HAZUS.org

Flood Risk Perception

2012-01-31T11:32:00.000-08:00

The folks at the (Congressional) Hazards Caucus Alliance recently diostributed an interesting paper ... "Flood risk perception in lands ‘‘protected’’ by 100-year levees"... MORE INFO

The discussion in the paper on the perceptions of the folks living behind levees in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was most interesting.

FYI ... Stefan Zink who was then at Michael Baker Jr., Imc. presented a paper at the March 4, 2008 meeting of the Bay Area HAZUS User Group that might also be of interested to the flood community. This paper addresses some of the problems in trying to use HAZUS-MH to model levee related flooding in the Sacramento region.

Behind Levee Scenarios in HAZUS: Exploring Possibilities with Different Data Sources, DOWNLOAD

The Geospatial Desktop - Open Source GIS & Mapping

2012-01-31T08:27:00.000-08:00

The Geospatial Desktop provides a foundational level of knowledge for understanding GIS and the open source desktop mapping applications that are available for use, for free, today. Special sections include focused learning on the Quantum GIS and GRASS GIS software platforms but other packages are also introduced. MORE INFO at Amazon.com

HAZ-I Tools to Internationalize Hazus-MH

2012-01-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

This presentation discusses a simplified approach (4 steps) to create a HAZUS study region for international applications.

MORE INFO

FEMA's Emergency Management Institute HAZUS Training for 2012

2012-01-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

E170	Hazus-MH for Hurricanes Enroll	Jan 9- 12, 2012
E172	Hazus-MH for Flood Enroll	Jul 16-19, 2012
E174	Hazus-MH for Earthquake Enroll	Dec 19- 21, 2011
E176	Hazus-MH for Floodplain Managers Enroll	Apr 23- 26, 2012
E179	Application of Hazus-MH for Disaster Operations Enroll	Feb 13- 16, 2012
E190	ArcGIS for Emergency Managers Enroll	Apr 30- May 3, 2012
E296	Application of Hazus-MH for Risk Assessment Enroll	Jan 16- 19, 2012 Sep 17-20, 2012
E313	Basic Hazus-MH Enroll	Apr 2-5, 2012 Aug 20-23, 2012
E317	Comprehensive Data Management for Hazus-MH Enroll	Jun 18-21, 2012

Great Central Shakeout 2012

2011-12-28T08:03:00.000-08:00

On February 7, 2012, at 10:15 a.m.*, thousands of people across eight states will participate in the 2012 Great Central U.S. ShakeOut ... will you be shaking?

MORE INFO...

Resolve to be Ready in 2012

2011-12-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

Those who make New Year's resolutions are 11 times more likely to have continued success in achieving a goal than individuals who have not made a resolution, according to the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Use the resources at Ready.gov to keep resolutions by providing the tools and resources needed to take four important steps: be informed about the different types of emergencies that can happen in your area and their appropriate responses, make a family communications plan, build an emergency kit, and get involved in community preparedness. MORE INFO

HAZUS.org suggests that you join with the Ready Campaign in promoting Resolve to be Ready during 2012.

2011 will be the year with the highest catastrophe-related economic losses in history

2011-12-20T08:27:00.001-08:00

According to preliminary estimates from the annual Swiss Re’s sigma team, total insured losses for the global insurance industry from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters reached USD 108 billion in 2011. This is more than double the figure of USD 48 billion in 2010. Claims from natural catastrophes alone reached USD 103 billion in 2011, compared to only USD 43 billion last year. MORE INFO

Wyoming State Geological Survey Launches HAZUS Website For Emergency Planners

2011-12-16T09:51:00.000-08:00

The Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) has launched an interactive website with results of earthquake damage scenarios that can be used by emergency planners and managers to better prepare for earthquakes in the state.

“Information from this website is critical to the health and safety of several Wyoming communities that live within seismically active zones,” said Wallace Ulrich, director of the WSGS. “We hope that the citizens and local governments will use this information to better prepare for potential disasters.” PRESS RELEASE

Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) HAZUS Internet map server, GO THERE

CSU Hurricane Team Releases Early 2012 Season Forecast

2011-12-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

The Tropical Meteorology Project at Colorado State University today released its initial outlook for the 2012 Atlantic basin hurricane season. This is the first time in 29 years in its early December forecast that the team relied on probabilities of key factors influencing the hurricane season rather than issuing a numerical forecast for the number of storms.

“We have suspended issuing quantitative forecasts at this extended-range lead time in December, since they have not proved skillful in real-time over the last 20 years,” said Phil Klotzbach, lead author of the forecasts. READ MORE

Full 2012 CSU TMP Early Season Forecast (.pdf)

HAZUS 64 Bit ...

2011-12-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

We just received the following comment on a previous post concerning the release of a 64 bit version of HAZUS ...

