HAZUS.org

Killer Buildings in U.S. 'Predictable Surprise'

2010-03-10T10:49:00.001-08:00

An "Opinion" article in Emergency Management, while referencing the collapse of unreinforced masonry buildings during the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, raises the concerns around unreinforced masonry buildings here in the United States. READ MORE

This article does not address the concerns around "soft story" buildings which is perhaps an even a more widespread problem than unreinforced masonry buildings.

HAZUS & Haiti ...

2010-03-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

FEMA analysts have adapted HAZUS to assess the January 12, 2010 7.0M earthquake in Haiti, Haz Haiti. Click on graphic to download...

The HAZ Haiti analysis was based on "A GIS-Based Methodology for Exporting the Hazards U.S. (HAZUS) Earthquake Model for Global Applications" . Click on graphic to download...

Related ... Estimating Casualties for Large Earthquakes Worldwide Using an Empirical Approach ... Open-File Report 2009–1136 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey

DEPICTION - 'What-If' Mapping Software Help for Disasters

2010-02-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

UPDATE / 23 Feb 2010

Depiction, Inc. has announced the release of Depiction 1.2—desktop mapping, simulation and collaboration software that anyone can use—and afford. Depiction enables users to imagine, depict and share interactive geospatial scenarios like these and many others.

PRESS RELEASE

DEPICTION WEB SITE

HAZUS.org would like to hear from anybody who has used the Depiction software.

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World's major cities on shaky ground

2010-02-23T09:18:00.000-08:00

In 1800, there was just one city with more than a million people -- Beijing. Now there are 381 urban areas with at least 1 million inhabitants. Urbanization crossed a threshold last year when, for the first time, more people lived in city settings than rural ones.

According to a recent study by seismologist Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado, over 400 million people live in cities that face significant seismic hazard. READ MORE

REPORT: The seismic future of cities, Roger Bilham

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Study Calls for More Regional Preparedness

2010-02-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

The PNSR study, Recalibrating the System: Toward Efficient and Effective Resourcing of National Preparedness, called upon DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to set up Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Staffs in the national FEMA regions as an extension of the National Preparedness System. READ MORE

Download the report(.pdf)...

National Disaster Recovery Framework - Request for Comments

2010-02-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

At the President's request, the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development are co-chairing a Long-Term Disaster Recovery Working Group composed of the Secretaries and Administrators of more than 20 departments, agencies and offices. This high-level, strategic initiative will provide operational guidance for recovery organizations as well as make suggestions for future improvement.

Read the purpose statement...

The draft of the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) is available for review. The comment period will begin next week when the report is also posted to the Federal Register.

The comment period will run from Feb. 5, 2010 through Feb. 26, 2010.

National Disaster Recovery Framework DRAFT

Comment Form...

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HAITI'S KILLER QUAKE: WHY IT HAPPENED - Discovery Channel

2010-02-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

Discovery Channel and Science Channel take a closer look at the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti...

Thursday, February 11th at 9PM ET/PT (look for other dates)

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 was the strongest to hit the island in over two centuries. Beginning Thursday, February 11, Discovery Channel and Science Channel explore Haiti in the aftermath of the tragic quake, whether it could have been avoided, and what we can learn scientifically from the tragedy.

On Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 9PM ET/PT, Discovery Channel premieres HAITI'S KILLER QUAKE: WHY IT HAPPENED. The special delves deep into the key questions that scientists are racing to answer: Why did the quake happen now? Could it have been predicted? And when and where might the next "big one" strike?

MORE IN FO
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Quadrennial Homeland Security Review

2010-02-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

As mandated by Congress, the White House has delivered the nation's first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR), defining homeland security for the first time as including hazards beyond terrorism, in a strategic document intended to drive long-term budget decisions. READ MORE

The QHSR lists five missions, backed by 14 specific goals: preventing terrorism and enhancing security, particularly against chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological threats; securing U.S. borders; enforcing the nation's immigration laws; securing cyberspace; and ensuring resilience to disasters.

Mission 5 is defined as "Ensuring Resilience to Disasters". The strategic aims and objectives for ensuring resilience to disasters are grounded in the four traditional elements of emergency management: hazard mitigation, enhanced preparedness, effective emergency response, and rapid recovery. Together, these elements will help create a Nation that understands the hazards and risks we face, is prepared for disasters, and can withstand and rapidly and effectively recover from the disruptions they cause.

Download report (.pdf)...

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Earthquakes caused the deadliest disasters in the past decade

2010-01-29T14:04:00.000-08:00

In the past decade, nearly 60 per cent of the people killed by disasters died because of
earthquakes, the Center for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) reported today in a
joint press conference with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UNISDR).

