Is anyone aware of any "universal standards" for signs showingevacuation routes around volcanoes? Do standards for symbols exist forevacuation routes of any kind? I have queried scientists who haveworked at volcanoes around the world and they have noted no standardsymbolism for volcano evacuation routes. What suggestions doresearchers have for developing symbols at volcanoes in the PacificNorthwest?
Thank you for your time.
Carolyn L Driedger, Hydrologist, Vancouver, WA
driedger@usgs.gov
I am conducting research on human behavior amongst persons who do notevacuate during hurricanes (tropical cyclones). All informationregarding this topic, especially high-rise occupants and "hurricaneparty" activity would be appreciated. Please send data/reports toRobert Marton, Metro-Dade Emergency Management, 5600 SW 87 Avenue,Miami, FL 33173, USA; (305) 273-6701; fax: (305) 273-6708; e-mail:Dade_County_EMA_at_USFPL-CCMAIL@email.fpl.com.
Thank You.
With the impact of natural disasters on the rise, social and economicdevelopment will be eroded if countries do not make disaster reductionpart of their development planning. Humanitarian assistance will beineffective if it is not linked to development. Clearly, theapplication of the results of scientific research through educationand training has an important role in disaster reduction.
In order to strengthen concerted action for natural disasterreduction, the IDNDR Secretariat and UNESCO have initiated a projectcalled "Development of Institutional Networks for Disaster Reduction".The project will set the stage for dialogue and action to foster andstrengthen collaboration among universities and scientificinstitutions and facilitate collaboration with existing networks indisaster preparedness, prevention and mitigation.
As the first step towards strengthening such networks, an inventory ofcapacities in universities and scientific institutions is beinginitiated through a questionnaire. Following the inventory, on aregional basis, the intention is to promote exchange of information,collaboration and establishment of mechanisms for supporting theappropriate research, training, and application of disaster reductionat the local level.
The IDNDR Secretariat would like to invite all interested universitiesand scientific institutions to participate in this project. In orderto receive the questionnaire, please contact:
Christine V. Schneider
IDNDR Secretariat
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
E-mail: christine.schneider@dha.unicc.org
Fax: 41 22 733 8695
Phone: 41 22 798 6894
Dear colleagues,
We are in the process of forming a Research Network on Disasters inthe context of the European Sociological Association. Members of theRND can be sociologists who are already members or can become membersof ESA. To become a member of ESA, a sociologist must either work inEurope or have done work on Europe. Sociologists who are interested injoining the European Research Network on Disasters please contact mefor more information.
Nikos Petropoulos
erc@eexi.gr
In September an initial U.S.-Japan Earthquake Policy Symposium washeld to develop a common agenda for the two countries in dealing withearthquake hazards. The meeting was the result of the Natural DisasterReduction Initiative that was added to the U.S.-Japan Common Agendafor Cooperation in the Global Perspective adopted by President Clintonand Prime Minister Hashimoto in April 1996. The earthquake policyeffort is being chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) in the U.S. and the National Land Agency (NLA) in Japan.
The participants discussed numerous ways that their nations could worktogether to improve earthquake hazard preparedness, response, recoveryand mitigation, and agreed to hold a second symposium in January 1997in Japan to establish a "U.S.-Japan High Level Forum for EarthquakeEmergency Management Policy Cooperation." They also agreed to form aworking group to promote and encourage implementation of theconclusions and recommendations of the first symposium. In addition,the two countries agreed to make information and data aboutcooperative activities available to the public and to continue tocontribute to the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction(IDNDR).
For more information on this effort, contact Walt Hays, U.S.Geological Survey, 955 National Center, Reston, VA 22092; (703) 648-6711; fax: (703) 648-6747; e-mail: whays@usgs.gov.
Loss of essential services, such as power, water, sewerage, roadinfrastructure, and communications, is a major inhibitor to communityrecovery following an emergency.
To enhance Tasmania's capacity to recover from emergencies, staff atthe State Emergency Service developed an "Engineering LifelinesProject" to enable the various organizations involved in providingessential services to come together to consider the risks and todevelop strategies to improve the capability of Tasmania to recoverfrom a disaster through the prevention or minimization of disasterconsequences. This project has identified two aspects of lifelinevulnerability that have had critical impact:
- various lifeline systems are highly dependent and interdependent;
- vulnerability can be decreased by increasing the resilience of asystem and its key elements and or by reducing its susceptibility tocredible threats.
The principal researcher, John Lunn has prepared a summary of thisproject, and copies are available by contacting John Lunn, Manager ofTraining, at the Tasmania State Emergency Service, First Floor, 47Liverpool Street, Hobart, Tasmania 7000, Australia: or, GPO Box 1290,N Hobart, Tasmania 7000, Australia; tel: 0362 302708; e-mail:tases@info.tas.gov.au.