" Hazus is not 64 bit compatible. Fema has promised me via phone and email a 64 bit compatible version of hazus by the end of the year 2011. "

We are hearing from lots of folks chomping at the bit for the 64 Bit version of HAZUS and HAZUS.org has no doubt that it is just about to appear ... however ... past history has shown it is difficult to predict exact dates for HAZUS sw release.

HAZUS.org has asked the folks at FEMA for a status report ...

Update Dec 16, 2011 - Nothing official yet but HAZUS.org would guess that the 64bit version of HAZUS will not be released until later in the first quarter of 2012 ...

U.S. sets record with a dozen billion-dollar weather disasters in one year

2011-12-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

2011 has seen the highest number of billion dollar weather disaster events in U.S. weather history. This analysis should not be confused with total losses but rather addresses individual weather events that exceeded a cost of a billion dollars. MORE INFO

To see the current list of the billion dollar events from NOAA, CLICK HERE...

USGS HAZUS-MH Data Extractor

2011-11-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

USGS has developed the HAZUS-MH Data Extractor tool to extract data from HAZUS-MH generated data sources, which include SQL Server databases and associated ESRI-based geo-databases. HAZUS-MH is an application developed by FEMA for estimating damages and losses from earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. The HAZUS-MH Data Extractor tool only supports the extraction of earthquake and flood data. Data can be extracted by category, including general building stock inventory, general building stock damages and economic losses, social impact (i.e., casualties and shelter requirements), and induced damages (i.e., debris and fire). Additionally, a filter can be applied to select data based on specified selection criteria. Extracted data are available in both spatial and non-spatial forms and exported to an ESRI geo-database. MORE INFO

Note, this entry was originally posted on 9/24/2010. HAZUS.org recently received a comment that the enclosed link was broken. The "MORE INFO" link was updated 11/30/2011

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Wireless Priority Service (WPS) failed during East Coast earthquake

2011-11-29T09:06:00.000-08:00

The Wireless Priority Service (WPS) that is intended to provide priority to emergency government and public safety cell calls failed during East Coast earthquake. WPS compliments GETS the priority system for land lines.

Kind of sounds like the failure might have been in part due to "All of the texting and short messaging occurred on the signal channel," MORE INFO

GIS Day 2011

2011-11-14T07:52:00.000-08:00

Nov 16, 2011 is GIS Day ...

MORE INFO ...

GIS Day Flyer (.pdf) ...

Mark Your Calendars! - 2012 HAZUS User Conference

2011-10-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Word is the 2012 HAZUS User Conference will be August 6, 2012. The 6th Annual event will be in Philadelphia, PA.

EAS Nationwide Test

2011-10-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

The Federal Communications Commission's joined by FEMA and the National Weather Service, have announced the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) at 2:00 PM on November 9, 2011.

FCC Announcement ...

FEMA Announcement ...

US and Mexico Expand Collaboration on Earthquake Monitoring Along Border

2011-10-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

USGS is working with the US Northern Command and the Mexican National Center for Prevention of Disasters to improve the ability to better monitor the earthquake-prone zone in northwestern Mexico. READ MORE

USGS Statement...

"Earthquakes in Mexico are a threat to the U.S. and visa versa. It's only by cooperating in our monitoring efforts that both countries can fully understand and protect against their earthquake risk," said Doug Given, the USGS Southern California Seismic Network coordinator, and the USGS lead for this international project.

Rapid Observation of Vulnerability and Estimation of Risk (ROVER)

2011-10-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced the release of Rapid Observation of Vulnerability and Estimation of Risk (ROVER), fast, free, mobile software for pre- and post-earthquake building safety screening. ROVER is available on CD-ROM (FEMA P-154 ROVER CD) from the FEMA Publications Warehouse or via online download.

Highlights of the new ROVER software include:

One-time data entry to a built-in database
Captures data via digital photos
Determines building geolocation
Exports to Google Earth for mapping
Imports pre-existing data
Speeds post-earthquake safety assessment by accessing pre-earthquake data
Allows for remote management of screening
Optionally integrates with USGS ShakeCast for seismic monitoring of buildings and with FEMA’s HAZUS-MH to estimate future building repair costs, casualties, and loss of use

To order FEMA P-154 ROVER CD from the Publications Warehouse, call 1 (800) 480-2520 or fax your request to (240) 699-0525.

More Info @ ROVER.org ...

2011 Great California ShakeOut

2011-10-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill is this Thursday / October 20th at 10:20am

MORE INFO ...

National Prepardness Goal

2011-10-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate announced the release of the National Prepardness Goal at the annual National Emergency Managers Association (NEMA) Conference in Austin, Texas. MORE INFO

The NPG "includes capabilities to safeguard the homeland against acts of terrorism and man-made or natural disasters" and "is focused on actions to protect the citizens, residents, visitors, and critical assets, systems, and networks against the greatest risks to our nation in a manner that allows our interests, aspirations, and way of life to thrive."

