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I am looking for community and family preparedness materials in the
Russian language (for the Ukraine) and would appreciate knowing if any
other agency has them or knows of a contact for them. Specifically we
are looking for basic materials much like the ones the Red Cross and
FEMA produce on food/water storage, making a home emergency kit,
developing a family disaster plan, and so forth.
Thank you,
Peggy Peirson, Emergency Services Coordinator
Benton County Emergency Management, Corvallis, OR
E-mail: peggy.peirson@co.benton.or.us
Tel: (541) 766-6864
Fax: (541) 766-6052
We are seeking different models of emergency (if it is possible council emergencies) to adapt them to our region - including a manual of potential risks than can affect a town. The main goals of the project include:
We would be very grateful for any information. Thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
David Navalon Nonell Gemma Ventura Parra
E-mail: dnavalon@cetib.ictnet.es
The test can be viewed as it happens via the World Wide Web: http://www.curee.org.
Viewers are advised to visit this Web site in advance to obtain instructions for viewing the Webcast.
Viewers will be able to witness what happens to a house when it is hit by a quake similar to the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles. Based on current design and building practices in California, the house has a tile roof, stucco exterior finish, and all rooms finished with painted gypsum board walls. This is the first time that the house has been fully furnished, and cameras have been installed inside and out to record effects on equipment and contents, such as water heaters, shelving, TVs, bookcases, refrigerators, and cabinets. Information from 300 sensors will also provide data that researchers will use to create computer simulations to evaluate current design and construction practices. The July 11 test is the culmination of five months of testing on this house, which has undergone a series of tests with various modifications and various earthquake motions played back through an earthquake simulator ("shake table"). The "ultimate jolt" is expected to severely damage the house.
Information from these tests will be used to generate guidelines for earthquake hazard mitigation in woodframe structures, improve building codes and standards, develop training programs for design and construction professionals, improve loss estimates, and create new standardized guidelines for adjusting insurance claims after an earthquake. For additional information, contact:
Jill H. Andrews
CUREe-Caltech Woodframe Project
(213) 740-3459
E-mail: jandrews@terra.usc.edu
or
Denine Hagen
Communications Director
UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering
(858) 534-2920
E-mail: dhagen@ucsd.edu
The curriculum is intended to aid teachers of science, math, social studies, and language arts to integrate the "hazards" of hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, lightning, earthquakes, and, in general, family disaster preparedness, into their regular lesson plans. A complete listing of national teaching standards and which lessons in the curriculum help meet those standards is included with each curriculum package.
The curriculum comes as a set of materials in a box. There are separate boxes for teachers of grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. Within each box is a Teacher's Guide, Activities Book (reproducible activity pages), age- and hazard-specific video, interactive poster, and for the K-2 and 3-5 kits, stickers and an order card for The Notagains disaster preparedness CD-ROM. A "class set" of all materials for up to 30 students that the teacher would need are included in each box.
Note: For teachers and the general public, these materials are available for order ONLY from local Red Cross chapters or stations, which can provide price and availability information. Schools or other third parties should not contact the Red Cross General Services Division or offices of the Red Cross National Headquarters to place orders.
http://www.fema.gov/nwz00/erosion.htm
http://www.heinzcenter.org
The Federal Emergency Management has released a major study on
erosion hazards - Evaluation of Erosion Hazards - prepared for FEMA
by The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment. The
study provides a comprehensive assessment of coastal erosion and its
impact on people and property. According to the report, approximately
25% of homes and other structures within 500 feet of the U.S.
coastline and the shorelines of the Great Lakes will fall victim to
the effects of erosion within the next 60 years. For details and links
to the Executive Summary and the full report, see either the FEMA or
Heinz Center Web site listed above.
