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[Received the following from Bob Marton <bob.marton@MCI2000.com>]
A colleague is interested in information regarding Resource Management/Logistics for Emergency Management. Anyone who has plans or programs, please contact Carlos Lozada, Dade County Emergency Management, 5600 SW 87 Avenue, Miami, FL 33173; (305) 273-6795; fax: (305) 273-6708.
The Oregon Emergency Management Association will be conducting its annual three-day workshop in October. As part of it, we're looking for presentations on the use of new(er) technology in emergency management and in EOCs.
This part of the workshop will be devoted to bringing local emergency managers up to speed on what the future might hold for us. Last year we hosted a presentation on a joint project among NASA, several other federal agencies, and some local governments in Oregon regarding the use of satellite imagery to determine floodplains, flood hazards, and fire fuel on the ground.
This year, we're planning on a presentation about the use of an Intranet (not Internet) in EM and in the EOC. We'd welcome suggestions on what other technologies you think (or hope) can be used in emergency management, what new inventions and technologies you have seen, etc. We also welcome suggestions from vendors.
Please reply with your ideas and thoughts to Bruce Visser, Marion County Emergency Management; bvisser@mail.open.org.
FEMA's Response and Recovery Directorate recently announced a major revision of its Public Assistance Program to improve the way it provides disaster assistance to communities receiving presidential disaster declarations. This new program has four components.
First, the agency is simplifying the process of providing technical and financial assistance to applicants. In particular, due to the diverse range of applicants, the program is being reorganized to meet varying needs and situations.
Second, the new process will forge stronger, more effective alliances with state governments. To achieve this goal, the agency is working to define more clearly the roles, responsibilities, expectations, and procedures that will be used when a disaster strikes.
Third, the new process encourages proactive education programs and multiple means of distributing information, including the Internet.
And finally, FEMA will provide a "point of coordination" to ensure consistent customer service. The point of coordination will act as the direct liaison between FEMA and state and local governments.
The New Public Assistance Program "Read Ahead" Module (1998, 74 pp., free) provides detailed information about how the program will operate when fully implemented. It describes the new program, pre-identification of applicants, pre-education of applicants, preliminary damage assessment, immediate needs funding, requests for public assistance, emergency work, small project development and management, large project development and management, cost estimation, case management, special considerations, and public assistance program administrative information. The module is posted in Microsoft Word 97 format on the FEMA Web site: http://www.fema.gov/r-n-r/pa_read.htm. For more information regarding the program, contact the FEMA Office of Emergency Information and Public Affairs, 500 C Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20472; e-mail: eipa@fema.gov; WWW: http://www.fema.gov/r-n-r.
The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) recently launched a "Business and Industry Partners" effort to inform these groups about the research PEER will conduct as well as the benefits of this research to business and industry. PEER's Business and Industry Partners will help define the direction of the center's research program and will have the opportunity to participate in research projects, attend workshops and seminars, receive PEER reports, receive access to experimental facilities, and obtain electronic information.
PEER is also implementing a comprehensive education program that will include mentor programs for K-12 students, undergraduate summer internships, a senior year earthquake engineering course, graduate fellowships, and workshops or short courses for practicing professionals.
For more information on the Business and Industry Partners, contact Gregory Fenves, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MC 1710, University of California, Berkeley,CA 94720-1710; (510) 643-8543, fax: (510) 643-8928; e-mail: fenves@ce.berkeley.edu. For more information on the education programs, contact Gerard Pardoen, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, EG E4167, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697; (949) 824-7094; fax: (940) 824-2117; e-mail: gpardoen@uci.edu.
A national association of individuals, organizations, and government agencies involved in responding to maritime emergencies is being formed and a meeting to discuss the creation of this "National Marine Emergency Response Association" will be held in Portland, Oregon, July 22-24. To obtain details about this effort, contact the Maritime Fire and Safety Association, (503) 220-2098; or the Marine Fire Fighting Task Force, (315) 271-4991.
The mission of the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI - see DR#236) is to "serve public, private, and nonprofit organizations as a dynamic, forward-thinking resource for the practical enhancement of risk management." To accomplish this goal, PERI has initiated a Grant and Research Program to stimulate creative thinking, generate original research, and promote the practical application of research in order to advance risk management. The institute recently published a guide to this program that describes its goals and strategies, areas of interest, eligibility requirements, essential elements, and application procedures. To obtain a guide or more information, contact: Gerard J. Hoetmer, Executive Director, PERI, 11350 Random Hills Road, Suite 800, Fairfax, VA 22030; (703) 934-6046; fax: (703) 352-7085; WWW: http://www.riskinstitute.org.