The University of Richmond (Go Spiders!) School of Continuing Studiesnow offers a 30 semester-hour certificate program in emergencyservices management. The complete 10-course undergraduate major can beused for either an associate or bachelors degree, or a stand-alonecredential. For more information, call (804) 289-8133.
The Rochester Institute of Technology has announced that it will offera bachelor's concentration in emergency management as part of theapplied arts and sciences program in its College of ContinuingEducation. Distance learning is available. For details, contact LyndaRummel, (716) 475-4999.
Global Climate Change Digest, a comprehensive guide to publishedmaterial on global climate change and ozone depletion, is nowavailable on the World Wide Web. Over two years' worth of issues noware open to browsing and keyword searches, and soon the site willinclude all issues published since July 1988. Electronic access to thedigest results from a collaborative effort between its publisher, theCenter for Environmental Information (Rochester, New York), and thePacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, andSecurity (Oakland, California). The Pacific Institute's GlobalChange magazine hosts the digest at its web site:
http://www.globalchange.org/
The digest contains dozens of concise, annotated citations arranged inseveral sections, each devoted to a specific type of publication -journal papers, books, reports, and magazine articles. It alsoincludes a brief overview of news highlights and a comprehensivecalendar of events.
During an initial trial period, archived issues (more than 18 monthsold) may be accessed by users at no charge. All digest issuespublished from January 1993 through March 1995 are available now, andearlier issues will be available by early December 1996. By earlyNovember, recent digest issues will be available, but only to paidsubscribers to the electronic edition of the digest. In the future, asa new issue is added to the site each month, the oldest recent issuewill be placed in the archives.
For further details on the "Global Climate Change Digest," contact theCenter for Environmental Information, 50 West Main Street, Rochester,NY; (716) 262-2870; fax: (716) 262-4156; e-mail: cei@servtech.com.WWW: http://www.awa.com/nature/cei/. Or contact Dr. Robert Pratt,Editor, Global Climate Change Digest, R.D. #1, Box 185, ValleyFalls, NY 12185: tel/fax: (518) 753-7838.
For more information on Global Change magazine, contact Nick Sundt,Editor, Global Change, 1347 Massachusetts Avenue, S.E., Washington,DC 20003-1540; tel/fax: (202) 547-0850; e-mail: nsundt@igc.apc.org.
The Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) is aconsortium of public and private agencies and organizations involvedin the use and promotion of advanced communication technologies inemergency management (see Disaster Research #201). One of the basesfor the partnership's work is its World Wide Web site:
http://www.partner.org
The EIIP recently announced that through the work of several EIIP workgroups, the Web site has undergone major reconstruction. The EIIPurges anyone interested in emergency management partnershipactivities, issues, and resources to check out the site. Additionally,please note that the National Coordinating Council on EmergencyManagement (NCCEM) Annual Conference, October 20-22, in Anchorage,Alaska, will be documented on the site. Conference activities will beupdated daily.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/disaster/disaster.html
The Virginia Cooperative Extension's home page offers this "Aftera Disaster Series of Publications" - a wide range of useful materialon postdisaster recovery - 30 publications in all, grouped into sevencategories: safety, food and water, coping with stress, cleaning,insurance and contracts, landscape and agriculture, and roof repairs.
http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP) isdedicated to better understanding of all volcanoes throughdocumentation of eruptions, large and small, during the past 10,000years. The program integrates observations of contemporary activitywith historical and geological records in order to promote wisepreparation for the future. This Web site includes a data base ofvolcanoes of the world, an on-line version of the program's "Bulletinof the Global Volcanism Network" - reports of ongoing eruptions fromlocal observers around the world, a catalog of other GVP products,information about the program staff, and a well-organized set of linksto other volcano Web sites.
The Western States Seismic Policy Council (WSSPC) has created a newdiscussion list for persons interested in seismic hazard preparedness,mitigation, and response. This is an open, unmoderated list and non-WSSPC members may join. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to:
majordomo@nisee.ce.berkeley.edu
with the message:
subscribe wsspc-l [your e-mail address here]
Messages for the list should be sent to:
wsspc-l@nisee.ce.berkeley.edu
For more information, contact WSSPC, 121 Second Street, 4th Floor, SanFrancisco, CA 94105; (415) 974-6422; (415) 974-1747; e-mail:wsspc@wsspc.org.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Emergency ManagementInstitute (EMI) conducts courses on all aspects of disaster manage-ment, including courses on "Managing Floodplain Development Throughthe NFIP," "Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps," and "The CommunityRating System." In FY 1997, the schedule for these courses is:
Tuition for the courses is free for state and local governmentofficials and travel stipends are available. For more information,contact EMI, National Emergency Training Center, 16825 South SetonAvenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727; 1-800-238-3358; or contact your stateemergency management or regional FEMA office.
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 andtraining, see our World Wide Web page: http://adder.colorado.edu/~hazctr/Home.html
12th North American Technical Rescue Symposium. Sponsors: NationalAssociation for Search and Rescue (NASAR) and the Mountain RescueAssociation. Las Vegas, Nevada: November 1-3, 1996. Contact: NASAR,(703) 222-6277.
