Return to Index of Disaster Research Newsletters
Best regards.
Giovanni Varosio
E-mail: giovanni.varosio@dappolonia.it
The full text of this "Call for Issues" was published in the Federal Register and is now available on-line (see http://www.fema.gov/nfip). All submissions must be in writing and should be received by October 30, 1998. For further information, contact H. Joseph Coughlin Jr., FIA, (202) 646-3443; or Michael Robinson, FEMA Mitigation Directorate, (202) 646-2716.
The Canadian Emergency Preparedness Association (CEPA) constitutes a new national forum for the many Canadian practitioners involved in emergency prevention, planning, response, recovery, and mitigation. CEPA is dedicated to the promotion of knowledge, understanding, and cooperation in emergency preparedness in Canada. The association will encourage the development of national standards and model practices in the field of emergency preparedness and will support the development of a national certification process for emergency managers. CEPA is composed of eight regional chapters and one national chapter made up of emergency practitioners from country-wide organizations. More information is available from the temporary CEPA Web site: http://142.58.200.38. The permanent Web address will be: http://www.cepa-acpc.ca. Interested individuals might also contact: Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness, P.O. Box 2911, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3R5; 1-800-965-4608 -or- (905) 546-3911; fax: (905) 546-2340; WWW: http://www.ccep.ca.
http://www.dir.ucar.edu/esig/prediction/
The Web site of the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group of
the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which we've mentioned
several times before, is an ever-expanding source of information about
the human dimensions of all sorts of natural disasters. This latest
addition to the site provides information about and an opportunity for
interested persons to comment on a two-year National Science
Foundation-sponsored project on the use and misuse of scientific
information and predictions by policy makers. As the project overview
states:
Major financial and intellectual scientific resources are now focused on trying to predict the behavior of natural and human-induced environmental phenomena. Such efforts reflect a demand by policy makers for predictive information that can help guide political decision making on controversial environmental issues that include negotiation of international environmental treaties, disposal of radioactive waste, and control of development in areas prone to natural disasters. However, neither policy makers nor scientists possess information necessary for understanding if, how, and when research focusing on prediction can be productively applied to the policy-making process. Whereas timely, policy-relevant predictions may help policy makers respond to some environmental problems, the misapplication of prediction research to policy problems can undermine policy goals, waste scarce financial and intellectual resources, and undermine the credibility of the scientific enterprise.This site provides a survey of the project as well as the results of an initial workshop that brought together scientists, policy makers, and policy analysts to examine this issue.
http://www.fema.gov/mit
Not surprisingly, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Web site is one of the best sources on the World Wide Web for
information about how home and business owners can protect their
property from natural hazards. The FEMA mitigation site, at the URL
above, not only covers the various programs available to reduce
losses, but also includes numerous on-line publications that
individuals can survey and/or download. Two of the latest additions
are, "Homeowner's Guide to Retrofitting: Six Ways of Protecting Your
Home from Flood Damage," and "Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building
a Safe Room Inside Your Home." These publications, FEMA #312 and #320
respectively, can also be ordered free from the FEMA Distribution
Facility, P.O. Box 2012, Jessup, MD 20794-2012; 1-800-480-2520.
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/wt/hqp/hqStart
Think you're pretty knowledgeable about natural hazards? Test
drive this natural hazards quiz from the National Geophysical Data
Center and see if you really do know the difference between a tsunami
and a seiche . . .
http://www.ifrc.org
http://www.ifrc.org/issues/
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC) Web site not only provides information about the
society but also includes an "Issues" section that includes several
papers and presentations on human advocacy, a "Code of Conduct" for
nongovernmental organizations involved in disaster relief,
presentations from the "Humanitarian Agencies Forum" - a monthly
meeting hosted by the IFRC, and information about the "Sphere Project"
- an effort to develop standards in humanitarian assistance.
