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[Taken from Network Newsletter - a publication of the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group, National Center for Atmospheric Research]
To make the best use of communication technology and new developments in climate prediction, especially after the socioeconomic disasters related to the 1997-1998 El Nino event, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has developed the Climate Information and Prediction Services (CLIPS). The goals of CLIPS include demonstrating the socioeconomic benefits of climate information and prediction services, providing an international framework to promote climate information and prediction; encouraging the development of operational climate prediction; and facilitating the development of a global network of regional and national climate centers. The primary foci of CLIPS activities are: training, demonstration and pilot projects, networking, and prediction products. For further information, contact the Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization, Case Postale 2300, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland.
The U.S. Global Climate Change Research Program (USGCRP) has just begun publishing Acclimations - a new bimonthly newsletter covering the National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the United States. The newsletter appears as a link on the USGCRP Web site - http://www.nacc.usgcrp.gov - or it can be reached directly at http://www.terra-comm.com/newsletter2/. Topics include project activities; sectoral plans and accomplishments; regional workshop plans and post-workshop analysis and assessment activities; and related news items from federal agencies and other stakeholders. Feedback and article submissions are welcome.
The National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the United States is being conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which is a mechanism for coordinating participation of federal agencies in global change research. The focus of the National Assessment will be on what is known about the potential consequences of climate variability and change for the United States over the next 25-30 years (roughly one generation) and also over the next 100 years. The assessment, which is called for in the Global Change Research Act of 1990, will analyze and evaluate consequences for the environment, economy, and society.
Fundamental questions to be addressed include:
For more information, see the project Web site at http://www.nacc.usgcrp.gov or contact: Michael C. MacCracken, Executive Director, National Assessment Coordination Office, Suite 750, 400 Virginia Avenue, Washington DC 20024; (202) 488-8630; e-mail: mmaccracken@usgcrp.gov.
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) announces the continuation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Postdoctoral Program in Climate and Global Change. UCAR manages this NOAA-sponsored program, which pairs recently graduated postdoctorates with host scientists at U.S. institutions to work in an area of mutual interest and studies of relevance to the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program (see NOAA's Web site: http://www.ogp.noaa.gov). The objective of this program is to help create the next generation of researchers needed for climate studies. The NOAA Climate and Global Change Program focuses on observing, understanding, modeling, and predicting the climate system on seasonal to centennial time scales and assessing the regionally specific socioeconomic consequences of climate variability.
In the selection process, preference is given to those who have held a Ph.D. for no more than five years. Persons receiving awards must change institutions in the absence of compelling circumstances. The selection criteria used by the steering committee in making awards can be found on the internet at http://www.vsp.ucar.edu.
Advanced contact with potential host(s) is encouraged. Interested host scientists are required to submit letters of intent (two-page limit) and vitaes to help the committee in the match-making process. They should be from an institution other than a candidate's Ph.D. institution. Hosts are expected to mentor the fellow, provide office space, a workstation, and any other unique research costs associated with this fellowship.
There is no application form. Qualified scientists are encouraged to apply by sending the following materials to the UCAR Visiting Scientist Program:
Send applications to: UCAR/Visiting Scientist Programs, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 USA. For further information please call (303) 497-8649, or e-mail: vsp@ncar.ucar.edu.
[These are a few of the newest Internet resources we've come across. For a list of selected Internet sites dealing with disaster management, see http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/sites/sites.html.]
On Climate Change (IV):
http://www.unep.ch/iuc/submenu/infokit/factcont.htm
The United Nations Environment Program's Information Unit for
Conventions offers a "Climate Change Information Kit" via this Web
site. The kit includes fact sheets covering nearly all aspects of
climate change, including the implications for natural disasters.
Additional information is available from the Information Unit Web
site: http://www.unep.ch/iuc. For hard copies and other information
materials, contact UNEP/IUC, Geneva Executive Center, C.P. 356, 1219
Chatelaine, Switzerland; tel: 41-22-979-9244/9196/9111; fax: 41-22-
797-3464; e-mail: iuc@unep.ch; WWW: http://www.unep.ch.