The full goal can be found online at www.fema.gov/ppd8.

Download: http://www.fema.gov/pdf/prepared/npg.pdf

HAZUS.org Bookstore is back on-line !

2011-10-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the recent changes to the recent changes in the way California collects on-line sales tax the HAZUS.org Bookstore is once again on-line.

The Western Disaster Center (the operator of HAZUS.org) is an Amazon.com Associate. HAZUS.org receives a small percentage of sales of books and other items purchased through the HAZUS.org Bookstore site. All financial transactions are handled by the Amazon.com secure system. The HAZUS.org Bookstore is maintained on the Amazon.com "aStore system" providing our users a secure and familiar Amazon.com user interface.

To go to the HAZUS.org Bookstore, CLICK HERE...

If you have any book suggestions please let us know ...

Italian scientists on trial for failing to warn before L'Aquila earthquake

2011-09-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

Seven scientists are accused of giving "inexact, incomplete and contradictory information" about whether smaller tremors felt by L'Aquila residents in the six months before the April 6, 2009 quake in Italy should have constituted grounds for a quake warning. The defendants are accused manslaughter and of giving "inexact, incomplete and contradictory information" about whether smaller tremors felt by L'Aquila residents in the six months before the April 6, 2009 quake should have constituted grounds for a quake warning. READ MORE

Community Resilience Initiative

2011-09-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Community Resilience Initiative (CRSI) was a collaborative process of the Community and Regional Resilience Institute (CARRI) involving more than 150 practitioners and researchers charged with determining what American communities need in order to become more resilient to all hazards, and also to provide a concrete course of action to support communities in their resilience-building efforts.

CARRI recently released a report intended to provide America’s communities with a set of tools and processes that will help prepare for disasters and improve their resilience. The report, titled “Community Resilience System Initiative (CRSI) Steering Committee Final Report—a Roadmap to Increased Community Resilience,” builds on over three years of academic research, practical experience, broad collaboration with partner communities and other national stakeholders.

According to CARRI, the web-friendly process can help any community assess its capacity to withstand significant disturbances and help them create an approach to recovery. “By creating a vision for the future and establishing the necessary actions to improve overall resilience to disasters and other disturbances, this system will help people prepare for—and recover from—any challenge.”

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...

REPORT...

NIMS Implementation Behavior of United States Counties

2011-09-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

Recently published in the Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management ... "The Current NIMS Implementation Behavior of United States Counties"

The report concludes that NIMS may be limited in its usefulness because of the wide variation in the manner in which NIMS is currently being implemented in counties across the United States.

ABSTRACT

DOWNLOAD (.pdf)

This report will be discussed on the EMForum interactive discussion on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, beginning at 12:00 Noon Eastern time ... MORE INFO

A Time to Rember - A Time to Prepare

2011-08-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

September is "National Preparedness Month" ...

A Time to Remember...
A Time to Prepare...

MORE INFO....

Hurricane Irene: Economic Loss Estimates

2011-08-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

IEM posted their HAZUS derived economic loss Estimates for hurricane Irene, READ MORE

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FEMA's "whole of community" approach

2011-08-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate talked about his agency's new "whole of community" approach to preparedness and response in federal disasters. The new approach includes engaging the entire community, including the public and private sectors, in coordinating a federal response to disasters.

This August 16, 2011 talk was recorded by CSPAN.

Click on the image to see the CSPAN replay... or GO THERE

CNN touts HAZUS during lead-up to Hurricane IRENE

2011-08-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

CNN, in an article leading up to Hurricane IRENE landfall, reported on data derived from HAZUS modeling of the storm to quantify expected wind damage from the storm.
READ MORE

New Flood Prediction Technology Simulates Rivers 100x Faster Than Real Time

2011-08-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

Researchers from IBM and the University of Texas at Austin have applied advanced analytics to river systems, weather and sensor data, to predict river behavior more than a hundred times the normal speed.

The system simulates thousands of branches at a time. The technology has many applications including HAZUS "what if" scenarios.

MORE INFO...

National Seismic Hazard Maps

2011-08-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

Now that we are thinking about earthquakes ...

The USGS National Seismic Hazard Maps are the basis for seismic design provisions of building codes, insurance rate structures, earthquake loss studies, retrofit priorities, and land-use planning.
Incorporating these hazard maps into designs of buildings, bridges, highways, and critical infrastructure allows these structures to withstand earthquake shaking without collapse.
Properly engineered designs not only save lives, but also reduce disruption to critical activities following a damaging event. By estimating the likely shaking for a given area, the maps also help engineers avoid costs from over-design for unlikely levels of ground motion. MORE INFO

2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season .. Hurricane IRENE

2011-08-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season is finally starting up in earnest ...

