DISASTER RESEARCH 258

1. A Compendium of El Nino Web Sites
   
2. Introducing the IAI
   
3. The WHO Mediterranean Centre for Vulnerability Reduction's International Diploma Course in Health Risk Management
   
4. Help Wanted - CERI Associate Director
   
5. EIIP and FEMA's CFP Program Team Up to Deliver ACT NOW Preparedness Updates
   
6. More News from the CFP Program
   
7. More News from the EIIP
   
8. Cal Emergency Preparedness Certificate Program Now Offered by GWU
   
9. Some Upcoming Classes Offered by EMI
   
10. Conferences and Training
    

1)----------
A Compendium of El Nino Web Sites

[The May 1998 issue of "Environment" magazine (Vol. 40, No. 4, p. 3) includes a short piece by Thomas M. Parris regarding sources of El Nino information on the Web. Although Parris describes each site, to conserve space, we offer most of them here with only brief annotation. Every one seems to be an excellent source of El Nino information.]

Whewww . . .

2)----------
Introducing the IAI

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change (IAI) is an international nonprofit organization established to promote regional collaborations in the Americas. It pursues the principles of scientific excellence, international cooperation, and the open exchange of scientific information to increase understanding of global change phenomena and their socioeconomic implications and to augment the region's overall scientific capacity.

The IAI, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Global Programs, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and International Research Institute (IRI) for Climate Prediction, along with regional institutions, recently joined together to hold a series of meetings that included a climate outlook forum, a workshop to design regional pilot applications projects, and a conference on the 1997-98 El Nino event and its impacts and potential applications of climate forecast information. The meetings were held for the following regions: Pacific South America (Lima, Peru); southeast South America (Montevideo, Uruguay); and northeast South America (Fortaleza, Brazil).

During these meetings, climate scientists formulated a consensus regional precipitation forecast for a given time period. These same participants then joined potential users of this information to develop regional pilot application projects tailored for climate- sensitive sectors (e.g. health, agriculture, fisheries, disaster management, water resources). Finally, participants shared this information with representatives of government, industry, media, and the general public.

For each climate outlook meeting, the participants issued a statement explaining the methodology used to formulate the forecast and then provided the forecast itself. The statements, forecasts, and maps for Pacific South America, southeast South America, and northeast South America are now available on the World Wide Web at:
http://iri.ucsd.edu/forecast/sup/

The conference organizers have stated that these collaborative activities related to ENSO will definitely continue in the Americas. One important activity will be to evaluate the success and impact of these forecasts and look for ways to improve the process.

For more information on the IAI and its programs, please contact: IAI Directorate, c/o INPE, Avenida dos Astronautas, 1758, Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Brazil; tel: 55-12-345-6855/56; fax: 55-12-341- 4410; e-mail: iaibr@dir.iai.int; WWW: http://www.geo.nsf.gov/iai.

3)---------- The WHO Mediterranean Centre for Vulnerability Reduction's International Diploma Course in Health Risk Management

The WHO Mediterranean Centre for Vulnerability Reduction has initiated an international diploma course in health risk management intended for health emergency/risk managers at national and local levels, health professionals from NGOs, bilateral agencies, and international organizations working in the field of community-based capacity building for risk/emergency management. The course is based on a risk management approach applied to emergency/disaster situations and draws on international "best practice" in managing communities' exposure to major risks. Participants will acquire the knowledge and skills to develop and implement a range of risk/emergency management options, such as community-based prevention, preparedness, and recovery programs. Health coping and recovery mechanisms are a key element of the course.

The course will be held in Hammamet, Tunisia, over a four-week period, commencing October 25, 1998. An inter-university Diploma in Health Risk Management will be awarded jointly by Coventry University, U.K., and Linkoping University, Sweden, upon successful completion of assessments.

For a full detailed brochure and application form, contact: Training and Education Unit, WHO Mediterranean Centre for Vulnerability Reduction (WMC), 10 Rue Hannibal, Gammarth Superieur, 2070 Tunis, Tunisia; tel: +216 1 774564; fax: + 216 1 741170; e-mail: OMS.tunisie@rns.tn.