http://www.paho.org/english/ags/eng_indx.htm
At the currently ongoing 1998 Pan American Sanitary Conference
hosted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health
Organization (WHO), participants will consider a report summarizing
existing knowledge regarding the effects of El Nino on health and
outlining the need to develop a scientific agenda to examine the
impacts of extreme events such as El Nino on human health and health
infrastructure and services. Interested persons can download a copy of
the report from the URL above; it is a PDF file and requires an Adobe
Acrobat reader to view. The text, in MS-Word format, can also be
requested by e-mail from disaster@paho.org.
http://www.caribredcross.org
The Caribbean Red Cross Society has launched this new Web site
designed to inform the Caribbean community and interested persons
outside the area of the aims, programs, and ongoing work of the Red
Cross in that region. The site also provides practical information for
families on preventing, preparing for, and coping with emergencies; as
well as the latest disaster news of the region and ongoing advisories
about emerging situations.
http://www.emergplansoc.org.uk
The U.K. Emergency Planning Society is now on the Internet at the
URL above. The society is "the U.K.'s foremost professional body for
all those with an involvement with any form of crisis, emergency or
disaster planning and management." Its approximately 850 members are
drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, including local government,
industry, utilities, emergency services, volunteer organizations,
educational establishments, the legal profession, and independent
consultants. The society produces independent advice and guidance for
its members and for others through a series of sub groups. Their areas
of interest include business continuity, oil pollution, evacuation and
welfare, Year 2000 issues, nuclear and other hazardous sites, and
civil protection in Europe. Much information about these issues is now
available from this site.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/epd/
The U.K. Home Office, Emergency Planning Division (roughly the
U.K. version of FEMA), now offers this Web site, with information
about emergency planning in England and Wales, as well as about the
U.K. contribution to civil protection in the European and
international context. The division's responsibility involves planning
for peacetime emergencies and civil defence. The site includes
sections on Publications, Organisational Structure, and Bulletin
Boards.
ListDPRA - Discussion/News of Disaster Prevention/Recovery
"ListDPRA" has been established by the Disaster Prevention &
Recovery Alliance for the discussion of business interruption
scenarios and disaster prevention, planning, and recovery generally.
Interested persons are welcome to start a conversational thread,
respond to a previous post, or ask a specific question on any subject
concerning human-caused and natural disasters, protection of business
assets, management and employee training, hazards safety, or similar
subjects that might be of interest to other group members. This list
is for the sharing of information and the announcement of new products
and services of DPRA and its members. To subscribe to ListDPRA, send a
blank e-mail to: listdpra-subscribe@egroups.com. For more information
see: http://www.DPRA.net/index.htm.
The participants concluded that there is now a need to ensure that early warning of natural disasters becomes an integral part of government policy in every disaster-prone country. Specifically, they identified major strengths and weaknesses in early warning capacities around the world, and drew up the following conclusions regarding further action:
For more information about the results of this meeting and planned future actions, contact: Scott Weber or Terry Jeggle, IDNDR Secretariat, United Nations, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; (41 22) 740-0377; fax: (41 22) 733-8695; e-mail: scott.weber@dha.unicc.org -or- terry.jeggle@dha.unicc.org.
The goal of this year's Internet conference is to share experience and make progress on these issues. Persons interested in participating should subscribe to the conference discussion list by sending an e-mail message to listserv@thecity.sfsu.edu with the single message: subscribe risk [your name]
Individuals can also follow the conference on the World Wide Web at http://www.quipu.net:1998/. For more information, contact Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo, Promotion and Public Information Unit, IDNDR Secretariat, United Nations, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; (41 22) 798 68 94; fax: (41 22) 733 86 95. e-mail: idndr@dha.unicc.org.
The scenario will be a train derailment involving fire and hazardous materials. The organizers are seeking your assistance in identifying potential role players and would like to hear from you about exceptional individuals who you think might enjoy being included in what may prove to be a landmark event. We would like to fill the following roles with real-life counterparts:
If you would like to nominate an individual, please forward name and
contact information to amoore@emforum.org, and include a brief summary
about the individual's background. Participants must be able to access
the Internet during evening hours.