http://books.nap.edu/books/0309070961/html/index.html
The National Research Council recently conducted a review of the
U.S. Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program (VHP), and the
council's final report is now available - either to order or to view
on-line - at this Web site. Interested persons might consult the
"Executive Summary" and "Principal Conclusions and Recommendations,"
which site several issues and opportunities for the VHP. The issues
include the limited hiring of new staff over the last 15 years, flat
budgets, a lack of priority setting for specific volcano study and
hazard analysis, and a shift in focus from basic research to
application and hazard mitigation. The opportunities include possible
partnerships with other hazard-concerned institutions and the prospect
of improved, comprehensive, consistent data management and
dissemination in near real-time.
http://www.unicef.org/emerg
UNICEF'S emergency Web site has been revamped. The new format
makes UNICEF field situation reports, thematic reviews, appeals, and
references easily available. Comments and information requests can be
e-mailed to emops@unicef.org.
http://www.grid.unep.ch/preview/
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Global Resource
Information Database (GRID) Project for Risk Evaluation, Information
and Early Warning (PREVIEW) has developed a new tool for quickly
locating relevant Web sites from among 100 organizations offering
reports, data, and early warning information on natural and complex
hazards. The index covers climatic hazards (floods, droughts, tropical
cyclones); tectonic hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes,
landslides); eco-degrading hazards (erosion, forest fires,
biodiversity loss, deforestation); and polluting hazards (air, water,
soil, oil spills, nuclear waste). Information from the PREVIEW Web
site can be accessed by theme or by geographical location. The
offerings are not intended to be exhaustive, but instead represent a
selection based on a list of organizations provided by the U.N. IDNDR
(now ISDR) Secretariat. The pages provide the names of the
organizations, a description of their products, their objectives, and
their Web URL.
http://www.ifrc.org
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC) has just released its annual World Disasters Report
- this year focusing on public health in disasters. For summaries of
the various chapters and complete ordering information, see the IFRC
Web site above.
http://www.who.int/peh/
http://www.who.int/peh/air/vegetation_fires.htm
Via the second Web address above, the World Health Organization
(WHO) Protection of the Human Environment (PEH) Program offers Health
Guidelines for Vegetation Fire Events - a document describing
wildfires generally, discussing the health problems related to fire-
caused air pollution, and laying out guidelines for public health
preparedness for and response to this problem. Besides bounteous
information on the wildfire health hazard, the document provides an
extensive bibliography, list of acronyms, glossary, and ten other
appendices with additional information.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/policy/papers/fgemg/fgemgsum.htm
Oxfam has recently issued a policy paper entitled An End to
Forgotten Emergencies, which can be read on-line or downloaded from
this Web site. The paper contends that humanitarian aid clusters
around highly-visible disasters, thus ignoring thousands of victims of
lesser-profile crises; donors give vastly disproportionate amounts of
aid to a few well-known crises and trivial amounts to hundreds of
other, hidden emergencies. The paper concludes with nine specific
recommendations for making international aid more equitable.
http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/emergency
The State of Victoria (Australia), Department of Human Services
has numerous emergency management responsibilities. The department's
recently updated Web site brings together all those responsibilities
and interests in one site managed by the State Emergency Recovery
Unit. We thought we'd mention the site to DR readers, since these
pages could serve as a model for other emergency management office Web
offerings. The clean, well-organized site includes sections on
emergency management and recovery management, the Victoria Medical
Emergency Response Plan, dozens of fact sheets on various aspects of
emergency planning and response (in 19 different languages), many
other on-line resource materials, and a "What's New" section offering
disaster news and describing the latest publications from the
department.
http://www.emergency-world.com/fire-l/
fire-l-subscribe@topica.com
The list owner of the fire-l@cornell.edu listserve has announced
that the list has moved. People can subscribe to it by sending a blank
e-mail message to fire-l-subscribe@topica.com, or by visiting the
first URL above.