Climate Variability, Atmospheric Change, and Human Health. Sponsors:Environment Canada, York University, and others. Downsview, Ontario,Canada: November 4-5, 1996. Contact: Karen Micallef, Pollution Probe,12 Madison Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R 2S1; (416) 926-1907;fax: (416) 926-1601; e-mail: pprobe@web.net.
Central American Course on Natural Disasters and Emergency Response.Offered by: School of Public Health, University of Costa Rica. SanJose, Costa Rica: November 11-December 6, 1996. Contact: Dr. WilliamVargas Gonzallez; tel: (506) 207-4455/207-4456; fax: (506) 253-6436
"Risk in the Republic: Comparative Risk Analysis and Public Policy":Second Annual Cummings Colloquium on Environmental Law. DukeUniversity, Durham, North Carolina: November 15-16, 1996. Contact:WWW: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~frey/www/confpost.html - or - H. Christopher Frey, Department of Civil Engineering, North CarolinaState University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7908; (919) 515-1155; fax: (919)515-7908; e-mail: frey@eos.ncsu.edu.
Geographic Information Systems/Land Information Systems (GIS/LIS)Annual Conference and Exposition. Sponsors: American Association ofGeographers, American Public Works Association, and others. Denver,Colorado: November 19-21, 1996. Contact: GIS/LIS Registrar, 5410Grosvenor Lane, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 493-0200; fax:(301) 493-8245.
Course on Re-Inventing Local Emergency Management. Offered by:Disaster Management Center, University of Wisconsin. Madison,Wisconsin: November 22, 1996. Contact: Don Schramm, DisasterManagement Center, University of Wisconsin, 432 North Lake Street,Madison, WI 53706; 1-800-462-0876; fax: (608) 263-3160; e-mail:dmc@engr.wisc.edu.
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Disaster Management.Course #5759. Offered by: Department of Engineering ProfessionalDevelopment, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, Wisconsin:December 4-6, 1996. Contact: Katie Peterson, Department of EngineeringProfessional Development, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 432 NorthLake Street, Madison, WI 53706; 1-800-462-0876; fax: (608) 263-3160;e-mail: custserv@epd.engr.wisc.edu; WWW: http://epdwww.engr.wisc.edu/
Conference on GIS and Applications of Remote Sensing to DisasterManagement. Sponsors: National Aeronautics and Space Administrationand Federal Emergency Management Agency. College Park, Maryland:January 16-18, 1997. Contact: Sandie Jones, (301) 220-1701; fax: (301)220-1704; e-mail: sjones@pop200.gsfc.nasa.gov; WWW: http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/ndrd/GIS_conference.html
Retrofitting Flood-Prone Residential Buildings Course. Offered by:Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Mitigation Directorate andEmergency Management Institute. Emmitsburg, Maryland: December 9-13,1996 and February 24-28, 1997. Contact: Dan Bondroff, NationalEmergency Training Center, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD21727; (301) 447-1278.
1997 National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference. KansasCity, Missouri: April 21-23, 1997. Contact: Pebble Holland, IowaEmergency Management Division, (515) 281-3231.
Symposium to Honor Haresh Shah: "Risk Management and Mitigation forNatural Hazards." Contact: Blume Earthquake Engineering Center,Department of Civil Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305-4020; (415) 723-4150; fax: (415) 725-9755; e-mail: ShahSymp@ce.stanford.edu.
First American Wetlands Conference: "Communities Working forWetlands." Alexandria, Virginia: May 7-9, 1997. Contact: StaceySatagaj, Terrene Institute, 4 Herbert Street, Alexandria, VA 22305;(703) 548-5473; terrene@gnn.com.
Third International Conference on Coastal Engineering (COASTAL 97).Sponsors: Wessex Institute of Technology and Universidad de La Coruna.La Coruna, Spain: June 23-25, 1997. Contact: S. Owen, COASTAL 97Conference Secretariat, Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge,Ashurst, Southampton, U.K. SO40 7AA; tel: 44-1703-293-223; fax: 44-1703-292-853; e-mail: sue@wessex.ac.uk; WWW: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/coastal/
SR/DR '97: Search and Rescue/Disaster Response Conference andExposition. Nashville, Tennessee: July 25-27, 1997. Contact: SR/DR'97, 2413 West Algonquin Road, Suite 411, Algonquin, IL 60102; (847)458-0420; fax: (847) 458-0421.
Volcanism and Volcanic Hazards in Immature Intraplate Oceanic Islands.Sponsors: Estacion Volcanologica de Canarias, Geological Society ofLondon, and others. La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain: September 15-18,1997. Includes sessions on land-use planning and risk mitigation.Abstracts are due March 1, 1997. Contact: W.J. McGuire, Department ofGeological Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, LondonWC1E 6BT, U.K.; e-mail: w.mcguire@ucl.ac.uk.
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