For the latest official news and warning information on Hurricane IRENE HAZUS.org suggests you use the resources provided by the
>> NWS National Hurricane Center

August 4, 2011 - NOAA 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook Update, READ MORE

August12, 2011 - Experts: Hurricane Activity Likely to Increase, READ MORE

HAZUS Helpdesk now working with the FEMA Map Information eXchange (FMIX)

2011-08-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

The following is from a FEMA email sent out on Monday Aug 22nd at 06:56AM PDT

TheHAZUS Program is implementing an improvement in its user support processes that we’d like you to know about. While the HAZUS Helpdesk (https://support.hazus.us) is still the main source of providing HAZUS user’s with technical support, we are pleased to announce a new partnership with FEMA’s Map Information eXchange (FMIX) to provide additional telephone support. The new partnership with the FMIX will give HAZUS users the ability to speak directly with a support representative during normal business hours to follow up on Helpdesk tickets, receive assistance in using the Helpdesk, or get answers to general questions about HAZUS.

The toll free phone number for HAZUS technical support (1-877-283-8789) has not changed. Starting on Monday, 8/22/11 calls to that number will be automatically redirected to the FMIX. Users can also reach the FMIX directly by calling 1-877-FEMA MAP (1-877-336-2627). FMIX hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am until 6:30 pm Eastern Standard Time (Eastern Daylight Time). Self-service options are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

National Earthquake Resilance

2011-08-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) is the multi-agency program mandated by Congress to undertake activities to reduce the effects of future earthquakes in the United States. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-the lead NEHRP agency-commissioned the National Research Council (NRC) to develop a roadmap for earthquake hazard and risk reduction in the United States that would be based on the goals and objectives for achieving national earthquake resilience described in the 2008 NEHRP Strategic Plan. National Earthquake Resilience does this by assessing the activities and costs that would be required for the nation to achieve earthquake resilience in 20 years. MORE INFO

2011 HAZUS User Conference

2011-08-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Follow the annual conference remotely via #hazus twitter posts.

Understanding the Power of Social Media as a Communication Tool in the Aftermath of Disasters

2011-08-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

On May 5, 2011 the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Intergovernmental Affairs of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs held a hearing on Understanding the Power of Social Media as a Communication Tool in the Aftermath of Disasters. MORE INFO

Crisis Maps Can Be Risky

2011-08-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

Crisis mapping tools—which combine communications technologies with a Web-based platform for analysis—can be used to organize information contributed by participants using mobile phones and other devices, and to display important updates on a live map.

Crisis mapping has had a major impact recently. For example, helping to collate information and coordinate activities during the Haitian earthquake in early 2010 and the Japanese tsunami that struck earlier this year.

Crisis mapping tools are increasingly springing up in politically fraught situations. The use of crisis mapping during political situations significantly raises the possibility of interference, says George Chamales, a hacker and activist who has served as technical lead for crisis map deployments in Libya, Pakistan, and Sudan. READ MORE

Related Presentation (.pdf) at the 2011 Black Hat Conference ( This is a big file give it a chance to dl ) DOWNLOAD

HAZUS Helpdesk Problems Resolved ...

2011-08-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

In an email sent out on Aug 5th FEMA reports:

"The Hazus program has been experiencing technical problems over the past several days with the processing of some Helpdesk tickets. We apologize if this situation has resulted in a slower than usual response to a request you may have submitted recently. The technical difficulties have now been resolved and we are working diligently to recover as quickly as possible and address any tickets that are still outstanding. Again, we are very sorry if this has caused any delays to your work and we appreciate your patience. "

Earthquake Loss Reduction Summit

2011-08-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

The Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC) will be hosting a major earthquake loss reduction summit on October 13, 2011 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. This is an annual event and is a precursor to the "Great ShakeOut" event that will be held on October 20th. As you know, there are several types of structures that are at risk and many stakeholders do not know what action can be taken to mitigate this risk.

MORE INFO...

A Resource: Crisis & Emergency Management Degrees Online

2011-07-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

This site was developed to help students who are interested in training in emergency management and disaster management. This website contains "all" the necessary information which could help an individual in deciding on a degree which suits ones needs and the college where anyone can take find training and courses.

MORE INFO

5th Annual HAZUS User Conference

2011-07-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

FINALLY THE DETAILS ...

7 June 2011 - In an email today FEMA announced the details for the upcoming 5th Annual HAZUS User Conference...

5th Annual HAZUS Conference

Mark your calendars! The Annual HAZUS Conference will be held in Seattle, Washington, August 10 – 12, 2011, at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building.

FEMA has released the Conference Agenda, CLICK HERE...

To register for this FREE conference, CLICK HERE ...

Hotel Information

Renaissance Seattle Hotel
515 Madison Street
Seattle, WA 98104
1-800-546-9184

For attendee’s convenience, a room block has been set up for the conference. All reservations should be made by July 8, 2011 to guarantee availability and the special conference rates.