Requests@listserve.com
The Biodiversity Support Program's "Disasters and Biodiversity
Project" is pleased to announce the launch of the Relief, Environment,
and Development Link Listserv (REDlink), an e-mail-based discussion
list that will address the increasingly important topic of the effects
of armed conflict [and other disasters, we presume (or at least
hope) - ed.] on biodiversity in Africa. Since 1998, BSP Africa,
through the "Disasters and Biodiversity Project," has been
investigating strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of armed
conflicts on biodiversity in Africa. Thus far, a major challenge has
been identified: historically, little communication has existed among
the relief, development, and conservation sectors, although
opportunities often exist for these three sectors to work together.
REDlink aims to bridge this communication gap. An electronic bulletin
will be distributed every three to four weeks containing an agency
profile, information submitted by members about upcoming and past
events, a list of resources (reports, Web sites, etc.), and a question
and answer section. Persons interested in subscribing to REDlink,
should send an e-mail request to Requests@listserve.com. The body of
the message should read "Subscribe redlink." The first REDlink
bulletin will go out the week of July 10th.
Under a mandate from Congress, FEMA has designed and is implementing a predisaster initiative - Project Impact - to reduce rapidly escalating disaster costs. Under the Government Performance Results Act, Congress requires that FEMA show that the money is being used effectively by establishing a systematic process of evaluation. The Project Impact Baseline Report and subsequent Annual Progress Report provide a means of data collection for this objective and have been developed to capture the progress of a community towards disaster resistance.
The Federal Register entry provides a complete description of these documents and asks for public comment on their necessity, form, cost, and efficacy. Interested persons should submit written comments to Muriel B. Anderson, Chief, Record Management Branch, Program Service Division, Operations Support Directorates, FEMA, 500 C Street, S.W., Room 316, Washington, DC 20472; (202) 646-2625; fax: (202) 646-3524; e-mail: muriel.anderson@fema.gov.
For further information, see the Federal Register pages cited above (available on-line at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html), or contact Priscilla Scruggs, Evaluation and Assessment Specialist, Mitigation Directorate - Project Impact, FEMA; (202) 646-4155.
For current information on the roundtable, see http://www.ntia.doc.gov.
Written comments must be filed on or before August 18 and can be mailed to Jeng Mao, Public Safety Program, NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 4624, 1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230. For more information, contact Jeng Mao at (202) 501-0342; e-mail: jmao@ntia.doc.gov. Alternatively, comments can be e-mailed to warnings@ntia.doc.gov.
Extensive supplementary information is available from the Federal Register pages cited above (available on-line at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html) or the NTIA Web site.
Building Partnerships: A Commitment to the Future - Emergency Management Workshop of the Oregon Emergency Management Association. Eugene, Oregon: August 21-24, 2000. Contact: Michael Mumaw, (503) 642- 0383; e-mail: mumawmj@tvfr.com.
LIDERES - A Course for Managers in Health, Disasters, and Development. Sponsor: Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). Quito, Ecuador: August 28-September 15, 2000. Deadline for registration is July 15. Contact: PAHO, Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Coordination Program, 525 Twenty-third Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20037-2895; (202) 974-3522; fax: (202) 775-4578; e-mail: curso-lideres@paho.org; WWW: http://www.paho.org/Spanish/PED/curso-lideres.htm.
Great Plains Drought Workshop. Sponsors: Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and others. Rapid City, South Dakota: August 29-31, 2000. Contact: Bruce Flinn, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 25007, D-5500, Denver, CO 80225-0007; (303) 445-2703.
Colorado Governor's Conference on Emergency Management - "Emergency Management: Filling the Toolbox for the New Century." Sponsors: Colorado Department of Local Affairs and others. Breckenridge, Colorado: August 29-31, 2000. Contact: Colorado Office of Emergency Management, 15075 South Golden Road, Golden, CO 80401-3979.
