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There are at least three novels based on Canada's worst disaster, the
December 6, 1917, explosion. I am trying to track down other novels in
which the setting, the plot, whatever, is tied to other high profile
disastrous events. The quality of the writing does not matter but I
would like sufficient information to let me track down the books.
However if your memory is hazy let me have whatever you have.
Thanks for your help,
Joe Scanlon
jscanlon@ccs.Carleton.ca
The losses from natural disasters are far reaching, including direct damage to buildings, infrastructure elements, inventory, and natural resources, and indirect costs from lost productivity and wages. While there is general appreciation for the severity of these losses and a broad interest in mitigating these impacts, there is a need to understand the scope and magnitude of the costs before action can begin. To support this effort, the Board on Natural Disasters of the National Research Council has appointed a new Committee on Assessing the Costs of Natural Disasters - a multidisciplinary group of experts who will identify the cost components that will be most useful for accurate characterization of disaster events. The committee's report, to be published in two years, will help FEMA, the study's sponsor, in its efforts to develop successful mitigation policies for natural disasters. For more information, contact the National Research Council, Board on Natural Disasters, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., HA 370, Washington, DC 20418; (202) 334-1964; fax: (303) 334-1377.
Public Private Partnership 2000 (PPP 2000 - see DR#227) is a unique alliance of federal, private-sector, and nonprofit agencies committed to reducing deaths, injuries, property damage, economic loss, human suffering, and detrimental environmental impacts of disasters by redefining society's approach to handling natural hazards.
On September 10, PPP 2000 held the first forum in a series dedicated to exploring new approaches to natural disaster mitigation. The meeting, cosponsored by the U.S. Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction (SNDR) and the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), focused on initiatives of the insurance sector. The primary goals of the forum were to bring the many stakeholders together and to break through traditional patterns of thinking.
A report from this initial forum is now available. It covers past inadequacies of disaster reduction programs, but also offers a list of six "proposed actions" to improve hazard mitigation in the U.S. Copies are available from the USGS EarthFax fax-on-demand system at (703) 648-4888; press 1, then press 2, then request document number 1800). Additionally, e-mail copies can also be requested from Tim Cohn, tacohn@usgs.gov; Matt Gentile, mgentile@ibhs.org; or Kathleen Gohn, kgohn@usgs.gov
Over the next year, PPP 2000 will sponsor more than a dozen forums on topics such as the uncertainty of managing catastrophic risks (December 1997), cities and megacities at risk (January 1998), and reducing losses from floods (March 1998). For more information about the PPP 2000 project, contact the Institute for Building and Home Safety, 73 Tremont Street, Suite 510, Boston, MA 02108-3910; (617) 722-0200; fax: (617) 722-0202; WWW: http://www.ibhs.org - or - Walt Hays, U.S. Geological Survey, 955 National Center, Reston, VA 20192; (703) 648-6711; fax: (703) 648-6747; e-mail: whays@usgs.gov.
The Institute for Crisis and Disaster Management at George Washington University offers both graduate-level courses and short (two- to four- day) courses on various aspects of disaster management. Current graduate-level courses include "Information Technology in Crisis and Emergency Management," and " Disaster Recovery and Organizational Continuity." The short courses are available on a contractual basis and can be taught either at the GWU Virginia campus or on-site elsewhere. These courses include, "The Threat from Within: Violence and Sabotage in the Workplace"; "Crisis Management and Crisis Decision Making"; and "Organizing and Managing a Multi-Organization Response." For complete information, contact Greg Shaw, George Washington University, Institute for Crisis and Disaster Management, GWU Virginia Campus, 20101 Academic Way, Room 220, Ashburn, VA 22011; (703) 729- 8271; e-mail: glshaw@gwisw.gwu.edu.
On November 6, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched "Project Impact," a national effort to change the way America deals with disaster, by designating Deerfield Beach, Florida, as the first pilot "disaster resistant" community. With Project Impact the focus of emergency management changes from responding to disasters to taking actions in advance of disasters to reduce potential damage.
