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Rather than simply presenting a series of abstracts of recovery literature, this paper reviews both the academic and informal literature, draws lessons from it, and summarizes the programs that are already in place for providing technical assistance following disasters. Part One analyzes and applies the findings in the recovery literature to the task of developing community recovery assistance teams (CRATs). Part Two briefly reviews the existing programs for providing technical assistance, ranging from training courses, to the provision of teams of specialized experts, to state programs for mitigation.
While recognizing that it is difficult to generalize about communities' experiences because both impacted communities and precipitating events are unique, the paper does conclude that "there is comfort in finding a thread of common themes and lessons, despite the dissimilarity of communities and events studied."
A Review of the Literature and Programs on Local Recovery from Disaster (1999) is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/wp/wp102/wp102.html. Persons without Web access can purchase a printed copy for $9.00, plus $3.20 shipping for orders within the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. To place an order, or to determine international shipping costs, contact the Hazards Center Publications Clerk, Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, Campus Box 482, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0482, (303) 492-6819; fax: (303) 492-2151; e-mail: janet.kroeckel@colorado.edu; or consult the Hazards Center on-line publication order form at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/puborder.html.
I would be interested in hearing from anyone who knows of any type of inquiry into a mass emergency, whether it was the result of a natural or human-made event, especially one where it appears the inquiry seemed to be looking for a scapegoat and may have targeted some person or institution. This request covers any time period, any country, any type of inquiry, and any cause. Off hand I don't know of any that came as a result of simple natural events but would be very interested in hearing of any. Something may eventually come of this. For the moment this is just a way of asking.
If you have a vague idea something might fit that would be useful information at this point.
Thanks,
Joe Scanlon
Director, Emergency Communications Research Unit
Carleton University
Ottawa, Canada
E-mail: jscanlon@ccs.carleton.ca
The one-day workshop will be held on February 17, 2000, in Silver Spring, Maryland, at the offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, 1325 East West Highway (SSMC2). The meeting will convene in the second floor conference room at 8:30 a.m. and run until approximately 4:30 p.m.
Participants will be asked to identify key points about the impacts of drought on personal daily lives, businesses, agriculture, water systems, and ultimately on the health of people and their environment. They will also be encouraged to identify drought-related publications that summarize key issues and useful handouts available from organizations and agencies.
Persons wishing to register or having questions about accommodations, meeting logistics, or registration, should contact Linda Kremkau, NOAA/National Weather Service; (301) 713-0091, ext. 118; e-mail: linda.kremkau@noaa.gov. There is no registration fee, but space is limited and early registration is suggested. We look forward to seeing you at NDEC Forum 2000 - Drought.
Rocky Lopes
American Red Cross
Convener, NDEC
E-mail: LopesR@usa.redcross.org
Building on CSTB's earlier work, Computing and Communications in the Extreme, the workshop focused specifically on how to move forward from the current technology baseline to future possibilities for addressing the information technology needs of crisis managers through research. The workshop provided an opportunity for these separate communities to learn how they might more effectively collaborate in developing improved systems to support crisis management in the long term.
Synthesis of the workshop experience into a more general, broader set of findings and recommendations for information technology research in the digital government context is deferred to the study committee's final report. This second phase of the project will draw on the workshops organized by the study committee, as well as additional briefings and other work on the topic of digital government, to develop a final synthesis report that will provide recommendations for refining the NSF's Digital Government program and providing more broad-based advice across the government in this arena. Your feedback on the workshop report will help inform the committee in its work on the final report. Comments can be addressed to the study director, Jon Eisenberg; (202) 334-2605; e-mail: jeisenbe@nas.edu.
The format for entries in the compendium is 1) background, 2) description, 3) benefits, 4) cost, and 5) funding sources. Submissions should be succinct - a couple of pages at the most - and should be illustrated with photos or other graphics, if possible. Preferably, submissions should be in Microsoft Word and sent as an attached e-mail file to the ASFPM Mitigation Committee Co-Chair, Mark Matulik, e-mail: mark.matulik@state.co.us. The deadline is March 31, 2000.
Under the FEMA/JCSC partnership, the JCSC will create opportunities for Project Impact officials to participate in national and regional events and interact with mayors and county officials. The agreement will allow the JCSC to use Project Impact tools and products and share them with local government officials nationwide. JCSC will encourage county officials and mayors to participate in Project Impact's training courses to learn the skills needed to prevent the devastation wrought by disasters.
