DISASTER RESEARCH 265

August 14, 1998

TABLE OF CONTENTS:


  1. Seeking Information on Incorporating Crime Prevention in Emergency Management

  2. Seeking Information on Emergency Planning for Justice Facilities

  3. Asian Disaster Reduction Center Opens in Kobe

  4. Internet Stuff

  5. National Research Council Examines Role of USGS

  6. Some Recently Awarded Grants

  7. The National Geographic Map of North American Hazards

  8. Announcing the First Publications from the Second Assessment

  9. Help Wanted: Consultant to Develop Oregon Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan

  10. Help Wanted: APWA Disaster Preparedness Programs Manager

  11. Help Wanted: Executive Director, CREW

  12. EERI Announces Student Paper Competition

  13. Fall Courses in Emergency Management from U.C.-Berkeley

  14. Conferences and Training


1)----------
Seeking Information on Incorporating Crime Prevention in Emergency Management

In partnership with the local police, our small Emergency Planning Service may shortly be taking on crime and disorder as part of its new duties. One of the tasks will be to develop initiatives with the local community to cut crime and criminal activity. If readers of this article have had any experience in this field, or know of successful local initiatives that have helped vulnerable members of the community at risk from crime or have helped cut crime figures, I would be pleased to hear from you.

Mike Jolliff
Senior EPO
Isle of Wight Council
E-mail: epo@iowep.demon.co.uk
Tel: 01983 823393


2)----------
Seeking Information on Emergency Planning for Justice Facilities

I'm working on preliminary plans for emergency needs in an existing mixed jail/courts building, and a new courts building being constructed across the street. I would like to contact anyone that may have developed emergency plans for similar buildings.

Thanks,
Shawn M. Herron
E-mail: sherron@attatlaw.win.net


3)----------
Asian Disaster Reduction Center Opens in Kobe

On July 30, dignitaries from Japan and other countries of Asia participated in the formal opening of the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) in Kobe. This center is dedicated to the reduction of natural disasters through international cooperation and will promote collaboration with and among other Asian centers through research, training, information exchange, and disaster prevention activities. The center is headed by Dr. Shigeru Itoh, who is also chairperson of the Urban Disaster Research Institute. For more information, contact the ADRC, 3F, IHD Centre Building, 1-5-1, Wakihama-kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture 651-0073, Japan; tel: 81-78-230- -0346; fax: 81-78-230-0347; e-mail: rep@adrc.or.jp; WWW: http://www.adrc.or.jp .


4)----------
Internet Stuff

[These are a few of the latest Internet resources we've come across. For a list of selected Internet/Web sites dealing with disaster management, see http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/sites/sites.html.]

http://archnt2.tamu.edu/dbilbo/Taex%20Emergency/TAEXtop.htm
Dr. David L. Bilbo of Texas A&M University has done much work to ensure that disaster mitigation, preparedness, and response are integrally included in the information that agricultural extension agents provide to their clients, and he has developed this Texas Agricultural Extension Service Emergency Information Web site to support that end. It includes the complete text of an excellent guide: "Extension Agent's Handbook for Emergency Preparation and Response," as well as separate sections on tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and winter weather - each of which provides extensive background information and safety guidelines.

http://stargate.ornl.gov/stargate/empp/empp.html
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) hosts an Emergency Management and Preparedness Program (EMPP), which conducts applied research and assists in the development of emergency planning capabilities for a variety of agencies. For example, it has developed the training plan for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP), as well as other courses, job aids, computer-based training, and training videos (including several for the Federal Emergency Management Agency). It has also helped develop emergency exercise plans and assessment tools, as well as computer systems to support emergency management. Finally, the program has extensive experience in creating public education materials for emergency management. The EMPP Web site provides an introduction to the program, describes previous and ongoing research, capabilities and expertise, products, publications, and training resources. Additional information is available from John Sorensen, Director, Emergency Management and Preparedness Program, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6206; (423) 576-2716; fax: (423) 574-5938; e-mail: jhs@ornl.gov.

http://156.106.192.130/dha_ol/
The 1998 International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) World Disaster Reduction Campaign press kit is now available. People interested in receiving a copy should contact the IDNDR Secretariat, United Nations, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland; tel: (41-22) 740-0377 or 798-6894; fax: (41-22) 733 8695; e-mail: scott.weber@dha.unicc.org. In the meantime, the press kit can also be found on the Web at the address above (look under "Disaster Reduction").

