The past month saw an expanded 3-days-a-week EIIP schedule, dissemination of the EIIP Development Survey Results, new Partners, and two interns helping in the accomplishment of Partnership/Virtual Forum activities. EIIP Virtual Forum presentations were recently featured on the front page of the FEMA Web site (http://www.fema.gov). The FEMA site, redesigned into a newspaper-like format, carries many of the most important events in the emergency management community.

The EIIP Discussion Groups and Mail Lists are growing; the Partnership urges visitors to our site to subscribe to one or more of these Groups/Lists and use them as a vehicle for interaction with other emergency professionals. The EIIP Virtual Forum content is growing rapidly with transcripts from the Wednesday and Thursday sessions each week; the transcripts provide vital information and reference materials that may be downloaded by anyone interested in the subject matter. Additionally, the contents of the Virtual Library continues to expand through a concerted effort of requesting previously published papers, articles and other appropriate materials as designated by the '98 EIIP Strategic Plan.

The EIIP was represented at the February Mid-Year Meeting of the National Emergency Managers Association (NEMA) in Washington, DC. The occasion was highlighted by meetings with SALEMDUG and the NEMA III Committee, Chaired by Roy Price, State Director of Hawaii.

EMI was the site of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Mid-Year Retreat (formerly NCCEM); Avagene Moore, EIIP Coordinator, met with the IAEM Board of Directors on Saturday, March 14, to report on the EIIP/Virtual Forum.

Online Events:
The new EIIP Virtual Forum weekly schedule continues with exciting, timely, formal presentations as well as unmoderated sessions that allow emergency professionals to participate online three days of the week:

• Tuesdays - 1:00 PM (EST): Informal Brown Bag session (Note: moved from Wednesdays) designed for open discussion of issues, opportunity to learn/practice chatting, and technical help resource.
  
  
• Wednesdays - 12:00 Noon (EST): Moderated Live Online Events featuring speakers in the Virtual Library, Virtual Classroom, EIIP Panel Room, and the Tech Arena.
  
  
• Thursdays - 8:00 PM (EST): Round Table Unmoderated Discussions on Topic of the Week with Guest Speaker.

Each Wednesday of the month, the EIIP Virtual Forum presents fresh ideas, updates on current issues and programs, and the latest in the world of emergency management. April begins a quarter with panel discussions devoted to preparedness issues:

Wed. April 1 - Virtual Library: Topics from the book, Emergency Planning on the Internet, by author, Rick Tobin

Wed. April 8 - Virtual Classroom: Series on distance learning continues with the presentation by the University of Missouri Fire & Rescue Training Institute (UMFRTI).

Wed. April 15 - EIIP Panel Room: hosts a panel of experts to discuss
FEMA's Capability Assessment Review (CAR).

Wed. April 22 - EIIP Virtual Forum: is "Live From" the SALEMDUG Conference
in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Wed. April 29 - Tech Arena: Tim Murphy, South Carolina Emergency Preparedness Division, presents the Internet Routed Information System, (IRIS).

Scheduled EIIP Conference Calls/Meetings:

Fri. April 3 - 12:00 Noon (EST): EIIP Planning Team meets via conference call to continue work on the EIIP long-range strategic plan; team members will be provided an agenda and related materials to prepare for the meeting.

Wed. April 29 - Virtual Forum 2:00 PM EST: First Partner Committee Meeting Online in the Virtual Forum -- The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Board of Directors, formerly NCCEM, will meet on Wednesday, 4/29/98. (Note to Partners: Meetings with your committees/boards online in the Virtual Forum are a matter of scheduling ---contact: amoore@emforum.org.)

The following have submitted the Memorandum of Agreement form to become formal Partners during the past month and are listed as such on the EIIP Virtual Forum web site. Each Point of Contact (POC) has been welcomed to the EIIP and encouraged to become an active participant and worker in the Partnership.

