EMERGENCY PARTNER POSTINGS

Volume 4, No. 2

October 1999

Articles of Incorporation Filed:
The EIIP is now a non-profit entity with charter papers filed in the State of Tennessee. A Board of Directors has been selected and confirmed. The name selected is Emergency Information Infrastructure Project, to avoid misrepresentation of the form of organization. Please watch for more information about further developments next month.

Pledge Drive Update:
The EIIP Pledge Drive continues to add new Friends of the EIIP. We have 65 pledges toward our goal of 100. Please help us out -- if you have not made your pledge, do so now by going to http://www.emforum.org/eiip/pledge.htm . The results are showing as Virtual Forum sessions continue to show improvement in attendance. We have also been contacted about a possible write up about the pledge drive, and will provide further information as to when/where it will be available.

Website Update:
The Discussion Groups have been restored following the server outage. Please see the new BBS link under Quick Picks.

As a reminder, we restored access to those user-submitted documents that were not lost. They may also be accessed via a link under Quick Picks on the home page. If a document you submitted is not listed and you have a copy available, please re-send to asebring@emforum.org. If you have a report, procedure, brochure, data, photos, whatever might be of interest to others, that you are willing to share, please see the submission instructions at http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/submit.htm .

RRBDIN Update:
The Red River Basin Disaster Information Network hosted a September 30 online workshop featuring Elaine Enarson, PhD, University of British Columbia's Disaster Preparedness Resources Centre. Enarson spoke on "Women, Work, and Family in the 1997 Red River Valley Flood: Ten Lessons Learned." The "Ten Lessons Learned" are the basis for a planning checklist that can be used by any community to prepare for women's needs and also take advantage of the resources they have to offer.

Currently, two RRBDIN Focus Groups are meeting regularly. Terry Birkenstock hosts the Data/Mapping Focus Group and Amy Sebring hosts the Network Growth group. These groups are used as a means to communicate in specialized areas of concern and encourage coordinated action. See transcripts of the meetings on the RRBDIN site.

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. Workshop transcripts and related materials are available via the Web site. http://www.emforum.org/redriver/

The Round Tables are Partner-led discussions. We commend the following 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 ET.

October 1999 Round Tables - Tuesdays - 12:00 Noon EDT:
October 5: ABS Group, Inc., Risk & Reliability Division, with Dave Hastings and the latest news on requirements for communicating RMP Offsite Consequence Analyses.

October 12: FEMA Community & Family Preparedness Program hosted by Kellye Junchaya, with guest, Ron Gird, NOAA/NWS Customer Service Outreach Program.

October 19: International Emergency Management Students Association (IEMSA) with Dan Robeson, University of North Texas.

October 26: Emergency Management Association of Tennessee (EMAT) with Libbi Rucker-Reed, and members of the Region 4 State EM Associations.

October 1999 Formal Sessions - Wednesdays - 12:00 Noon EDT:
October 6: Virtual Library: Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) Internet Symposium, with Gerard J. Hoetmer, Executive Director. (See http://www.riskinstitute.org during the week of October 4 - 8)

October 13: Virtual Forum: World Disaster Reduction Day

October 20: Virtual Classroom Hazards Series: Special Events/Mass Gathering Contingency Planning and Incident Management, with Stephen M. Borth, FEMA Emergency Management Institute and EMI Focus Group representatives.

October 27: Tech Arena: National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) with Steven Fischer, GIS Coordinator, Office of Pipeline Safety, US Department of Transportation.

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:

Athens Fire Department (MI): POC Thomas Hardy, Chief Email: thardy@netonecom.net

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, School of Social and Community Services: POC Jane Kushma, Assistant Professor http://www.utc.edu Email: Jane-Kushma@utc.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

Hurricane Floyd led to record volumes of Web site traffic at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Hurricane Center (NHC). FEMA's (http://www.fema.gov) record of 2.6 million hits on September 13 was broken with 3.3 million hits on September 14. The NHC site (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov) received 12 million hits on September 14 and 15 million hits September 15. NC typically gets a half million hits per day during the formation of a tropical depression.