Under Project Impact, seven pilot communities will be designated to demonstrate the economic benefits of predisaster mitigation to state and local governments, businesses, and individuals. A Project Impact Guidebook offers a formula communities can follow to become "disaster resistant." Communities in addition to Deerfield Beach that have been identified for Project Impact are: Allegheny County, Maryland; Oakland, California; Pascagoula, Mississippi; Seattle, Washington; Tucker and Randolph counties, West Virginia; and Wilmington, North Carolina.
Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding with Deerfield Beach signed today, FEMA will provide up to $1 million in seed money for activities to make the community more disaster-resistant. As an example, $150,000 will be used to improve the hurricane resistance of the local high school. Local and national businesses have pledged to join in the effort as well. For more information, contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency Office of Emergency Information and Media Affairs; e-mail: eipa@fema.gov - or - see the FEMA Web site: http://www.fema.gov.
The Natural Hazards Center has added yet another full-text Quick Response report to the center's Web site: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/
QR101: "Repeat Response to Hurricane Evacuation Orders," Kirstin Dow and Susan L. Cutter, 1997.
Quick Response reports offer the observations and findings of researchers who travel to a disaster site soon after impact to study immediate disaster effects. The entire list of quick response reports is available at http://www.colorado.edu/qr/qr.html
In addition, printed copies of these reports can be purchased for $5.00 each, plus shipping charges: $3.00 for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; $4.00 for international surface mail; and $5.00 for international air printed matter. To order copies, contact the Publications Clerk, Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, IBS #6, Campus Box 482, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0482, (303) 492-6819; fax: (303) 492-2151; e-mail: jclark@colorado.edu.
The Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) is offering a $25,000 Floodplain Management Graduate Fellowship for a full-time post-baccalaureate student for one academic year at an accredited U.S. college or university. Applications must be received by March 1. To obtain more information and application forms, contact: Floodplain Management Graduate Fellowship, attn: Graduate Fellowship Advisory Committee, ASFPM, 4233 West Beltline Highway, Madison, WI 53711; (608) 274-0123; fax: (608) 274-0696; e-mail: asfpm@execpc.com.
The Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) recently announced its 1998 scholarship program for undergraduate students interested in dam safety engineering as a career. Up to $5,000 will be awarded to selected junior or senior students for the 1998-99 school year. The deadline for submitting applications is February 14, 1998. Further information and scholarship applications are available from ASDSO, 450 Old Vine Street, Lexington, KY 40507; (606) 257-5140.
http://www.dir.ucar.edu/esig/HP_roger/hurr_norm.html
Roger Pielke, Jr. of the Environmental and Societal Impacts
Group, National Center for Atmospheric Research, and Christopher W.
Landsea of the Hurricane Research Division, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, recently drafted a paper entitled
"Normalized Hurricane Damages in the United States: 1925-1995," which
is available from the Web address above. For those of you interested
in the costs associated with natural hazards, the paper will provide
interesting reading. The authors found that when inflation and two
additional factors - coastal population changes and changes in
wealth - are taken into account, the trend of increasing damage
amounts in recent decades disappears. However, over the long-term, the
average annual impact of damages in the continental United States is
about $4.8 billion (1995 $) - substantially more than previous
estimates. Of these damages, over 83% are accounted for by the intense
hurricanes (Saffir-Simpson 3, 4, and 5), yet these make up only 21% of
U.S.-landfalling tropical cyclones. The entire text, tables, and
figures are on-line and the authors welcome any comments, since the
paper is being revised for final publication.
http://www.civil.buffalo.edu/wind/windneeds.html
Here's another report-on-the-web - "Wind Engineering: New
Opportunities to Reduce Wind Hazard Losses and Improve the Quality of
Life in the USA," prepared by the American Association for Wind
Engineering. The report addresses both "The Current State of Affairs,"
and "Establishing Our Future Direction" and includes a list of 11
recommendations for improving wind hazard mitigation in the U.S.
http://www.dir.ucar.edu/esig/prediction
This site provides a project overview and reports resulting from
an NSF-funded project examining "Prediction in the Earth Sciences: Use
and Misuse in Policy Making" (see DR#237). It covers a number of
hazards: earthquakes, climate change, floods, asteroid impacts,
extreme weather.
http://www.state.fl.us/comaff/DEM
The Florida Division of Emergency Management has made its
publication "The Local Mitigation Strategy: A Guidebook for Florida
Cities and Counties" available from this Web site. Although focusing
on Florida, the handbook could serve as a guide for other state and
local entities wanting to develop comprehensive mitigation strategies.
