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The Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) - through its Emergency Management Forum (EMForum) Web site - conducts regular on-line discussions regarding issues in emergency management (see Disaster Research #230).
This month's feature topic is "Communications in the Extreme: Can our unmet needs be identified and addressed?"
The discussion will take place Monday, September 29, 12:00 noon (EDT). Interested persons can log in through the EMForum Feature Topic page (http://www.emforum.org/vforum/feature.htm) or the EMForum home page (http://www.emforum.org) or any of the site's live chat pages. Select ROOMS and enter EIIP Panel Room. (Please allow 10-15 minutes for the chat software to load - particularly if you have a slow Internet connection - so you will be ready when the discussion begins. Persons not familiar with this type of program might want to check out the software before the actual program.)
These chat sessions are one-hour moderated panel discussions with questions and comments from any interested participants.
Please visit the EIIP Virtual Forum between now and Monday to obtain background materials (instructions, recommended browsers, etc. and a wealth of topic-related information.)
Discussants this month include:
Academic Panelist - Dr. Herbert Lin, National Research Council
Business Panelist - to be announced
Government Panelists - Dr. Peter Ward, USGS & Dr. Russell Coile,Pacific Grove, CA
Volunteer Panelist - Lois Clark McCoy, NIUSR
Moderator - Avagene Moore, CEM, EIIP
In connection with last year's Internet Conference, which focused on urban issues, the IDNDR Secretariat announced the initiation of the RADIUS Project aimed at dealing with seismic risk in urban settings (see Disaster Research #220). Since that announcement, the RADIUS Project has received applications from 55 cities worldwide wishing to participate. Approximately 10 of these will be chosen for inclusion in the project.
To accommodate the many communities that have expressed interest in RADIUS, the IDNDR Secretariat is welcoming application for ASSOCIATE cities in order to establish an interactive network at the city level. Candidate cities must have carried out a seismic risk assessment or should be in the process of doing so. The associate cities will be integrated into a global network dealing with earthquake disaster mitigation. Through information exchange via this network, an associate city participating in RADIUS will learn about state-of-the-art technologies, thanks to the additional participation of international institutes at the forefront of seismic risk assessment research. Associate cities will also be able to share useful information with other participants and compare their degree of preparedness.
The organizers of RADIUS hope and anticipate that cities not selected to be among the RADIUS case studies will nevertheless carry out similar studies and participate in the project as associate cities so that they can both learn and contribute to the seismic safety of sister cities around the world. For more complete and up-to-date information, see the new RADIUS home page: http://pangea.stanford.edu/~tucker/Radius/RADIUS.html or contact Kenji Okazaki, IDNDR Secretariat, U.N. Department of Humanitarian Affairs, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland; tel: (41-22) 798-6894; fax: (41-22) 733-8695; e-mail: kenji.okazaki@dha.unicc.org
The mission of the Institute for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (IDEM) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is to enhance or develop emergency medicine residency programs worldwide while working within the cultural and economic bounds of the host country. IDEM is dedicated to the enhancement of emergency medical systems and the development of emergency and disaster medicine programs throughout the world. IDEM both offers courses in various aspects of emergency and disaster medicine and facilitates the development of local and regional residency and training programs. Since 1993, IDEM has worked in Russia, the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union, and Israel. For additional information, contact Gregory Ciottone, M.D., Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655; e-mail: greg.ciottone@banyan.ummed.edu.
The American Red Cross and the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS - formerly the Insurance Institute for Property Loss Reduction) have joined forces to promote disaster mitigation in America. The two organizations will work together to raise public awareness of timely and cost-effective mitigation measures necessary to reduce the vulnerability of families to disasters. For details about the activities involved in this new partnership, contact IBHS, 73 Tremont Street, Suite 510, Boston, MA 02108-3910; (617) 722-0200; fax: (617) 722-0202.
When a community is hit hard by a natural disaster, recovery can be a long and difficult process, particularly if that community is urban and impoverished. In June 1997, President Clinton signed into law the 1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from Natural Disasters (Public Law 105-18), which, in addition to providing assistance to victims of recent disasters, makes $500 million available to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a new program - the Disaster Recovery Initiative.
