EMERGENCY PARTNER POSTINGS

Volume 3, No. 10

June 1999

Tuesday and Wednesday Live Sessions --- Now Same Time Both Days:
Effective June 1, the EIIP Virtual Forum Round Table will be conducted at 12:00 Noon Eastern Time each Tuesday to conform to the time of the formal Wednesday session each week. Please make note and work your schedule to be present with us on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 12:00 Noon EDT.

EIIP Road Trip:
The EIIP was represented at the FEMA/ORNL Technology Partnership for Emergency Management Conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, May 17-20. The meeting was co-chaired by Thomas McQuillen, Director, Partnerships and Outreach Division, FEMA Preparedness Directorate; and Dr. John Sorenson, Director, Emergency Management Center, Energy Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The conference attracted some 250 people from all over the world. Next year's conference will be hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado Springs, Colorado, June 10-15, 2000. For more information, visit: http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster.

RRBDIN Workshop on International Flood Mitigation Initiative:
The Red River Basin Disaster Information Network (RRBDIN) will host two 1-hour workshops via the Internet in June. The first one is June 10, 12:00 noon CDT Internet with Brad Crabtree, Program Coordinator, North Dakota Consensus Council, to discuss the progress to date on the International Flood Mitigation Initiative launched last December. The initiative involves regional policy-makers, stakeholders, and citizens from both the U.S. and Canada, in an effort to move communities towards effective, long-term disaster prevention and mitigation. The online dialogue provides an interactive question and answer period for the audience. See http://www.emforum.org/redriver/workshop/wk990610.htm for background information.

The RRBDIN is sponsored by the International Joint Commission , the Global Disaster Information Network, and the Red River Basin Board with support by the EIIP. Previous online workshops addressed disaster information needs, flood forecasting, and the use of remote sensing in disasters. Transcripts of all sessions, as well as related materials, are available via the Website.

The Round Tables are Partner-led discussions. Currently SALEMDUG, the Community & Family Preparedness Program of FEMA, the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), and the Congressional Fire Service Institute (CFSI) are committed to a Round Table discussion each month. We commend these organizations for their participation in the Partnership. Please support their efforts each Tuesday at 12:00 Noon Eastern as well as our formal sessions each Wednesday at 12:00 Noon EDT.

June 1999 Round Tables - Tuesdays - 12:00 Noon EDT:
June 1: State and Local Emergency Management Data Users Group (SALEMDUG)
June 8: Live from FEMA Community & Family Preparedness (CFP) Conference
June 15: Congressional Fire Service Institute (CFSI)
June 22: International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)
June 29: National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), (invited)

June 1999 Formal Sessions - Wednesdays - 12:00 Noon EDT:
June 2: Virtual Library - Hurricane Season '99, Roger Pielke
June 9: Virtual Classroom - RMP Update - Carole Macko, EPA CEPPO
June 15: EIIP Panel Discussion Linking Mitigation & Sustainable Development Globally
June 23: The End of the Decade: Philippe Boullé, IDNDR Secretariat Director
June 30: HURRTRAK Tropical Tracking Software, George Sambataro

The following submitted the agreement form to become formal Partners and are listed on the EIIP Virtual Forum web site, with links to Websites if available (see http://www.emforum.org/partners/partic.htm). Each Point of Contact (POC) has been welcomed to the EIIP and encouraged to become an active participant and worker in the Partnership:

Centro de Entrenamiento de Bomberos Profesionales (Fire Training Center - Peru):
Jose Luis Musse Torres, (jmusse@yahoo.com)

SA-USA Emergency/Crisis Management Systems: Carl T. Sexton, President
(carl.sexton@worldnet.att.net)

Stamford (CT) Emergency Management: Carl R. Alton, Sr., Director (oemstact@home.com)

Wayne County (MI) Emergency Management: Sandford M. Altschul, Deputy Director
(saltschu@co.wayne.mi.us)

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

EIIP Logo Accessible to Partners

We continue to add new Partners to the EIIP. Part of the EIIP Memorandum of Agreement states that we will link to each other's web sites, if one exists. In response to a request of a new Partner for the EIIP logo, we have made the logo easily accessible and in an appropriate size for any of our Partners' use at: http://www.emforum.org/images/ic_forum.gif

Hurricane season begins June 1 -- the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plans to launch a weather satellite to ensure instant weather data to forecasters for more accurate severe weather warnings. The new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-L will monitor hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods and other severe weather from 22,300 miles above the earth. The satellite, which will be called GOES 11 once it is in orbit, can hover continuously over one position to constantly watch a particular area for atmospheric events that trigger severe weather.

