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We would like to know if you could give us some advice on how to get information on a particular subject. The issue is related to control or communication rooms (we do not know what exactly you call them) in a crisis or disaster environment. These rooms are the sites with TV screens and computers where the emergency management staff is assembled to assess and manage the emergency. It is the operating conditions, the setting, the organization of these rooms we are interested in getting information about.
We hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you for your time.
Jasmin Martinez
Executive Secretary
E-mail: utepmi@pla.net.py
Gratefully,
Dr. Eng. Emil-Sever Georgescu
Senior Researcher
Deputy Head of Laboratory for Seismic Risk Assessment
and Disaster Prevention
The National Building Research Institute INCERC
Pantelimon Street 266
79614 Bucharest
Romania
E-mail: ssever@cons.incerc.ro
In part, the order states:
"Section 1. Policy. (a) It is the policy of this Administration to
use information technology more effectively to coordinate the Federal
Government's collection and dissemination of information to
appropriate response agencies and State governments to prepare for and
respond to natural and man-made disasters . . . While many agencies
provide disaster-related information, they may not always provide it
in a coordinated manner. To improve the provision of disaster-related
information, the agencies shall, as set out in this order, use
information technology to coordinate the Federal Government's
provision of information to prepare for, respond to, and recover from
domestic disasters.
(b) It is also the policy of this Administration to use information
technology and existing channels of disaster assistance to improve the
Federal Government's provision of information that could be helpful to
foreign governments preparing for or responding to foreign disasters.
. . .
(c) To carry out the policies in this order, there is established the
Global Disaster Information Network (Network). The Network is defined
as the coordinated effort by Federal agencies to develop a strategy
and to use existing technical infrastructure, to the extent permitted
by law and subject to the availability of appropriations and under the
guidance of the Interagency Coordinating Committee and the Committee
Support Office, to make more effective use of information technology
to assist our Government, and foreign governments where appropriate,
by providing disaster-related information to prepare for and respond
to disasters."
The order goes to define the "Interagency Coordinating Committee" that will oversee the development of the GDIN. The committee will include representatives from the Office of the Vice President, the Department of Commerce through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of State, who will serve as co-chairpersons of the committee, as well as representatives from at least 13 different departments and agencies. The order also establishes a "Committee Support Office" to "assist the Committee by developing plans and projects that would further the creation of the Network." The goals and duties of both the committee and the support office are also enumerated.
The complete executive order is available on the World Wide Web from: http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2R?urn:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/2000/4/28/1.text.2.
Dear Colleagues:
The International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI) will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the year 2001. To mark this occasion, IASPEI is editing a centennial publication entitled International Handbook of Earthquake and Earthquake Seismology with Paul C. Jennings, Hiroo Kanamori, and William H.K. Lee as editors.
The handbook will be published by Academic Press as a [large] volume with . . . supplementary . . . CD-ROMs. It will contain extensive reviews of selected topics in earthquake engineering and engineering seismology, as well as summaries of the history and accomplishments of these disciplines. For further information, please visit the following Web site: http://caldera.wr.usgs.gov/iaspei/iaspei.html.
IASPEI has approached IAEE for assistance in the preparation and collection of the following material relevant to earthquake engineering . . .
(1) A directory of the earthquake engineering research institutions
. . .
(2) If possible, it would be useful if the director/group leader of
each institution could prepare a review of its history, mission,
activities and accomplishments over the period of its existence . . .
As well, each institution's research staff members should be
encouraged to include their personal biographical sketch . . .
Sample biographical sketches can be viewed at:
http://caldera.wr.usgs.gov/iaspei/iaspei.html
(3) Biographical sketches of the world's notable deceased earthquake
engineers. . .
(4) Any useful information on earthquake engineering, such as
available software, laboratory resources, newsletters etc.
Contributions of the kind of material requested above will complement and supplement the extensive reviews of selected topics in earthquake engineering contained in the handbook, and will serve also as a valuable source of historical resource material. . .