National Institute for Urban Search and Rescue (NI/USR) Annual Conference. (Held in conjunction with the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch [NAEMD] Navigator 2000 Conference.) Las Vegas, Nevada: August 29-September 2, 2000. Includes a "Communications during Disaster Workshop and Table Top Exercise," August 28-29. For details, see http://niusr.org/welcome.html; or contact NI/USR Headquarters, P.O. Box 91648, Santa Barbara, CA 93190; (805) 569-5066; e-mail: niusr@ix.netcom.com.
Third Annual Disaster Mental Health Institute Conference on Innovations in Disaster Mental Health: "Refugee Mental Health." Rapid City, South Dakota: August 31-September 2, 2000. Contact: Disaster Mental Health Institute, University of South Dakota - SDU 116, 414 East Clark Street, Vermillion, SD 57069-2390; (605) 677-6575 or 1-800- 522-9684; fax: (605) 677-6604; WWW: http://www.usd.edu/dmhi/conf00/conf2000.html.
Critical Incident Stress Management Suite of Workshops. Offered by: International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). Austin, Texas: September 21-24, 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.
Flood Hazard Mitigation Planning Workshop. Offered by: Colorado Water
Conservation Board, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Colorado
Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers, and the Mitigation
Assistance Corporation.
- Aurora, Colorado: September 25, 2000
- Grand Junction, Colorado: September 26, 2000
- Durango, Colorado: September 27, 2000
- Canon City, Colorado: September 28, 2000
Contact: Mark Matulik, Colorado Water Conservation Board, 1313 Sherman
Street, Room 721, Denver, CO 80203; (303) 866-3441, ext. 301; e-mail:
mark.matulik@state.co.us.
12th Conference and Exposition of the Southwestern Association of ALERT Systems (SAAS 2000). Denver, Colorado: October 24-27, 2000. Abstracts due August 1. See: http://www.udfcd.org/saas2000/conference.html. Or contact Ron Shindoll, SAAS President, City of Dallas Flood Control District, 2255 Irving Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75207-6005; (214) 670- 6005; fax: (214) 670-6526; e-mail: rshindo@ci.dallas.tx.us.
Mitigation 2000 - Manitoba Emergency Management Conference. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: November 16-18, 2000. For details, e-mail: vhwacha@gov.mb.ca.
Inaugural Symposium on Health and Humanitarian Action. Organized by the International Association for Humanitarian Medicine. Palermo, Italy: November 17-18, 2000. Contact: Prof. M. Masellis, c/o Divisione Chirurgia Plastica Terapia della Ustioni, Ospedale Civico Benfratelli, Via C Lazarro, 90217 Palermo, Italy; tel; 39 091 6663631, 091 666 3634; fax: 39 091 596404; e-mail: mbcpa@cres.it.
Mid-America Earthquake (MAE) Center Annual Meeting and Annual RA Symposium. New Orleans, Louisiana: November 18-20, 2000. Contact: MAE Center, 1241 Newmark Laboratory, 205 North Mathews, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 244-6302; fax: (217) 333-3821; WWW: http://mae.ce.uiuc.edu.
Coastal GeoTools. Sponsored by: NOAA Coastal Services Center. Charleston, South Carolina: January 8-11, 2001. Abstracts due August 15, 2000. Contact: NOAA Coastal Services Center, 2234 South Hobson Avenue, Charleston, SC 29405-2413; (843) 740-1200; e-mail: GeoTools@noaa.gov; WWW: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/GeoTools/.
Eighth Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. Louisville, Kentucky: April 1-4, 2001. Abstracts due August 25, 2000. Contact: P.E. LaMoreaux and Associates, Inc., 106 Administration Road, Suite 4, Oak Ridge, TN 37830; (865) 483-7483; fax: (865) 483-7639; e-mail: pela@ics.net; WWW: http://www.pela.com/8thcon.htm.
First World Congress on Disaster Reduction. Sponsors: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and others. Washington, D.C.: August 19-24, 2001. Contact: Walter Hays, ASCE, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA 20191; (703) 295-6054; e-mail: whays@asce.org; or Michael Cassaro, ASCE; e-mail: macass@aye.net.
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