The initiative will provide grants to community, county, or state governments that will fill significant gaps in current presidential disaster declaration funding. Because federal resources are never sufficient to cover all costs of recovery, this program requires a partnership between federal, state, and local governments; the business community; the nonprofit sector; and citizens. Funds must be used primarily to benefit persons of low or moderate income for the redevelopment of viable urban communities by providing "decent housing and a suitable living environment" to victims of disaster.
According to HUD, funds can be used for:
The notice of funds availability and a detailed description of the program can be found in the Federal Register Vol. 62, No. 173 (September 8, 1997), pp. 47343-47358. Information is also available via the World Wide Web at http://frwebgate1.access.gpo.gov. The complete text of Public Law 105-18 can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov.
To help financial institutions meet their responsibilities under federal flood insurance legislation and to increase public understanding of flood insurance regulations, the Consumer Compliance Task Force of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council has issued "Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance." This document contains the most frequently asked questions about flood insurance, along with guidance for federal agency personnel, financial institutions, and the general public.
The list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which cover insurance purchase requirements, exemptions, escrow requirements, use of the Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form, forced placement of insurance, determination fees, and disaster assistance, can be found in the Federal Register Vol. 62, No. 141 (July 23, 1997) on pages 39523-39530. Copies can also be found at any library that is a federal government depository or via the Internet at http://access.gpo.gov.
- On Weather Office Closures -
In a recent report, "National Weather Service: Closure of Regional Offices Not Supported by Risk Analysis" (Report No. GAO/AIMD-97-133), the General Accounting Office reviews proposed staffing cuts at the National Weather Service (NWS) and concludes that the NWS did not perform any documented risk analysis to support its decision to close its southern regional headquarters office, noting that the closure of this office was undertaken in response to a $47 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 1997.
Although NWS officials admit that no risk analysis was conducted, they relied on their professional judgement, believing that no degradation of service would occur from the closure because the southern region office's responsibilities were transferred to other regional offices. Despite that, users have raised concerns about whether the closure would affect weather services and jeopardize public safety.
In the report, the GAO proposes several alternative strategies for maintaining the current regional structure.
- On Weather Service Modernization -
In testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, Restructuring, and the District of Columbia, Committee on Governmental Affairs, the GAO's director of Information Resources Management, Joel C. Willemssen, discussed the National Weather Service's systems modernization program. This testimony is available in the GAO report, "Weather Service Modernization: Risks Remain that Full Systems Potential Will Not Be Achieved" (GAO/T-AIMD-97-85).
Willemssen noted that, in order to provide better forecasting and earlier warnings with smaller, downsized operations, the NWS has been acquiring new observing systems, including radars, satellites, and ground-based sensors that work in conjunction with powerful forecaster workstations. Willemssen believes that the NWS has generated better weather data, particularly with the new radar and satellites, and has greatly improved forecasts and warnings as a result. However, these modernization efforts have experienced cost increases and schedule delays, which may be attributed to changes in requirements, as well as program management and development problems.
Copies of these reports are free and can be obtained from the GAO, Document Distribution Center, P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg, MD 20884- 6015; (202) 512-6000; fax: (301) 258-4006; e-mail: info@www.gao.gov; WWW: http://www.gao.gov. The complete texts are also available via the Web at http://access.gpo.gov.
http://www.lcgbp.org
Initiated about one year ago, the Leadership Coalition for Global
Business Protection is a group that includes representatives from
major corporations, national and local governments, and the U.N (see
Disaster Research #223). The coalition's aim is to encourage business
and industry to work with governmental emergency management agencies
in disaster preparedness, response, recovery, training, and
mitigation. The group includes such diverse participants as the IBM
Corporation, New York City Mayor's Office of Emergency Management, and
the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
Secretariat. The Web site includes background information about the
coalition, descriptions of coalition initiatives and proposed
activities, press releases, and a library.
http://www.ph.ucla.edu/cphdr/
This is the Web site for the UCLA Center for Public Health and
Disaster Relief - see Disaster Research #230.
http://www.netsalud.sa.cr/crid
The Regional Disaster Information Center (Centro Regional de
Informacion Sobre Desastres - CRID) for Latin America and the
Caribbean is a multiorganizational project, housed in San Jose, Costa
Rica, and supported by several international agencies. It is the
offspring/next generation of the Pan American Health Organization's
Disaster Documentation Center. The main objective of the center is to
"facilitate access to existing and future technical and scientific
information in order to improve prevention awareness and enhance
disaster response capability in all the countries of Latin America and
the Caribbean."