Collier County (FL) Emergency Management POC Gary Arnold, Coordinator (garnold@naples.net)

Connecticut Office of Emergency Management POC: Timothy P. Coon, Exercise Training Officer (tcoon.ctoem@juno.com)

Dimension Unlimited, Inc. POC: Janice Rogala, President (janrogala@aol.com)

Franklin County (OH) Emergency Management Agency POC: John (J. R.) Thomas, Director (emafc@infinet.com)

Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) POC: Lee Smith (smith@gema.state.ga.us)

Mid Atlantic Search & Rescue POC: Russell A. Kilpatrick, Chief (rakbalt@home.com)

Texas A&M / Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center POC: Greg Schumann, Hazard Research & Planning Coordinator (Schu@taz.tamu.edu)

Interested in joining the EIIP? New Partners are welcome; Partnership Criteria and Agreement Form may be found at the following URL: http://www.emforum.org/partners/criteria.htm

Coventry University Announces Four Disaster Management Programs

The School of The Built Environment at Coventry University in the United Kingdom introduces courses in Disaster Management and offers the following programs:

• BSc Honours Degree in International Disaster Engineering and Management
• BSc Honours Degree Development and Health in Disaster Management
• MSc Degree in Disaster Management
• A newly validated short course with a partner institute which is entitled Certificate in Search and Rescue Management

For more information, please visit http://www.coventry.ac.uk/acad/sbe/disaster/ or Email: cbx058@coventry.ac.uk.

March 23, 1998 - Nashville, Tennessee: Governor Don Sunquist formally announced the University of Tennessee of Chattanooga (UTC) and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) are developing a Higher Education Initiative in Emergency Management. The program will be implemented in phases with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Services Management with a concentration in Emergency Systems Management to begin in August 1998. The program will offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for courses offered by TEMA. The joint initiative will seek university approval for a bachelor's degree program in Emergency Systems Management by the year 2000 in accordance with FEMA's higher education initiative. For more information, contact Dr. Marvin Ernst, Professor, School of Social and Community Services, UTC (Marvin-Ernst@utc.edu), Fax: (23)785-2228; or TEMA's Training Division 1(800)262-3402.

By Jonna Wheeler, Public Safety Intranet Coordinator

The Georgia Public Safety Intranet, one of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency's (GEMA) newest initiatives, was introduced in last quarter's edition of "The Emergency Manager". Since then, the system has undergone renovations with the following additions to the Public Safety 'Net': Secretary of State, Professional Practices, and Public Safety Links.

The Secretary of State page will display information provided directly from the office of Georgia's Secretary of State. This information will be items pertinent to the public safety community, such as regulatory and investigative practices.

Professional Practices is an area within the Safety 'Net that is aimed toward management and administrative practices in public safety agencies. Information such as model job descriptions, standard operating procedures, shift schedules, model trends and initiatives is described in this area and is geared mainly toward management level users, but has information that will benefit all users.

These changes are only a few made to the system. The Public Safety Intranet is an ever growing and ever evolving information network. Individuals participating in this network are encouraged to provide input and share information on the system in order to benefit other users. The Safety 'Net is maintained by GEMA, but driven by its users.

Currently, there are over 300 subscribers to the Public Safety Intranet. Approximately 200 different public safety agencies are represented by the user population. The Public Safety Intranet is open to any individuals employed by a government public safety agency. Anyone interested in subscribing to the Georgia Public Safety Intranet may register online by going to the following website: http://safetynet.gema.state.ga.us/

Any individuals with questions regarding the site may contact Jonna Wheeler, Public Safety Intranet Coordinator, at (404) 635-7000, 1-800-TRY-GEMA, or by email (jwheeler@gema.state.ga.us).

Over the last few years, Emergency Preparedness Canada (EPC), in cooperation with several public- and private-sector partners, has been conducting extensive research on risk assessment and vulnerability as they pertain to natural hazards in Canada. Because this is the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, the Office of the Senior Scientific Advisor of EPC has embarked on a series of projects to be completed by the end of the decade. One such project, the Natural Hazards Electronic Map and Assessment Tools Information System (NHEMATIS), is a centralized, automated facility for the collection, representation, and analysis of natural hazard information for Canada. NHEMATIS is being combined with data about population and infrastructure in order to carry out diverse risk and vulnerability analyses. NHEMATIS is intended to provide a number of significant benefits, including shared knowledge among hazard experts and national, provincial, and local organizations concerned about emergency preparedness. It will also be a means of integrating the knowledge of professionals from complementary disciplines to support research.

