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The Earthquake Hazard Centre is a nonprofit program established to promote earthquake-resistant construction in developing countries. Its primary goal is to disseminate information via a newsletter and the Internet. The center is based at the Victoria University of Wellington, School of Architecture, Wellington, New Zealand.
The Earthquake Hazard Centre grew out of the International Workshop on Earthquake Hazard Mitigation for Non-Engineered Structures, held in Hyderbad, June 1996. The people attending that meeting saw a real need to establish a central clearinghouse that could disseminate seismic research findings and function as a forum for the sharing of earthquake design and construction expertise with and among developing countries. Although the new center is sponsored by the Commonwealth Science Foundation and its initial mailing list will mainly include people from Commonwealth countries, the center intends to become fully international in both receiving and disseminating information.
The first issue of the Earthquake Hazard Centre Newsletter was published in July. To be added to the center mailing list or to obtain more information, contact the Earthquake Hazard Centre, School or Architecture, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand; tel: 64-4-802 6200; fax: 64-4-802 6204; e-mail: quake@arch.vuw.ac.nz.
A growing number of people who are especially vulnerable to disaster because of poverty, disability, lack of English language skills or other risk factors are crowded into inner cities in the most disaster-prone areas of the country. Starting with the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 it has become clear that traditional disaster response agencies, both public and private, are neither tasked nor prepared to deal with all the long-range recovery needs inherent in this situation. Local human service agencies have increasingly been called upon to fill this gap.
Recognizing these changes, the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS), through a grant from the Department of Commerce, is developing the National Emergency Resource Information Network (NERIN) - a work-in-progress to develop a national Internet-based human services infrastructure for disaster recovery. The NERIN home page (http://www.cdd.sc.edu/4nerin) provides information about the network model development, as well as a means to discuss and comment on the project. The goals of the NERIN project are to:
- Create a model of an information infrastructure that will use technology to strengthen communities nationwide to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.
- Create a model that will demonstrate how community information and referral agencies in partnership with emergency preparedness and response agencies can establish or enhance protocols for information networks to connect people and resources.
- Create a model that will ensure that information will be appropriate and accurate, based on professional standards and training and will make a meaningful difference to people and organizations. It will be accessible to all people, especially those who are least able to help themselves.
Thus, NERIN will develop a national network of information and referral agencies - linked by the Internet; using a single national standard for collecting, organizing, retrieving, and reporting on services and needs; operating collaboratively in local coalitions; and trained and prepared to play an effective role in meeting the human service needs of disaster victims.
NERIN will maintain a permanent national disaster database on the Internet based on links to other national agencies' home pages. At the time of a disaster this national database will instantly offer local agencies accurate and up-to-date information about the services provided by key national players including FEMA, Red Cross, and NVOAD (National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster). At the same time, each NERIN information and referral agency will maintain a standing local database that includes all local and state agencies, public and private, which have defined disaster roles. Following a disaster the local agency will augment its standing database with event-specific information including newly emerging services and sites at which services will be provided. The national and augmented local databases will be combined into one event-specific database that can be made available to the public at FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers, Red Cross Service Centers, unmet needs committee meetings, or anywhere else where accurate, complete, and up-to-date information is needed by disaster victims. In addition, state and national organizations that come to the impacted area to assist with disaster work, such as FEMA, state emergency service offices, and the American Red Cross, will no longer have to develop a database of local resources, which has, until now, been one of their first tasks.
The Disaster Services Taxonomy provides the conceptual framework of NERIN. Under the Department of Commerce grant NERIN produced this taxonomy ensure consistency and to act as a standard for information and referral disaster database development, access, and reporting. After full implementation of NERIN, FEMA will be able to access the disaster databases of any participating information and referral agency in the country without having to figure out how each local database is structured.
Training and accreditation ensures reliability, consistency and effectiveness of the NERIN agencies. Hence, NERIN has developed a comprehensive and rigorous accreditation program to ensure that member agencies are prepared to play an effective role in disaster. To achieve accreditation as a qualified disaster-prepared agency the local entity must take part in workshops and exercises, develop a written emergency operations manual and mission statement, participate in a local or regional disaster planning and coordination coalition, be linked to the Internet, and maintain a standing disaster database.
NERIN will also provide a powerful tool kit for its members and the coalitions they work with. Through its partners, NERIN will give local disaster coalitions mapping software that can be used to select sites for shelters or service centers or to facilitate health and safety checks on home-bound people, and powerful communications capabilities that will permit partners to effectively coordinate with each other and with government agencies. To strengthen the information and referral partners, NERIN will develop a template for an emergency operations manual, tools to guide the partners' work in improving existing coalitions or building new coalitions where none now exist, and technical training to ensure that lack of familiarity with the Internet is not a barrier to any partner's participation in the program.
