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Can anyone direct me to a good source of information on the effects of volcanic ash clouds on RF propagation? Similarly, I'm looking for information about the effects of volcanic ash on electronic devices, including circuit boards.
Regards,
Peter Anderson
Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology
Simon Fraser University - Harbour Centre Campus
515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 5K3
Telephone: +1-604-291-4921 Fax: + 1-604-291-4024 VE7PSA/VE7SFU
E-mail: anderson@sfu.ca
Emergency Preparedness Information Exchange:
http://hoshi.cic.sfu.ca/epix/
On the Web at . . . http://www.colorado.edu/hazards
- Quick Response Reports -
The Natural Hazards Center Web site now includes two dozen full-text
Quick Response reports resulting from recent disaster research. The
latest additions include:
- 1997 Hazards Workshop Session Summaries -
In DR231, we indicated that session summaries from the 1997 Hazards
Research and Applications Workshop would soon be available via the
Web. Well, they're there. For thoughts and insights on cutting-edge
issues in hazards and disaster management, see:
http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/ss/ss.html.
In a major new earthquake research initiative, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has named three centers to conduct and coordinate earthquake engineering research for the U.S. NSF will provide approximately $2 million a year for five years to each center, for a total of $30 million. The centers are expected to match the federal funds, dollar for dollar, with nonfederal funds and must form consortia of research organizations linked through electronic networks.
Pacific Earthquake Engineering
Research Center (PEER Center)
The PEER Center, a consortium of nine institutions, will conduct
research in five basic areas: 1) policy, planning, and economics; 2)
seismic hazards; 3) performance assessment; 4) systems reliability;
and 5) innovative technologies. The center will develop a business and
industrial partnership program, conduct urban demonstration projects
to test research, and provide education programs for both K-12
students and undergraduates. For more information, contact the
principal investigator, Jack P. Moehle, Earthquake Engineering
Research Center, University of California-Berkeley, 1301 South 46th
Street, Richmond, CA 94804-4698; (510) 231-9554; fax: (510) 231-9471;
e-mail: moehle@euler.berkeley.edu.
Mid-America Earthquake Center (MAE)
The MAE will work to reduce potential earthquake losses in the
central and eastern U.S., concentrating on problems associated with
less frequent seismic events and their consequences for individuals,
economic systems, and infrastructure. Projects will focus on
identification and evaluation of seismic hazards and development of
loss-reduction strategies for the built environment. This center will
also work to educate the next generation of earthquake engineers and
provide outreach to industry, government, pre-college schools, and
potential user groups. For more information, contact the principal
investigator, Daniel P. Abrams, Department of Civil Engineering, 3148
Newmark Celab, MC 250, 205 North Matthews, University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 333-0565; fax: (217)
333-0565; e-mail: d-abrams@staff.uiuc.edu.
Center for Advanced Technologies
in Earthquake Loss Reduction (ATEL)
ATEL, a nine-institution consortium, will develop and apply
advanced and emerging technologies for design, construction, and
retrofitting of buildings and infrastructure to reduce earthquake
losses. It will focus on three major elements: performance assessment
of the built environment, rehabilitation of critical facilities, and
response and recovery using new loss-estimation methods and
technologies. Like the other centers, it will also provide outreach to
students of all ages, as well as to the public and private sectors.
For more information, contact George C. Lee, National Center for
Earthquake Engineering Research, SUNY Buffalo, 109 Red Jacket
Quadrangle, Buffalo, NY 14261-0025; (716) 645-3391; fax: (716)
645-3399.
On October 1, President Clinton signed into law the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) authorization bill (Public Law 105-47) for fiscal years 1998 and 1999. The law contains several new initiatives and includes increased funding for research and development in earthquake science, engineering, public education, and mitigation.
The law authorizes $105.8 million for FY 98 and $108.9 million for FY 99. Among other things, this legislation requires the U.S. Geological Survey to develop a "real-time seismic hazard warning system"; mandates an assessment of regional seismic monitoring networks; directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop earth science teaching materials and provide them to schools; orders improvement of hazards assessments of seismic zones in the U.S.; charges FEMA to assess and report on earthquake training capabilities and programs; and directs NSF to work with the other NEHRP agencies to develop a plan to effectively use earthquake engineering research facilities. The complete text of the bill can be found via the Internet at http://thomas.loc.gov.
In September, the first meeting of the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) was held to identify ways that PERI could work with other organizations to reduce insurance losses. PERI was created in 1996 as part of a settlement of an antitrust lawsuit brought by attorneys general in 20 states and several private parties against 32 insurance providers; the institute was created to improve the management of risk, including natural hazards. The PERI Board of Directors believe that effective risk management requires interaction among local governments, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, risk managers, educators, and environmental and natural hazards experts.