This site - "Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Online" - is the principle source of information on the activities of this United Nations agency with regard to disasters and complex emergencies. It includes information about the office; its latest emergency reports; emergency information by country/region; sections on coordination and emergency response, and disaster reduction; a list of OCHA publications; news about and from IRIN - OCHA's Integrated Regional Information Networks; and information on training, conferences, and workshops.

http://www.geohaz.org/radius
Communication and sharing among cities is an important aspect of the RADIUS project - a comparative study and project entitled "Understanding Urban Seismic Risk Around the World" that started last June (see DR #220 and #235). Currently, more than 60 cities are participating in the study, which is trying to determine common earthquake risk problems among the urban areas of the world and identify solutions and risk management practices that have been successful and can be duplicated. The member cities are now able to exchange information through an Internet forum that has been established exclusively for the project. For more information, see the Web page above.

http://www.dir.ucar.edu/esig/lanina/
http://www.dir.ucar.edu/esig/la_nina_home/
If it's not one damn thing, it's another . . . With the waning of El Nino comes the onset of La Nina - the cooling of eastern Pacific waters off the coast of South American - and with it, global meteorological consequences of many kinds. In July, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, held an international seminar to examine the many dimensions of the La Nina phenomena; information from that meeting is provided at the first URL above.

In addition, the Environmental and Societal Impacts group at NCAR has launched a La Nina Web page at the second address. This is, by no means, the only La Nina site, but one of its advantages is that it consolidates and serves as an entry point to many of the others.

http://www.disaster.info.desastres.net/PED-Ecuador/desastre/mitigacion
The developers invite all interested persons to visit this new Web page on "Disaster Mitigation in Hospitals," created by the Pan American Health Organization's Emergency Preparedness Program in South America. This site contains a wide variety of information on hospital disaster mitigation, including guidelines, training materials, a selected bibliography, as well as publications available through PAHO. Comments or suggestions are welcome.

http://www.disastercenter.com/year2000.htm
http://www.disastercenter.com
A colleague recommends the Disaster Center Year 2000 page as a good place to start when trying to divine problems and solutions to the Y2K computer headache. The Disaster Center site itself remains an ever-growing nexus of Web links, bulletin boards, forums, and pages of all kinds dealing with disasters. The site assembles and arranges disaster information from hundreds of others sites and adds information of its own to produce an extensive resource and reference guide on disasters.


5)----------
National Research Council Examines Role of USGS

After nearly being eliminated by Congress in 1995 and surviving substantial budget cuts while being given additional responsibilities, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working hard to review its role in order to ensure that it responds to critical national needs. Recently, the agency requested that the National Research Council (NRC) convene a committee of experts to assist in this effort, and an NRC project, "Assessment of Future Roles, Challenges, and Opportunities for the U.S. Geological Survey" (#CGER-U-97-0-2-A) has been initiated.

Specifically, the agency wants the NRC committee to provide guidance on:

The first meeting of the committee was held in July, and the project is expected to last 18 months. More details on this endeavor can be found at the National Academy of Sciences Web site: http://www2.nas.edu/besr/2362.html. To view the USGS strategic plan, see http://www.usgs.gov/strategic/index.html.


6)----------
Some Recently Awarded Grants

Employing Psychological Principles of Social Influence to Increase Household Seismic Hazard Adjustment Activity. Funding agency: National Science Foundation, $92,206, 24 months. Principal Investigator: Robert D.Ridge, Brigham Young University, D 341 Ash, Provo, UT 84602-1043; (801) 378-6177; e-mail: robert.ridge@byu.edu.

Determinants of State-Level Disaster Policy Change, Improvement, and Learning. Funding agency: National Science Foundation, $125,112, 24 months. Principal Investigator: Thomas A. Birkland, State University of New York-Albany, P.O. Box 9, Albany, NY 12201-0009; (518) 442-3827; e-mail: birkland@csc.albany.edu.

Seismic Safety of Federal-Aid Highways, Bridges, and Tunnels. Funding agency: U.S. Department of Transportation, $12 million, six years. Principal Investigator: George C. Lee, Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, State University of New York at Buffalo, Red Jacket Quadrangle, Buffalo, NY 14261-0025; (716) 645- 3391; fax: (716) 645-3399; e-mail: mceer@acsu.buffalo.edu; WWW: http://mceer.buffalo.edu.


7)----------
The National Geographic Map of North American Hazards

The July 1998 issue of "National Geographic" magazine contains a feature article on natural hazards and disasters in North America supplemented with a 24" x 20" map of "Natural Hazards of North America" (see DR #261). DR readers can obtain a free copy of the map by writing the Hazards Coordinator, U.S. Geological Survey, MS 107, Reston, VA 20192. Maps are available in English in either folded or flat format, and in Spanish in folded format only.