NERIN will also develop training in the effective use of local human service resources for local and state government disaster planners. In order for the residents of a disaster stricken area to receive the services they need as effectively as possible, it is necessary not only to train the local community-based organizations but also to train government planners to utilize community resources. NERIN will build on successes achieved by its California partners in training city, county and state level personnel, the goal being the development of a course on human services in disaster to be included in FEMA's national training curriculum.
Again, for more information about NERIN, consult the network Web site: http://www.cdd.sc.edu/4nerin.
The Western States Seismic Policy Council (WSSPC) maintains an e-mail discussion list (WSSPC-l) to support ongoing deliberations via the Internet regarding all things seismic. Recently, the council has begun focusing on true policy issues. For example, the policy topic through September 1 is the "National Earthquake Risk Assessment and Allocation of Resources." Specifically, WSSPC invites interested persons to comment on the following proposed policy statement: "WSSPC supports a national earthquake risk assessment and an allocation of resources based on this assessment. WSSPC offers to take the initiative to coordinate a process with the federal NEHRP agencies and regional earthquake consortia to establish national earthquake hazard risk mitigation priorities through a forum providing state perspectives."
If you are interested in participating in discussions about this and other earthquake policy issues, you can join the WSSPC-l discussion list by sending an e-mail message to majordomo@nisee.ce.berkeley.edu with the message "subscribe wsspc-l [your e-mail address]"
For more information about WSSPC, the WSSPC-l mailing list, and the upcoming WSSPC annual conference, contact WSSPC, 121 Second Street, Fourth Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105; (415) 974-6435; fax: (415) 974-1747; e-mail: wsspc@wsspc.org; WWW: http://www.wsspc.org.
[Below are some useful hazards/disaster Web sites we've discovered recently. A list of selected sites is available from the Hazards Center Web site: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/sites/sites.html]
http://www.disasterrelief.org
This snazzy home page - a joint effort of the American Red Cross,
the IBM corporation, and CNN - offers much background information
about disasters, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness, as well
as news about ongoing and recent events. Moreover, it provides a means
for locating worldwide disaster relief organizations and either
soliciting or providing aid for specific disasters. During
emergencies, it can provide referrals to means for reaching friends
and family at risk, as well as referrals to sources of recovery
assistance and support. As the organizers state, "Our mission is to
help disaster victims and the disaster relief community worldwide by
facilitating the exchange of information on the Internet" - and this
includes services during actual events. The site also includes an on-
line "Forum" for discussing relief issues and an extensive library of
disaster facts, figures, and other information.
http://www.oneworld.org/odi/rrn
The new Relief and Rehabilitation Network (RRN) Web site is a
neutral forum for the exchange of information among professionals from
over 150 donor, government, U.N., Red Cross, NGO, research and media
organizations in the field of humanitarian assistance, from more that
60 countries worldwide. The new site comprises:
- The on-line RRN Newsletter: featuring articles and news on current
developments in the field of humanitarian assistance; key policy
issues; a regional focus section; and details of recent and
forthcoming conferences, training courses, and publications;
- An up to date list of RRN publications and abstracts;
- The Red Pages: offering a comprehensive directory of links to
nongovernmental, U.N. and donor organizations, news, background
information and research resources relating to humanitarian assistance
in both complex emergencies and natural disasters;
- A list of current members from over 150 donor, government, U.N.,
Red Cross, NGO, and research organizations in the field of
humanitarian assistance in more than 60 countries worldwide.
- Information on how to join the RRN or order RRN publications.
http://www.nccem.org
The National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management (NCCEM)
has established its own Web site, which includes information about the
council, its mission, and its Certified Emergency Manager program;
details about NCCEM conferences; a "Topic of the Month" section; lists
of NCCEM partners and experts; news regarding current issues in
emergency management; and copious links to other emergency-management-
related sites.
http://www.weather.com/safeside
Project Safeside is a joint effort of The Weather channel and the
American Red Cross intended to educate individuals and families about
meteorological hazards and to increase their recognition of the
importance of preparing for natural disasters. The Safeside Web site
includes information about extreme heat, flooding, hurricanes,
lightning, tornadoes, and the creation of a family disaster plan.
Besides the Web site, the project offers other information and tools
to help educators incorporate weather safety and family preparedness
into existing weather curricula.
http://uswrp.mmm.ucar.edu/uswrp.html
The home page of the U.S. Weather Research Program offers an
overall description of the objectives and current activities of the
program, as well as detailed information about some of its projects
and upcoming workshops. The program includes research into both the
physical and social science aspects of weather hazards.
http://enso.unl.edu/wdcc/
On June 12, the Western Drought Coordination Council (WDCC) met
for the first time and adopted a work plan for 1997-98. The WDCC
resulted from a memorandum of understanding signed by the Western
Governor's Association and a number of federal agencies with
responsibility for drought management; it is committed to improving
drought management in the western U.S. through mitigation and
preparedness. For more information about the council and a copy of the
work plan, consult the Web site above; send e-mail to wdcc@
enso.unl.edu; or call (402) 472-2731.