Calls for Papers

Call for Papers for International Conference November '99: The Indira Gandhi National Open University will host a 3-day International Conference on "Disaster Management: Cooperative Networking in South Asia" on November 28-30, 1999 at New Delhi. The major aim of the Conference is to build regional and sub-regional cooperation between South Asian countries exposed to the same natural hazards through exchange of information, joint disaster reduction activities and other formal and informal means.

Papers based on empirical work on any number of disaster-related topics are welcome.
Paper Criteria: A paper (3 hard copies) of between 4000-5000 words, single space typed on MS-Word on A-4 with Floppy to be sent by 15th October 1999.

Travel Arrangements: Organisers will bear the travel cost as well as cost of board and lodging during conference days.

Register by post or e-mail to pardeepsahni@hotmail.com immediately: Send Name, Address, Phone/Fax Numbers Email, Title of Paper, Theme, Presentation Mode, Date of Arrival/Departure, Signature of the Participant, Date and Place.

For further information, contact: Pardeep Sahni, Organising Secretary, School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi - 110 068, India -- Phone (O) 91-11-6855115, (R) 91-11-6854738; 6854902, Fax 91-11-6859189; 6862312.

Call for Papers on Western Weather: Tornadoes, Blizzards, Droughts, Prevailing Winds, Etc. The Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Associations and American Culture Associations are holding a series of panels at the next meeting of these regional groups, February 9-12, 2000 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Sheraton Oldtown Hotel.

Papers are wanted on western weather. How weather affects/is part of western/southwestern culture, art, collective behavior, etc. Papers treating any aspect of the weather are welcome. Contact Area Chair: Virginia Bemis (vbemis@ashland.edu), Associate Professor of English, Ashland University Ashland, OH 44805 (419) 289-5120 From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List CFP@english.upenn.edu . Full Information: http://www.english.upenn.edu/CFP/ ; Erika Lin: elin@english.upenn.edu

October '99 EENet Schedule:
October 6, 2:00-3:00 PM: Y2K Community and Neighborhood Preparedness
October 13, 2:00-4:00 PM: Donations Management
October 20, 2:00-3:30 PM: National Alert Broadcast - FEMA's monthly video magazine on emergency management
October 27, 2:00-3:30 PM: Dam Safety --- Emergency Action Planning for Dams
For a description of each of these programs and broadcast information,
visit the EENet Web site: http://www.fema.gov/home/emi/eenet.htm .

USGS/Private Industry Team on Digital National Atlas:
The U.S. Geological Survey will team with the Chicago Map Corporation to develop an exhaustive and detailed CD-ROM catalog of maps of the country. USGS currently has an interactive version of the "National Atlas" on its site ( http://www.usgs.gov ) but the current version is only a taste of what is to come. The target date for the first launch of the USGS/Chicago Map product is July 4, 2000.

Building the Next Internet: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/990913/two.htm
In the future, you may be able to touch what you buy online. Internet2 is a joint university-business effort aimed at delivering the next generation of high-tech services that Web surfers have long awaited.

Death Toll from Fires Lowest in 20 Years:
According to a report released by the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the number of 1998 fire deaths (4,035) represents the lowest U.S. fire death toll in 20 years for the second consecutive year. Though most of the declines are relatively modest, NFPA hopes they represent America's slow progress toward increased safety from fire. (See http://www2.safetyonline.com/read/nl19990830/9111 for full article.)

Tracking Utilities:
* American Gas Association Y2K FAQ http://www.aga.org/naturalgas/y2k/faqs.html
* American Water Works http://www.awwa.org/asp/utility.asp
* Electric Utilities and Year 2000 http://www.euy2k.com/intro.htm
* The Electric Utility WWW Resource List http://www.dei.gr/main/utility.htm

Open Invitation to Y2K Grassroots Community Organizers:
Please attend the First (and Last) Annual National Y2K Community Organizers Work Weekend, October 15-17, in Denver/Boulder Colorado. See http://www.bunkergroup.com/y2k/nat'l.htm . This effort will equip attendees with tools and resources for remainder of 1999 and into the year 2000. The event is hosted by the Cassandra Project (http://www.cassandraproject.org), Boulder County Y2K, (http://www.y2kboulder.com), and Northern Utah Y2K, (http://www.bunkergroup.com/y2k).