8)----------
Announcing the First Publications from the Second Assessment

Since 1994, the Natural Hazards Center has overseen the Second U.S. Assessment of Research and Applications for Natural Hazards, a multidisciplinary effort to evaluate existing knowledge about hazards and disasters from the perspectives of the physical, social, natural, behavioral, and engineering sciences. This research has been undertaken by staff at the Natural Hazards Center and over 100 nationally and internationally recognized experts who volunteered their time to evaluate our approach to hazards. Several of the subgroups working on the assessment decided to prepare individual volumes outlining their findings, and the first two such publications have recently been released:

Cooperating with Nature: Confronting Natural Hazards with Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Communities, edited by Raymond J. Burby (1998, 368 pp., $47.95)

Paying the Price: The Status and Role of Insurance Against Natural Disasters in the United States, edited by Howard Kunreuther and Richard J. Roth, Sr. (1998, 320 pp., $47.95)

Both volumes can be purchased from the National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-33313; fax: (202) 334-2451; WWW: http://www.nap.edu/bookstore. Please add $4.00 shipping for the first book and 50› shipping for each additional book.


9)----------
Help Wanted: Consultant to Develop Oregon Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan

[See also: http://www.osp.state.or.us/oem/]

State of Oregon, Department of State Police, Office of Emergency Management, Request for Proposals, DAS-VIP #0002361, OEM #409RFP13: Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (Phase One of the Revision and Expansion of Oregon's "409 Plan"). Proposals due not later than 5 p.m. PDT, September 14, 1998.

The State of Oregon, Department of State Police, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is seeking a consultant to revise and greatly expand its Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan, the state's systematic evaluation of the nature and extent of vulnerability to natural hazards and the actions needed to reduce future vulnerability to them.

This request for proposals (RFP) is for phase one of a project that includes updating and expanding the existing "all-hazards" framework of the Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan; developing hazard mitigation annexes for flooding, high winds and precipitation (severe Pacific storms), landslides, mudslides, and debris avalanches; and development of an action plan for mitigation needs for these hazards which cannot be addressed within the framework of current resources. The phase one planning process is expected to take approximately ten months to complete. The maximum budget for phase one of this project is $50,000.

The complete request for proposals is available on the Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Vendor Information Program (VIP) via the following Internet address: http://www.das.state.or.us/pages/purchasing

To receive a copy of this request for proposals via mail or in person contact Ms. Abby Kershaw, Section Director, OSP - Office of Emergency Management, Financial and Recovery Services Section, 595 Cottage Street N.E., Salem, OR 97310; (503) 378-2911 ext. 227; fax: (503) 588-1378; e-mail: akershaw@oem.state.or.us.

OEM utilizes a standard DAS personal/professional services contract for contracting with consultants. A sample may be found via the Internet address above.


10)----------
Help Wanted: APWA Disaster Preparedness Programs Manager

The American Public Works Association (APWA) in Washington, D.C., is seeking someone to fill the position of Manager, Disaster Preparedness Programs, Government and Public Affairs Department. The position is responsible for providing support to committees involved in the development and promotion of policy and programs in emergency management and excavation damage prevention. People seeking more information should contact, and interested persons should send a resume to: DP Manager, 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., #501, Washington, DC 20004.


11)----------
Help Wanted: Executive Director, CREW

The newly incorporated Cascadia Regional Earthquake Workgroup (CREW) is seeking an Executive Director who will complement and support the current volunteer leadership and ensure the continued vitality of CREW. The CREW mission is to reduce the risk of Cascadia regional hazards by linking mitigation resources and encouraging mitigation projects. CREW members represent the business community, academia, nonprofit organizations, and local, state and federal government.

Duties: The Executive Director will direct day-to-day CREW activities in support of programs and research projects, administer financial affairs, plan and coordinate meetings and conferences, coordinate membership activities, facilitate information activities, represent CREW through public speaking and outreach activities, serve as a liaison between CREW and other organizations, and provide information concerning CREW to the press.

Qualifications: Minimum: Bachelor's degree. Candidates should have a proven record of managing volunteers and working successfully with a governing Board of Directors and possess strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.

The position is based in the Puget Sound Region. Employment will be in the form of a personal service contract. Salary commensurate with qualifications. Submit resume with cover letter to CREW, P.O. Box 3707 MS 3U-67, Seattle, WA 98124-2207; fax: (253) 657-9988. Closing date is August 21, 1998.


12)----------
EERI Announces Student Paper Competition

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) has announced its annual student paper competition, which promotes active involvement of students in earthquake engineering and the earthquake hazards research community. Instructions for preparing a manuscript are available from EERI's Web site: http://www.eeri.org; or can be obtained from Professor Sharon Wood, Civil Engineering Department, University of Texas, Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory, 10100 Burnet Road, PRC 177, Austin, TX 78758. Papers are due November 6. Up to four authors will be invited to the EERI annual conference to be held in San Diego, February 3-6, 1999.


