Heartland HAZUS User Group - HHUG

HAZUS Training - Multi-Hazards for Floods Course / L172

2009-12-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

L172 HAZUS Multi-Hazards for Flood Course

Offered by Kansas Division of Emergency Management,
Heartland HAZUS User Group (HHUG) and
FEMA Region 7

Fort Hays State University
600 Park Street
Hays, KS 67601

February 1-5, 2010
Start time: Monday at 1 p.m., Tuesday 8:30 a.m.; End time: Friday at 12 p.m. CST)

Course description and registration info are included in the event flyer,
Click to Down Load...

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GIS + Radar for Tornado Damage Assessment

2009-10-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

A recent AMS conference paper examines how GIS and radar data can be combined to create real-time damage estimates as a tornado is impacting a community. VIEW PAPER

HHUG HAZUS-MH Training & Meeting ...

2009-07-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

L313 Basic-HAZUS Multi-Hazards Course
August 17-20, 2009
Topeka, KS

Offered by Kansas Division of Emergency Management, Heartland HAZUS User Group (HHUG) and FEMA Region 7

The Eisenhower Training Center – Kansas Adjutant General’s Department
2800 SW Topeka Blvd
Topeka, KS 66611

Download Flyer ...

HHUG Meeting ...

The Heartland HAZUS User Group meeting is Wednesday Aug 19th at 2:30 p.m. at the Kansas National Guard, Eisenhower Center in Topeka, KS, in conjunction with the HAZUS class.
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Monthly Conference Call

2009-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

The HHUG holds a monthly call-in meeting / conference call. The one hour call is on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 11AM Central time.

The July 2009 conference call is Tuesday/ July 21 / 11AM - noon CDT

Agenda: Training ... HAZUS pocs ... User Conference ... presentations

For the toll-free call-in number and password for these meetings on the FEMA Conferencing System contact:

Sue Evers
Natural Hazards Programs
Earthquake, Dam Safety, HAZUS
DHS / FEMA Region VII
Tel: 816-283-7005
Email: sue.evers@dhs.gov

Study questions New Madrid threat

2009-04-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

New findings might give disaster responders in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi reason to reconsider earthquake response policy. According to studies headed by Eric Calais, professor of geophysics at Purdue University, and Seth Stein, William Deering professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University, there doesn’t seem to be enough stress accumulating at the New Madrid Fault line to produce an earthquake of any significant magnitude. READ MORE
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New Madrid Seismic Zone Catastrophic Planning Project

2009-03-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

The guest speaker on the Mar 25, 2009 EMForum.org is James M. Wilkinson Jr., Executive Director of the Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC). The discussion topic will be the New Madrid Seismic Zone Catastrophic Planning Project. The goal of this initiative is to increase national readiness for a catastrophic earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). This multi-year, multi-agency initiative is the largest planning effort ever undertaken in United States History. MORE INFO

CUSEC New Madrid Seismic Zone Catastrophic Planning Initiative

EMForum

HAZUS-MH in Action - Iowa Floods 2008

2009-03-09T08:55:00.001-07:00

FEMA has recently released a a case history of how HAZUS-MH was used by the Johnson County, Iowa Emergency Management agency during the floods of June 2008. Forecasts called for continued rain, painting a frightening picture for the County. HAZUS-MH ability to estimate the potential impacts of a flood provided the team with information about what would likely happen when the water reaches 28 feet. DOWNLOAD

Soil Liquefaction During Earthquakes Technical Seminar

2009-03-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

Register now for a day-long seminar to be given in St. Louis on March 12, 2009 by I. M. Idriss and R. W. Boulanger, authors of the recently published EERI monograph, Soil Liquefaction During Earthquakes. Participants earn 0.7 Continuing Education Units. MORE

Register on-line for St. Louis Class

Kentucky officals say earthquake disaster preparndess saved lives during recent ice storms ...

2009-02-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

Brig. Gen. John Heltzel, the head of Kentucky's Division of Emergency Management, has long planned for a major earthquake along Western Kentucky's New Madrid fault. Brig. Gen. Heltzel reported that the statewide earthquake training held last March was used a rescue blueprint for the January 2009 ice storm that hit Kentucky, and credits that preparation with saving lives from the storm. READ MORE

Earthquakes in the Midwest - A Town Hall meeting for the Kansas City Metro Area

2009-02-10T17:13:00.000-08:00

Earthquakes in the Midwest
A Town Hall Meeting for the Kansas City Metro Area
Thursday / February 19, 2009
EVENT FLYER...