Y2K Emergency Watch:
The United Nations announces the establishment of Y2K emergency watch that will use the Internet as a tool to keep tabs on the world as it enters the year 2000. The UN's International Y2K Cooperation Centre will lead the initiative with data collected from more than 170 national Y2K coordinators. According to Reuters, its Web site will flash color-coded indicators on everything from energy and communications to financial services, government services and air, land and sea transport. Anyone with Internet access will be able to monitor country by country status through the transition. (Source: Reuters, Sept. 9)

The Y2K World Watch:
Steve Davis' site covers web monitoring, Y2K news sites and time zone resources. http://www.davislogic.com/watch.htm

Cold War Bunker is Y2K Post:
In a hardened bunker annex at Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Alabama, the Air Force recently opened a command post, the Fusion Center, to monitor the big picture of Y2K for top commanders on New Year's Eve.

U.S. and Russia Support Joint Warning Center:
After six months of negotiations, U.S. and Russian Federation officials recently agreed to create a joint warning center to help avoid an accidental launch of nuclear weapons resulting from system malfunctions caused by Y2K-related computer problems. The new Center for Year 2000 Strategic Stability will be located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and will be staffed by Russian and U.S. military representatives from late December through mid-January.

Ohio Police Chief Champions Y2K Plans:
In Hudson, Ohio, Police Chief Jim Brown is crusading to spur his colleagues into action for Y2K. Brown routinely asks fellow law enforcement folks one question: "How many have a plan to place calls for emergency services if your communications lines go down?" Out of 750 policemen representing 400 different agencies, only two people have indicated "yes, they have such a plan." In testimony before the Senate Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, Brown characterized law enforcement as having "varying degrees of apathy" to contingency planning. Visit http://www.hudson-oh-pd.org .

Y2Kids, Y2K Ready Schools Newsletter:
For those interested in Y2K issues related to youth and schools, see the following URL a monthly newsletter with news updates on current issues for kids. Newsletter is published on web site at http://www.y2kids.net .

Dear Frustrated:
Apparently frustrated with Y2K misinformation to the public, two senators recently took their message to the advice column of Ann Landers. Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) and Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn), chairman and vice-chairman of the US Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, provided tips on preparing for Y2K-related problems. These included reminders to check with local utility companies and to get a bank statement before the end of the year.

Net's Y2K Problems Will be Localized and Limited:
The core of the Internet -- backbones, major access points and root servers -- will weather the year 2000 transition without problems, according to John A. Koskinen, Chair of the President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion. Koskinen added that the Internet's distributed nature makes it impossible to rule out local problems. To reassure the public, Barbara Dooley, President of the Commercial Internet Exchange Association of Herndon, Virginia, stated that customers who lose access on January 1 may think the entire Internet crashed. Ms. Dooley assures us it won't. (Excerpt from Government Computer News article by William Jackson, GCN Staff, August 23, 1999)

http://www.irs.treas.gov
The IRS has posted an interactive calculator on its Web site that lets taxpayers figure out monthly amounts for paying overdue taxes and set up installment payment plans. To use the calculator, taxpayers must have filed returns. However, the calculator cannot store or transmit data to the IRS via the Web site. Taxpayers must print Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request, and mail it to the IRS. Access the calculator through the Interactive Installment Payment Process link on the "Tax Info for You" page at URL above.

http://www.sophos.com
Free Virus E-mail Service for Network Administrators --- Sophos Inc. announces a free service designed to get regular updates on viruses and hoaxes to network administrators who subscribe.

http://enso.unl.edu/monitor
The Drought Monitor is a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, especially the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility and the Natural Resources Conservation Service; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, particularly the Climate Prediction Center, and also the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the National Weather Service; and the National Drought Mitigation Center, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Drought Monitor welcomes suggestions for making it more useful: ndmc@enso.unl.edu

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Update:

Burris Named to USFA: FEMA Director James Lee Witt has named Chief Kenneth Burris, Jr. to be the new Chief Operating Officer for the US Fire Administration. Burris will serve as the primary advisor to the FEMA Director and USFA Administrator on overall operations and management of the USFA.