CRID offers the following services: bibliographic searches, either by Internet, CDROM, or by directly contacting the center; publication and distribution of bibliographic material from the center; direct access via the Internet to an extensive collection of technical documents in full text; distribution of original publications and training material (written and audiovisual) published by the members or other collabor- ating organizations; publication and distribution of instructional materials on bibliographic methodology, Micro Isis use, and access to the Internet; mass distribution of public and technical information materials (bulletins, bibliographies, etc.); technical advice and training on design and organization of disaster information units.
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov
We've mentioned the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Information
page before, but we want to recommend it again and note that besides
sections covering the latest quake information, earthquake hazards and
preparedness, earthquake phenomena generally, earthquake research, and
other areas of interest, the site offers a particularly useful series
of earthquake fact sheets available from
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/QUAKES/FactSheets
The fact sheets document how activities supported by the USGS
component of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program
contribute to the reduction of earthquake losses. The titles include
everything from "Building Safer Structures" to "Hazard Maps Help Save
Lives and Property" to "Speeding Earthquake Disaster Relief." Many
other titles are available.
http://www.etheron.net/terremoto67
At the end of July, Venezuela commemorated the 30th anniversary
of the devastating 1967 Caracas earthquake. The event included an
international seminar to evaluate the present situation of this city
and the introduction of this Web site with information in English,
French, and Spanish about the Caracas quake as well as information
from the seminar.
http://www.incident.com/
Disaster management Internet pioneer Art Botterell recently
established this Web site, which includes a world map of recent (the
last few days) disasters - click on the disaster and receive
information about it. The site also includes a few of Art's insightful
and provocative papers and musings on the Internet and disasters.
cepreden@sinfo.net
CEPREDENAC - the Center for Prevention and Coordination of
Disaster in Central America is publishing a weekly, Spanish-language
e-mail bulletin for the Central American Disaster community. To
subscribe, send an e-mail message to the address above.
The National Interagency Counter-Drug Institute (NICI) offers unique, tuition-free courses to federal, state, and local emergency responders and military personnel involved in emergency management. Most courses are conducted at NICI headquarters in San Luis Obispo, California, although several are offered elsewhere across the nation. NICI offers two courses: a five-day, 45-academic-hour course on "Military Support to Civil Authorities" and a three-day symposium on "Executive Military Support to Civil Authorities." Both courses are designed not only for military personnel but also for persons in the public sector involved in planning and conducting emergency response across levels of government. For more information, contact NICI, P.O. Box 4209, San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-4209; (805) 782-6700.
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
Latin American Forum on Disaster Management. Sponsor: Center for Health Education. Sao Paulo, Brazil: October 8-11, 1997. The language of this conference will be Portuguese. Contact: Centro de Educacao em Saude do SENAC-SP, Av. Tiradentes 822, Luz/Sao Paulo, Brazil; fax: (011) 227-3431.
Global Change Science in the Coastal Zone. Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands: October 10-13, 1997. Contact: LOICZ Core Project Office, Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg- Texel, The Netherlands; fax: 31 222 369430; e-mail: loicz@nioz.nl.
Critical Incident Stress Management Workshops. Offered by: International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: October 23-26, 1997. Contact: ICISF, 10176 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 201, Ellicott City, MD 21042; (410) 750-9600; fax: (410) 750-9601.
Second Pan-American Symposium on Landslides/Second Brazilian Conference on Stability of Natural Slopes. Sponsors: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering and others. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: November 10-14, 1997. Contact: Prof. W.A. Lacerda, Caixa Postal 68506 - CEP 21945-970, Rio de Janeiro -RJ, Brazil; tel: +55-21-280-9993; fax; +55-21-280-9545; e-mail: willy@pec.coppe.ufrj.br.