[Taken from the Newsletter of the National Lenders' Insurance Council]
Following the Red River Valley floods, which inundated Grand Forks, North Dakota last spring, the Bureau of Government Affairs sent out 3,300 surveys to flood victims and received 1,200 responses. Some interesting findings:
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
5th Annual West Coast Disaster Response Conference (WCDRC). Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada: December 1, 1997. Contact: WCDRC, c/o Epicentre Inc., Suite 1550-200 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 3L6; (604) 682-6005; fax: (604) 682-0500
Effective Emergency Management - Lessons Learned. Offered by University of Wisconsin - Disaster Management Center. Available at various University of Wisconsin campus sites and elsewhere via teleconference or computer: December 4, 7, 18, 1997. For details, contact: University of Wisconsin - Disaster Management Center, 432 North Lake Street, Madison, WI 53706; 1-800-462-0876; (608) 262-5411; WWW: http://epdwww.engr.wisc.edu/dmc/.
El Nino - Bay Area Hazards and Opportunities. Sponsor: Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). Oakland, California: December 8, 1997. Contact: ABAG, P.O. Box 2050, Oakland, CA 94604-2050; attn: Sharon Kendrick - (510) 464-7964; WWW: http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/enviro/elnino.html.
Eastern United States Mitigation Summit. Sponsor: Federal Emergency Management Agency. Wilmington, North Carolina: December 8-10, 1997. Private and public sector representatives interested in attending this summit should contact the Summit Hotline: 1-800-811-6587. Due to meeting space, participation will be limited. Note: Because mitigation within the private sector is critical for protecting the ongoing operations of a company, the safety of employees and customers, and the economic viability of the local community following a natural disaster, this meeting will provide an opportunity for businesses to showcase examples of mitigation in the private sector. Businesses can submit information about how they have approached mitigation via the FEMA Web site at: http://www.fema.gov/mit/mitstori.htm or by e-mail to eipa@fema.gov. The examples will be compiled for a report that will be available to the public. Some of the more innovative and impressive mitigation efforts will be spotlighted early in the summit to demonstrate how mitigation works to promote long-term safety and reduce disaster losses. For details, contact the FEMA office of Emergency Information and Media Affairs; e-mail: eipa@fema.gov.
Inter-American Dialogue for Disaster Reduction. Sponsors: International Hurricane Center, Organization of American States, Network of Social Studies on Disaster Prevention in Latin America, and others. Panama City, Panama: December 11-12, 1997. Contact: Walter Peacock, International Hurricane Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199; (305) 348-2242; fax: (305) 348-3605; e-mail: peacock@servax.fiu.edu; WWW: http://www.fiu.edu/~hurrican/.
Disaster Management Workshops - Emergency Information Management and Communications. Offered by University of Wisconsin - Disaster Management Center. Madison, Wisconsin: December 15-19, 1997. Contact: University of Wisconsin - Disaster Management Center, 432 North Lake Street, Madison, WI 53706; 1-800-462-0876; (608) 262-5411; WWW: http://epdwww.engr.wisc.edu/dmc/.
Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) 1998 Government Risk Management Seminar - East. Orlando, Florida: February 9-13, 1998. Contact: PRIMA, 1815 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1020, Arlington, VA 22209; (703) 528-7701; fax: (703) 528-7966; e-mail: info@primacentral.org.
Legal Issues in Emergency Management Workshop. Mt. Macedon, Victoria, Australia: February 16-20, 1998; Contact: Australia Emergency Management Institute (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.
Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) 1998 Government Risk Management Seminar - West (includes sessions on "Identifying and Mitigating Natural Catastrophe Exposures"). San Diego, California: February 23-27, 1998. Contact: PRIMA, 1815 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1020, Arlington, VA 22209; (703) 528-7701; fax: (703) 528-7966; e-mail: info@primacentral.org.
