurriculum, but may be taken independent of the certificate program).San Francisco, California: August 7-10, 1996. Contact: ElisabethLamoureaux, (510) 643-7589; fax: (510) 643-8920; e-mail:wel@unx.berkeley.edu.
Seventh Annual National Institute for Urban Search and Rescue (NI/USR)Conference and First Research and Technology Transfer Meeting. LasVegas, Nevada: September 3-6, 1996. Contact: Lois Clark McCoy,President, National Institute for Urban Search & Rescue, P.O. Box90909, Santa Barbara, CA 93190; 1-800-767-0093; fax: (805) 966-6178;e-mail: 3090usar@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu; WWW URL: niusr.org/~usar.
Multiple Workshops on Critical Incident Stress Management. Sponsors:International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) and CalgaryFire Department. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: September 5-8, 1996.Contact: ICISF, 5018 Dorsey Hall Drive, Suite 104, Ellicott City, MD21042; (410) 730-4311; fax: (410) 730-4313.
Colloquium on "Technical Risk Assessment & Business and RegulatoryDecision Making." Sponsors: Emergency Preparedness Canada, EnvironmentCanada, and others. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: September 19-20, 1996. Adetailed program is available on the Institute for Risk Research Website: sail.uwaterloo.ca/~irr/home.html. Contact: Ms. AddyMitchell, Conference and Proceedings Administrator, Institute for RiskResearch, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1,(519) 888-4567, ext. 5900; fax: (519) 725-4834; e-mail:irr@sail.uwaterloo.ca.
National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) 1996 AnnualConference. San Diego, California: September 22-25, 1996. Contact:NEMA, c/o Council of State Governments, P.O. Box 11910, Lexington, KY40578-1910; (606) 244-8162.
Colorado Wildland Fire Conference. Sponsors: Colorado State ForestService and others. Lakewood, Colorado: September 28-30, 1996.Contact: Colorado Wildland Fire Conference, P.O. Box 3733, Evergreen,CO 80437-3733; (303) 674-3145; fax: (303) 674-8701.
World Assembly of NGO's for Disaster Reduction. Organisers: GlobalForum of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) for Disaster Reduction.Kathmandu, Nepal: October 9-16, 1996. Contact: Joint AssistanceCenter, G-17/3, Qutab Enclave-1, Gurgaon-122002, Haryana, India; tel:0124-352141, 353833; fax: 0124-351308; e-mail: nkjain@jac.ernet.in;or, Ms. Bishnu Thapa and Gopal Sivakoti, INHURED-International, P.O.Box 2151, Kathmandu, Nepal.
River and Flood Plain Hydraulics Using HEC-RAS. Offered by theUniversity of Texas, Continuing Engineering Studies. Austin, Texas:October 14-18, 1996. Contact: University of Texas at Austin, Collegeof Engineering, Continuing Engineering Studies, ECJ 10.324, Austin, TX78712; (512) 471-3506; fax: (512) 471-0831; e-mail: postmaster@cesmail.utexas.edu; WWW: ceswww.utexas.edu.
Human Element in Emergency Preparedness Planning. (Part of theUniversity of California at Berkeley-Extension's EmergencyPreparedness Planning & Management curriculum, but may be takenindependent of the certificate program). San Francisco, California:October 21-15, 1996. Contact: John Laye, Program Director, (510)631-0400; (510) 631-0403; e-mail: johnlaye@violet.berkeley.edu. Toregister or obtain more information: Elisabeth Lamoureaux (510)643-7589; fax: (510) 643-8920; e-mail: wel@unx.berkeley.edu.
Regional Workshop on Emergency Telecommunications in the Caribbean andCentral American Region. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad: November 5-9, 1996.Organizers: Secretariat of the Working Group on EmergencyTelecommunications (WGET), c/o United Nations Department ofHumanitarian Affairs, Geneva. Contact: Hans Zimmermann, United NationsDepartment of Humanitarian Affairs, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva10, Switzerland; tel: +41 22 917-3516; fax: +41 22 917-0023; e-mail:hans.zimmermann@itu.ch.
Disaster '97 International Disaster Management Conference: "ExpandingYour Knowledge Base." Sponsors: Florida Emergency Medicine Foundationand others. Orlando, Florida: January 30-February 2, 1997. Contact:Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation, 3717 South Conway Road,Orlando, FL 32812; 1-800-766-6335 or (407) 281-7396; fax: (407) 281-4407.
International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) 5thScientific Assembly. Rabat, Morocco: April 23-May 3, 1997. Contact:Dr. Gordon Young, Secretary General, IAHS, Department of Geography,Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5; (519)884-1970, ext. 2387; fax: (519) 846-0968; e-mail: gyoung@mach1.wlu.ca.
21st Annual Conference of the Association of State Floodplain Managers(ASFPM). Little Rock, Arkansas: April 28-May 1, 1997. Contact: AlisonNicholson, Conference Director, Arkansas Soil and Water, 101 EastCapitol, Suite 350, Little Rock, AR 72201; (501) 682-3982.
Conference on Flood Warning Systems, Technologies and Preparedness:Second National Conference and Exposition of the National HydrologicWarning Council in conjuction with the 10th Annual Conference of theSouthwestern Association of ALERT Systems. St. Louis, Missouri:October 29-31, 1997. Contact: Contact: Chris Crompton, NationalHydrologic Warning Council, 10852 Douglass Road, Anaheim, CA 92806;(714) 567-6360; fax: (714) 567-6340; Jim White, (713) 881-3078; AndyRooke, (800) 776-5272, ext. 7945, e-mail: rooke@io.com; WWW:www.io.com/~rooke/alert/nhwc.
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