Structural Assessment and Visual Evaluation (S.A.V.E.) Coalition

2009-02-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

The SAVE Coalition’s objective is to assist the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) with qualified volunteers in the emergency assessment of buildings following a catastrophic event such as an earthquake, tornado, flood or manmade disaster which causes structural damages.

The next SAVE training class is April 10th 2009 in Kansas City.

SAVE volunteers must attend the ATC-20 Post Earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings course to receive SAVE inspector credentials and become a SAVE team member qualified to inspect disaster damaged buildings. During the course, procedures and documents are presented which promote uniformity in the rating of building damages so that different individuals examining the same building will arrive at the same conclusion about its relative safety. At the course, each SAVE inspector will receive a field manual and detailed instruction to guide their future work. MORE

Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy

2009-01-27T12:34:00.001-08:00

FEMA and NOAA asked the National Research Council to examine the factors that affect flood map accuracy; assess the costs and benefits of producing more accurate maps; and recommend ways to improve mapping, communication, and management of flood-related data. The report Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy concludes significant loss of life, destroyed property and businesses, and repairs to infrastructure could be avoided by replacing FEMA flood maps with ones that contain high-accuracy and high-resolution land surface elevation data. The benefits of more accurate flood maps will outweigh the costs, mainly because insurance premiums and building restrictions would better match the actual flood risks. Coastal region flood maps could also be improved by updating current models and using two-dimensional storm surge and wave models.

PRESS RELEASE
REPORT INFO

Missouri Releases Earthquake Task Force Findings - Recommends Proficiency with HAZUS

2008-12-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

The Missouri Earthquake Insurance Task Force has released the findings of a task force report which studied the potential effects of an earthquake in the state of Missouri. READ MORE

The key task force conclusions are:(1) The earthquake threat is real, as documented through historical evidence and on-going research. (2) The earthquake threat to Missouri is significant. (3) Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration (DIFP) should acquire proficiency with FEMA's HAZUS computer model,. (4) DIFP’s collection of earthquake insurance data should be improved in a few key areas.

To download the report, CLICK HERE

Small Arkansas earthquakes could be warning

2008-11-29T08:52:00.000-08:00

Earthquake scientists say a series of small earthquakes that rattled central Arkansas in recent weeks could be a sign of something much bigger to come. Unlike this current series of earthquakes in central Arkansas, earthquakes generally occur in the state's northeast corner, part of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, where three temblors with magnitudes of around 8 have occurred. READ MORE

Study Looks at Impact of 7.7 Magnitude New Madrid Earthquake

2008-11-20T15:09:00.001-08:00

A study conducted for FEMA by the Mid-America Earthquake (MAE) Center at the University of Illinois in partnership with the Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and George Washington University’s Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management.

The study, the first of its kind to be conducted on such a large scale, is part of FEMA’s NMSZ Catastrophic Earthquake Disaster Response Planning Initiative. It is primarily intended to provide scientific data upon which to base response and recovery planning for the devastating earthquakes that have long been predicted for the New Madrid region, which includes areas of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

FEMA PRESS RELEASE

DOWNLOAD REPORT

Welcome to the NEW HHUG Blog & Web...

2008-11-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

The Heartland HAZUS User Group home page has been converted over to a BLOG format.

This will allow more efficient content updates and more important it will allow the HHUG user community the ability to directly participate in posting content and comments.

HAZUS.org has activated moderated HHUG user posting and comment capabilities.

If you have any comments or suggestions or want to be granted posting privileges on this blog send us an email ... click on the "HHUG Contacts" hot-link in the menu on the far right or click here ...

HAZUS Used to Model Summer'2008 Iowa Floods

2008-10-31T12:56:00.000-07:00

The value of HAZUS-MH in assessing potential flood damage was clearly demonstrated in Iowa during the summer 2008 floods. On June 9, 2008, the Johnson County Emergency Management Agency consulted with Shane Hubbard from the University of Iowa to run the model to assess the potential impacts of the approaching flood event. Of particular concern was the possible inundation of electric substations that supplies power to Iowa City.

To download this HAZUS Success Story from the FEMA web site, CLICK HERE...

Kansas Dam Safety Conference 2009

2008-10-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

Kansas Dam Safety Conference 2009
February 9-11, 2009
Holiday Inn
Lawrence, Kansas
MORE INFO