7th International Conference on Emergency Medicine. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; March 25-29, 1998. Contact: International Conference Services, Ltd, 604-850 West Hasting Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1E1; (604) 681-2153; fax: (604) 681-1049; e-mail: 74161.347@compuserve.com
13th Annual Conference on Emergency Management Technology. Sponsor: State and Local Emergency Management Data Users Group (SALEMDUG). Virginia Beach, Virginia: April 21-24, 1998. Contact: Dave Miller, SALEMDUG President, Iowa Emergency Management Division; (515) 281-3231; e-mail: dmiller@max.state.ia.us - or - Mark Pennington, Conference Coordinator, Virginia Department of Emergency Services; (804) 674-2432; e-mail: mpennington.des@state.va.us; WWW: http://www.salemdug.dis.anl.gov.
Fire Information for the 21st Century. Sponsors: International Network for Fire Information and Reference Exchange (inFire), and others. Melbourne, Australia: May 4-8, 1998. Contact: Nina McPherson, Metropolitan Fire Brigade Training Complex Library, 619 Victoria Street, Abbotsford, VIC 3067, Australia: tel: +61 3 9420 3820; fax: +61 3 9420 3857; e-mail: nmcpers@mfbb.vic.gov.au.
Summit '98 - Conducting Business with Confidence. Offered by: IBM Global Services. San Francisco, California: May 17-20, 1998. Contact: IBM Global Services, Business Recovery Services, P.O. Box 1715, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1715; 1-800-981-9816, (612) 550-4661; fax: (612) 550-6391; WWW: http://www.brs.ibm.com.
Evaluation Criteria for Emergency Management Systems Workshop. Mt. Macedon, Victoria, Australia: June 15-19, 1998; Contact: Australia Emergency Management Institute (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.
Cross Currents in Water Policy. Sponsor: Universities Council on Water Resources. Hood River, Oregon: August 4-7, 1998. Abstracts due January 15, 1998. Contact: Dr. Tamim Younos, UCOWR '98 Technical Program Chair, Virginia Water Resources Research Center, 10 Sandy Hall, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0444; (540) 231-8039; fax: (540) 231-6673; e-mail: tyounos@vt.edu.
First International Symposium and Workshops on Human Behaviour in Fire. Sponsors: Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology (SERT) Centre, University of Ulster, and others. Ulster, Northern Ireland: August 31-September 2, 1998. Contact: Prof. T.J. Shields, Director Fire SERT, University of Ulster, 75 Belfast Road, Carrickfergus, Antrim, Northern Ireland BT38 8PH; tel: +44 1232 368702; fax: +44 1232 368700; e-mail: TJ.Shields@ulst.ac.uk.
Disaster and After: An International Conference on the Practicalities of Information Service in Times of War and Other Catastrophes. (Aim: "To bring together experience of running and reinstating information services in war-torn areas and the scenes of disasters.") Sponsor: International Group of the Library Association. Bristol, U.K.: September 4-6, 1998. Abstracts due December 31, 1997. Contact: Paul Sturges, Chairman IGLA, Department of Information and Library Studies, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, U.K.; fax: +44 (0)1509 223053; e-mail: r.p.sturges@lboro.ac.uk.
Disaster Management: Crisis and Opportunity. Sponsor: Center for Disaster Studies, James Cook University. Cairns, Australia: September 27-30, 1998. Contact the Center for Disaster Studies, P.O. Box 6811, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia; tel: +(61 70) 42 1215; fax: +(61 70) 42 1214; e-mail: linda.berry@jcu.edu.au.
10th Japan Earthquake Engineering Symposium. Sponsors: Architectural Institute of Japan and others. Yokohama, Japan: November 25-27, 1998. Presentation proposals due December 31, 1997. Contact: 10th JEES, c/o Architectural Institute of Japan, 26-20, Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108, Japan; tel: +81-3-3456-2051; fax: +81-3-3456-2058; WWW: http://www.aij.or.jp/jees/index.html.
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