The JCSC works to promote sustainable communities that incorporate economic development, environmental stewardship, and social well being through county/city collaborations and by helping counties find local solutions to local problems. In addition, JCSC also provides technical assistance, sponsors workshops at regional and national conferences, and maintains an information clearinghouse of state-of-the-practice information on strategies that promote sustainable communities.
Through the agreement, EERE will work with FEMA to spread the idea of sustainable redevelopment, which helps disaster-prone areas not only become safer and disaster resistant, but also stronger and healthier from an environmental and economic standpoint. EERE representatives will participate in Project Impact meetings, seminars, workshops, and conferences and collaborate with FEMA to incorporate sustainable redevelopment programs into Project Impact communities.
FEMA and EERE will work together on six projects within Project Impact, including: the Million Solar Roof's program, which will help communities incorporate prevention into daily planning decisions; the Weatherization Assistance program, which will improve the energy efficiency of homes occupied by low-income residents; and the Rebuild America program, which helps to build partnerships and develop action plans that represent smart choices in commercial development, multifamily and public housing.
http://www.reliefweb.int
http://www.paho.org/english/ped/pedhome.htm
The United Nations ReliefWeb site and the Pan American Health
Organization's Disaster Section Web site are good places to look for
the latest Internet information on the recent catastrophic floods in
Venezuela. (They are good places to look for information regarding any
major disaster.) The PAHO site includes daily situation reports, notes
from the meeting of the Inter-American System Task Force, and
information on how to donate to the relief efforts. Full-text
documents and technical guidelines on donations are also available.
http://www.fema.gov/disasters
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has posted a map
of the United States that lists federally declared disasters for each
state in 1999. The site also links to descriptions of FEMA response
and other information about these disasters.
http://www.fema.gov/r-n-r/frp/annf.pdf
FEMA released the Annex to the Federal Response Plan for Y2K on
December 22, and it is available at this address.
http://www.fema.gov/impact
Highlights from the recent Project Impact Summit (see above)
held in Washington, D.C. are now available from the FEMA Web site.
Included are numerous "lessons learned" recounted at that conference.
http://www.fema.gov/mit/tsd
It's almost impossible to keep up with all the additions,
revisions, and updates to the FEMA Web site, but we thought we'd
mention this section - the Flood Hazard Mapping page from the agency's
Technical Services Division. It provides an overview of the National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and FEMA's map modernization program.
In short, it covers everything that homeowners, business owners,
lenders, insurers, planners, engineers, surveyors, floodplain
managers, and community officials need to know about the NFIP
floodplain mapping program. It even offers on-line hazard maps.
http://www.city.kobe.jp/cityoffice/06/013/report/index-e.html
The City of Kobe, Japan, has published a report on its Web site
titled The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake: Statistics and Restoration
Progress, November 1, 1999. Besides providing various statistics, the
report, in Japanese and English, discusses such restoration issues as
evacuation shelters, temporary housing, land readjustment projects,
socioeconomic rehabilitation, welfare projects, economic
revitalization, transportation networks, and more. A link from the
report leads to archives of Kobe quake-related texts and images dating
from 1995 to 1999.
http://www.ci.fort-collins.co.us/c_safety/oem/index.htm
http://www.ci.fort-collins.co.us/c_safety/oem/ndic.htm
The city of Fort Collins, Colorado - a FEMA Project Impact
demonstration community - has a model Office of Emergency Management
Web site that includes breaking news; a calendar of events; individual
pages and brochures on severe thunderstorms, lightning, hail,
tornadoes, flooding, and the many other hazards that threaten the
community; photos and other information about the 1997 flash floods
that inundated Fort Collins; sections on emergency preparedness,
family disaster planning, and the preparation of an emergency supplies
kit; a description of the city's Project Impact initiative; and much
other information.
Of particular note is a recently released "Natural Disaster Information Cards (NDIC) System for 911 Dispatchers." The entire system is provided in downloadable PDF format. The cards are intended to be used for in-service training of 911 dispatchers, as refresher information on days when an event is anticipated, and as real-time guidance for use during an event.