Kosovar Refugee Internet Assistance Initiative

Kosovar refugees will have access to the Internet and email accounts to obtain news and try to contact relatives as part of an international relief effort launched recently by the US Information Agency (USIA). The Kosavar Refugee Internet Assistance Initiative will provide computer equipment, software and support services, donated by 15 companies to 8 refugee camps in Macedonia, Poland, France, Germany and the United States.

Report Predicts Breakdowns

This July, not January, is the month to watch for the first wave of year 2000 failures, according to a new Gartner Group Inc. report. "The biggest misconception is when the failures will occur," said Lou Marcoccio, Gartner's Y2K analyst. The Gartner report estimates that only 8% to 10% of year 2000-related breakdowns will occur at the end of December and the beginning of January. Failures will begin in phases in July as some businesses and government entities enter their new fiscal year and face date issues that haven't been fixed or were fixed incorrectly --- then, watch out for October. (For the full story by Kathleen Ohlson, see May 3, 1999, Computerworld.)

EENet Schedule for May '99:

June 2, 2:00-3:00 PM EDT: Learning Again - Unique Applications of ICS in Civil Disturbances

June 9, 2:00-4:30 PM EDT: Living with Grief: After Sudden Loss

June 16, 2:00-3:30 PM EDT: National Alert Broadcast - FEMA's Video Magazine

June 23, 2:00-4:00 PM EDT: Mitigation Series - (TBA)

June 30, 2:00- 3:00 PM EDT: Virginia Beach Fire Department Hazardous Materials Series

See http://www.fema.gov/home/EMI/eenet.htm for further info.

IDNDR Internet Conference June 14-25, 1999:

As the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) concludes, its secretariat is organizing an Internet conference as a prelude to the closing event, Programme Forum 1999, 5-9 July 1999, Geneva, Switzerland. The Internet conference will run over a period of two weeks with four themes running each for two and a half days, as follows:

Week 1:

• Education and socio-economic concerns (June 14,15,16)
• Development and environmental concerns (June 16,17,18)

Week 2:

• Scientific and technological concerns (June 21, 22, 23)
• Action Towards the 21st century (June 23, 24, 25)

Participation in the conference is welcome! To register, send a message to
listserv@thecity.sfsu.edu --- Write nothing under the subject and write the following sentence in the text: Subscribe risk your-first-name your-last-name (example: Subscribe risk John Smith) Register and get more information at: http://www.idndr.org/conference

On Wednesday June 23th, Mr Philippe Boullé, Director of the IDNDR Secretariat will be the guest of a live Internet Forum hosted by the Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) under the theme "Disaster Reduction as a Central Element of Government Policy". The site is the EIIP Virtual Forum: http://www.emforum.org. The session starts at 12:00 noon EDT (18:00 Geneva Time).

Aviation Fire Journal :

Internet Magazine of Worldwide Aviation Fire Protection -- dedicated to aircraft fire fighting and aviation fire protection (http://www.aviationfirejournal.com). It is the magazine for anyone who may be involved in an aircraft accident --- municipal fire fighters, police, EMS personnel, aviation safety accident investigators and anyone interested in learning more about this specialized field of fire protection. AFJ Editor is William Mulcahey (avifirejnl@aol.com). AFJ's other web site, International Aviation Fire & Rescue Information (http://www.fire.org.uk/aviation/), is billed as best one-stop Internet resource for information on aviation fire & rescue information to be found on the Net.