According to its Executive Director, Gerard Hoetmer, PERI's mission is to provide a useful resource for enhancing risk management in public, private, and nonprofit organizations, particularly smaller organiza- tions. To meet this goal, PERI will serve as a clearing house of information on risk management and develop a network of experts and information centers to share information in this area. For more information, contact PERI, 11350 Random Hills Road, Fairfax, VA 22030; (703) 934-6046; fax: (703) 352-7085.
The Department of Geography and Planning at Southwest Texas State University (SWT) has formed a Center for Research and Policy on Hazards and Environmental Geography. The center will provide institutional support for scholarship concerning a variety of hazards topics, ranging from adverse meteorological and geological events, to landfills and hazardous wastes, to flooding and hurricanes. The center's objective is to foster cooperative exploration of hazards- related topics by faculty and students; it currently comprises eight SWT faculty.
Several funded projects are already underway, including studies of avalanche impacts in Montana, industrial waste management practices and policies in Texas, freeze impacts on agriculture in the Rio Grande Valley, and response to recent floods in Nevada. The center is also conducting an inventory and analysis of closed landfills in Texas.
For more information about this new center, contact Craig E. Colten, Department of Geography and Planning, 601 University Drive, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666; (512) 245-7976; fax: (512) 245-8353.
The Western Governors' Association (WGA) draft flood report - "An Action Plan for Reducing Flood Risk in the West" - has been posted on the WGA Web site for public review and comment. It will reside there until October 27 when WGA Flood Task Force members will review comments and determine changes prior to completing a final draft. The task force is interested in comments from professionals from the complete range of disciplines involved in flood management in order to improve the focus and content of the report. To view this document and submit comments, see: http://www.westgov.org/wga/publicat/public.html#8 and look under "Public Lands and Water."
Are you an emergency management professional or someone interested in the discipline? Do you need a break from your work in the middle of the day? Try the new Wednesday "brown bag" informal, unmoderated dialogue via the EIIP Virtual Forum. Just log into http://www.emforum.org/vforum/formchat.htm, input your first and last name, and follow the instructions. You can discuss an issue, ask a question, or just participate in a discussion started by someone else. This is a great way to learn how to use Internet chat software (it's easy). Bring a sandwich and join the Forum Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
In a recent notice in the Federal Register (Vol. 62, No. 129, July 7, 1997, pp. 36289-36290), Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James L. Witt announced that his agency had revised the current process for designating counties eligible for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), authorized under Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
In the past, HMGP funds were only available to counties designated eligible by FEMA for Individual Assistance (IA) or Public Assistance (PA). According to the Stafford Act, both IA and PA funds address damage or hardship resulting from a major disaster; however, HMGP funds are intended to reduce the risk of future damage or hardship. As a result, FEMA has determined that the use of HMGP funds should not be limited only to counties designated eligible for IA or PA funds. The notice states that, "following the declaration of a major disaster by the President, all counties within the State may be designated by FEMA as eligible for HMGP funds. The process of requesting that FEMA designate areas for assistance will remain unchanged."
For further information about this notice, contact Robert F. Shea, Mitigation Directorate, FEMA, 500 C Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20472; (202) 646-3619; fax: (202) 646-3104.
At the El Nino Community Preparedness Summit held in Santa Monica, California, on Tuesday, James L. Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), announced that FEMA is launching Project Impact - a new approach to emergency management that involves a move from the current reliance on response and recovery to one that emphasizes preparedness and disaster management.
FEMA's new effort includes a national awareness campaign, pilot communities around the U.S. that demonstrate the benefits of disaster mitigation, and an outreach effort to businesses and communities using the new Project Impact Guidebook that offers a formula communities can follow to become "disaster resistant." Information released by FEMA at the summit includes disaster prevention and preparedness tips for individuals, communities, and businesses. Interested persons can call FEMA at 1-800-480-2520 to order EL Nino Individual, Business, and Community Preparedness Packages. Also, visit the FEMA Web site - http://www.fema.gov - for additional information and links to other emergency preparedness organizations.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to hire a civil engineer or architect to serve as a technical authority and project officer in their hazard mitigation program. The position, located at the Washington, D.C. office in the Program Development Branch of the Mitigation Directorate, will be at the GS-13 level ($54,629-$71,017). The deadline for applications is October 17.
The person hired will serve as a technical authority in multihazard mitigation practices and policy development. Earthquake, flood, and wind are the primary hazards currently included in FEMA's programs. Many of the responsibilities of the position will revolve around FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program, federal Executive Orders pertaining to natural hazard mitigation, and other programs. The person hired will serve as a point of contact for FEMA regional offices on building science issues and on mitigation methods and techniques.
Additional information about this position and how to apply, are available from Carolyn Nelson-Ballard, FEMA: (202) 646-3244. Request vacancy announcement RB-97-103-CNB. The announcement is also available on the FEMA Web site: http://www.fema.gov
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