[These are a few of the latest Internet resources we've discovered. For a list of selected Internet/Web sites dealing with disaster management, see http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/sites/sites.html.]
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/media/ngm
The July 1998 issue of "National Geographic" magazine features an extended article on natural hazards, along with a supplemental map depicting North American hazards (created by a team of North American hazards experts, including Natural Hazard Center co-director, Mary Fran Myers).
The National Geographic Web site offers background material on the article and an on-line forum through which readers can discuss the issues raised. The introductory forum piece, by "Natural Hazards Observer" editor, Sylvia Dane, attributes growing disaster losses in the U.S. not to increasingly severe "acts of God," but to poor choices by human beings concerning where and how they will live.
http://www.sustainable.doe.gov/wingspread2/wingprin.html
This week at their annual meeting, the National Conference of Mayors will consider a resolution calling for sustainable re-development of communities damaged by disasters. The resolution is based on "The Wingspread Principles" - a document available from the U.S. Department of Energy's Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development Web site above. Besides outlining a disaster recovery approach that promotes quality of life, public health and safety, environmental responsibility, and economic sustainability, the resolution calls on the federal government to allocate 1% of disaster appropriations for sustainable redevelopment technical assistance and to establish a Sustainable Redevelopment Strike Team to be deployed to disaster areas to promote sustainable recovery.
http://www.emsa.cahwnet.gov/heics3.htm
This is the Web site of the HEICS III Project - an effort to update and create a third edition of the Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS).
In 1992, a generic disaster response plan was released to hospitals based upon the Incident Command System. This initial HEICS was first tested by six hospitals in Orange County, California. A second edition was developed by a state-wide task force, tested again by Orange and Los Angeles county hospitals, and made available in May 1992 throughout the United States, Canada, and across the globe.
HEICS features a flexible management organizational chart that allows for a customized hospital response to the crisis at hand. Following the 1993 Northridge Earthquake, HEICS was used successfully by some of the hospitals damaged in the quake. The plan has also been used in single-hospital emergencies and in many disaster exercises. From these experiences additional insight has been gained, and, with support from the California Emergency Medical Services Authority, the San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services is again updating the plan.
The Web site provides the second edition of the HEICS plan, and interested persons are encouraged to take a critical look at the document and return their comments to San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services team working on this update. In addition, this URL offers the executive summary of the third edition, a list of FAQs (frequently asked questions) about HEICS, the system's organizational chart, and other information about the project.
http://www.ualr.edu/~earthquake
The Arkansas Earthquake Center Web site provides information about the center, news of recent seismic events in the region, statistics, general information about earthquakes, a background history of the New Madrid seismic zone, maps, and preparedness and response material. It also covers earthquake engineering, safety codes and laws, publications, school educational materials, recent earthquake research, and includes earthquake catalogs, abstracts, and bibliographies.
This is the home page of a new nonprofit agency - Private and Public Business, Inc. The organization was created to link the private and public sectors in effective emergency management and disaster recovery planning and serves as a clearinghouse for recovery information, training, and standards setting. The site includes sections on education and training, white papers, links, and a PPBI glossary. There is also extensive information about the organization and an on-line form for becoming a member.
http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/actnow05.htm
As we mentioned in DR#258, the Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) now delivers the Federal Emergency Management Agency Community & Family Preparedness (CFP) Program newsletter - "ACT NOW Preparedness Update" - via the EIIP's Emergency Management Forum Web site. The latest issue, available at the URL above, includes an extensive, very useful list of tips regarding the development of community disaster education and awareness programs.
http://www.disaster.info.desastres.net
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has created this "DisasterInfo" Web site as a one-stop source of disaster management information from and about Latin America and the Caribbean. Dozens of emergency and disaster organizations in that region have posted mirror sites of existing Web pages on this reliable, high-speed server. This Web page, with information in both Spanish and English, thus enables users to quickly retrieve information from numerous sources while minimally navigating the Net. It includes information about PAHO's Supply Management (SUMA) program, as well as downloadable SUMA software and a downloadable SUMA Users Manual.
http://www.salud.org.ec/desastre/
PAHO's subregional disaster office for South America in Ecuador has also just announced the availability of this new site with information in Spanish about PAHO's South America program, discussion groups, publications, information on El Nino, links to other useful sites in South America, and more . . .