Speaking of Fort Collins . . .
http://www.cira.colostate.edu/fflab/stuart/website/welcome.htm
In part because several devastating flash floods have occurred
along the foothills of northern Colorado in the last quarter century,
Colorado State University, located in Fort Collins, now hosts a Flash
Flood Laboratory. The lab's Web site describes the mission and current
projects of the institution, recent news (it currently offers
information about the recent flooding in Venezuela) and a list of
recent flash floods, information on how to prepare for and survive a
flash flood, links to other flash flood related sites, and more
information and research concerning the above-mentioned 1997 flash
flood in Fort Collins - including lessons learned by the university
(whose library and several other facilities were severely damaged)
concerning flood recovery. For more information about the laboratory,
contact the Flash Flood Laboratory, Cooperative Institute for Research
in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Foothills Campus, Fort
Collins, CO 80523-1375; (970) 491-8448; e-mail:
flashflood@cira.colostate.edu.
http://www.HINAP.org
[Taken from the Humanitarian Times - HumanitarianTimes@Erols.com.
The Humanitarian Times is a free news publication circulated to
support the international community of aid organizations. To subscribe
write to: HumanitarianTimes@rcn.org.]
Recently, the World Health Organization announced that it had launched the "Health Information Network for Advanced Planning" - HINAP - on the World Wide Web. HINAP consolidates baseline health information by country, identifies health issues of primary concern, and makes this information available for program planning. Up-to-date information is provided during an emergency, permitting program adjustment due to changing circumstances, thereby minimizing mortality and morbidity from preventable causes. HINAP currently includes health indices, profiles, and analyses, plus outbreak verification, for nine countries: Albania, Angola, Colombia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Uganda.
http://www.globalhealth.org/exchange
The Global Health Council has recently launched a Web site that
not only includes job listings and resumes of members seeking
employment, but also this "Resource Exchange" - an on-line database
where goods and services can be listed and requested. For example, an
organization that has a million Vitamin C tablets near expiration can
post these goods, and a council member/organization that needs the
tablets can access these listings and contact the vendor.
Organizations that need goods and services can also list their needs
on the Resource Exchange, so that donor organizations can browse the
needs of members. Anyone can list goods available, but only members
can list services available or view goods and services available. For
more information, contact Annmarie Christensen, Director of
Publications, Global Health Council, e-mail:
achristensen@globalhealth.org.
http://www.unesco.org/culture/heritage-risk/index.html
This UNESCO Web site on "Cultural Heritage at Risk" has been
recently updated with information derived from the International
Congress on Cultural Heritage at Risk held in September. The site is
now intended to be a reference source for information on cultural
heritage at risk, as well as a "discussion platform" wherein
specialists and professionals can exchange views and opinions on
various aspects of preserving and protecting cultural heritage. The
site developers also hope to create a "list of contacts" of
specialists in this field and affiliated professions who can be
consulted in times of need. For more information, or to contribute to
the site, contact Hideo Noguchi, UNESCO, Division of Cultural
Heritage, 1, rue Miollis, 75015 Paris, France; tel:
0033-1.45.68.44.18; fax: 0033-1.45.68.55.96; e-mail:
h.noguchi@unesco.org.
The paper Y2K - A Humanitarian Disaster? Why Not? considers some of the lessons learned from past disasters that may indicate the way things might go if, and there is always an if, Y2k results in a major humanitarian emergency. The paper can be found at http://www.globalY2K.org/kellyfr.htm. Those interested in international disaster assistance should also look at Interaction's Y2k tool kit (http://www.interaction.org/y2k/toolcontents.html or http://www.novares.com/globaly2k/).
Charles Kelly
E-mail:72734.2412@Compuserve.com
Persons receiving awards demonstrate clear goals and areas to be pursued and must change institutions to conduct research. Advanced contact with possible hosts is encouraged, and applicants may wish to indicate more than one possible host. Interested host scientists are required to submit letters of intent and vitae. The selection criteria used by the steering committee can be found at http://www.vsp.ucar.edu. That Web site also includes a list of all present and past appointees.
There is no application form. Applicants should send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, names and addresses of four professional references (including one from their thesis advisor), and should contact referees to have letters sent to UCAR. They should also submit a Ph.D. abstract, proposed project description (titled and not exceeding five pages), and a statement regarding the relevance of their proposed research to the climate and global change program.
The program offers two-year visiting research appointments. The deadline for applications is February 1, 2000. They should be sent to UCAR/Visiting Scientist Programs, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307- 3000.
For further information, call (303) 497-8649, e-mail: vsp@ucar.edu, or see http://www.vsp.ucar.edu.
The World Food Programme has come up with an ingenious method of raising money online. Go to the Hunger Site (http://www.thehungersite.com), click a button, and a donation is made to the WFP at no cost to you. The donation is paid for by corporate sponsors (who gain advertising in the process because you see their logos when you visit the site). All you do is go to the site and click. But you're only allowed one click per day.
