Disaster Research 204

Looking for Information on Emergency Preparedness Programs at High Schools

As a parent I was closely involved with setting up an EmergencyPreparedness Program at the elementary school my daughters attended.Now that both have moved up in the grades I am involved with the newlyestablished Emergency Preparedness Committee at the high school(Grades 8-12). The problems we face here are quite different fromthose at the elementary level and most references in the literaturerefer to the lower grades. I have not found any reports specificallyreferring to high schools. I would therefore like to hear from peoplethat have experience with, or knowledge of, emergency preparednessprograms involving high school students.

We live in an area with a relatively high risk for earthquakes(Pacific Northwest) but nothing major has happened here for a longtime and the general attitude here seems to be that nothing ever will.However, we have the full support of the school administration inpreparing the school for a major disaster, but we still face manyproblems, e.g.:

• how to get the cooperation of the teachers and the students;
• how to evacuate the 1400 students (split between two buildings);
• how to control and sign-out high school students (with independent minds, and who may have siblings in adjacent elementary schools!);
• how to raise money for non-structural hazard mitigation;
• how to organize the staff and assign responsibilities in the event of a disaster (and how to get them to buy into the plan);
• how to get the students involved in the planning process; etc. etc.

Looking for Information on Hospital Disaster Plans

Dear ladies and Gentlemen:
I am an emergency physician who directs an emergency department in acounty hospital. I am working on my "disaster plan for the hospital."Any assistance would be appreciated, especially in regard totornadoes.

Looking for Data/Information to Support Emergency Planning for Business Workshop

We at the American Red Cross in Westchester County, NY, are refining asmall- to mid-size emergency planning and business contingencyworkshop as part of our Community Disaster Education Program. We arestill seeking sources who might be able to supply concrete data on thepositive effects that business emergency and contingency planning hason small- to mid-size businesses - particularly actual case histories,if possible, of firms who suffer a major emergency, but due to theirplanning remain a viable business. We in the Red Cross will respectall proprietary information and confidences. If you have sources wecan follow up on please advise. Thank you.

Looking for Training Information on Emergency Communication

[Forwarded by Peter S. Anderson (e-mail: anderson@sfu.ca) to theNetworks in Emergency Management (Nets) e-mail list - nets@hoshi.cic.sfu.ca, and thence here . . . ]

I am working at ETRI (Electronic and Telecommunication ResearchInstitute) sponsored by Korean government. I am participating inproject for network survivability research topic for preparing naturalhazard and calamity. If you have known any training program related inemergency communication, please let me know.

Power Requirements for Emergency Telecommunications

I'm organizing a workshop in October on Power Requirements forEmergency Telecommunications and Information Systems. The purpose ofthe workshop is to help organizations anticipate and forecastemergency power needs.

I would appreciate any information you folks can provide on suitablereference guides, manuals, and other literature, as well as lessonslearned through practical experience.

Introducing the NTFER

[Adapted from the August 1996 "NEMA News"]

The National Task Force on Emergency Response was formed in early 1995by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Getty ConservationInstitute, and the National Institute for the Conservation of CulturalProperty (NIC). It is now a partnership of 25 government agencies andnational service organizations whose members are committed toproviding coordinated, expert assistance to cultural institutions andthe public in times of disaster.

The work of the task force has included developing model stateagreements for the coordination of efforts following disaster tomanage the recovery and restoration of damaged historic sites andproperties. Other ongoing projects include development of a disasterresponse training manual for cultural institutions; preparation forFEMA of a Federal Mission Assignment Roster of conservation andpreservation specialists; distribution of a Hurricane InformationPacket to museums, libraries, and archives; and a series of publicservice announcements for homeowners disseminated through FEMA mediaoutlets.

For more information, contact Jane Long, National Task Force onEmergency Response, c/o NIC, 3299 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC20007.

Web Stuff

Help Wanted: PVO Coordinator

The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the U.S.Agency for International Development is recruiting for the position ofPVO (Private Voluntary Organization) Coordinator. This is a one yearpersonal services contract with possible one year renewal. Thisposition is considered to be equivalent to the GS 12 level. Startingdate is September 1996. As PVO Coordinator, the contractor will workto strengthen relationships with the private voluntary, non-governmental and international organizations. This position iscritical to OFDA not only because of the importance of good day-to-dayrelationships with these organizations, through which most of the U.S.government disaster assistance is channeled, but because of thegreater coordination role being played by the U.S. with the donorcountries and these organizations.Duties Include but are not limited to:

• Serve as OFDA's general contact with U.S. and international PVOs by:maintaining communication with the PVOs, responding to theirinquiries, and performing outreach services.
• Compile and maintain directories on OFDA funded PVO activities andhelp to assess disaster response capacities and capabilities.
• During times of major disaster responses, serve as the primaryliaison with U.S. and international PVOs/NGOs and internationalorganizations.
• Serve on OFDA disaster response task forces in the OFDA OperationsCenter as the liaison with PVOs, international organizations and UNagencies.
• Work with PVOs and OFDA trainers to implement the Administrator'smemo regarding PVOs addressing relevant principles and guidelines forlinking relief and development.
• Develop, in coordination with OFDA staff, criteria for assessing PVOproposals.
• Oversee implementation of OFDA's cooperative agreements withInterAction, VITA and other PVO-related projects as required. Monitorprogram implementation to help the PVOs ensure effective projectexecution.
• Represent OFDA at meetings initiated by InterAction or VITA andother conferences sponsored by members of the international reliefcommunity. Coordinate with InterAction to plan briefings on disasterstricken countries and on relief/development issues. Plan, design andfacilitate the biennial OFDA PVO conference.

UN HI-Net and the IDNDR

Recognizing that to effectively decrease disaster damage and losses,it is necessary for disaster prevention officials and researchers toshare their experiences and cooperate, in 1995, as part of itscontribution to the United Nations International Decade for NaturalDisaster Reduction, the United Nations Centre for Regional Developmentin Nagoya, Japan, began creating the United Nations Human InformationNetwork for Disaster Management in Asia and the Pacific (or, simply,UN Hi-Net). Presently there are more than 1,100 registered members ofthis network centered around Asia.

The organizers have recently published a membership directory and thefirst issue of a UN Hi-Net newsletter - "CONNECTions" - thatdescribes various research and activities around the Pacific to reducedisaster impacts.

SCEC Seeks Fellows/Visitors

Promoting Disasters

U.N. Conference On-line - Seeks Papers

The United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster ReductionInternet Conference on "Solutions for Cities at Risk" is now underway(see the previous issue of "Disaster Research").

Upcoming Conferences and Training

These are the latest conference announcements we've received. Mostprevious issues of DR contain additional notices. For a *comprehensive* list of upcoming disaster-related meetings and training, seeour World Wide Web page: