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http://www.fema.gov/kids
On October 7, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
introduced a new World Wide Web site with games, stories, audios, fun
facts, and other activities that deliver a serious message to children
concerning disaster preparedness and mitigation. The "FEMA for Kid's"
Web site is appropriate for most children grades three and above and
can be used without adult assistance, although it is designed to
support classroom-wide use. The site is interactive and children can
submit jokes, feedback, poems, essays, and art work to be posted.
Users are also invited to become "Disaster Action Kids" by completing
selected assignments, including games and quizzes. Successful
applicants receive a certificate, signed by the FEMA director,
proclaiming them a Disaster Action Kid, and the children become part
of an "elite" e-mail group. The site includes a map that shows
possible hazards for each state and which states have ongoing
presidentially declared disasters (users can obtain the latest
information about these disasters, as well as audio and video clips);
information about how to prepare for and recover from disasters; facts
about hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires and floods=FEincluding
what to do if caught in a disaster; and teachers' resources, along
with a bibliography and list of other disaster-related Web sites.
In DR 235 we suggested a few Internet resources for information on the El-Nino phenomenon and its implications for meteorological hazards in the Pacific rim. There are many others. However here are a few more that we found particularly useful:
http://tornado.sfsu.edu/geosciences/elnino.html
This regularly updated site is maintained by John Monteverdi,
Department of Geosciences, San Francisco State University, and Jan
Null, National Weather Service, San Francisco Bay Area. The two try to
provide a thoughtful, balanced look at the El Nino situation as it is
currently understood, and to suggest what we might really expect (and
not expect) from the current event.
http://www.ogp.noaa.gov/enso/
This NOAA site - the "El Nino - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Home
Page," produced by the NOAA Office of Global Programs is described as
"your one-stop source for the latest on El Nino and the Southern
Oscillation." It addresses the questions: How large is this El Nino?
What is the El Nino forecast? How will El Nino affect the U.S.? How
will El Nino affect the world? What is El Nino and where can I learn
more? What are we doing to learn more about ENSO?=20
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/el-nino/
Similarly, NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory El Nino
Theme Page provides access to extensive distributed information
related to the El Nino phenomenon. It covers current conditions and
recent news releases, and includes sections addressing: What is El
Nino? What are the impacts of El Nino? What are the current El Nino
forecasts? What is the latest El Nino data? What are some frequently
asked questions? and Where can I find more El Nino data and
information? This site also provides numerous links to other El Nino
information on the Web.
A group of Canadian public, private, and nonprofit organizations has
recently posted a "Business Continuity Planning Assessment of
Commercial Initiatives in Loss Reduction Programmes" questionnaire on
the Web. The site is:
http://www.drie.org/bcpassessment.html
This appears to be a significant effort to truly assess emergency
preparedness in the business sector, and we encourage those of you
involved in this area to see this questionnaire.
Applications are invited for a post-doctoral fellowship tenable at the University of Toronto with the Environmental Adaptation Research Group, in association with the Institute for Environmental Studies.
The fellowship is sponsored by the Atmospheric Environment Service of Environment Canada and the Insurance Bureau of Canada. The fellowship holder will be expected to conduct research directed towards the reduction of the catastrophic impacts of extreme atmospheric events (hail, tornadoes, hurricanes) in Canada. The fellowship holder will work as a member of a team that is examining trends in extreme events, (including the influence of climate change and El Nino), reasons for recent increases in catastrophic losses, and ways of reducing and mitigating impacts.
Persons with a Ph.D. in any relevant field will be considered. The fellowship will be awarded subject to University of Toronto rules and procedures, and is tenable for one year starting January 1998 with the possibility of renewal.
Applications should be sent by November 15th to:
Professor Rodney R. White
Director, Institute for Environmental Studies
33 Willcocks St., Suite 1016
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3E8
fax: 416-978-3884
e-mail: rodney.white@utoronto.ca
Applications should be accompanied by:
For those who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada, the definition of a Post-Doctoral Fellow used by Employment and Immigration Canada limits the appointment to individuals who are two years or less past their doctorate.
[Adapted from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Newsletter]
The Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) is seeking design professionals from across the nation to analyze an assortment of mostly federal buildings and provide rehabilitation designs for approximately 40 seismically deficient structures using the recently developed "NEHRP Guidelines for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings" (FEMA 273) and its "Commentary" (FEMA 274).=20
The design professionals will earn fees for their work and also gain valuable knowledge and experience in the application of the "Guidelines." Recognizing the latter, BSSC will favor consultants who offer to donate a portion of their effort to the project. Those chosen will have the support of experts well versed in the "Guidelines" who will help them understand the document and assess their progress.=20
The purpose of the project is to determine if the "Guidelines" can be readily understood and applied, and if they result in reasonable designs. In addition, these initial case studies well help determine what the costs of rehabilitation to specified levels are, and whether or not the "Basic Safety Objective" defined by the "Guidelines" is sufficiently stringent.
Firms interested in participating should send expressions of interest with resumes of key personnel and experience data to BSSC. Replies should include a description of:
Expressions of interest, not exceeding six pages, should be submitted no later than November 17, 1997, to BSSC, 1090 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005-4905; fax: (202) 289-1092; e-mail: thollenbach@nibs.org. For further information, contact Tom Hollenbach at BSSC; (202) 289-7800. Single copies of the "Guidelines" may be obtained by contacting BSSC at the address above.
The Hazardousness of Place: Modeling Risk Vulnerability; National Science Foundation, $50,000, 12 months. Principal Investigator: Burrell E. Montz, Department of Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies, P.O. Box 6000, State University of New York-Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000; (607) 747-2615 or 2264; fax: (607) 747-2288; e-mail: bmontz@binghamton.edu.
Dissertation Research: Differential Access to Irrigation Water and Vulnerability to Flood Hazard in the Punjab: An Analysis of Structural Factors; National Science Foundation, $7,185, 18 months. Principal Investigator: Daanish Mustafa, Department of Geography, Campus Box 260, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0260. For information, contact James L. Wescoat, Department of Geography, Campus Box 260, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0260; (303) 492-4877; fax: (303) 492-7501; e-mail: wescoat@colorado.edu.
Prediction in the Earth Sciences: Use and Misuse in Policy Making; National Science Foundation, $99,781, 24 months. Principal Investigators: Daniel E. Sarewitz, Radford Byerly, Roger Pielke, and Dale Jamieson, Geological Society of America. For information, contact Daniel Sarewitz, Geological Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301; (303) 447-2020; fax: (303) 447-1133; e-mail: sarewitz@geosociety.org.
Reducing Losses from Storms; Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and State of North Carolina, $111,000, 12 months. Principal Investigator: David Brower, Department of City and Regional Planning, Campus Box 3140, New East Hall, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3410; (919) 962-3983; fax: (919) 962-5206; e-mail: brower.dcrp@mhs.unc.edu.
Coastal Change, Climate, and Instability; European Commission, 866,000, 36 months. Principal Investigator: Robin McInnes, Isle of Wight Council, County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight P030 1UD, U.K.; tel: (01983) 823107; fax: (01983) 823109.
Development and Analysis of Alternative Housing Mitigation and Recovery Strategies for Earthquakes; National Science Foundation, $223,038, 18 months. Principal Investigator: Jeanne B. Perkins, Association of Bay Area Governments, P.O. Box 2050, Oakland, CA 94604-2050; (510) 464-7934; fax: (510) 464-7970.
Integrated Earthquake Mitigation Strategies for Metropolitan Cities; National Science Foundation, $55,477, 24 months. Principal Investigator: Wei Min Dong, Risk Management Solutions, Inc., 149 Commonwealth Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025-1133.
Adoption of Earthquake Hazard Adjustments by Households and Complex Organizations; National Science Foundation, $392,498, 48 months. Principal Investigator: Michael K. Lindell, Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3137; (409) 845-7813; fax: (409) 845-5121.
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
Flood Mitigation Task Force Workshop: Breaking the Housing Disaster Cycle - Public Policy, Structural and Behavioral Mitigation Strategies. (A one-day program in conjunction with the Annual Conference of the American Association of Housing Educators [AAHE].) New Orleans, Louisiana: October 23, 1997. See the AAHE home page: http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/wwwac/aahe.htm; or call the Louisiana State University Conference Services: (504) 388-6264.
30th Annual Water Resources Conference. Sponsors: University of Minnesota and American Society of Civil Engineers. Minneapolis, Minnesota: October 27, 1997. Including sessions on flood forecasting, floodfighting, and the Red River floods of 1997. Contact: Lori Graven, Program Director, University College, University of Minnesota, 206 Nolte Center, 315 Pillsbury Drive S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455-0139; (612) 625-9023; fax: (612) 626-1632.
Second Forum Civil EUROMED. Organized by: Fondazione Laboratorio Mediterraneo. Piedmont, Sicily, and Campania Regions, Italy: November- December 1997. Including sessions on disaster reduction, sustainable development, and protection of cultural heritage. Contact: Fondazione Laboratorio Mediterraneo, Via F. Crispi, 51, Naples, Italy; tel: 39- 81-660074; fax: 39-81-665147, 668873; e-mail: mediterraneo@mbx.idn.it -or- magma@mbx.idn.it.
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Regional Seminar on Seismic Engineering Issues. New York City: November 6-7, 1997 -and- Anchorage, Alaska: November 10-11, 1996. Contact: EERI, 499 14th Street, Suite 320, Oakland, CA 94612-1934; (510) 451-0905; fax: (510) 451-5411; e-mail: eeri@eeri.org; WWW: http://www.eeri.org.
Helping Flooded Communities Help Themselves: A Flood Mitigation, Floodplain, and Watershed Management Workshop for the Floods of '97. Sponsors: States of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota; Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM); 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: asfpmdi@execpc.com.
Planning for the Next Drought: A National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) Workshop. Sponsor: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Salt Lake City, Utah: November 17-19, 1997. Contact: 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/.
Fire in California Ecosystems: Integrating Ecology, Prevention, and Management. Sponsors: U.S. Forest Service and others. Davis, California: November 17-20, 1997. Contact: Neil G. Sugihara, U.S. Forest Service, (916) 364-2854.
Addressing the Earthquake Risk in the Central U.S.: A Forum for Insurance and Earthquake Hazards Professionals. Sponsors: Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) and others. Memphis, Tennessee: December 3, 1997. Contact: CUSEC, 2630 East Holmes Road, Memphis, TN 38118; (800) 824-5817 or (901) 544-3570; fax: (901) 544-0544; e-mail: cusec@ceri.memphis.edu.
Second PPP 2000 Forum: "The Uncertainty of Managing Catastrophic Risks." Co-hosts: National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction; the Financial Institutions Center and the Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. (For additional information about the PPP 2000 series, see Disaster Research #228.) Washington, D.C.: December 11, 1997. For more information contact the Institute for Business and Home Safety, 73 Tremont Street, Suite 510, Boston, MA 02108-3910; (617) 722-0200; fax: (617) 722-0202.
Second Annual Wireless Emergency Services Conference. Offered by: AIC Conferences. Orlando, Florida: January 26-27, 1997. Contact: AIC Conferences, 50 Broad Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10004; (212) 952-1899; fax: (212) 248-7374; WWW: http://www.aic-usa.com.
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: Two-Day Basic Certificate Workshop. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: January 30-31, 1998. For more information, contact: The Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness, 1-800-965-4608.
Disaster '98 - Assessing Threats to Your Community. Sponsors: Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation and others. February 19-22, 1998. This meeting features a preconference workshop on "Children's Emergencies in Disasters," February 18-19. Contact: Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation, 3717 South Conway Road, Orlando, FL 32812-7607; (407) 281- 7396 or (800) 766-6335; fax: (407) 281-4407.
Identification of Emergency Management Innovation Seminar. Mt. Macedon, Victoria, Australia: March 16-20, 1998; Community Emergency Risk Management Workshop. Mt. Macedon, Victoria, Australia: March 30-April 3, 1998.=20 For details about these and other upcoming workshops offered by the Australian Emergency Management Institute (AEMI), contact AEMI, Mt. Macedon, Victoria 3441, Australia; tel: 61-3-54-215 100; fax: 61-3-54- 215 273; e-mail: aemi@ema.gov.au; WWW: http://www.ema.gov.au.
National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Conference on Lifesaving Intervention. Denver, Colorado: March 29-April 1, 1998. For a registration packet, call 1-800-872-6367 and press the "star" key; or see http://www.oep_ndms.dhhs.gov.
14th International Meeting on Prevention, Preparedness, and Response to Hazardous Material Spills: "Risk Management: Closing the Loop." Sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Chicago, Illinois: April 5-9. 1998. The conference planning committee is currently seeking suggestions for topics, presentations, and training. For details, see: WWW: http://www.nrt.org/nrt/hazmat98.nst, or http://epa.gov/ceppo/pubs/postcard.html; or e-mail: hazmat98@icfkaiser.com.
Advanced Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: Two-Day Certificate Workshop (held in conjunction with the 8th World Conference on Disaster Management, June 14-17). Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: June 17- 18, 1998. For more information, contact: The Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness, 1-800-965-4608.
Okushiri Tsunami Workshop. Sapporo and Okushiri, Japan: July 9-14, 1998. Contact: Fumuhiko Imamura, Disaster Control Research Center, School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba, Sendai 980-77, Japan; fax: 81-22-217-7514; e-mail: imamura@tsunami2.civil.tohoku.ac.jp.
25th Symposium of the International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTECH). Lisbon, Portugal: August 18-22, 1998. Including=20 sessions on "Technology and Natural Disasters." Persons interested in participating should contact James C. Williams, Professor of History, De Anza College, 1130 Delynn Way, San Jose, California, 95125-3619; (408) 269-4837; e-mail: jcwl@netcom.com.
Fourth International Conference on Corporate Earthquake Programs (formerly the U.S.-Japan Conference on Corporate Earthquake Programs). Shizuoka City, Japan: November 11-13, 1998. Abstracts due May 1, 1998. Contact: Steven M. Vukazich, San Jose State University, Department of Civil Engineering, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192-0083; (408) 924-3858; fax: (408) 924-4004; e-mail: vukazich@email.sjsu.edu.
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