New Independent Study Course from EMI:

The Emergency Management Institute announces new independent study course: Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management, IS 288. If interested:

• Contact local or State Emergency Management training office; request FEMA Independent Study Course Application brochure(lists all IS courses); mail to EMI address on the brochure or fax to Independent Study Program (301)447-1201.
• Submit electronic application via http://www.fema.gov/emi/ishome.htm

Second Edition of The Connection - America's Bridge to Preparedness:

The Connection is currently accepting articles for the second edition. To submit an article, please note the following guidelines:
· Submission deadline: July 30, 1999. (Second edition target date September 1, 1999.)
· Format: e-mail, fax, or mail on disk in Word or WordPerfect for PC.
· Graphics: JPEG, GIF, PIN, TIFF, etc. to support your article.
· Length of article: No minimum; maximum 1,500 words.
· Suggested content for submission:
-anything dealing with school preparedness
-how you are maintaining skills and motivation
-how your teams are organized
-innovative idea(s) you are trying
-anything about your program of interest

Submit to: Frank Lucier, 1325 Imola Ave West, Suite 121, Napa, CA 94559
Pager 415-527-6482; Fax 602-381-8907; Email fjlucier@naem.com; URL http://www.naem.com

Talking About Disaster -- Guide for Standard Disaster Safety Messages:

Organizations under the auspices of the National Disaster Education Coalition involved with disaster safety information have developed a set of standard disaster safety messages on 13 hazards as well as general disaster safety information. The Guide is available through any local Red Cross chapter as stock number A4461M. "Talking About Disaster" is also available now on the Internet. It is available in both HTML format as well as in downloadable PDF files (organized by hazard; you only have to download what you want to use.) http://www.redcross.org/disaster/safety/guide.html

Contact:
Rocky Lopes, Convener, National Disaster Education Coalition, Disaster Services Department, American Red Cross National Headquarters loper@usa.redcross.org

Y2K Specialist: With a little more than 200 days until the millennium rollover, information on the year 2000 problem is flowing very quickly. Y2K Specialist (http://www.y2kspecialist.com) provides up-to-date Y2K news, plus information for work and home. Click on "Power Y2K" and find information germane to your industry. Want to engage in an online debate? Click on "Truth vs. Hype" and express your opinion on how the year 2000 problem will shake out.

First EENET Y2K Show Now Online: EENET broadcast "Y2K: A Leadership Issue" is available at http://www.encoding.com/fema/videoondemand.html. This is the first of three programs on Y2K that will look at Year 2000 issues from an emergency management perspective. Note other topics are also available at the URL given.

White House Launches Y2K Campaign on May 24: "Our greatest domestic risks for Year 2000-related failures are at the local level," said John Koskinen, Chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion. The council is working with more than 20 national associations to encourage local public officials and service providers to lead or participate in Year 2000 conversations within their own communities. Copies of a free toolkit can be ordered by calling the council's free information line at (888) 872-4925.

Y2K Problems in Windows 98: Microsoft Corporation has identified three more Y2K problems in Windows 98. Fixes will be made to upcoming Windows 98 Second Edition and they will be posted at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com in the next few weeks; also look for a fix to three security holes in Internet Explorer 4.0 and 5.0 Web browsers.

Wall Street Passes Y2K Test Run: A series of industry-wide Y2K tests involving some 400 brokerages, clearinghouses and stock exchanges found fewer errors than normally occur on a typical trading day. Tests did not include leap-year testing or involve overseas banks or stock exchanges.

http://coolspace.gsfc.nasa.gov/ NASA
gives kids of all ages a window on the North Pole -- this site tracked an expedition (April 19-May 1) to the top of the world where scientists conducted experiments and tested tools.

Coming soon -- EPA will open AIRS on the Web this fall
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charged a fee for air pollution data to governments and other organizations for the past 10 years. The agency plans to allow browser access to the Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS) Graphics.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Update:

Building a Safe Room Inside Your House: Since the recent tornadoes across the country, emphasis is on the need for severe weather information. The FEMA web site http://www.fema.gov now provides additional information of use to citizens concerned about severe weather. Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room Inside Your House shows you how to assess your risk of being hit by a tornado or hurricane. You can download the publication http://www.fema.gov/mit/tsfs01.htm
or order a copy by calling 1-888-565-3896. The following maps are also very helpful:
- Tornado activity http://www.fema.gov/image98/tmap.gif
- Wind zones in the US http://www.fema.gov/image98/wmap.gif

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National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Update:

NVFC Spring Meeting a Success: The NVFC Spring Meeting, hosted by the Georgia State Firefighter's Association, was held in Jekyll Island, Georgia, May 5-8. Forty-one state associations, various speakers from the federal government, representatives from associations, and special guests attended the three-day meeting.