READ MORE

UNISDR Press Release

REPORT

Haiti: Poor construction the real disaster

2010-01-29T13:39:00.000-08:00

The audience at a recent UC Berkeley lecture given by Eduardo Fierro, one of the first U.S. earthquake engineers to visit post-quake Haiti, collectively cringed as Fierro showed slide after slide of haphazard columns, brittle frames, and slipshod rods and joints. “This was not an earthquake disaster,” Fierro said. “This was caused by people that didn’t know how to use codes, that built things in bad shape. These were the people that caused the tragedy.”

READ MORE

Opinion ... I think Prof. Fierro ignores the total picture in Haiti. I suspect the primary risk in Haiti is hurricanes, where Haiti's "houses and buildings constructed with unwieldy slabs of concrete and cinder blocks" are ideal. This is little different than the wildfire situation in Southern California. Most houses there are wood frame construction because this is a good construction type in earthquake country. However these same houses are a worst case situation when it comes to wildfires. The real question will be when reconstruction occurs will Haiti address all-hazards.

California hospitals HAZUS update

2010-01-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

Update:

The California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) has been implementing a voluntary program to re-evaluate the seismic risk of California's hospital buildings classified as Structural Performance Category (SPC-1). These buildings are considered hazardous and at risk of collapse in the event of an earthquake and under California law must be retrofitted, replaced or removed from providing acute care services by 2013.

OSHPD is using HAZARDS U.S. (HAZUS) to reassess the seismic risk of SPC-1 buildings and those that are determined to pose a low seismic risk may be reclassified to SPC-2. The SPC-2 buildings would have until 2030 to comply with the structural seismic safety standards. Participation in the HAZUS program is optional for hospital owners wishing to have their SPC-1 building(s) re-evaluated.

MORE INFO

The Role of Remote Sensing in Predicting and Assessing Coastal Storm Impacts

2010-01-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

In “The Role of Remote Sensing in Predicting and Assessing Coastal Storm Impacts,” in the November issue of the Journal of Coastal Research, Victor Klemas discusses a variety of remote sensing systems and how the proper ones must be chosen to collect specific data necessary to track a hurricane, predict its future behavior, and survey the destruction it has caused. By studying Hurricane Katrina’s impact profile, scientists and emergency managers were able to refine prediction models, engineer stronger coastal infrastructure, and facilitate more efficient hurricane emergency management strategies. Download Article (.pdf)...

HAZUS risk assessment related posters selected for the 2010 ESRI Map Book

2010-01-25T08:47:00.000-08:00

Two of the FEMA Mitigation Directorate's maps, entitled "Sugar House Earthquake Mitigation Return-On-Investment" and "ShakeMap-Based HAZUS-MH Loss Estimation Maps," have been selected for publication in the 2010 ESRI Map Book, Volume 25.

Published annually since 1984, the ESRI Map Book series is dedicated to acknowledging the important and innovative accomplishments of Geographic Information System (GIS) users around the world. Each volume of the ESRI Map Book showcases a small portion of the work presented at the Map Gallery exhibition at the annual ESRI International User Conference. READ MORE

PERI’s Floodplain Management Survey

2010-01-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

Is flooding an issue for your community? Would you like to have your voice heard by floodplain policy makers? Take just a few minutes to participate in PERI’s short floodplain management survey and have your voice heard at the Third Assembly of the Gilbert F. White National Flood Policy Forum in March 2010. PERI will prepare a paper for attendees summarizing responses to this very brief survey. No names will be used in the paper. Please complete the survey by January 25, 2010. MORE...

Ushahidi Digital Mapmakers Help Haitian Rescue Efforts

2010-01-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

"Right now it's about getting information out as much as possible," says Patrick Meier, the humanitarian response and crisis mapping specialist in Ushahidi's 10-person team and a PhD student at Tufts University, where Ushahidi's situation room for the Haiti earthquake aftermath is based. In this situation room, 10-20 volunteers work around the clock to find, evaluate and post relevant information. As of this morning, the Haiti earthquake site on Ushahidi had about 300 pieces of information. READ MORE

Ushahidi Haiti web site ...

HAZUS-MH at Delaware GIS 2010

2010-01-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

Integrating GIS Functionality into Transportation Infrastructure Decision Support Systems: A Case Study - A presentation, by Silvana V. Croope, University of Delaware/Delaware Department of Transportation. February 10, 2010 at the at Delaware GIS 2010 conference.

Integrating the products of a GIS analysis into a decision support framework is demonstrated through a case study. The case study focuses on the impacts of flooding on the transportation infrastructure, in June 2006 in Seaford, Sussex County, Delaware.

The data and analyses are needed to support decisions related to infrastructure repair and improvement and ultimately mitigation. ArcInfo (ESRI) and HAZUS-MH (FEMA) are used to explore the impacts that are then imported into decision support system that focuses on the resilience of the infrastructure. Integrating the products of a GIS analysis into a decision support framework is demonstrated through the named case study. The GIS data and analyses are needed to support decisions related to infrastructure repair and improvement and ultimately mitigation of future floods. Options include policies, infrastructure investment and financial tradeoffs. The benefits of using the spatial decision support system and its limitations are shown.