The site is getting a large number of visitors and the number of corporate sponsors is growing. If anybody knows of other disaster fundraising initiatives on the web, please let me know.
International Symposium on Wind and Structures for the 21st Century (WAS-2000). Chejudo, Korea: January 26-28, 2000. Contact: Secretariat, WAS-2000, Department of Civil Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon 305-701, Korea; tel: 82-42-869-8451- 3621; fax: 82-42-869-8451-8450; e-mail: technop@chollian.net; WWW: http://www.was2k.kaist.ac.kr.
Slope Stability and Landslides: Using Effective Engineering Approaches to Identify and Analyze Unstable Slopes - 21st National Short Course. Los Angeles, California: February 9-11, 2000. Contact: Engineering Registration, Dept. 107, The Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street, Madison, WI 53706; 1-800-462-0876 or (608) 262-1299; fax: 1-800-442-4214 or (608) 265-3448; e-mail: custserv@epd.engr.wisc.edu; WWW: http://epd.engr.wisc.edu/brochures/9428.html.
Texas Emergency Management Conference. Sponsors: Texas Division of Emergency Management and others. Austin, Texas: February 20-23, 2000. Contact: Texas Division of Emergency Management, Emergency Management Conference, P.O. Box 4733, Austin, TX 78765; (512) 424-2138; fax: (512) 424-2444; e-mail: conference@txdps.state.tx.us.
Critical Incident Stress Management Workshops. Sponsored by: International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) and U.S. Coast Guard. New Orleans, Louisiana: February 23-27, 2000. Contact: ICISF, 10176 Baltimore National Pike, Unit 201, Ellicott City, MD 21042; (410) 750-9600; fax: (410) 750-9601; WWW: http://www.icisf.org.
Spring 2000 Semi-Annual Conference of the Floodplain Management Association: "Non-Structural Solutions to Floodplain Management." (In cooperation with the Arizona Floodplain Management Association.) San Diego, California: February 28-March 2, 2000. Abstracts due December 31. Contact: Chuck Spinks, Technical Program Chair, Kimley-Horn & Associates, 517 4th Avenue, #210, San Diego, CA 92101; (619) 234-9411; fax: (619) 234-9433; e-mail: cspinks@kimley-horn.com.
Third World Conference for the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Melbourne, Australia: March 16-19, 2000. Contact: Conference Organizer, P.O. Box 214, Brunswick East VIC 3057, Australia; tel: 61 3 9380 1429; fax: 61 3 9380 2722; e-mail: conorg@ozemail.com.au; WWW: http://www.istss.org.
Second World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference. The Hague, The Netherlands: March 17-22, 2000. Contact: Mr. Thijs van Praag, Project Secretariat, Second World Water Forum, c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DML/PS, P.O. Box 20061, 2500 EB The Hague, The Netherlands; tel: +31 70 3485402; fax: +31 70 3486792; e-mail: secretariat@worldwaterforum.org; WWW: http://www.worldwaterforum.org.
18th Annual EMS Today 2000 Conference & Exposition. Orlando, Florida: March 22-26, 2000. For more information see http://wwwdotcom.com/jems/mainmenu.html, or call 1-800-266-5367.
Spring Meeting of the Arizona Floodplain Management Association: "Managing and Restoring Rivers of the Southwest." Phoenix, Arizona: April 3-5, 2000. Contact: Valerie Swick, (602) 506-4872; WWW: http://www.azfma.org.
Louisiana Floodplain Management Association Annual Conference. Lafayette, Louisiana: April 12-14, 2000. Contact: Floodplain Management Section, Louisiana Department of Transportation, Section 64, P.O. Box 94245, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9245; (225) 274-4354; e-mail: jgriffin@dotdmail.dotd.state.la.us.
Rivers 2000 Conference. Charleston, South Carolina: April 18-22, 2000. Contact: Doug Carter, Rivers 2000; (517) 627-8362; e-mail: ddcarter@aol.com; WWW: http://www.rivers2000.org.
Fifth Biennial Symposium of the River Management Society: "Blending Art and Science in River Management." Charleston, South Carolina: April 19-23, 2000. Contact: Caroline Tan; (406) 549-0514; e-mail: rms@igc.org; WWW: http://www.river-management.org.