* * * *

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Update:

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) Assistance Continues for
Floyd and Dennis: EMAC is continuing to provide invaluable assistance to states impacted by Hurricane Floyd and those recovering from Dennis. A Super A-Team was positioned at FEMA Headquarters for the first time. Non-EMAC states are also providing personnel resources.

* * * *

International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Update:

IAEM Delegation Participates in US/Italian Exchange: The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) is bringing a delegation of 40 disaster managers to Caserta and Rome, Italy September 30-October 6 to exchange professional information and "know how." IAEM hopes this will be the first of an annual information exchange activity, and is enthusiastic about meeting with international colleagues as the globe continues to "shrink." Highlights of the trip will be featured the first day of IAEM's conference November 13-16 in Louisville, KY ( http://www.iaem.com ).

* * * *

International Emergency Management Student Association (IEMSA) Update:

IEMSA Networks Online to Build Association: Starting in October, IEMSA will commence monthly meetings online in the EIIP Virtual Forum Student Lounge. The organization's leadership sees this as an expedient and economical way to grow IEMSA while teaching future emergency managers electronic communications skills. Please note that IEMSA will host the Tuesday Oct 19 Round Table in the Virtual Forum.

* * * *

Natural Hazards Center Update:

Hazard Workshop Summaries Now Available: Session summaries from the 24th Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop, hosted by the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado at Boulder, are now available online from: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/ss/ss99.html

* * * *

Organization of the American States (OAS) Update:

Workshop on Central American School Reconstruction: The Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment (USDE) of the OAS and the Regional Operations Department 2 of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are organizing a Central American School Reconstruction Workshop to be held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on December 1-3, 1999. The objective is to bring together public and private sector players to discuss natural hazard vulnerability reduction criteria, identify technical assistance and investment needs, and recommend actions for school reconstruction. The workshop is expected to have a direct impact on the design of school construction and reconstruction projects in Central America. Please contact: Pedro Bastidas, Specialist; Natural Hazards Project; USDE OAS; Tel. (202) 458-6295 Natural-hazards-project@oas.org

* * * *

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Update:

New Partner: UTC School of Social and Community Services,(http://www.utc.edu) announces that Jane Kushma was recently appointed Assistant Professor with the Human Services Management department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. UTC recently established a 12-hour concentration in Emergency Systems Management and this will be Jane's primary area of focus. Prior to coming to Chattanooga, Jane was with the emergency management degree program at the University of North Texas, beginning in 1994. Jane has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh and is completing her PhD in Urban and Public Administration at the University of Texas at Arlington.

* * * *

Xtreme Information Infrastructure (XII) Update:

XII Trademark Granted: The United States Patent Office has approved the application and granted the trademark for XII. XII is more than just a symbol or design. It sets apart our architecture for an international network for interlinking crisis communications in times of emergency. During non-crisis times the same XII network will provide, through its directory based architecture, a redundant network for day-to-day connectivity. See Web site http://niusr.org/xii911/ for more information.

* * * *

October 12-14, 1999: IDER/IEPC '99, 2nd International Disaster & Emergency Readiness (IDER) and 5th International Emergency Planning Conference, The Hague, Netherlands. See web site for further information: http://www.andrich.com/ider/

October 17-22, 1999: 87th National Safety Council Congress & Expo, New Orleans, LA; visit http://www.nsc.org/expo99.htm

October 19-21, 1999: Fall '99 Conference of the Emergency Management Association of TN, Holiday Inn, Murfreesboro, TN. For more information, see EMAT website at http://www.emat.org.

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.

December 1-3, 1999: Workshop on Central American School Reconstruction, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Contact: Pedro Bastidas, Specialist; Natural Hazards Project; OAS (202) 458-6295 Natural-hazards-project@oas.org

Steel This Web Site http://www.danielle-steel.com

Are you a Danielle Steel fan? The author knows how to treat her fans online. Danielle Steel's web site clearly helps build a "one-on-one relationship" between Steel and each of her millions of readers. (She's sold 390 million books.) The site previews her latest book, "Granny Dan," offers a chance to join the Danielle Steel Fan Club and a reading group for those who want to discuss the Steel books and movies with other Steel aficionados. There is a trivia contest and a way to email the author as well.

"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 Lori Wieber, lwieber@emforum.org.

* * * *