CLICK HERE to make your room reservations. When making reservations by phone, please mention the 5th Annual HAZUS Conference in order to receive the room block rate.

Call for Papers

Submissions from a wide interdisciplinary spectrum are encouraged, including but not limited to federal, state and local officials, GIS specialists, response/recovery planners, emergency managers, academics and community decision makers.

Papers will be accepted on the basis of a submitted abstract. An abstract should be between 500 and 750 words in length (references excluded) and submitted via e-mail to conference@support.hazus.us as embedded plain text or an attachment in MS Word, or PDF format. The submittal should also indicate the proposed format, for example, keynote speech, panel presentation, individual talk, or training session and intended length of presentation for which the abstract is being submitted.

Abstracts must be submitted no later than June 17, 2011.

Map Gallery Submissions

Don’t miss your chance to display your best map throughout the conference and be included in the conference proceedings. Individuals and groups may submit up to three maps. We encourage you to submit maps even if you cannot attend the conference. Awards will be presented for the following categories (you do not have to be present to win):

• Best practice for data improvements to Hazus-MH (Level 2 or 3 analyses)

• Best practice for incorporating Risk MAP

• Best incorporation of a HAZUS-MH analysis into a mitigation plan

• Most innovative practice of HAZUS-MH

• Best multi-hazard analysis

• Best integration of other tools with HAZUS-MH

All maps should be submitted electronically in PDF format by July 15, 2011. You must also submit an abstract (less than 500 words) to accompany your map(s). Abstracts should include a title, the award category you are submitting under and names and title of all individuals that assisted with the map production (names are not included in the word count). Attendees will have a chance to view the maps throughout the conference in print and electronic format.
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Rethinking the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Reactor Fault Danger

2011-07-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

USGS seismologists are rethinking a potentially dangerous fault system near the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant on the Central-California Pacific coast.

USGS scientists are being cautious but some are speculating about whether the area's fault system is actually much longer, and therefore more powerful, than now estimated.

READ MORE

The Shakeout Scenario

2011-07-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) & the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are pleased to announce that the May 2011 issue of the EERI journal Earthquake Spectra is a special issue devoted to the USGS-led 2008 Southern California ShakeOut Scenario and Exercise, which hypothesized the occurrence and effects of an Mw7.8 earthquake on the southern San Andreas fault.

“With this comprehensive publication, EERI is making it possible to see the breadth of the contributions that a fully realized natural disaster scenario can make to advancing fundamental scientific and engineering knowledge while also creating widespread, lasting impacts in communities,” remarked Dr. David Applegate, associate director for Natural Hazards at the USGS.

Labor Market Risks of a M7.8 Earthquake in Southern California

2011-07-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

The ShakeOut Scenario is a program developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to examine the implications of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in southern California and to help people and organizations become better prepared before the next big earthquake. According to USGS, the most likely source of a large earthquake in California is the southern segment of the San Andreas Fault.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has analyzed data to assess the potential business and economic losses if a 7.8 magnitude earthquake were to occur in southern California. VIEW REPORT (.pdf)
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FEMA E-74 Reducing the Risks of Nonstructural Earthquake Damage

2011-06-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

The nonstructural portions of a building, such as interior walls, ceilings, utilities, fixtures, and contents, can account for up to 75 to 80 percent of a building’s total cost. The recent earthquakes in Chile, New Zealand, and Japan have once again provided many examples of buildings that performed well structurally but still suffered significant nonstructural damage and were rendered unusable for long periods of time. Given the importance of nonstructural building components, it is critical to raise awareness of nonstructural risks, the costly consequences of nonstructural failures, and opportunities to limit future losses.

explains the sources of nonstructural earthquake damage in simple terms and provides methods for reducing potential risks. The Guide is intended for non-technical audiences, including building owners, facility managers, maintenance personnel, store or office managers, corporate or agency department heads, and homeowners. FEMA E-74 includes more than 70 examples of different nonstructural components, complete with photos of actual damage and details illustrating correct mitigation and installation measures. The newweb format of FEMA E-74 makes it simple to browse and to print out details and sections of interest. MORE INFO

Florida GIS Data Discovery Workshop: 2011 Hurricane Season

2011-06-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

The Florida Division of Emergency Management is hosting a GIS Data Discovery Workshop for the 2011 Hurricane season at the State Emergency Operation Center in Tallahassee, FL on Tuesday / June 28th.

Register to attend in person, CLICK Here ...

Attend on-line, CLICK Here ...