Arkansas Tech University will host a five-day live, interactive satellite-delivered symposium June 29-July 3, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. CST. The symposium will offer academic credit for a course that is included in Arkansas Tech's Emergency Administration and Management degree curriculum - EAM4003: "Principles and Practice of Disaster Relief and Recovery." The program is underwritten by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and there is no cost for downlinking the course. World Wide Web and e-mail links will also be available during the course, enabling participant communicate with presenters. For more information, on the World Wide Web see: http://www.aetn.org/atufema -or- http://commed.atu.edu (click on "EAM Symposium") -or- http://www.fema.gov/emi/arktech.htm. Alternatively, contact Dr. Mary Ann Rollans or Deborah Alexander; (501) 968-0318/0698; fax: (501) 968-0205; e-mail: ceda@atuvm.atu.edu.
1.01 Second Regional Course on "Community Based Approaches to Disaster Management" (CBDM - 2). Bangkok, Thailand: May 11-22, 1998. Collaborators: Duryog Nivaran.
1.02 Second Regional Learning Workshop on "Urban Disaster Mitigation" (under the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program) (UDM - 2). Bangkok, Thailand: August 24-September 4, 1998.
1.03 First Regional Workshop on "Implementing Multi Local Learning Organizations for Urban Disaster Mitigation in Asia." Bangkok, Thailand: August 7-11, 1998 (immediately after 1.02). Collaborators: National Partner Training Institutions from India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines and Sri Lanka.
1.04 ASEAN Regional Forum Disaster Response Workshop. Bangkok, Thailand: August 17-20, 1998.
1.05 Disaster Management Course (DMC) for Bangladesh. Bangkok, Thailand: July 20-August 7, 1998. Collaborator: UNDP Bangladesh.
1.06 First Regional Learning Workshop on "Technological Hazards: Risk Mitigation in Cities" (THRM - 1) (under Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program). Delhi/Mumbai, India: October 26-November 6, 1998. Collaborators: Partner Training Institutions in India.
1.07 First Regional Course on "Safety, Health and Environment Management Systems" (SHEMA - 1). Bangkok, Thailand: October 1998.
1.08 First Regional Course on "Safety, Health and Environment; Auditing Systems and Practice" (SHEMA - 2). Bangkok, Thailand: October 1998
1.09 First Regional Learning Workshop on "Floods and Typhoon/Cyclone-Risk Mitigation for Cities" (under the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program). Manila, Philippines: November 1998/February 1999. Collaborators: League of Cities; PBSP; Partner Training Institutions in the Philippines.
1.10 Second Regional Training Course on "Road Accident Rescue" (RAR-2). Bangkok, Thailand or Penang, Malaysia: 10 days (dates to be announced). Collaborators: DES Queensland, Australia.
1.11 First Regional Executive Development Program for Disaster Management (EDP - 1). Bangkok, Thailand: dates to be announced.
1.12 Regional APELL Courses on "Industrial Hazard Risk Assessment" and "Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Response." Dates to be announced. Collaborators: UNEP IE.
As in previous years, ADPC's Learning and Professional Development Unit will be pleased to organize specialized courses and study tours tailor-made to meet the learning needs of a particular audience. These courses can be organized in your country or at Bangkok.
For more information, contact A.J. Rego, Learning and Professional Development Unit, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), P.O.Box 4 Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand; tel: (66-2) 5245386/5391/6225; fax: (66-2) 5245360; e-mail: lpdadpc@ait.ac.th; WWW: http://www.adpc.ait.ac.th.
The Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness (CCEP) has begun to distribute a free weekly "E-Zine" (e-mail magazine) on the Internet. Each issue will present a case-study of a recent, real-life major disaster or related topic from the fields of emergency management, business continuity, or emergency health care. CCEP publishes a quarterly print magazine "CCEP NEWS" that is also available on the Internet. For a free copy of the "CCEP NEWS" magazine, or to sign up for the weekly E-Zine, visit the Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness at http://www.ccep.ca
Sunday, July 19, and Monday, July 20, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) will present a four-part series entitled, "Savage Earth." Co-produced by Thirteen/WNET in New York and Granada Television, the program will examine the "non-terra-firma" upon which our homes, businesses, and lives are built. It will cover earthquakes, volcanoes on land and sea, and the landslides, mudslides, and tsunamis that follow these events - phenomena that continue to claim human lives despite our best efforts to predict, harness, and prepare for these forces of nature. For broadcast times, consult your local listings.