Administration for the WDCC is housed at the National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln - for more information about the NDMC, see http://enso.unl.edu/ndmc/.
http://ilrg.gndc.pg.cnr.it
The International Landslide Research Group (ILRG) is an informal
group of individuals concerned about mass earth movement and
interested in sharing information on landslide research. Alas, the
group's newsletter - one of the bright spots in the otherwise arid
hazards newsletter landscape - is being discontinued, and apparently
the Web site will have to carry the burden of maintaining
communication among the group. The site currently provides all back
issues of the newsletter, with information about landslide programs,
new initiatives, meetings and publications, the experiences of people
engaged in landslide research, and "any other information about
landslide research that 'normal' journals will not accept."
[Adapted from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Newsletter]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded a "Virtual Workshop" designed to help researchers in the earthquake engineering community better understand and use the resources available via the Internet. Building on an initial physical workshop held in early August, this demonstration project will run through the spring of 1998 and will offer instructional materials and services specifically designed to foster collaborative research among earthquake engineering researchers. Among the items being developed for dissemination under this project are information about: basic electronic dissemination; interactive Web-based applications; distributed databases; digital imaging; and ways and means of creating electronic research communities. General information about the project can be found on the World Wide Web at: http://www.cmp.csuchico.edu/chico_1997/wshome.html.
The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) has announced that its Annual Student Paper Competition is now open. The competition is intended to promote interest among students in earthquake engineering and their involvement in the earthquake hazards research community. Instructions for preparation of a manuscript are available from the EERI Web site: http://www.eeri.org, or from Professor Sharon Wood, Civil Engineering Department, University of Texas, Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory, 10100 Burnet Road, PRC 177, Austin, TX 78758.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recently announced its schedule of fall/winter continuing education courses. Many of the courses, offered throughout the U.S., cover natural hazards encountered in engineering. For example, courses include:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Management Institute (EMI) provides both on-campus training at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and off-site training around the nation for disaster professionals from federal, state, and local agencies; volunteer organizations; and the private sector. There is no tuition for EMI on-campus courses; all instruction, books, and housing are provided at no cost. EMI offers courses on virtually all aspects of emergency management; below are some of the upcoming courses on floods and floodplain management.
Course Dates
Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps December 1-5, 1997
February 2-6, 1998
April 10-24, 1998
August 24-29, 1998
Managing Floodplain Development October 20-24, 1997
Through the National Flood Insurance January 26-30, 1998
Program March 23-27, 1998
August 3-7, 1998
National Flood Insurance Program/ September 22-26, 1997
Community Rating System November 17-21, 1997
August 17-21, 1998
September 14-18, 1998
Retrofitting Existing Floodprone September 8-12 1997
Residential Buildings March 30-April 3, 1998
September 28-October 2, 1998
For more information about these courses and/or a catalog of upcoming
EMI offerings, contact:
Emergency Management Institute
16825 South Seton Avenue
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
(301) 447-1000 or (800) 238-3358
WWW: http://www.fema.gov/emi
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Education Network (EENET) recently announced that it will broadcast "Medical Management of Biological Casualties," September 16, 18, and 19 - 12:30-4:30 p.m. ET. To register, call 1-800-418-7246. For satellite broadcast details, call (404) 332-4565 and enter document #564027. For more information about EENET, contact the Emergency Education Network, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727; 1-800-527-4893 or (301) 447-1068; fax: (301) 447-1363; WWW: http://www.fema.gov/emi/eenet.html.
An International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) seminar will be held in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday, October 8, to mark World Disaster Reduction Day. The seminar will focus on enhancing emergency management through risk management, particularly in the municipal and community contexts. For further information, contact Paul Gabriel, Victoria Emergency Management Council; fax: (03) 9651 0356; e-mail: fesd@vdoj.vic.gov.au.
Below are recent conference announcements received by the Natural Hazards Center. Most previous issues of DR contain additional notices. A comprehensive list of upcoming disaster-related meetings and training is available from our World Wide Web site: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/conf.html
Colorado Emergency Management Conference. Sponsors: Colorado Office of Emergency Management and others. Breckenridge, Colorado: October 1-3, 1997. Contact: Colorado Office of Emergency Management, 15075 South Golden Road, Golden, CO 80401-3979; (303) 273-1622.