On Climate Change (V):
http://www.globalchange.org/
This site offers the newsletter Global Change, which includes
original articles on ozone depletion and climate change and lots of
well-maintained links to information elsewhere on the Web. The site
also hosts a second publication, the Global Climate Change Digest,
which provides publication abstracts. (The most recent issues of the
Digest [last 18 months] are limited to paid subscribers, but contents
of all older issues are free to anyone.)
http://mceer.buffalo.edu
The Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research
(MCEER) is a principal source of earthquake hazards mitigation
information. It's resources cover not only structural measures, but
human/social issues as well. One of MCEER's most useful services is
its on-line database, Quakeline. Quakeline has recently been upgraded
with a new, more powerful and sophisticated search engine that remains
easy to use. To take a test drive, see:
http://mceer.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/startsession.pl
http://www.georisk.com
http://www.georisk.com/georaws/gui/analyses.shtml
At the second URL, the California risk management consulting
firm, GeoRisk, provides the first release of its California Earthquake
Risk Analysis Web Server. The server is a prototype to a multihazard,
multiregional GIS-based inter/intranet Web server called GeoRAWS
(GeoRisk Analysis Web Server). GeoRAWS has three main analysis
modules: exposure, hazard, and risk analyses.
The exposure module analyzes the geographic and temporal distribution of exposure, based California's population and building property distributions. Exposure is aggregated at various levels of resolution at any given year from 1930 to the present and extrapolated to 2050.
The hazard module complements the U.S. Geological Survey's new seismic hazard maps. It allows internet users to view California's faults and seismicity and also generates hazard maps dynamically for any given earthquake scenario using a number of different parameters.
The loss analysis module (part of the risk analysis module) allows users to estimate dollar losses for any given earthquake scenario in California. Users select a fault from a map and enter the scenario earthquake magnitude, along with other parameters, to determine loss estimates. Dollar losses are aggregated per line of business or occupancy (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) at any geographic resolution. Inflation and changes in exposure and structural vulnerability over time are incorporated in the models.
On-line documentation provides more background information. Questions and comments are welcome and should be addressed to info@georisk.com.
http://www.disasterrecoverynet.net
CAMPUSAFE is a new Web site supporting campus safety. The site
provides a unique, single point-of-contact for university, college,
business/trade school and high school campuses. It is intended to
assist administrators responsible for emergency planning and business
continuity planning, including planning for Y2K issues. It features a
monthly newsletter and a menu of products for campus planning needs,
including draft plans, procedures, checklists, and other emergency
management products. Specific campus-focused vendors will be showcased
in the future, along with seminars and trade show listings. Each
month, CAMPUSAFE highlights useful Web sites providing best practices
and free information. The site charges for some of its products,
services, and information, but numerous resources and ideas are free.
For more information, contact: Rick Tobin; (530) 622-2815; e-mail:
rtobin@foothill.net.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/severeweather/severeweather.html
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/climateproductsstormdata.html
Although we've mentioned the National Climate Data Center (NCDC)
Web site before, we thought we would point out these sections. The
first focuses on climate extremes and severe weather related to
climate change. It includes sections on U.S hurricanes, rainfall,
temperature extremes, and tornadoes; billion dollar weather disasters;
global climate change; el nino/la nina; 1991-98 weather extremes;
historical global extremes; climate of 1998; U.S. local storm reports;
climatic data; satellite images and radar composites.
The second URL offers Storm Data Publications - Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena, which contain a chronological listing, by state, of hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, hail, floods, drought conditions, lightning, high winds, snow, temperature extremes, and other weather phenomena. The reports are provided by the National Weather Service and contain statistics on personal injuries and damage estimates.
http://water.usgs.gov/public/realtime.html
From the U.S. Geological Survey's real-time streamflow page
interested persons can monitor stream levels around the nation and
watch as floods evolve.
The report of FEMA's 1998 Community and Family Preparedness Conference - Making an Impact with Disaster Education - is now available in hard copy and on-line. It contains ideas on how to build disaster- resistant communities, practical ways to evaluate effectiveness of disaster education, ideas about working with schools to reach children with preparedness information, and ways to reach seniors. In addition, three Project Impact teams - Oakland, CA; Deerfield Beach/Broward County, FL; and Seattle, WA - describe their public education programs.
The report is available from the Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) Library - http://www.emforum.org - in the original Word file, or from FEMA's home page - http://www.fema.gov - in an HTML file. Persons without Web access can obtain copies by contacting Ralph Swisher, FEMA Community and Family Preparedness Program, 500 C Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20472; (202) 646-3561; fax: (202) 646-4371; e-mail: ralph.swisher@fema.gov.
At the same time, the 1998 edition of FEMA's Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Library on CD-ROM is also available. The catalog contains popular brochures in easy to access graphic image files and numerous mitigation fact sheets prepared for homeowners and businesses. A major addition is The Extension Agent's Handbook for Disaster Preparation and Response (see Disaster Research #265, item #4). This CD is primarily for disaster educators who want to reproduce high-quality educational materials at a professional print shop. For individual printouts of materials developed by FEMA, the "Mitigation Room" section of the FEMA Web site - http://www.fema.gov - is the best alternative. To order the CD-ROM, call 1-800-480-2520.