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First Nationwide EAS Test - Nov 9, 2011

2011-06-13T08:16:00.001-07:00

One of the most important communications tools that helps federal, state, local, territorial and tribal authorities issue emergency information and warnings to the public is the Emergency Alert System. This system is frequently used and tested at the local level, but to date it has never been tested on the national level. As part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen our nation's preparedness and resiliency, FEMA and the Federal Communications Commission announced that we will conduct the first national-level test of the Emergency Alert System on November 9th of this year at 2 pm eastern. Similar to the way local emergency alert system tests are conducted, the nationwide test will involve television stations (including digital television, cable, satellite audio and television services) and broadcast radio stations across the U.S. and several U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, America Samoa) at the same time. MORE INFO

HAZUS 2.0

2011-05-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

IT''S OFFICAL!

Update June 2, 2011 - FEMA announces release of HAZUS-MH 2.0 ...

The 2.0 release includes many improvements to the usability and functionality of the software including, but not limited to:

A new coastal storm surge modeling capability integrating two industry standard models (SLOSH and SWAN), which now allows HAZUS to predict the physical and economic impacts of hurricane scenarios on coastal flood regions. In addition to estimating the separate impacts of coastal flooding and high winds, the coastal surge scenario methodology also estimates the combined economic losses to the general building stock in a manner that avoids double counting of flood and wind losses.

With HAZUS-MH 2.0, the CDMS tool has been integrated with HAZUS. CDMS will no longer be handled as a distinct product requiring users to obtain and install it separately. It will automatically be added when installing HAZUS, thus making it easier for users to take advantage of the tool’s data management capabilities. HAZUS-MH 2.0 is now compatible with ArcGIS 10.0 Service Pack 1. MORE INFO ...

Order the latest version of HAZUSs-MH 2.0 free-of-charge on-line by visiting the FEMA Map Service Center (MSC) Web Store at http://msc.fema.gov.

Previously ...

The following was taken from a recent email distributed from the Florida HAZUS User Group ...

"For those that couldn't be on some of the other State calls lately (namely NC and SC calls), more info about HAZUS 2.0 has been "released". Below are notes from the SC calls. Thanks to ChrisZ from the FLHUG for the info.

April 28, 2011 – South Carolina HAZUS User Group Call with HAZUS 2.0 Overview
Melissa Berry (SC HUG president) provided overview of national and South Carolina activities. Call today was recorded as a podcast (looking for a link?).

HAZUS 2.0 Overview
David Adler and Adam Campbell from ZAI presented major changes and updates to HAZUS:

Timeline: HAZUS 2.0 should be out by end of May (or early June if there’s a problem with last phase of testing). Can pre-order through the Map Service Center (may have to create an account if necessary).

3 Big Changes

1) Coastal Storm surge modeling which incorporates SLOSH and SWAN models. No real changes to the flood and hurricane (wind) modules but the function of the surge model will remove the duplication/overlap of damages from each of the models run nseparately. There’s a bit of limitation in the fact that this consequences consolidation is only performed for building, contents, and inventory (not other HAZUS outputs such as agriculture).

2) HAZUS 2.0 is compatible with ArcGIS 10, SP1. If you have Arc 9.3.1 only, you will still need to use MR5 for analysis.

3) Upgrading of the development environment. End users will not really notice this per se but the first major chunk of background work has been done to allow the backend technology to be upgraded with subsequent releases of the software.

Release Notes will have all the changes and bug fixes but here are other items of significance that were discussed:

- User Defined Facilities and Essential Facilities will no longer have their lat/lon entries truncated to three places. Will take the full digits provided by the user which will give more accurate location.

- CDMS can be thought of as the 4th module of the software now and runs natively in the HAZUS product as opposed to separate software distributed at the same time as a major release. There should be no impact to the functionality of the two state CDMS web portals (Florida and South Carolina).

- Flood shelter analysis has been optimized to run faster and work better with large data sets.

- Return periods in the flood module have been adjusted (previously 10, 50, 100, 200, and 500…now the 200 has been replaced by a 25yr so you have 10, 25, 50, 100, 500)

- There is now a utility to help with extracting HPR data. You now have the ability to extract certain tables and fields from HPRs. This and other utilities are located in “bin\flood\utils”.

- Tree coverage and terrain roughness have been updated based on new national land cover data

- Updates to the historical storms in the northeast have been updated."

Virtual USA Implementation Tool asking for feedback ....

2011-05-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Virtual USA Implementation Tool is a methodology for disaster management agencies to plan and implement a geospatial information-sharing capability in line with the "Virtual USA" model.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate launched the Virtual USA (vUSA) initiative to support this trend and promote interoperable information sharing among emergency response agencies.

vUSA weg site ...

The vUSA folks are asking for feedback ... and ask that those interested review the tool in depth and provide feedback on the following areas:

Web site’s ease of use
Effectiveness of content and resources
Video on the Overview page
Additional ways to improve overall product, if applicable

Please email all comments to vusa@dhs.gov by COB on Friday, May 27th (sorry for the late notice).