The deadline for submitting this material is June 15, 2000. All documentation should be sent to W.H.K. Lee by one of the following methods:
By courier (Fedex, UPS, etc.):
W.H.K. Lee
862 Richardson Court
Palo Alto, CA 94303
(Phone: (650) 494-3341)
By U.S. Postal Service:
IASPEI
P.O. Box 60099
Palo Alto, CA 94306-0099
By e-mail:
whklee@ix.netcom.com
(send as text in an e-mail, or as a Microsoft Word file attached to an
e-mail)
By anonymous ftp:
issue the command: ftp whklee.org
change directory to: cd incoming
make your directory and put your files there
(Please inform W.H.K. Lee by e-mail at: whklee@ix.netcom.com)
Your assistance in this far-reaching venture will be very much appreciated. I believe the resulting documentation will serve as valuable resource material for the entire international earthquake community. As well, the handbook, which will be truly international in scope, should help bridge the gap between seismologists and earthquake engineers.
With my personal thanks for your consideration and help,
Sincerely yours,
Shel Cherry, IAEE President
Civil Engineering Department
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Canada
E-mail: cherry@civil.ubc.ca
For more information about the IASPEI Handbook and national/ institutional reports that have already been submitted, please visit: http://caldera.wr.usgs.gov/iaspei/iaspei.html
http://www.unisdr.org/
To continue the efforts initiated during the International Decade
for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) the United Nations has
established an International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR),
managed by a small U.N. Secretariat in Geneva (see DR #318). This new
Web site provides extensive background information on the ISDR; a list
of ISDR and ISDR-related events; on-line versions of the ISDR
"Highlights" newsletter; descriptions of various ISDR initiatives; and
numerous reports, tools, brochures, and U.N. documents.
http://members.spree.com/education/helpu
http://members.spree.com/education/helpu/maynews2000.html
http://members.spree.com/education/helpu/hurricanpage5.htm
The HELPU Web site is intended to serve all members of the
disabled community, their care-givers, attendants, fire and rescue
personnel, and emergency services departments. The site offers
numerous pages with tips on emergency/disaster preparedness for
various hazards. For example, the May HELPU newsletter at the second
URL above, includes a "Hurricane Season Mitigation and Preparations
Guide" available at the third address. Interested persons should see
http://members.spree.com/education/helpu/mitigationcalendar.html for a
"Mitigation and Preparation Scheduling Calendar."
http://www.terraserver.microsoft.com
Need a map? The Microsoft Corporation has scanned more than
57,000 U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps into digital form and
made them available on the Web. Users can search for locations by
place name or by zooming in on a world/U.S. map, and maps can be
downloaded and printed for free. The data are primarily for the U.S.,
although a few other selected regions around the world are also
displayed.
http://atlas.gc.ca/
http://atlas.gc.ca/english/index.html
Need a map of Canada? With hazards? Natural Resources Canada has
published a new on-line edition of the Canadian National Atlas of
Canada at the URL above. The atlas, available in French and English,
includes extensive information about natural hazard occurrence in
Canada, including data on earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes,
tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, hail storms, and forest
fires.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s334.htm
At the end of last year, the climate and weather experts at the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published yet
another "Top [pick a number] List for the 20th Century" - this time,
the top weather, water, and climate events. In fact, NOAA published
two lists - one for the U.S. and one for the world. Together they
provide students of meteorological disasters an excellent overview of
the diverse storms and climate events that shaped our world this
century - from the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 to the Oklahoma/Kansas
tornado outbreak in 1999; from the great China floods of 1931 to
Hurricane Mitch in Central America in 1998. Some factors taken into
consideration in preparing the lists included an event's magnitude,
its meteorological uniqueness, and its economic impact and death toll.
Beyond the lists, this site provides extensive background information
on the named disasters, as well as other meteorological and disaster
information.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/papers/overpass.html
This URL provides a paper prepared by National Severe Storms
Laboratory and National Weather Service personnel on the effectiveness
of using the undersides of highway overpasses as shelters from
tornadoes and other severe storms. The authors of "Highway Overpasses as Tornado Shelters:
Fallout From the 3 May 1999 Oklahoma/Kansas
Violent Tornado Outbreak" conclude that the
public has wrongly identified such areas as appropriate shelters (in
fact, they are extremely dangerous places in which to hide), and that
public education about tornado/severe storm safety should specifically
point out the danger of such shelters.
http://www.egroups.com/group/Floodsystems
A new Internet list has been established for professionals
involved in flood warning. The free "Floodsystem" listserv is
distributed via e-mail and offers a convenient way of posing a
technical question or posting information to a large number of people
in the profession. To obtain more information or to subscribe, see the
Web site above.
listserv@listserv.buffalo.edu
The Northeast States Emergency Consortium (NESEC) in partnership
with the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research
(MCEER) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created
an e-mail list called HAZUSNET-USA to serve as a discussion forum for
persons interested in HAZUS, FEMA's hazard evaluation software
program. HAZUSNET-USA is an unmoderated list-serve open to anyone. The
list includes upcoming events, references, stories, questions, ideas,
and other material that relate to HAZUS. To subscribe, send a message
to the e-mail address above. Leave the subject line blank and send
only the message: sub hazusnet-usa-list (First Name Last Name). For
more information, consult the NESEC Home Page at http://www.nesec.org.