A DR subscriber from the U.K. suggests the following new publications (which, given the recent destruction wrought by Hurricane Mitch, seem highly appropriate):
Development at Risk? Natural Disasters and the Third World
Disasters caused by natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, storms, volcanoes, and droughts are a major global problem - and a serious threat to sustainable development. Each year they kill more than 128,000 people and affect the lives of 136 million - nearly all of them in the Third World. Natural disasters now cost the world economy as much as $40 billion a year, and all the evidence points to a steep and continuing rise in deaths, injuries, and economic losses.
Long-term development plans are put at great risk if they do not take natural hazards and people's vulnerability into account. A housing programme can be shattered by an earthquake; a farming scheme ruined by a hurricane or flood. Yet, there is a great deal we can do to protect people, property, and economies against hazards.
The new booklet Development at Risk? is an introduction to many of these issues. Drawing on the latest knowledge and expertise, it covers the scale and nature of the disaster problem and describes ways of overcoming such risks. The four articles in the booklet are concise and readable, supported by short case studies and numerous photographs.
If you would like to know more about current efforts to counter disasters, or would like further (free) copies of this booklet, contact: Tony Eades, Secretary, U.K. National Co-ordination Committee for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, The Royal Academy of Engineering, 29 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 3LW; tel: 0171-222-2688; fax: 0171-233-0054; e-mail eadesa@raeng.co.uk.
Living with Disaster
Living with Disaster gives people who are affected by disasters a chance to speak for themselves. In it, ten people from five Third World countries - Bangladesh, Colombia, Peru, the Philippines, and Zimbabwe - describe the impact of natural hazards such as earthquakes, cyclones, droughts, and floods on their lives; and they explain the measures they are taking to make themselves more secure in the future.
Disasters are particularly severe on the poor who, for a variety of reasons, often live in exposed locations and lack the resources to protect themselves adequately or to recover from calamity. But, as several of the accounts here reveal, community projects are helping to build up their capacity to withstand future hazards.
These stories are extracts from much longer accounts recorded between July 1995 and March 1996 for a series of four ten-minute videos, also entitled Living with Disaster, which were released in 1996.
To obtain further (free) copies of the booklet, contact The Information Officer, Intermediate Technology, Bourton Hall, Bourton-on-Dunsmore, Rugby CV23 9QZ; tel: +44-(0)1788-661100; e-mail: itdg@itdg.org.uk; WWW: http://www.oneworld.org/itdg.
To find out how to obtain the videos, contact Television Trust for the Environment, Prince Albert Road, London NW1 4RZ, U.K.; tel: +44-(0)171-586-5526; fax: +44-(0)171-586-4866; e-mail: tve-dist@tve.org.uk; WWW: http://www.oneworld.org/tve.
The Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) has announced its 1999 undergraduate scholarship program for students interested in dam safety engineering as a career. Up to $5,000 will be awarded to selected upper-division students for the 1999-2000 school year.
The deadline for submission of applications is February 13, 1999. Application criteria, guidelines, and forms are available from ASDSO, 450 Old Vine Street, Lexington, KY 40507; (606) 257-5140.
For several years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency Emergency Management Institute's Emergency Education Network (EENET) has been offering various live broadcasts via satellite concerning disasters and emergency management. EENET is now offering these broadcasts - both past and present - via the Internet. Currently, three videos of past presentations are available for viewing via Net: the October 15th broadcast of Even the Smallest Communities Can Manage Fire Prevention, and two training videos, Asking for Help, and Recovering the Arts - Grand Forks, North Dakota. These presentations can also be ordered on video tape. For complete information, including a schedule of upcoming presentations, see http://www.fema.gov/emi/eenet.htm. Or contact: EENET, National Emergency Training Center, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727; (800) 500-5164; (301) 447-1068.
[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]
The 1997-1998 El Nino Phenomenon: Evaluation and Projections. Guayaqil, Ecuador: November 9-12, 1998. Contact: Lic. Monica Morales, Ing. Carlos Lugo; tel: 5932-433936; e-mail: cadier@pi.pro.ec.
Year 2000 Contingency Planning for Government. Arlington, Virginia: November 16-17, 1998. Call 1-800-882-8684 for registration information.
Earthquake Analysis Methods: Predicting Building Behavior. Earthquake
Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Technical Seminar.
- Los Angeles, California: November 20, 1998
- Seattle, Washington: November 21, 1998
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.
Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN) Users Workshop. Sponsor: HCAD and the National Weather Service Southern Region. Houston, Texas: December 4-5, 1998. Register by November 25th. Send name(s), e-mail and mailing addresses, phone number, and number attending to chris.grant@AEA-noaa.gov -or- 405-366-6581 ext. 141.
Interagency Workshop to Analyze Health Sector Response to the Major 1998 Hurricanes Georges and Mitch. Organizers: Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: January 13-15, 1999. All information about this meeting, including the agenda and registration forms, should be available by November 7 on the PAHO Web site: http://www.paho.org/english/ped/pedhome.htm (look under "What's New-Important Meetings"). If you prefer, text versions of the material can be sent by e-mail; contact thomasan@paho.org. Information will be available through the Internet only.
Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) Annual Meeting. Reno, Nevada: January 21-22, 1998. Contact: Tom Hollenbach, BSSC, National Institute of Building Sciences, 1090 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20005; (202) 289-7800; fax: (202) 289-1092; e-mail: bssc@nibs.org; WWW: http://www.nibs.org/bsschome.htm.
Ninth Annual Disaster Recovery Contingency Planning and Business Continuation Using Telecommunications Conference and Trade Show. Sponsor: International Disaster Recovery Association (IDRA). Boston, Massachusetts: March 28-31, 1999. Contact: IDRA, c/o BWT Associates, P.O. Box 4515, Turnpike Station, Shrewsbury, MA 01545; (508) 845-6000; fax: (508) 842-2585; WWW: http://www.idra.com.
21st Annual National Hurricane Conference. Sponsors: American Association of Wind Engineering, American Meteorological Society, and just about everyone else involved in hurricanes. Orlando, Florida: March 29-April 2, 1999. Contact: National Hurricane Conference, 2952 Wellington Circle, Tallahassee, FL 32308; (850) 906-9224; fax: (850) 906-9228; WWW: http://www.netally.com/nhc.
Partners in Emergency Preparedness 1999 Conference. Co-hosts: Western Washington Emergency Network, Washington State Emergency Management, Washington State Emergency Management Association, and the State Emergency Response Commission. Bellevue, Washington: March 30-April 1, 1999. Contact: Washington State Emergency Management, Camp Murray, WA 98430-5122; (253) 512-7046; e-mail: j.vollmer@emd.wa.gov. For registration information, contact: Columbia Resource Group; (206) 441-6448; e-mail: preparedness@crgnet.com. By January information will be available via the World Wide Web: http://www.wa.mil/wsem/.
End of the Millennium West Coast Disaster Response Conference. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: April 1999. Contact: Epicentre Inc., Suite 1420-1188 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6E 4A2; (604) 682-6005; fax: (604) 682-0500; e-mail: wgc@uniserve.com.
1999 Conference on Flood Warning Systems, Technologies, and Preparedness: Third National Conference and Exposition of the National Hydrologic Warning Council incorporating the 16th Annual Conference of the ALERT Users Group. San Diego, California: May 11-14, 1999. Contact: National Hydrologic Warning Council, 10852 Douglass Road, Anaheim, CA 92806. Mark Heggli, (916) 574-2627; e-mail: heggli@water.ca.gov -or- Chris Crompton, (714) 567-6360; e-mail: cromptonc@pfrd.co.orange.ca.us; WWW: http://www.alertsystems.org.
Technology Partnership for Emergency Management Workshop and Exhibition. Host: Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Gatlinburg, Tennessee: May 17-20, 1999. Contact: 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.
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.
** Note: Scholarships to aid risk managers and other professional
staff from smaller organizations in attending the above-mentioned
PRIMA meeting are available from the Public Entity Risk Institute
(PERI), 11350 Random Hills Road, Suite 800, Fairfax, VA 22030; (703)
934-6046; fax: (703) 352-7085; WWW: http://www.riskinstitute.org. The
deadline for applications is February 15, 1999.**
1999 Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Research Community. Kanagawa, Japan: June 24-26, 1999. Contact: '99 Open Meeting Secretariat, IGES at Shonan Village Center, 1560-39, Kami-yamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0198, Japan: fax: +81 468 55 3709; e-mail: hdgec@iges.or.jp; WWW: http://www.iges.or.jp/.
Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) 1999 Annual Conference. Chicago, Illinois: August 21-25, 1999. Contact: URISA, 1460 Renaissance Drive, Suite 305, Park Ridge, IL 60068; (847) 824- 6300; fax: (847) 824-6363; e-mail: info@urisa.org; WWW: http://www.urisa.org.
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