Using Hazus to Assess Alternative Futures and Earthquake Scenarios for Haiti

2011-05-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

New in the FEMA HAZUS Library ... Using the GIS-based methodology developed by Hansen and Bausch in 2006, a HAZUS Haiti study region was developed in the immediate weeks following the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake. Before the earthquake, Haiti lacked adequate GIS datasets to support detailed loss estimation. But with the combined efforts of the GIS and earthquake research communities, Haiti rapidly became a data rich environment. Enhancement of the original methodology for Haiti included the development of grid sizes of 10 km, and 1 km that represent rural and urban environments. MORE INFO & to DOWNLOAD

2011-05-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

The U.S Geological Survey has embarked on an effort to develop its next ten-year strategy in its natural hazards mission area and is collecting feedback in from the public ...

The USGS Science Strategy outlines the major societal issues that USGS science is poised to address. USGHS is looking forward to create specific strategies for each of those areas to expand and advance... MORE INFO

Hurricane Forecasts 2011

2011-05-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

AccuWeather.com was the first out with a 2011 Hurricane Forecast ... MORE INFO

The Tropical Meteorology Project - Colorado State University has issued their 2011 forecast ... MORE INFO

Update May 19, 2011
The NOAA/NWS/NHC has now released their 2011 Atlantic outlook... MORE INFOUpdate May 19, 2011
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Geospatial Intelligence Agency providing support to DHD/FEMA for ungoing Mississippi River floods

2011-05-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is using its tools, systems and analysts to help assess potential impact of Mississippi River floods on bridges, roads and other critical infrastructure in the South. READ MORE

NGA Press Release...

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Interim Task Force Report on Resilience

2011-05-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

The HSPI Preparedness, Response, and Resilience Task Force: Interim Task Force Report on Resilience has concluded that "The most effective way for our country to recover from catastrophic events, whether natural or manmade, is to develop resilience in our federal, state, and local governments, our businesses, and our families." READ MORE

Download Report (.pdf)

NLE 2011

2011-05-16T06:49:00.000-07:00

THIS WEEK!

NLE 2011, May 16-20, 2011, will simulate the catastrophic nature of a major earthquake in the central United States region of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). The year 2011 is the bicentennial anniversary of the 1811 New Madrid earthquake, for which the NMSZ is named. NLE 2011 will be the first NLE to simulate a natural hazard.

NLE 2011 activities will take place at command posts, emergency operation centers and other locations to include federal facilities in the Washington D.C. area and federal, regional, state, tribal, local and private sector facilities in the eight member states of the Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC). The eight member states of CUSEC encompass four different FEMA regions: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee (FEMA Region IV); Illinois and Indiana (FEMA Region V); Arkansas (FEMA Region VI); and Missouri (FEMA Region VII). MORE INFO...

2011 Storm Surge Report

2011-05-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

The CoreLogic 2011 Storm Surge Report provides an analysis of the potential exposure to storm surge property damage in 10 major U.S. coastal areas and current values of the total residential properties exposed to each potential storm surge event.

The report addresses ten major US coastal metropolitan areas that are vulnerable to a total of hundreds of billions of dollars in property loss from hurricane related storm surges and flooding. The 2011 Storm Surge Report, examined the potential financial impact of storm surges on single-family residential structures (homes) major urban areas along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts in the US. READ MORE

DOWNLOAD the CoreLogic 2011 Storm Surge Report ...

U.S. Economic Sensitivity to Weather Variability

2011-05-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

A recent paper in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society reports that the U.S. economic output varies by up to $485 billion a year of 2008 gross domestic product—about 3.4%—owing to weather variability. The study identifies U.S. states more sensitive to weather variability and ranks the sectors by their degree of weather sensitivity. This work illustrates a valid approach to measuring the economic impact of weather variability, gives baseline information and methods for more detailed studies of the sensitivity of each sector to weather variability, and lays the groundwork for assessing the value of current or improved weather forecast information given the economic impacts of weather variability. REPORT

Severe Weather Info...

2011-04-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center's web site can be found at ... http://www.spc.noaa.gov/

LinkedIn HAZUS Group ...

2011-04-25T15:40:00.001-07:00

Did you know that the LinkedIn HAZUS Group has over 215+ members!

LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional social network on the Internet with more than 100 million members in over 200 countries and territories. Roughly one million new professionals join LinkedIn every week, at a rate equivalent to somebody joining the site faster than one member per second!

Join the HAZUS Group for professionals ... http://linkedin.com/

The LinkedIn HAZUS Group is operated by HAZUS.org - an independent resource for the HAZUS User community ...

2011-04-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Nevada HAZUS User Group will be meeting & having a free luncheon at the upcoming Nevada Geographical Information Society's 21st Annual GIS Conference in Reno, NV. Wednesday / May 11th

As part of the meeting the NVHUG will be performing a "Practice Earthquake Event" ... Click for more info ...