NHEMATIS is currently in the third year of a four-year development process being conducted by a consortium of private companies and federal agencies. NHEMATIS integrates an expert system rule base, geographic information system (GIS), relational database(s), and quantitative models. The system will integrate information on all natural hazard types, capture location-specific information, provide multi-layer analysis, and permit hazard-impact assessment modeling on selected areas of interest and hazard types.
For further information contact: Chris Tucker, Ph.D (deval1@fox.nstn.ca) or visit the Emergency Preparedness Canada Web site at: http://hoshi.cic.sfu.ca/epc/index.html or the NHEMATIS Web site at: http://www.essa.com/nhematis/index.html

http://volcanos.usgs.gov/
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program site encompasses pages entitled "Hazards Posed by Volcanoes" (What They Are, Where They Are, Their Effects); "About the Volcano Hazards Program" (Monitoring Volcanoes, Reducing Volcanic Risk, Highlights, USGS Volcano Observatories); "Volcanoes of the United States" (Current Activity, Historic Eruptions); and "Products, Services, and Information" (Photoglossary, Warning Schemes, Selected Products, Frequently Asked Questions). In addition, each of the volcano observatory sites (Alaska, Cascades, Hawaii, and Long Valley) offers additional information both about the volcanic hazards of their specific region and about volcanoes generally.

http://www.usgs.gov/education/learnweb/volcano/index.html
For persons wanting to teach or learn the basics about volcanoes, the USGS also offers this "Volcanoes in the Learning Web" site, which includes basic information about volcanoes, volcano lesson plans and teaching activities, and links to several Internet-based activities, including a virtual reality model of Mt. St. Helens.

http://www2.nas.edu/cstbweb
The full-text of the National Research Council volume "The Unpredictable Certainty" - a look at the nation's future information infrastructure - is now available on-line. The book includes a white paper by Lois Clark McCoy, Douglas Gillies, and John Harrald entitled "Architecture for an Emergency Lane on the NII: Crisis Information Management." The paper was written in 1995 at the request of the National Research Council's Computer Science and Telecommunications Board.

http://www.riskinfo.com/
The RiskINFO Web site provides "Resources for Risk Management, Safety, and Insurance Professionals." It comprises many different materials, including current and back issues of the "Risk Management Reports" newsletter, as well as links to a lot of other useful risk management sites (for example, www.disasterplan.com, which offers, among other things, sample contingency and response plans for various hazards).

http://www.seismo.com/iaspei/index.html
Besides much information about the organization, a catalog of its publications, and information on upcoming meetings, the home page of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI) offers a full meeting report with complete session summaries from the IASPEI General Assembly held in Thessaloniki, Greece in August 1997.

http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com
Have you ever found information on the Internet or in a Mail List that was in French, Spanish, or some other language you don't read or speak? Or perhaps you found a need to send information to a colleague in another country and wished you could provide it in his or her native tongue? Alta Vista now provides a translation engine that will translate documents in English to French, Spanish, German, Italian, or Portuguese and vice-versa. You submit plain text or refer the translator to a Web page, which it will then tackle. The translations can be somewhat crude, but they can help make sense of an article that would otherwise remain opaque.

Organizational & Issue Updates from EIIP Partners

FEMA, IAEM and NEMA Involvement in Update of NFPA 1600

The NFPA Technical Committee met March 9th to make revisions to NFPA 1600: Recommended Practice for Disaster Management, for the purpose of publishing it as a standard in the Year 2000. FEMA, IAEM (formerly NCCEM) and NEMA are members of the Committee and work together to ensure the standard is something everyone (emergency managers, government, business, industry, others) can live with. The organizational representatives were successful in having the Technical Committee adopt the 13 elements of FEMA's Capability Assessment of Readiness (CAR) into the standard. A June meeting will be held to write appendices to the 1600. In September, there will be an opportunity for public comment. Following the comment period, the NFPA Technical Committee will draft the final version of the standard to be published in the Year 2000 or 2001.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)Update:

FEMA Offers Guidance and Support to Communities Impacted by Severe Weather - "Forces like El Nino can effect us all, not just the mudslide victims we see in California or the tornado victims in Florida," said FEMA Director James Lee Witt. "Communities across the country are coping with severe and unusual weather, so through programs like Project Impact, FEMA is offering guidance to help alleviate the effects of these storms." FEMA provides support and resource information to protect your family, co-workers and community.

* * * *

Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) Update:

Disaster Recovery Center Open - After heavy rainstorms on March 7 & 8, 1998, extensive flooding impacted 62 western and southern counties in Georgia resulting in a Presidential Disaster Declaration. The Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) opened Saturday, March 14, 1998, in Albany, Georgia.

* * * *

International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM, formerly NCCEM):

NCCEM is Now Officially the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) - At the March 14-16 mid-year meeting of the organization, formerly known as the National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management, the articles of incorporation were officially signed changing the name to IAEM. Members of IAEM should look for a letter from Randall Duncan, IAEM President, and their respective Regional President that details this exciting and positive move for the organization for everyone involved in emergency management, whether government or private sector. Another success story from this mid-year gathering was a meeting of the IAEM Government Information Committee with representatives from the National Governor's Association, the National Association of Counties and the National League of Cities. Check the IAEM Bulletin for more details on this and other important items.

