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I am a graduate student at New York University and am currently involved in a research project about the use of technology and statistical techniques for disaster preparedness and mitigation. I am particularly interested in the use of the technique known as small area analysis (SAA) that is quite prevalent in the health field. SAA is used primarily to assess health care needs in a small geographical area. A number of practitioners in the field of disaster preparedness and mitigation that I have spoken to have expressed an interest in pursuing this methodology, particularly for estimating risk factors for small geographic areas. I have not , however, come across any references in the emergency management literature to the use of this methodology in the field. I am wondering whether anyone has heard of any instances in which SAA has been used in the field of disaster preparedness. I greatly appreciate any help that you can give me on this subject or any contacts that you know of who may be able to help me. Thank you very much.
Charles Castro
ccastro@hssolutions.org
I am a regional planner and I am working with several counties to develop strategies to reduce their vulnerability to a variety of hazards. A big policy issue is new development and allowable density of development in the 100-year floodplain. The Regional Planning Council has a regional policy objects to any increase in density over that currently allowed by a local government on land located in the 100-year floodplain. I know this may seem like a good idea, a no-brainer, but the counties I work with are rural, largely undeveloped, coastal, and have large portions of land in state or federal conservation as well as owned by private timber companies. The problem is that there is nowhere else to develop except in flood-prone areas or along the coast. Policies that do not allow changes from rural densities to residential densities in flood-prone areas simply won't allow development at all except for extensive rural sprawl in these counties.
What is the policy solution? Where is the balance between safety issues and property rights? FEMA/NFIP rules don't address density issues. I am thinking of a rational method where residential development densities may be allowed in areas that do not have 100-year floods deeper that 1 foot (over 1 foot would isolate the land-owner during a flood event) and extra care would be required in stormwater development standards. Does anyone have experience with this problem? Can anyone suggest other tactics? Are there any planners from rural but developing flood-prone areas who have tried to establish policies to limit density? Thanks for any suggestions you may have.
Greg Williamson
Apalachee Regional Planning Council
314 E. Central Avenue
Blountstown, FL 32314
(850) 674-4571
macgregor17@hotmail.com.
Is anyone aware of any guidance/literature/etc regarding operations recovery at water treatment plants or water distribution systems? Thanks for your help,
Paul C. Bull
Atlantic Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command
LANTDIV Utilities Engineering
Code 1633B
(757)-322-4680
Fax: (757)-322-4717
E-mail: bullpc@efdlant.navfac.navy.mil.
We are building new jurisprudence - and we would like to learn from foreign experience. We are looking for any assistance on how to get text format of Federal laws about disasters, emergencies - conceptual documents. If anyone can provide information it would be very helpful to us.
Thanks in advance,
Regards,
Dimitri Makhatadze
Emergency Medical Service of Georgia
ditoems@nilc.org.ge
I am on a committee in my small town (Dyersburg, TN - population 25K) to create emergency preparedness plans of action. We are only beginning this effort and realize that in most cases we will need to rely mainly on the strength of the people within our community, as opposed to any type of government assistance. My question is, could you provide us with information, or direct our focus, for beginning "Plans for Emergency Preparedness" at a local level?
Currently on our team we have: local officials, management from industry, and several members from our local emergency services. Thank you for any guidance you can provide to us.
John Feith
feith@dbgcorp.com
Indonesia is highly susceptible to natural disasters. It sits on an active volcano belt near tectonic plate boundaries and is also subject to tropical rains, typhoons, and the influences of El Nino. Thus, Indonesia is threatened by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, floods, droughts, tsunamis, and tropical rainstorms.
To better understand and prepare for these risks, in July of this year Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, established the Research Center for Natural Disasters - the only center for natural disaster studies in Indonesia. The center consists of three divisions: Research and Development, Education and Training, and Community Services.
The main objectives of the center are:
In order to achieve these objectives, the center carries out a number of activities, including numerous training programs and extensive research on hazards of the region. For additional information about this new hazards center, contact Bambang Agus, Vice Director, Research Center for Natural Disasters, Gadjah Mada University, Kantor Pusat UGM, Lantai III Sayap Selatan, Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia; tel: (0274) 901978, 901709; fax: (0274) 520669, 589595; e-mail: info@psba.ugm.ac.id; WWW: http://psba.ugm.ac.id.