More Info...

HAZUS Training: Comprehensive Data Management for HAZUS-MH (L317)

2010-01-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

1/14/2010 - 1/15/2010

Location: Boston, MA

Comprehensive Data Management for HAZUS-MH (L317)

This is a 4 day course

MORE INFO ...

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Global Earthquake Model December 2009 Newsletter

2009-12-31T09:10:00.000-08:00

Global Earthquake Model (GEM) is a public/private partnership initiated and approved by the Global Science Forum of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD-GSF). GEM aims to be the uniform, independent standard to calculate and communicate earthquake risk worldwide.

GEM December 2009 Newsletter ...

Participate in the GEM User Needs Assessment ...

HAZUS Training - Multi-Hazards for Floods Course / L172

2009-12-28T10:22:00.000-08:00

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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Multiyear study of earthquake early-warning system

2009-12-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

California scientists are upgrading hundreds of seismic monitors throughout the state, installing new devices that will vastly improve the state's system for detecting and warning of major earthquakes.

The changes will allow first responders, scientists and eventually the public to be notified of an earthquake up to five seconds faster than is possible now. Those precious seconds could allow emergency officials to shut off gas and water lines, raise fire station doors, stop subway operations and possibly even warn the public of shaking to come. READ MORE

This process is possible because when an earthquake occurs there are two primary seismic waves that move through the earth. Compressional waves, also known as primary or P waves, travel fastest, at speeds between 1.5 and 8 kilometers per second in the Earth's crust. Shear waves, also known as secondary or S waves, travel more slowly, usually at 60% to 70% of the speed of P waves. The P waves are used to trigger the early-warning system.

USGS Press Release ...

Natural disasters at decade low in 2009

2009-12-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction has reported that the world this year suffered the fewest number of natural disasters in a decade. Floods, droughts and other extreme weather continued to account for most of the deaths and economic losses.
READ MORE
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Introduction to the HAZUS-MH Comprehensive Data Management System

2009-12-09T14:22:00.000-08:00

ESRI has released the Introduction to the HAZUS-MH Comprehensive Data Management System as part of their web based training software.

The HAZUS-MH Comprehensive Data Management System (CDMS) helps HAZUS-MH users generate more accurate hazard loss estimations by integrating their own data into the HAZUS-MH analysis process. In this course, you will learn the basic workflow for importing site-specific and aggregate data to update HAZUS-MH inventories. This course focuses on the process of using CDMS rather than HAZUS-MH data requirements or data preparation.

The ESRI Virtual Campus HAZUS course list ...

>> Introduction to the HAZUS-MH Comprehensive Data Management System / Self-Study (Virtual Campus)
>> HAZUS-MH Overview and Installation / Self-Study (Virtual Campus)
>> Introduction to Using HAZUS-MH for Hurricane Loss Estimation / Self-Study (Virtual Campus)
>> Introduction to Using HAZUS-MH to Assess Losses from a Riverine Flood Hazard / Self-Study (Virtual Campus)
>> Introduction to Using HAZUS-MH for Earthquake Loss Estimation / Self-Study (Virtual Campus)
>> Integrating User-Supplied Hazard Data into the HAZUS-MH Flood Model / Self-Study (Virtual Campus)
>> HAZUS-MH Flood Model Output and Applications / Self-Study (Virtual Campus)
>> HAZUS-MH (Multi-Hazards) for Decision Makers / Self-Study (Virtual Campus)

Twitter Used to Collect Accounts of Seismic Activity

2009-11-26T07:09:00.000-08:00

TED,Twitter Earthquake Detector, uses an application programming interface that aggregates tweets based on keywords — like "earthquake" — to pull tweets about a particular earthquake into a database. This information is then combined with the magnitude and epicenter observations to provide short little snippets about what people felt in the earthquake and what people experienced. READ MORE

USGS already operates the "Did You Feel It?" site to collect observations from the public.
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GIS Day 2009

2009-11-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

GIS Day is principally sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the Association of American Geographers, University Consortium for Geographic Information Science, the United States Geological Survey, The Library of Congress, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and ESRI. GIS Day is part of the National Geographic Society's Geography Action, a year-long initiative encompassing key educational achievements such as GIS Day and Geography Awareness Week Nov 15-21, 2009.

MORE INFO...

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2009 HAZUS Conference Proceedings

2009-11-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

The 3rd Annual HAZUS Conference took place in Raleigh, North Carolina August 10-12, 2009. The conference brought together approximately 200 new users, experienced users, and interested users of HAZUS-MH, first responders, local government decision makers, planners and GIS specialists.

Conference proceedings are now available from FEMA in either .zip or FLASH format. MORE INFO