Thank you.
Earthquake Preparedness Program: Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Open House to Introduce the "On Shaky Ground - Supplement" (ABAG'S guide to earthquake hazards in the Bay Area). Oakland, California: September 24, 1998, 9:45-noon. Contact: Michelle Fadelli, ABAG, P.O. Box 2050, Oakland, CA 94694-2050; (510) 464-7922; WWW: http://quake.abag.ca.gov.
USGS Geologic Hazards Team, 1998 Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecture: "Earthquakes and Natural Disaster Insurance," by Dr. Thomas L. Holzer, USGS Earthquake Hazards Team, Menlo Park, California. Sponsored by: Association of Engineering Geologists and Geological Society of America. September, 28, 1998, 2:00 p.m.: USGS Geologic Hazards Team, Fourth Floor Conference Room, 1711 Illinois Street, Colorado School of Mines Campus, Golden, Colorado. Contact: Anthony J. Crone, U.S. Geological Survey, MS 966, Box 25046, Denver, CO 80225-0046; (303) 273-8591; fax: (303) 273-8600; e-mail: crone@gldvxa.cr.usgs.gov.
Worldaid '98: Global Expo 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.
First Due Fire and Rescue. Presented by: Fire Rescue Magazine, Jems Communications. Las Vegas, Nevada: October 7-10, 1998. Contact: Jems Communications, P.O. Box 2789, Carlsbad, CA 92018-2789; 1-800-266-5367 -or- (760) 431-9797; fax: (760) 431-8135; WWW: http://www.jems.com.
NMEHC-98: New Mexico Environmental Health Conference. Albuquerque, New Mexico: October 12-15, 1998. Includes session on "Natural Disasters: Public Health and Environmental Responsibility." Contact" NMEHC-98, P.O. Box 27176, Albuquerque, NM 87125-7176.
Business Continuity and Information Security: Prepare for the Coming Millennium. Sponsor: AIT Global Inc. New York City: October 13-14, 1998. Contact: AIT Global Inc., 9 Byrd Court, Kings Park, NY 11754; (516) 269-6713; fax: (516) 269-3881.
Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies and Disaster Management Forum Annual Conference: "Dealing with Disasters in the 21st Century." Feltham, Middlesex, U.K.: October 22-23, 1998. Contact: Disaster Management Forum, P.O. Box 135, Bromley, Kent BR1 1ZN, U.K.; tel: +44 (0) 181 313 3999; fax: +44 (0) 181 313 3998.
River Basin Management to Meet Competing Needs. Sponsored by: U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (USCID). Park City, Utah: October 28-31, 1998. Contact: USCID, 1616 Seventeenth Street, Suite 483, Denver, CO 80202; (303) 628-5430; fax: (303) 628-5431; e-mail: stephens@uscid.org; WWW: http://www.uscid.org/~uscid.
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) 51st Annual Meeting. San Diego, California: February 3-6, 1999. 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.
Fifth U.S. Conference on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering. Sponsor: American Society of Civil Engineers Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering. Seattle, Washington: August 12-14, 1999. The deadline for submission of abstracts has been extended to October 2, 1998. For information on the conference programs, contact: Don Ballantyne, EQE International, 1411 4th Avenue Building, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101; (206) 442-0695; fax: (206) 624-8268; e-mail: dbballan@eqe.com -or- Tom O'Rourke, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 273 Hollister Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853- 3501; (607) 255-6470; fax: (607) 255-9004; e-mail: tdo1@cornell.edu. For information about conference registration and logistics, contact Andrea Dargush, Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER), Red Jacket Quadrangle, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14261-0025; (716) 645-3391; fax: (716) 645- 3399; e-mail: dargush@acsu.buffalo.edu.
Return to Index of Disaster Research Newsletters
Return to Hazards Center Home Page
hazctr@colorado.edu