4)---------- Help Wanted - CERI Associate Director

The Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at the University of Memphis is seeking an associate director and coordinator of graduate programs. The position will be tenure track within the Department of Geological Sciences, Civil Engineering, or other appropriate home department. Applications from both junior- and senior-level faculty are encouraged. The associate director will oversee the daily operations of the center and coordinate teaching, advising, and recruitment in the postgraduate programs in geophysics, active tectonics, and earthquake engineering. Teaching and research within one of these disciplines are expected, although at appropriately reduced levels because of administrative duties. Additional information about the position is available from the chair of the search committee; applicants should send a letter of application, a full curriculum vitae, and names of at least three references to that chairperson: Dr. Jose Pujol, Chair, Associate Director Search Committee, CERI, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152-6590; e-mail: pujol@ceri.memphis.edu; WWW:http://www.ceri.memphis.edu.

5)---------- EIIP and FEMA's CFP Program Team Up to Deliver ACT NOW
Preparedness Updates

Starting a disaster education program in your community? Looking for tips on reaching young people or senior citizens with the preparedness message? How about ideas for working with other organizations that have similar goals?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Community & Family Preparedness (CFP) Program offers an on-line notice with the latest ideas and information on how to organize a disaster education program. It's called the "Act Now Preparedness Update" and it's available from the Emergency Infrastructure Information Partnership (EIIP) Virtual Library Archive: http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/actnow.htm (the latest issue is http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/actnow04.htm).

Readers may also subscribe for quarterly e-mail text versions from: http://mail.speccomm.com:81/guest/RemoteListSummary/actnow.

FEMA's CFP Program works to help state and local emergency managers, voluntary organizations, businesses, neighborhood groups, and other organizations plan and run programs that educate the public about disasters. The goal is for all Americans to have the necessary information, education, and skills to protect themselves, their families, their neighbors (especially people with special needs), and their homes and businesses, from the devastating consequences of disaster. To learn more about the CFP Program see the FEMA Web site: http://www.fema.gov/pte/protect.htm

6)---------- More News from the CFP Program

*CFP Conference*

If you are not on the list for this year's national CFP conference and would like to be, please notify the CFP office at the address below soon. Please indicate what you would like to learn or share with others. Due to limited meeting space, this is an invitation-only event, but the CFP Program tries to accommodate as many participants as possible. We carefully balance selection of invitees to represent all levels of government, voluntary agencies, and others with an active interest in disaster education.

The conference - "making communities more disaster resistant with disaster education" - will offer ample opportunity for problem solving and information sharing with disaster educators from neighborhood-, community-, and state-based programs, including several Project Impact communities. The conference, conducted in cooperation with FEMA's long-standing partner, the American Red Cross, will be held June 9-12 at FEMA's Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

*"Disaster Saves" to be Awarded in June*

We know disaster education works. But sometimes others need convincing. To showcase the true benefits of disaster preparedness, FEMA and the American Red Cross are pleased to announce a new award to recognize work in disaster education - it's called "Disaster Saves."

The CFP Program is looking for specific examples of how disaster education has made a real difference in people's lives in a natural disaster: how it has saved lives or lessened the hardships or financial consequences of disaster. Perhaps you know of someone who saved his or her self because they took shelter in a tornado - or a family that was reunited after a flood having practiced a family communications plan - or someone whose home incurred limited damage in an earthquake because he or she learned what to do and acted accordingly because of your program.

Let us hear your success stories. FEMA and the American Red Cross will appoint a panel to select the most meritorious "disaster saves" and present the award to the person(s) responsible for conducting the education that led to the "save." We will also promote the stories so others can learn how disaster education makes a real difference in natural disasters.

Document your "disaster saves" by including:

1. Name of the person who organized the educational effort
2. Name of the person who conducted the education
3. Description of the education
4. Name of the persons who did the right thing because of the education
5. Description of what they did right
6. Newspaper article about the "save," a quote from the person who did the right thing or other documentation

You could also include a photograph of the educator or the person who was "saved." Letters of support from community leaders are optional.

FEMA and the American Red Cross intend to hold a "disaster saves" awards ceremony at the CFP conference in June.

Entries should be mailed by May 29, 1998, to:

(202) 646-3561
Fax: (202) 646-4371
E-mail: ralph.swisher@fema.gov

7)---------- More News from the EIIP

The Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) is presenting two special 1-hour on-line presentations in its Virtual Forum on Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, to highlight the emergency management and disaster preparedness activities of the American Red Cross (ARC) of Puerto Rico, an official Partner in the EIIP. You are urged to login ( http://www.emforum.org/vforum/formchat.htm) on Friday and Saturday for the following live chat sessions:

Friday, May 15, 5:00 p.m. eastern time - "Business and Industry Recovery after a Disaster" - Join Harvey Ryland, Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), and Gilberto Guevaro, ARC, for an on- line overview of the topic of business and industry recovery.