http://www.paho.org/english/ped/pedhome.htm
The Pan American Health Organization's Emergency Preparedness and
Disaster Relief Coordination Program has a new, redesigned Web site at
the URL above. It provides an overview of the program; a section on
"Dealing With Disasters" that includes discussion groups, donation
guidelines, an index of contact persons in Latin America and the
Caribbean, and situation reports; a catalog of publications including
full-text documents and newsletters from PAHO; a link to the Regional
Disaster Center in San Jose, Costa Rica and its extensive database
(11,000 documents) of hazards/disaster literature; information on
PAHO's Humanitarian Supply Management System (SUMA); and extensive
links to other disaster management resources on the Internet. There is
also a special section on El Nino; links to World Health Organization
Collaborating Centers; the latest issue of the Disaster Section's
excellent newsletter, "Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the
Americas"; and the findings from the PAHO/WHO conference on Health
Crises, Disasters, and the Internet held last fall in Bogota,
Colombia. The Web page is also available in Spanish.
http://quake.abag.ca.gov
In a report released last week by the Association of Bay Area
Governments (ABAG), new data from the U.S. Geological Survey suggest
that a large quake on the San Andreas fault might rupture a longer
stretch of the fault than previously thought, causing far more damage
than previously feared, and potentially resulting in the single
greatest U.S. disaster in the last 100 years. The report has been
described as the grimmest scenario to date for an earthquake in the
San Francisco/San Jose area, with major implications for Bay Area
disaster planning. Information about the document, a supplement to a
1995 ABAG report that postulated a less sever quake on the San
Andreas, is available from the ABAG Web site above.
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/Dis_Svy/OhioR_Mar97/Ohio.pdf
A National Weather Service evaluation team was sent to the Ohio
River Valley following severe weather events in early March of 1997
that produced flash flooding and record river flooding across the
region. This Web address offers a downloadable "Service Assessment"
(35 pp.) that includes findings and recommendations from that event.
The Connection Newsletter
Frank Lucier, who retired from the San Francisco Fire Department
as the Program Coordinator for their Neighborhood Emergency Response
Team Program, is developing a national newsletter, called "The
Connection," intended to share good ideas about civilian disaster
preparedness programs from around the country. The project is being
sponsored by the National Institute for Urban Search and Rescue.
Anyone interested in submitting articles about disaster preparedness
or receiving a copy of the electronic newsletter should send an e-mail
to fjlucier@naem.com.
An E-Mail List on Emergency Evacuation and the Disabled Community
The Peninsula Disability Services Board has begun a new,
moderated e-mail list intended to help open lines of communication
between emergency officials and the disabled community at large
regarding emergency evacuation procedures and techniques. The board
has extended an invitation to all interested persons to join and help
make emergency services safer and easier for all citizens. To join, go
to: http://www.listbot.com/cgi-bin/subscriber and sign in with your
e-mail address and a password. You will receive an automatic response
verifying your subscription. For more information about this effort,
contact Leslie Little, Chairperson, Peninsula Disability Services
Board, 1409 B N Mt. Vernon Avenue, Williamsburg, VA 21385; (757) 221-
0542; fax: (757) 221-8377; TDD: (757) 221-0340; e-mail:
pendsb@visi.net;
WWW: http://members.spree.com/LLittle/.
The United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) Secretariat is just begun its 1998 Internet conference "Natural Disaster Prevention Begins with Information." The theme reflects the larger focus of this year's IDNDR campaign, on "Disasters and the Media." As the organizers note:
As natural disasters are increasingly in the limelight, our aims, by looking at natural disaster prevention and information issues, are multifold. We are hoping to engage an interesting debate in which "users" and "makers" of information as well as "messengers" of information can express their concerns, their needs, and make suggestions in order to get the information machine going in a smooth and efficient way, the ultimate aim being to better protect people's lives and their property from the impact of natural disasters.
By tackling this theme our goal is also to interest the media in the concept and practice of natural disaster prevention, a wording which can be misleading. The idea is to try to move away from the sensationalism offered by disaster impacts, by demonstrating the benefits of all preventive policies, thereby also considerably increasing the number of those individuals and organisations aware of the usefulness of disaster prevention.
You can receive conference papers and comments by subscribing to the conference e-mail discussion list. To do so, send an e-mail message to listserv@thecity.sfsu.edu with the single message: "subscribe risk [your name]." You can also follow the conference on the World Wide Web at http://www.quipu.net:1998/.
In the last issue of Disaster Research (#269) we introduced the newly formed Canadian Emergency Preparedness Association (CEPA) - a new national forum for Canadian practitioners involved in emergency prevention, planning, response, recovery, and mitigation. In that article, we noted the temporary CEPA Web site: http://142.58.200.38 and the future permanent address: http://www.cepa-acpc.ca. We want to add that interested persons can also contact: Andre Lamalice, Emergency Preparedness Canada, Ontario, Canada K1A 0W6; (613) 991- 7034; fax: (613) 998-9589; e-mail: lamala@x400.gc.ca for additional information.