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
Natural Coastal Hazards to Development. Sponsors: American Society of Civil Engineers-Duluth Section, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Advisory Services, and others. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: July 20-21, 1998; Superior, Wisconsin: July 23-24, 1998. Contact: Philip Keillor, UW Sea Grant Advisory Services; (608) 263-5133; fax: (608) 263-2063; e-mail: jkeillor@seagrant.wisc.edu; WWW: http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/Advisory/coastal_engr/coast.html.
The Survive! Business Continuity Group hosts workshops around the world on
various aspects of emergency management in business. The group offers a suite
of one or two-day workshops, which can be taken individually or collectively;
upcoming events in North America include:
Chicago: July 20-23
Philadelphia: August 24-28
San Francisco: September 14-17
Seattle: November 17-20
In addition, a Survive Symposium will be held in Chicago October 20-30.
For a
complete program and list of offerings, contact Survive! Business Continuity
Group; 1-800-787-8483; fax: (908) 704-8999; e-mail:
surviveusa@aol.com; WWW:
http://www.survive.com.
Emergency Information Management and Communications. Offered by: Department of Engineering Professional Development, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, Wisconsin: August 1-14, 1998. Contact: Department of Engineering Professional Development, College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 432 Lake Street, Madison, WI 53706; 1-800-462-0876; e-mail: dmc@engr.wisc.edu; WWW: http://epdwww.engr.wisc.edu/.
Critical Incident Stress Management Workshops. Offered by: International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). Sponsored by: Southern Nevada Critical Incident Stress Management Network. Las Vegas, Nevada: August 13-16, 1998. Contact: ICISF, 10176 Baltimore National Pike, Unit 201, Ellicott City, MD 21042; (410) 750-9600; fax: (410) 750-9601.
The ABC of Business Continuity Planning. Offered by Survive! Business Continuity Group. Oxfordshire, U.K.: September 14-16, 1998. Contact: Survive! Secretariat, The Chapel, Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, Fitzhugh Grove, London SW18 3SX, U.K.; tel: 0181-874 6266; fax: 0181-874 6446; e-mail: surviveuk@cityscape.co.uk; WWW: http://www.survive.com.
Earthquake Prognostics World Forum: "Seismic Safety of Big Cities: Program of Action Against the Impact of Impending Earthquakes." Sponsors: International Commission on Earthquake Prognostics and the Turkish Earthquake Foundation. Istanbul, Turkey: September 21-25, 1998. The deadline for abstracts and presentation proposals has been extended to June 30. Contact: Prof. M. Hasan Boduroglu, Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Civil Engineering, 80626 Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey; tel: +90-212-285-3797; fax: +90-212-285-6656; e-mail: bodurogl@sariyer.cc.itu.edu.tr; WWW: http://www.ins.itu.edu.tr/eaee/bigcities98.html.
"It's Not If . . . It's When Disaster Strikes": Third Annual Emergency Medical Preparedness Educational Symposium. Sponsors: Department of Veterans Affairs and others. Albany, New York: September 22-24, 1998. Contact: Paul D. Kim, M.D., Area Emergency Manager, Emergency Management Strategic Healthcare Group, Stratton VA Medical Center, 113 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208.
1998 [Colorado] Governor's Conference on Emergency Management: "Smart Growth Colorado." Breckenridge, Colorado: September 28-30, 1998. Sponsors: Natural Hazards Mitigation Council and others. Contact: Colorado Office of Emergency Management, 15075 South Golden Road, Golden, CO 80401-3979; (303) 273-1622; fax: (303) 273-1795.
International Conference on Earthquakes. Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan: October 5-7, 1998. Sponsor: Turkmenistan State Emergency Commission. Contact: Turkmenistan State Emergency Commission, 17 Bitarap Turkmenistan St, 744000, Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan; tel: +7-3632-35-25-14; fax: +7-3632-39-06-26; e-mail: nrcst@nrcst.ashgabad.su; nrcst@nrcst.jennet.ashgabad.su.