The qualified individual will have satisfactorily completed disaster relief operation assignments (including two in a leadership role). A bachelor's degree in emergency management, social sciences, public administration (or equivalent experience), knowledge of emergency management issues/practices, project management background and familiarity with computers/data analysis are required. Strong supervisory abilities and program evaluation management background are a must. A minimum of three years in disaster planning/preparedness/ operations are essential. (Volunteer experience will be considered).
This Ft. Meade, Maryland-based opportunity offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits. Please send resume/cover letter with salary history in confidence to American Red Cross, Attn: DR/SDM, 4700 Mount Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215; fax: (410) 764-4603
Animal Preparedness Day. Sponsor: Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS). Everywhere: May 20, 2000. "The goal of this nationwide event is to remind people that disasters pose a life-threatening danger for animals, too, and family pets or any other animals being cared for must be included in family disaster plans. To obtain an Animal Disaster Preparedness Information Day kit, contact: UAN, P.O. Box 188890, Sacramento, CA 95818; (916) 429-2457; e-mail: info@uan.org. See http://www.uan.org/programs/ears/expand.cfm?ID=193 to download disaster preparedness tips.
Summer 2000 Courses in Emergency Preparedness and Continuity Planning.
Offered by: University of California-Berkeley Extension.
- Communication Essentials for Environmental Managers:
June 1-2 and 8-9, 2000
- Financial Support for Emergency Preparedness and Planning:
July 11-14, 2000
All courses are conducted in San Francisco, California. For more
information, contact: Environmental Management/Continuing Education in
Engineering, University Extension, University of California, Berkeley,
CA 94720; (510) 643-7143; WWW: http://www.unex.berkeley.edu.
Arizona Emergency Services Association Annual Conference. Mesa, Arizona: June 7-9, 2000. Contact: Dave Lenox, (520) 798-0600; e-mail: dlenox@mail.health.co.pima.az.us.
Technologies for Public Safety in Critical Incident Response Conference and Exposition. Denver, Colorado: June 7-10, 2000. See: http://www.nlectc.org.
Regional Workshop on Hazard Mapping in the Central and Eastern U.S. Sponsors: St. Louis University and Mid American Earthquake (MAE) Center. St. Louis, Missouri: June 13-14, 2000. (Workshop to update USGS national seismic hazard maps.) Contact: Rus Wheeler, USGS, (303) 273-8589; e-mail: wheeler@usgs.gov.
Design Considerations for Buildings in Moderate Seismic Zones. Offered
by: Mid America Earthquake (MAE) Center.
- Cincinnati, Ohio: June 15, 2000
- Boston, Massachusetts: June 16, 2000
- Oakbrook, Illinois: June 19, 2000
See: http://mae.ce.uiuc.edu/News/ShortCourse2000.html, or contact:
Sandra Menke, Mid-America Earthquake Center, 1241 Newmark Civil
Engineering Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 244-6302; fax: (217)
333-3821; e-mail: smenke@uiuc.edu.
POSTPONED
Note: This course will now be held in the summer of 2001.
Advanced Summer Course on Public Health and Humanitarian Aid. Offered
by: Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED).
Brussels, Belgium: July 17-28, 2000. Contact: CRED, Ecole de Sante
Publique, Catholic University of Louvain, 30.94 Clos Chapelle-
aux-Champs, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; tel: +32-2-764-3327; fax: +32-2-
764-3441; WWW: http://www.cred.be.
Summer Meeting of the Arizona Floodplain Management Association. Flagstaff, Arizona: July 20-21, 2000. Contact: Amir Motamedi, (602) 506-4871; WWW: http://www.azfma.org.
69th Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) Convention. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: August 16-19, 2000. See: http://www.seaonc.org/vancouver2000.html, or contact: Vancouver 2000, c/o Razzano/Tovani Associates, Inc., 300 Lakeside Drive, Suite 1300, Oakland, CA 94612; (510) 658-7825; fax: (510) 658-7090.