Saturday, May 16, 3:00 p.m. eastern time - "Second Annual Disaster Convention" - This activity, directed to the American Red Cross disaster volunteer leadership in Puerto Rico, combines issues of preparedness for the upcoming hurricane season with new plans and corporate obligations for the ARC disaster program.

8)---------- Cal Emergency Preparedness Certificate Program Now Offered by GWU

In addition to providing its Emergency Planning and Management Certificate Program at the UCB San Francisco Center, the University of California Berkeley Extension is now offering the courses through The George Washington University Virginia Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, starting in September 1998. The program consists of one optional two-day introductory course and eight four-day required courses. The sequence of nine courses will be offered at GWU at a rate of one (two in September, none in December) course/s per month between September 1998 and May 1999 and will be repeated in the 1999-2000 academic year.

• Upcoming courses at the GWU Virginia campus include:
• Introduction to Emergency Management - September 18-19, 1998
• Strategic Planning and Implementation in Emergency Management - September 21-24, 1998
• Business Recovery for Your Organization - October 12 - 15, 1998
• Integrating Emergency Management Structures into Your Organization - November 16 - 19, 1998
• Corporate/Public Agency Coordination and Interdependence - January 18 - 21, 1999

For information concerning the program or courses held at UCB contact:
Certificate Program in Emergency Preparedness Planning, UC-Berkeley Extension, Environmental Management, 1995 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94720; (510) 643-7143; fax: (510) 643-8290; e-mail: envmgmt@unx.berkeley.edu.

For information concerning courses held at the GWU Virginia Campus contact: Greg Shaw, Director, Training and Education, Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management, The George Washington University VA Campus, 20101 Academic Way, Suite 220B, Ashburn, VA 20147-2604; (703) 729-8271; fax: (703) 729-8272; e-mail: glshaw@gwu.edu; WWW: http://www.seas.gwu.edu/seas/institutes/icdm.

9)---------- Some Upcoming Classes Offered by EMI

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Management Institute (EMI) offers on-site, off-site, and independent study courses in various aspects of emergency management year-round. Below are just a few of the classes offered as part of the mitigation curriculum in the coming months. Many other courses are available. For details and application guidelines, contact FEMA, Emergency Management Institute, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727; (301)447-1000; WWW: http://www.fema.gov/EMI.

COURSE NAME - DATES

10)---------- Conferences and Training

Below are recent conference announcements received by the Natural Hazards Center. 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

FEMA Region III Severe Storm Conference and Workshops. Ocean City, Maryland: May 27-29. Contact: FEMA/Severe Storm Management Conference, c/o TJ and Consultants, Inc., 915 Montgomery Avenue, #304, Narberth, PA 19072; (610) 617-8842; fax: (610) 617-8847; e-mail: ZCJP90A@prodigy.com

Third Annual Emergencies '98 Conference: "Strategies for Effectively Managing Your Preparation, Response, and Recovery." Sydney, Australia: June 2-3, 1998; Perth, Australia: June 9-10, 1998. Contact: IBC Conferences, GPO Box 2728, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia; tel: (02) 9290 1133; fax: (02) 9290 3844; e-mail: enquiries@ibcoz.com.au; WWW:http://www.ibcoz.com.au.

Public Private Partnership (PPP) 2000 Symposium: Disaster Recovery Business Alliances. Washington, D.C.: June 9, 1998. Contact: Olga Marinenko, Futures Group, Inc., 1050 17th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036; (202) 775-9680; e-mail: omarinenko@ibhs.org; -or- Institute for Business and Home Safety, 73 Tremont Street, Suite 510, Boston, MA 02108-3910; (617) 722-0200; fax: (617) 722-0202; WWW: http://www.ibhs.org.

Subregional Cooperation for Flood Prevention - Meeting of the IDNDR National Committees of the countries most affected by the floods in Central and Eastern Europe of 1997. Organizers: International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) National Committee of the Czech Republic and United Nations IDNDR Secretariat. June 9-11, 1998. Contact: Dr. Ivan Obrusnik, Director, Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, President of the Czech IDNDR National Committee; Tel: 42 02 401 6503; fax: 4202 401 0800; Obrusnik@chmi.cz; -or- Scott Weber, U.N. IDNDR Secretariat, United Nations, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; tel: (41-22) 788-3486; fax: (41-22) 733-8695; e-mail: scott.weber@dha.unicc.org.