The following NVFC Officers were elected at the meeting:
- Chairman, Fred G. Allinson, Washington State Fire Fighters Association
- First Vice Chairman, Steve Ennis, Virginia State Firefighter's Association
- Second Vice Chairman, Aubrey Boudreaux, Louisiana State Firemen's Association
- Treasurer Allen Metheny, Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association
- Secretary Paul Lukus, Fireman's Association of the State of Pennsylvania

The NVFC Fall meeting will be hosted by the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association and will be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 21-24. For information, contact NVFC at 1-888-ASK-NVFC (275-6832). For NVFC's legislative priorities, weekly email legislative update service, contact csharman@nvfc.org or visit http://www.nvfc.org

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Arkansas Tech Update:

The Bachelor of Science Degree in Emergency Administration and Management at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Arkansas, has grown to the point of hiring a full-time assistant professor. Effective July 1, Margaret (Peg) Melberg will assume responsibilities for program instruction and administrative assistance to the dean in developing internships and developing new courses.

Ms. Melberg holds a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Elementary Education from the University of Minnesota. She is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager and holds a Certificate in Hazardous Materials Technology and Emergency Response from Front Range Community College. Other credentials supporting her qualifications include Certified Emergency Manager endorsed by the International Association of Emergency Managers, Emergency Management Specialist and subject matter expert for the Comprehensive Emergency Management program for the U.S. Department of Energy, and Response Coordinator for the Radiological Assistance Team. She comes to this position from Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site in Golden, Colorado, where she was responsible for the oversight of the entire Integrated Emergency Management Program with an annual budget of over $2.8 million.

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The Horse Review Update:

The Horse Review requests new links for the animal disaster preparedness section
http://www.horsereview.com/disaster_preparedness_directory.htm. They also need information to add to a reference resources directory about dealing with animal disaster preparedness (man-made and natural).

Contact Dee Beaugez:
Ph 775.424-4100
FAX 775.424-5201
email: deebeaugez@visual-imagry.com
URL: http://www.horsereview.com

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June 16-19, 1999: Response '99 - National Association of Search & Rescue, Orlando, Florida.

June 23-26, 1999: 3rd Annual Search & Rescue/Disaster Response '99 Conference and Exposition, Nashville, TN Convention Center. http://srdr.com

July 11-14, 1999: Annual IAEM Region IV Conference, Ramada Hotel, Asheville, NC. For further registration information, contact Jerry VeHaun (jvehaun@pipeline.com).

July 16-20, 1999: National Association of Counties Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. Contact Dottie Byars at (202)942-4208.

August 11-16, 1999: 1999 Annual National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Conference - Des Moines, Iowa, http://www.nemaweb.org.

August 27-31, 1999: Fire-Rescue International '99, Kansas City, MO (703) 273-9815 x338.

September 14-17, 1999: The American Nuclear Society's 7th Topical Meeting on Emergency Preparedness and Response, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

September 26-29, 1999: International City/County Management Association Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. Contact Felicia Logan at (202)962-3626.

October 12-14, 1999: IDER / IEPC '99 Conference, The Hague, Netherlands. See web site for further information: http://www.andrich.com/ider/

October 21-24, 1999: National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Fall Meeting, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Call 888-ASK-NVFC(275-6832).

November 13-16, 1999: International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) 47th Annual Conference & Exhibit, Hyatt Regency, Louisville, KY. Deadline for room reservations October 10; call 1(800)233-1234. See http://www.emassociation.org/conference.html. Email: iaem@aol.com

November 30-December 4, 1999: National League of Cities Annual Conference, Los Angeles, California. Contact NLC Conference Planning and Management at (202) 626-3105.

One Big Happy Web --- Two Sites Focus on the Family

http://www.MyFamily.com allows families to create their own password protected Web sites. Family members can reach out through email, chat, instant messaging and online newsletters. They can swap snapshots in a family album. Other features include a family calendar, a family tree and family news. Warning: This site is an advertising model that could be called genetic marketing to families -- neat just the same.

http://www.BlackFamilies.com site has chat rooms, a shopping area and a wealth of articles about family finance, family relationships, and parenting. Also offers African-American families the ability to build their own sites. Designed to be a resource.

"Emergency Partner Postings" is a monthly update on progress of the partnership, activities, and services available through Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) Virtual Forum web site, other electronic sources of information, and articles of interest concerning awareness and use of information technology. The news will be posted on the web site the last week of each month.

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 Avagene Moore, amoore@emforum.org.

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