[Below are some recent 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]
Year 2000 Embedded Systems Conference for Correctional Facilities, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Response. Sponsors: Texas Year 2000 Project Office, Texas Department of Information Resources, and others. Austin, Texas: October 15-16, 1998. Contact: Texas Year 2000 Project Office, Texas Department of Information Resources, P.O. Box 13564, Austin, TX 78711-3564; WWW: http://www.dir.state.tx.us/y2k/embedded/.
Symposium on "Mental Health Issues in Conflicts and Crisis Situations." Part of the Fifth World Congress of the International Association for Emergency Psychiatry: "Psychiatric Emergencies in a Changing World." Brussels, Belgium: October 16, 1998. Contact: Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters - CRED, Catholic University of Louvain, School of Public Health, 30.94 Clos Chapelle- aux-Champs, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; tel: +32-2-764-3327; fax: +32-2-764-3441; e-mail: below@epid.ucl.ac.be
31st Annual Water Resources Conference. Sponsor: University of Minnesota and American Society of Civil Engineers, Minnesota Section. St. Paul, Minnesota: October 26, 1998. Contact: Lori Graven, Program Director, or Bev Ringsak, Program Associate, University College, University of Minnesota, 206 Nolte Center, 315 Pillsbury Drive S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455-0139; (612) 625-9023/6689; fax: (612) 626-1632.
Indiana Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management (INAFSM) 1998 Meeting and Conference. Marshall, Indiana: October 28-30, 1998. Contact: INAFSM, c/o Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd., 115 West Washington Street, Suite 1368-South, Indianapolis, IN 46204; Organizing Committee: (317) 232-4164.
Communicating Technologies: More Than Just Talking - The Housing and Hazards Group's Second Exeter One-day Seminar. Exeter, U.K.: November 16, 1998. The seminar will focus on communicating and disseminating technological improvements to house construction practice in low-income developing communities, particularly in Bangladesh after the devastating floods of 1998. Contact Robert Hodgson, Housing and Hazards Group Coordinator, Earth Resources Centre, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4QE, U.K.; tel. +44-1392-263900; fax: +44-1392-263907; e-mail: R.L.P.Hodgson@exeter.ac.uk.
Corporate and Risk Communication in Organisations. Sponsor: The Centre for Risk and Crisis Management, Durham University Business School. Durham City, U.K.: January 20-21, 1999. Contact Eve Coles, The Centre for Risk and Crisis Management, Durham University Business School, Mill Hill Lane, Durham City, U.K. DH1 3LB; tel: +44(0)191 374 1220/3381/7326; fax: +44(0)191 374 3386; e-mail: evecoles@aol.com -or- e.l.coles@durham.ac.uk.
Ninth Annual National Radiological Emergency Preparedness (NREP) Conference. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: March 29-31, 1999. Proposals and abstracts are due by October 30. Contact: Prosanta Chowdhury, LDEQ Radiation Protection Division, P.O. Box 82135, Baton Rouge, LA 70884-2135; (225) 765-0139; fax: (225) 926-1903; e-mail: prosanta_c@deq.state.la.us; WWW: http://www.deq.state.la.us/oarp/rpd/rep.htm.
European Geophysical Society (EGS) 24th General Assembly. The Hague, Netherlands: April 19-23, 1999. Includes Open Session on Mass Movements (NH6), including two symposia: 01 - Earthquake Induced Landslides, and 03 - Geophysical Investigation of Landslides and Unstable Slopes. Abstracts are due December 15, 1998. Complete information about the meeting (including the call for papers) is available at the EGS Web site: http://www.copernicus.org/EGS/egsga/denhaag99/denhaag99.htm. For information on the above symposia, contact: Janusz Wasowski, CNR-CERIST (Italian National Research Council), c/o Istituto Geologia Applicata e Geotecnica, Politecnico di Bari, via Orabona, 4 - 70125 Bari, Italy; tel: +39-080-5428111; fax: +39-080-5567944; e-mail: wasowski@area.ba.cnr.it -or- Vincenzo Del Gaudio, Dipartimento di Geologia e Geofisica, Universite degli Studi, via E. Orabona, 4 - 70125 Bari, Italy; tel: +39-080-5442559; fax: +39-080-5442625; e-mail: delga@geo.uniba.it.
Emergency Services Africa '99. Cape Town, South Africa: May 19-21, 1999. Contact: Conference Secretary, Suite 157, Postnet X3036, Paarl, Republic of South Africa 7620; tel: +27 21 590 1702; fax: +27 21 872 1404; e-mail: zacks@mweb.co.za.
Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) 24th Annual Conference. Austin Texas: June 17-23, 2000. Contact ASFPM, 4233 West Beltline Highway, Madison, WI 53711; (608) 274-0123; fax: (608) 274-0696; e-mail: asfpm@floods.org.
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