* * * *

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Update:

Mississippi Requests Information for Terrorism Project - Mississippi EMA is developing a terrorism project and requests information from States who have already engaged in this process. They are looking for models, examples of products, general information, etc. on: (1) risk specific appendices to the State Emergency Operations Plan; (2) mass casualty plan - could be for terrorism or any other hazard; (3) pocket guidebook or checklist for first responders during Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) incidents. Mississippi is also interested in information from States on outside contracts for this type of work - bid requirements, contract language, project descriptions, etc. If you have information or copies of products you can share, please contact Leon Shaifer (shaifer@mema.state.ms.us). Also, please send copies to the NEMA's Executive Director, Trina Hembree (thembree@csgcomm.csg.org) so the information can be shared with other States upon request.

Indiana Enacts EMAC Legislation - The Indiana State Legislature recently passed EMAC legislation and the Governor was to sign the bill into law on March 24. There are now a total of 21 EMAC States and one territory.

* * * *

April 28-30, 1998: The Business Recovery Managers Symposium: Three-Day Strategic Summit on Planning for, Managing, and Surviving Disaster - Orlando, FL. Email: mis@misti.com Web: http://www.misti.com

May 11-12, 1998: Fourth Annual Conference, DOE's Environmental Cleanup: Will the 2006 Plan Work? - Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC; sponsored by the McGraw-Hill Companies' "Inside Energy" newsletter. The ground rules for the Department of Energy's Environmental Management Program have changed again with a plan to accelerate cleanups at the department's labs and former nuclear-weapons facilities and to complete many of them by 2006. Conference offers a forum to network with important decision makers and other environmental service professionals. For more information: 800-223-6180 or 212-512-6410.

May 17-22, 1998: Flood Mitigation Technology: Times are Changing - Association of Floodplain Managers, Inc. (ASFPM), Milwaukee, WI. For further information, see http://www.floods.org/confer.htm

June 4-7, 1998: 15th International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference -
Sponsored by International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Towson, Maryland. For information, fax IAFC Professional Development Department (703) 273-9363.

June 24-25, 1998: Earthquake Insurance Summit - Doubletree Hotel, Sacramento, CA. Sponsored by the Western States Seismic Policy Council and the Council of State Governments-West. "It's not a matter of IF; it's a matter of WHEN." Visit the web site,
http://www.wsspc.org/summit or call (415)974-6435.

June 25-28, 1998: 2nd Annual "Search & Rescue/Disaster Response" Conference and Expo - Nashville, TN Convention Center. Featuring 110 sessions, live demos, a huge exhibit hall, and the Tennessee Valley Vehicle Extrication Competition! For further information, please see the SR/DR '98 web site (http://srdr.com). Or contact Scott Samuels, SR/DR, (715)547-3340, fax (715)547-6674.

October 14, 1998: The United Nations 1998 World Disaster Reduction Campaign: Natural Disaster Prevention and the Media "Prevention Begins With Information" -
The United Nations World Disaster Reduction Campaigns, organized by the UN International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) Secretariat will include a virtual conference on the Internet to be held this fall, a photo contest, and the production of background materials supporting World Disaster Reduction Day activities around the world. For more information, contact Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo, Head, Promotion and Public Awareness Unit (madeleine.moulin-acevedo@dha.unicc.org).

October 22-23, 1998: 1998 Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Congress -Orlando Marriott Hotel, Orlando, FL (http://www.ibhs.org).

THE COST OF CHILDREN

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/980330/30chil.htm
Of course they're cute, but children don't come free. Can you afford up to $1,455,581 per child? Find out what your child would cost with an interactive worksheet based on income level, education, and health care needs. Explore links to family and parenting sites.

SHAWNA'S VIRTUAL FLOWERS

http://drew.netusa1.net/%7Eshawna/virtual/
While there are many free virtual flower services online, few are as tasteful and as visually appealing as this site. For no cost, Shawna offers a generous variety of choices for any occasion and allows the sender to customize background, arrangement style, text color and type, and musical selections for the perfect virtual greeting.

We encourage readers to submit articles for this newsletter about use of the Internet for emergency management and other aspects of information technology. Deadline for contributions is the 20th of each month for that month's newsletter. Submit contributions to Ashley Streetman, (astreetman@emforum.org).