13)----------
Fall Courses in Emergency Management from U.C.-Berkeley

The University of California at Berkeley Extension offers a comprehensive certificate program in "Emergency Planning and Management" that provides theoretical and practical experience in managing all aspects of an emergency preparedness program - mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery. The program is also offered through the George Washington University-Virginia Campus. Berkeley's fall course schedule includes:
- Planning for the Human Element in Emergency Preparedness Planning, October 13-16
- Crisis Information Management, November 11-14
- Practicum in Emergency Preparedness, December 7-8
For more information, contact the 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; WWW: http://www.berkeley.edu/unex.


14)----------
Conferences and Training

Here are some 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

Workshop on Disaster Management. Sponsors: Committee on Earth Observation Satellite and the International Global Observing Systems. Frascati, Italy: September 14-15, 1998. Contact: Jerome Bequignon; tel: 39-069-418-0656; fax: 39-069-418-0612; e-mail: jerome.bequignon@esrin.esa.it.

Interdisciplinary International Conference on Integrated Drought Management - Lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa. Sponsor: UNESCO International Hydrological Program. Pretoria, South Africa: September 20-22, 1998. Contact: Conference Planners, CSIR Conference Center, P.O. Box 82, Irene, 0062, South Africa.

American Shore and Beach Preservation Association National Conference. Galveston, Texas: October 5-7, 1998. Contact: Sally Davenport, Associate Deputy Commissioner, Resource Management, Texas General Land Office, 1700 North Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701-1495.

Reducing America's Vulnerability to Coastal Hazards. Sponsors: American Geophysical Union, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others. Washington, D.C.: October 15, 1998. Contact: Gail Moody-Peek; (843) 740-1231; e-mail: gpeek@csc.noaa.gov.

The Business Recovery Managers Symposium. Offered by: MIS Training Institute. San Diego, California: November 3-5, 1998. MIS also offers two optional workshops before and after the symposium: "Putting the Plan into Action: An Exercise in Disaster Recovery," November 2; and "Using the Incident Command System as a Business Disaster Recovery Tool," November 5-6. Contact: MIS Training Institute, 498 Concord Street, Framingham, MA 01702-2357; (508) 879-7999; fax: (508) 872- 1153; e-mail: mis@misti.com; WWW: http://www.misti.com.

Asian Regional Meeting to Assess the Accomplishments of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). Bangkok, Thailand: February 9-12, 1999. Contact: IDNDR Secretariat, United Nations, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland; tel: (41-22) 740-0377 or 798-6894; fax: (41-22) 733 8695; e-mail: scott.weber@dha.unicc.org.

EMS Today '99. Sponsor: JEMS Magazine. Denver, Colorado: March 24-27, 1999. Contact: Kevin Flanagan, Jems Communications, P.O. Box 2789, Carlsbad, CA 92018-2789; (800) 266-5367 or (760) 431-9797; fax: (760) 431-8135.

National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Annual Conference. Washington, D.C.: May 7-12, 1999. Contact: Office of Emergency Preparedness/ National Disaster Medical System, Department of Health and Human Services, 12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 360, Rockville, MD 20857; (800) 872-6367 (press the "star" key) or (301) 443-1167; fax: (301) 443-5146; e-mail: ndms@usa.net; WWW: http://www.oep-ndms.dhhs.gov.

1999 International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG-99) XXII General Assembly, Inter-Association Symposium on "Geophysical Hazards: Risk Assessment, Mitigation and Warning Systems." (Associations include: IAPSO, IASPEI, IAVCEA, IAHS, IAMAS, IAG, IAGA, IUGG Tsunami Commission, ILP.) Birmingham, U.K.: July 22-27, 1999. Abstracts due January 15, 1999. Instructions for abstract submission are available from the IUGG Web site: http://www.bham.ac.uk/IUGG99/, or by writing Mohammed I. El-Sabh, Centre Oceanographique de Rimouski, Departement d'oceanographie, Universite du Quebec-Rimouski, 310 Allee des Ursulines, Rimouski, Quebec, Canada G5L 3A1. Please specify the symposium code, JSP23, and the symposium title.

Sixth Annual Conference of the International Emergency Management Society - TIEMS '99: "Contingencies, Emergency, Crisis, and Disaster Management: Defining the Agenda for the Third Millennium." Delft, The Netherlands: June 8-11, 1999. Abstracts and presentation proposals are due December 1. Contact: TIEMS, SEPA, TU Delft, P.O. Box 5015, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands; Express Mail: TIEMS, SEPA, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands; tel: +31 15 278 34 08; fax: +31 15 278 34 22; e-mail: tiems@sepa.tudelft.nl; WWW: http://www.sepa.tudelft.nl/tiems.htm.


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