Helping Flooded Communities Workshop. Sponsors: Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM), Federal Emergency Management Agency, and others. Moorhead, Minnesota: November 12-13, 1997. Contact: ASFPM Executive Office, 4233 West Beltline Highway, Madison, WI 53711; (608) 274-0123; fax: (608) 274-0696; e-mail: asfpm@execpc.com.
Sixth Annual Northern New England Disaster Recovery Information Exchange Group (NEDRIX) Conference. Cape Cod, Massachusetts: November 12-14, 1997. Contact: NEDRIX, (603) 890-6337.
Second International Seminar on Disasters, Health and Communities - held concurrently with the First Iberoamerican Congress on Emergency Medical Services. Vina del Mar, Chile: November 12-14, 1997. Contact: Dr. Pedro Olivares, Congress Director; fax: (56-32) 916-626; e-mail: polivare@ctc-mundo.net.
Critical Incident Stress Management Courses. Sponsored by: The Institute for Advanced Studies in Crisis and Disaster Management (IASCDM) and others. Reno, Nevada: November 20-23, 1997. Contact: Chevron Publishing Corporation, 5018 Dorsey Hall Drive, Suite 104, Ellicott City, MD 21042; (410) 740-0065; fax; (410) 740-9213.
Engineering for Extreme Winds 1998. Offered by: Wind Engineering Research Center, Texas Tech University. Lubbock, Texas: February 4-6, 1998. Contact: April MacDowell, Research Coordinator, Wind Engineering Research Center, Texas Tech University, Box 41023, Lubbock TX 79409- 1023; (806) 742-3476; fax: (806) 742-3446; e-mail: amacdowell@coe2.coe.ttu.edu.
Second Western Washington School Emergency Management Conference. Sponsor: King County Emergency Management. Shoreline, Washington: March 31, 1998. Contact: King County Emergency Management, 7300 Perimeter Road South, Room 128, Seattle, WA 98018; (206) 296-3830; fax: (206) 296-3838; e-mail: richard.gelb@metrokc.gov.
First Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modeling Conference. Las Vegas, Nevada: April 19-23, 1998. Contact Don Frevert or Jim Thomas: (303) 236-0123, ext. 235; fax: (303) 236-0199; e-mail: dfrevert@do.usbr.gov - or - jthomas@do.usbr.gov.
Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) 22nd Annual Conference. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: May 17-22, 1998. Abstracts due October 31, 1997. Contact: ASFPM Executive Office, 4233 West Beltline Highway, Madison, WI 53711; (608) 274-0123; fax: (608) 274-0696; e-mail: asfpm@execpc.com.
55th Annual Eastern Snow Conference. Sponsors: U.S. Army Cold Regions Research Laboratory and others. Jackson, New Hampshire: June 3-5, 1998. Abstracts due January 15, 1998. Contact: R. Brown, 2121 TransCanada Highway, Dorval, QC, Canada H9P 1J3; (514) 421-4772; fax: (514) 421-4768; e-mail: ross.brown@ec.gc.ca; WWW: http://www.tor.ec.gc.ca/CRYSYS/esc/.
XXVI General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission (ESC). Sponsors: International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI) and others. Tel Aviv, Israel: August 23-28, 1998. Abstracts due March 31, 1998. Contact: Assembly Secretariat, c/o Ortra Ltd., Nirim 1 St., P.O.B. 9352, Tel Aviv 61092, Israel; tel: +972-3-638-4444; fax: +972-3-638-4455; e-mail: esc@ortra.co.il; WWW: http://www.iprg.energy.gov.il:8080"
U.N.-International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) Conference on Early Warning Systems for the Reduction of Natural Disasters (EWC98). Potsdam, Germany: September 7-11, 1998. Contributions are currently being solicited. Contact: EWC98, GFZ Potsdam, D-14407 Potsdam, Germany; e-mail: ewc98@gfz-potsdam.de; WWW: http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/ewc98.
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