1998 Flood Warning and Mitigation Strategy Conference: ALERT/FLOWS East Coast Users Group. Nashville, Tennessee: October 5-8, 1998. Contact: Douglas Glowacki, Department of Environmental Protection Inland Water Resources Division, 79 Elm Street, 3rd Floor, Hartford, CT 06106; (860) 424-3706.
Eleventh Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference. Sponsor: British Columbia Ministry of Human Resources and others. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: October 20-22, 1998. For more information, see: http://142.58.200.36/epc/.
Second Canada/Australia/U.S. Wildland Fire Safety Summit. Sponsors: International Association of Wildland Fire and others. Winthrop, Washington: October 26-29, 1998. Contact: International Association of Wildland Fire, East 8109 Bratt Road, Fairfield, WA 99012; (509) 523-4003 or (509) 283-2397; fax: (509) 523-5001; e-mail: greenlee@cet.com.
11th Annual Conference of the Southwestern Association of ALERT Systems. Austin, Texas: October 28-30, 1998. Contact: Brian McCallum; (509) 389-0234, ext. 3122.
79th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting. Sponsor: American Meteorological Society. Dallas, Texas: January 10-15, 1999. The AMS conference includes numerous sessions on severe weather. In particular, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI - see DR #258) has been asked to host a special session dedicated to the global change science themes of IAI as part of the conference's 10th Symposium on Global Change Studies. Papers are currently being solicited; the deadline for abstracts is July 2, 1998. For details, contact Bradford P. Wilcox, IAI, Av. Astronautas 1758, 12227-010, Sco Josi dos Campos, SP, Brazil; tel: 55-12-345-6860; fax: 55-12-341-4410; e-mail: bwilcox@dir.iai.int -or- Thomas R. Karl, NOAA/NCDC, 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801-5001; fax: (704) 271-4328; e-mail: tkarl@ncdc.noaa.gov.
Fifth Annual California GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Conference. Sponsor: California chapters of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA). Oakland, California: February 17-19, 1999. Topics will include emergency management and risk mitigation, urban and regional planning, facilities management, utilities inventory and management, and environmental preservation. Abstracts for presentations are being solicited. Contact: Stephanie King, Technical Program Chair, Blume Earthquake Engineering Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4020; (650) 725-0360; fax: (650) 725-9755; e-mail: sking@ce.stanford.edu; or see the conference Web site: http://www.calgis.org.
North American Snow Conference. Sponsor: American Public Works Association (APWA). Duluth, Minnesota: April 18-21, 1999. Contact: APWA, 2345 Grand Boulevard, Suite 500, Kansas City, MO 64108-2625; (816) 472-6100; fax: (816) 472-1610; e-mail: apwa@mailworks.pubworks.org; WWW: http://www.pubworks.org.
Third National Conference and Exposition of the National Hydrologic Warning Council. San Diego, California: May 11-14, 1999. Contact: Mark Heggli; (916) 574-2627; e-mail: heggli@water.ca.gov.
Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) Annual Meeting. San Diego, California: June 6-9, 1999. Contact: PRIMA, 1815 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1020, Arlington, VA 22209; (703) 528-7701; fax: (703) 528-7966; e-mail: primahq@aol.com.
International Public Works Congress and Exposition. Sponsor: American Public Works Association (APWA). Denver, Colorado: September 18-23, 1999. Includes sessions on emergency preparedness and response. Presentation proposals are due September 30, 1998. Contact: APWA, 2345 Grand Boulevard, Suite 500, Kansas City, MO 64108-2625; (816) 472-6100; fax: (816) 472-1610; e-mail: apwa@mailworks.pubworks.org; WWW: http://www.pubworks.org.
Twelfth World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Sponsor: New Zealand Earthquake Commission and others. Auckland, New Zealand: January 30-February 4, 2000. A call for abstracts has been issued, with proposals due October 15, 1998. For details about the conference, contact: Conference Secretariat, 12WCEE Organizing Committee, c/o Convention Management, P.O. Box 2009, Auckland, New Zealand; tel: 64-9-529 4414; fax: 64-9-520 0718; e-mail: 12wcee@cmsl.co.nz; WWW: http://www.cmsl.co.nz/12wcee; also see http://www.eeri.org/Meetings/12WCEE.html. For information on abstract submission, contact: The Secretary, 12WCEE Technical Program Committee, c/o Department of Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand; fax: 64-3-364 2758; e-mail: 12wcee@civil.canterbury.ac.nz.
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