Critical Incident Stress Management Workshops. Offered by: International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). San Diego, California: September 11-14, 1997; and, Wichita, Kansas: October 9-12, 1997. Contact: ICISF, 4785 Dorsey Hall Drive, Suite 102, Ellicott City, MD 21042; (410) 730-4311; fax; (410) 730-4313.
Lecture and Workshops on Earthquake Survival Techniques. Offered by: American Rescue Team International. Lima, Peru: September 20-21, 1997. Contact: American Rescue Team International; e-mail: AmerRescue@ aol.com; WWW: http://amerrescue.org/brochureperu.htm; or call Douglas Copp, Hotel Sheraton, Lima, Peru: tel: 51-1-433-3320; fax: 51-1-433-5844.
Disaster Preparedness for the 21st Century: A Seminar for Health Care Professionals. Sponsor: Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. SS Queen Mary, Long Beach, California: October 9, 1997. Contact: Kim Buard, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Emergency Medical Services Agency, 5555 Ferguson Drive, Suite 220, Commerce, CA 90022; (213) 890-7518.
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Disaster Management: Domestic and International Applications. Offered by: Disaster Management Center, Department of Engineering Professional Development, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, Wisconsin: October 22-24, 1997. Contact: Department of Engineering Professional Development, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 432 North Lake Street, Madison, WI 53706; 1-800-462-0876; fax: 1-800-442-4214; e-mail: dmc@engr.wisc.edu; WWW: http://epdwww.engr.wisc.edu/dmc/
The Business Recovery Managers Symposium. Offered by: MIS Training Institute. San Diego, California: October 28-30, 1997 (with optional pre- and post conference workshops). Contact: MIS Training Institute, 498 Concord Street, Framingham, MA 01702-2357; (508) 879-7999; fax: (508) 872-1153; e-mail: mis@misti.com; WWW: http://www.misti.com.
Western States Seismic Policy Council (WSSPC) 1997 Annual Conference. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: November 4-7, 1997. Contact: WSSPC, 121 Second Street, Fourth Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105; (415) 974-6435; fax: (415) 974-1747; e-mail: wsspc@wsspc.org; WWW: http://www.wsspc.org.
Second Pan-American Symposium on Landslides. Rio de Janeiro: November 10-14, 1997. Contact Willy Lacerda; fax: 5521-262-1236; e-mail: willy@pec.coppe.ufrj.br.
Drought Contingency Planning Workshop. Sponsor: National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC). Salt Lake City, Utah: November 17-19, 1997. Contact: National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) University of Nebraska-Lincoln, P.O. Box 830749, Lincoln, NE 68583-0749; (402) 472- 6707; fax: (402) 472-6614; e-mail: ndmc@enso.unl.edu; WWW: http://enso.unl.edu/ndmc/.
78th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Meeting. Phoenix, Arizona: January 11-16, 1998. Contact: AMS, 45 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108- 3693; (617) 227-2425; fax: (617) 742-8718; e-mail: amsmtgs@ametsoc.org; WWW: http://www.ametsoc/AMS/.
Summer School - The Emergency and Disaster Aspects of International Health. Hosted by the School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, U.K. Sheffield, U.K.: May 11-15, 1998. See: WWW: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~scharr/flyer.html - or - contact: Deborah Owen; tel: +44 114 222 0720; fax: +44 114 272 4095; e-mail: d.owen@sheffield.ac.uk.
Hazards '98 - Seventh International Symposium on Natural and Man-Made Hazards. Sponsors: International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards and others. Chania, Island of Crete, Greece: May 17-22, 1998. Contact: Natural Hazards Society, P.O. Box 49511, 80 Glen Shields Avenue, Concord, Ontario, Canada L4K 4P6 - or - Dr. Tad S. Murty, Baird & Associates, 1145 Hunt Club Road, Suite 1, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1V 0Y3; tel: (613) 731-8900; fax: (613) 731- 9778; e-mail: t_murty@ottawa.baird.com.
15th Annual Conference of the ALERT (Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time) Users Group. Palm Springs, California: May 26-29, 1998. Contact: Dennis Gibbs; (805) 568-3442.
Response '98. Sponsor: National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR). Portland, Oregon: May 27-30, 1998 (pre-conference training May 22-26). Contact: NASAR Headquarters, 4500 Southgate Place, Suite 100, Chantilly, VA 20151; (703) 222-6277; fax: (703) 222-6283; e-mail: conference@nasar.org; WWW: http://www.nasar.org.
Disaster Forum '98: "Global Partnerships - Creating Solutions." Sponsors: Emergency Preparedness Canada and others. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: June 26-July 1, 1998. Abstracts due September 30, 1997. Contact: Disaster Forum '98, Suite 437, 11215 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5K 0L5; (403) 496-3804; fax: (403) 422-1549; e-mail: disaster@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca; WWW: http://www.freenet.edmonton.ab.ca/disaster.
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