1998 Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) Annual Conference. Louisville, Kentucky: June 14-16, 1998. Contact: CUSEC, 2630 East Holmes Road, Memphis, TN 38118; (901) 544-3570.

EuroForum 1998 - Meeting of European National IDNDR Committees. Organizer: U.K. National Coordination Committee for the IDNDR. London: June 26, 1998. Contact: Contact: Anthony Eades, National Coordination Committee for IDNDR, Royal Academy of Engineering, 29 Great Peter Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3LW, U.K.; tel: (44171) 222 26 88; fax: (44171) 233 00 54; e-mail: eadesa@raeng.co.uk; WWW: http://www.oneworld.org/idndr.

Public Private Partnership (PPP) 2000 Symposium: Real-Time Disaster Information. Washington, D.C.: June 30, 1998. Contact: Olga Marinenko, Futures Group, Inc., 1050 17th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036; (202) 775-9680; e-mail: omarinenko@ibhs.org; -or- Institute for Business and Home Safety, 73 Tremont Street, Suite 510, Boston, MA. 02108-3910; (617) 722-0200; fax: (617) 722-0202; WWW: http://www.ibhs.org.

Planning for a Safer Tomorrow: "The Realities of Colorado Growth - A Wake-Up Call." Seminar will focus on wildfire, flood, and hail mitigation. Englewood, Colorado: August 7, 1998. Contact: Shannon Kelly, Western Insurance Information Service; (303) 790-0216; fax: (303) 790-0433. More information and a registration form is available at: http://www.disasters.org/safer-tomorrow.html.

Upcoming workshops at the Australian Emergency Management Institute (AEMI):

• The Himler Report and Implications for Emergency Management Workshop. August 3-7, 1998.
• Planning for Ecological Disasters Workshop. September 7-11, 1998.
• Emergency Animal Disease Preparedness and the Needs of the Non-Veterinary Agencies. October 5-9, 1998.

1998 Oklahoma Public Fire and Life Safety Education Conference. Sponsor: Oklahoma State University, Fire Service Training. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: August 5-7, 1998; Preconference Workshops, August 3-4; NFPA 1035 Certification, August 1-8. Contact: Oklahoma State University, Fire Service Training, 1723 West Tyler, Stillwater, OK 74078-8041; 1-800-304-5727.

International Workshop on Disaster Planning, Relief and Protection of Cultural Heritage. Organized by the Ministry of Culture and the State Service for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Poland; sponsored by the United Nations IDNDR Secretariat. Warsaw and Wroclaw, Poland: September 18-22, 1998. Contact: Marek Baranski, State Service for the Protection of Monuments, Warsaw, Poland; tel/fax: 4822 4853 53.

California Emergency Services Association (CESA) Annual State Training and Conference. Clear Lake, California: September 22-25. For registration information, contact: Cherel Sampson, City of Sunnyvale Emergency Preparedness Unit, 700 All America Way, P.O. Box 3707, Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3707; (408) 730-7198. For general conference information, contact: Oakland Fire Services Agency, Office of Emergency Services, 505 14th Street, Suite 702, Oakland, CA 94612; (510) 238-3938.

Emergency Expo '98. Organizers: Hoppers Crossing Fire Brigade. Werribee Racecourse, Victoria, Australia: October 2-3, 1998. Contact: Hoppers Crossing Fire Brigade, P.O. Box 1126, Hoppers Crossing, Victoria 3029, Australia; tel: (03) 9748 0829; fax: (03) 9748 8341; e-mail: hcrossing.fs@cfa.vic.gov.au; WWW: http://www.vicnet.net/~hxfb.

Worldaid '98: Global Exposition and Conference on Aid in Action. Geneva, Switzerland: October 6-8, 1998. Contact: WorldAid Secretariat, c/o Palexpo, Orgexpo, P.O. Box 112, 1218 Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland; tel: +41 (22) 761 11 11; fax: +41 (22) 798 01 00; e-mail: info@worldaid.org; WWW: http://www.worldaid.org/.

Fifth Annual West Coast Disaster Response Conference (WCDRC). Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada: December 1, 1998. Contact: WCDRC, c/o Epicentre Inc., 200 Burrard Street, Suite 1550, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 3L6; tel: (604) 682-6005; fax: (604) 682-0500.

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