Floodplain Management in Ohio: Statewide Conference. Sponsor: Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and others. Columbus, Ohio: August 30-31, 2000. Contact: Ohio DNR, 1939 Fountain Square Drive, Building E-3, Columbus, OH 43224; (614) 265-1006; e-mail: alicia.silverio@dnr.state.oh.us.
Virtual Fire and Rescue Expo (VFRE) 2000. On the Internet: September 11-22, 2000. Sponsor: National Fire & Rescue magazine. Includes sessions on emergency management, EMS, hazmat management, and other related issues. See: http://www.vfre.com.
Fall 2000 Semiannual Conference of the California Floodplain Management Association (FMA). Sacramento, California: September 13-15, 2000. Abstracts due June 1. Contact: Laura Hromadka, Executive Director, FMA, e-mail: fmalaura@pacbell.net.
First International Course on Urban Flood Mitigation. Organized by: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC). Bangkok, Thailand: September 18-29, 2000. Contact: Training and Education Division, ADPC, Asian Institute of Technology, P.O Box 4 Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand; tel: (66 2) 5245362 or 5245363; fax: (66 2) 5245360; e-mail: tedadpc@ait.ac.th; WWW: http://www.adpc.ait.ac.th.
EMS Summit: Knowledge Management in EMS. Presented by: Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation and Sunstar Emergency Medical Services. Clearwater Beach, Florida: September 28-29, 2000. Contact: Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation, 3717 South Conway Road, Orlando, FL 32812; 1-800-766-6335; (407) 281-7396; fax: (407) 281-4407; WWW: http://www.fcep.org.
Fourth Annual Conference of the Indiana Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management. Location to be announced: October 2000. Contact: Donna Price, (317) 327-5459.
International Training Course on Seismology, Seismic Data Analysis, Hazard Assessment and Risk Mitigation. Potsdam/Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany: October 1-November 5, 2000. Contact: GeoforschungsZentrum (GFZ) Secretariat of Seismology Training Course, c/o Prof. Dr. P. Bormann; e-mail: course@gfz-potsdam.de.
First International Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN) Information Technology Exposition and Conference. Honolulu, Hawaii: October 9-11, 2000. Contact: Peter Colvin, GDIN Information Technology Conference, c/o ERIM International, P.O. Box 134008, Ann Arbor, MI 48113-4008; (734) 994-1200, ext. 2438; e-mail: pcolvin@erim-int.com; WWW: http://www.erim-int.com/CONF/GDIN.html.
13th Annual Emergency Preparedness Conference. Sponsors: Emergency Planners and Managers Association of British Columbia and others. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: October 17-19, 2000. Contact: Emergency Preparedness Conference, 700 West 57th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6P 1S1; (604) 322-8365; fax: (604) 322-8359; e-mail: ccox@vanhosp.bc.ca; WWW: http://epma.bc.ca/epc/.
Fire Conference 2000: The First National Congress in Fire Ecology, Prevention, and Management. Presented by: International Association of Wildland Fire and others. San Diego, California: November 27-December 1, 2000. Contact: Sandra Cooper, University Extension, UC Davis, (530) 757-8948; e-mail: scooper@unexmail.ucdavis.edu; WWW: http://www.universityextension.ucdavis.edu/fire/, or (if you feel like typing) http://www.universityextension.ucdavis.edu/environmental/coursedesc_env.asp?areaName2=&CourseID=1017
Coastal GeoTools. Sponsored by: NOAA Coastal Services Center. Charleston, South Carolina: January 8-11, 2001. Contact: NOAA Coastal Services Center, 2234 South Hobson Avenue, Charleston, SC 29405-2413; (843) 740-1200; WWW: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/GeoTools/.
Third International Symposium on Earthquake Resistant Engineering Structures (ERES 2001). Malaga, Spain: September 4-6, 2001. Abstracts due January 3, 2001. Contact: Susan Hanley, Conference Secretariat, Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton, SO40 7AA, U.K.; tel: 44-0-238-029-3223; fax: 44-0-238-029-2853; e-mail: shanley@wessex.ac.uk; WWW: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences.
International Sociological Association (ISA) World Congress. Brisbane, Australia: July 7-12, 2002. The ISA's International Research Committee on Disasters will host several sessions on disasters. First Vice President, Dr. Maureen Fordham, is handling queries about the meeting. To offer suggestions or receive updates, send a current e-mail address to m.h.fordham@anglia.ac.uk.
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