2000 National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Conference. Sponsors: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Federal Emergency Management Agency. Las Vegas, Nevada: April 29-May 3, 2000. Contact: NDMS, 12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 360, Rockville, MD 20875; (301) 443-1167 or (800) 872-6367 (press the "star" key); fax: (301) 443-5146 or (800) 872-5945; e-mail: ndms@usa.net; WWW: http://www.oep-ndms.dhhs.gov.
Fifth Conference on Tall Buildings in Seismic Regions. Los Angeles, California: May 5-6, 2000. Contact: Marshall Lew, Proceedings Chair, L.A. Tall Buildings Structural Design Council, c/o Law/Crandall, 200 Citadel Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90040; (323) 889-5300; fax: (323) 889-5398; e-mail: mlew@lawco.com; WWW: http://www.latallbldg.org/.
Second Pan American Congress for Disaster and Emergency Medicine. Mexico City, Mexico: May 22-24, 2000. Abstracts should not exceed 250 words and should be submitted in English (or Spanish) to: Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, E5/613 Clinical Sciences Center, 600 North Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792 USA; or e-mail as an attachment to: mlb@medicine.wisc.edu.
Reaching Women and Children in Disaster: A Global Workshop for Policy Makers, Practitioners, and Researchers. Miami, Florida: June 3-6, 2000. The organizers are currently seeking program ideas and sponsors. Contact: Betty Morrow, International Hurricane Center, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199; (305) 348-1607; fax: (305) 385-7364; e-mail: morrowb@fiu.edu.
First World Congress of the International Water Association. Paris,
France: July 3-7, 2000. Contact: Aghtm-cfrp, 83 Avenue Foch, BP 39.16,
F-75761 Paris Cedex 16, France; tel: +33 1 53701351; fax: +33 1
53701340; e-mail: aghtm@aghtm.org; WWW: http://www.aghtm.org/iwae.htm
-or-
The International Water Association, Alliance House, 12 Caxton Street,
London SW1H 0QS, U.K.; tel: +44 (0)20 7654 5500; fax: +44 (0)20 7654
5555; e-mail: water@IWAhq.org.uk; WWW: http://www.iawq.org.uk.
Joint Water Resources Engineering and Planning Management Conference. Sponsor: American Society of Civil Engineers. Minneapolis, Minnesota: July 30-August 2, 2000. On the World Wide Web, see: http://www.asce.org.
4th Nordic Congress on Emergency and Disaster Medicine. Copenhagen, Denmark: August 30-September 2, 2000. To be conducted in Danish. For more information, see: http://www.matimed.pp.fi (also see http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu/pdmcalendar.html).
International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Annual Conference. Cincinnati, Ohio: September 17-20, 2000. Contact: ICMA, 777 North Capitol Street, N.E., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20002; (202) 289-4262; fax: (202) 962-3500; e-mail: apeyton@icma.org; WWW: http://icma.org.
International Symposium on Flood Defence. Sponsors: American Geophysical Union, International Association of Hydraulic Research, and International Association of Hydrological Sciences. Kassel, Germany: September 20-23, 2000. The symposium will be conducted in English. Contact: Dr. rer. nat. Barbara Breuer, c/o Universitat Gh Kassel, FB 14, FG Geohydraulik und Ingenieurhydrologie, P.O. Box 101380, 34109 Kassel, Germany; tel.: +49 561 8042808; fax: +49 561 8043953; e-mail: breuerb@hrz.uni-kassel.de; WWW: http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb14/wasserbau/symposium2000; or http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb14/geohydraulik/.
12th World Congress on Disaster Medicine. Organizer: World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine. Lyon, France: May 9-12, 2001. Contact: WDCEM 2001, 1 rue de la Banniere, 69003 Lyon, France; fax: 33 (0)4 72 60 92 89; e-mail: wcdem2001@aol.com (also see http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu/pdmcalendar.html.)
Third European and African Conference on Wind Engineering. Eindhoven, The Netherlands: July 2-6, 2001. Contact: 3EACWE Congress Office, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands; fax: +31 40-2458195; e-mail: congressoffice@tue.nl; WWW: http://www.bwk.tue.nl/bwk/events/3eacwe.
Sixth Scientific Assembly of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS). Maastricht, The Netherlands: July 18-27, 2001. Contact: IAHS, Maastricht 2001, The Netherlands Institute of Applied Geoscience TNO-National Geological Survey, P.O. Box 6012, 2600 JA Delft, The Netherlands; fax: +31 15 2564800; e-mail: j.hooghart@nitg.tno.nl.
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