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NOAA eyes upgrade of outdated tsunami warning centers

2011-04-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

NOAA is beginning to address the shortfalls and considering upgrades to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers discussed in the recent National Academy of Science report, Tsunami Warning and Preparedness: An Assessment of the U.S. Tsunami Program and the Nation's Preparedness Efforts. READ MORE

Training opportunities...

2011-04-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Limited pace is available in the following Indiana Department of Homeland Security sponsored FREE courses.

L317: Comprehensive Data Management for Hazus-MH
Location: The Polis Center, Indianapolis, Indiana
Dates: Tuesday, May 3 to Thursday, May 5, 2011

This course focuses on the Hazus-MH inventory. It is recommended for GIS analysts, database administrators, and others who will be responsible for migrating local data into the Hazus-MH database structure. http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/hazus/hz_training09.shtm.

L190: ArcGIS 10 for Emergency Managers
Location: Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana
Dates: Tuesday, June 21 to Thursday, June 23, 2011

This hands-on ArcGIS 10 course is designed to empower emergency managers, planners, engineers, public safety professionals, and others with the skills needed to visualize and analyze information related to disaster mitigation, response, recovery, and risk management using ArcGIS Desktop, the product on which Hazus-MH is based. http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/hazus/hz_training09.shtm.

To register, visit the Polis website at http://polis.iupui.edu/Training/Default.aspx. Please note that while this training is free, any travel expenses incurred as a result of attending these courses are the responsibility of the participant.

RELATED ...

There are also still openings for HAZUS courses at the FEMA Emergency Management Institute ... E172 HAZUS MH for Flood - 07/11-14/11 ... B176 HAZUS-MH for Floodplain Managers - 9/26-29/11 ... E296 Application of HAZUS-MH Risk Assessment - 9/12-15/11 ... E313 Basic HAZUS Multi-Hazards - 9/19-22/11 ... MORE INFO, START HERE

Data.gov to be discontinued !!!

2011-04-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Data.gov which was only launched in May 2009 is reported to be at risk of being shut-down along with several other US gov 'transparency' websites. READ MORE...

HAZUS.org believes that DATA.gov could be better but it is a "good start". Perhaps the government needs to address the cost of operating DATA.gov (reported to be as much as $5Mill a year!) and other factors such as duplication of content but it is downright silly to close-down operations completely.

Ready access to current data and information is the core to effective disaster response, recovery, mitigation and planning.

Speak-up and let your federal elected officials know your thoughts ...

$ Billions needed now to ready US for the next big quake

2011-03-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

The recent NRC "National Earthquake Resilience" report recommends three major goals: raising understanding of earthquakes; developing cost-effective measures to reduce the effects of earthquakes on individuals, the built environment and society at large; and improving the earthquake resilience of communities nationwide. READ MORE

REPORT...

Catastrophic Preparedness: How Ready Is FEMA for the Next Big Disaster?

2011-03-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hearing of Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, March 17, 2011.

“FEMA spends an average of $4.3 billion each year on responding to disasters. Most of the money is spent on direct disaster assistance programs such as Individual Assistance (e.g., temporary housing), Public Assistance (e.g., debris removal and repair of damaged public property), and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (e.g., retrofitting buildings to make them resistant to earthquakes or strong winds). These programs are intended to address the short-, medium- and long-term impacts of a disaster on individuals and communities. "

READ MORE

TESTIMONY

With the help of HAZUS-MH Highest-risk California hospitals mostly on track for quake safety

2011-03-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

A recent report by the CA state hospital building agency shows that most of the highest-risk hospital buildings in the state will be retrofitted by the required deadlines in 2013 or 2015.

READ MORE

List of at risk buildings ...

Over Reaction to Tsunami Alert on CA Central Coast

2011-03-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

Along the central Monterey Bay coast "hundreds" of residents decided to take the official tsunami voluntary evacuation order into their own hands and ended up to driving 30+ miles up to the local mountain summits. There were reports of traffic jams as people bought bread and milk and long lines at the ATMs. Some schools reported few if any students.

Opinion: HAZUS.org thinks this is a perfect example of why effective public exercises are needed.

READ MORE

The Homeowners Guide

2011-03-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

A good reference concerning dealing with disasters and home care ... MORE INFO

Thanks for the reference from Drew at Algonguin Hall...

FEMA HAZUS Program Director Recognized

2011-03-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

The Federal 100 Awards recognize government and industry leaders who have played pivotal roles in the federal government IT community—individuals who have gone above and beyond their daily responsibilities and have made a difference in the way technology has transformed their agency or accelerated their agency’s mission. Professionals from government, industry and academia are honored for their efforts in affecting change, progress and efficiency in determining how the federal government acquires, develops and manages IT.

Did you know that Eric Berman the FEMA HAZUS Program Manager is a receiptiant of one of this year's awards ... Congratulations Eric ... Well Deserved! 2011 Winners (.pdf)...

Policy Challenges in Supporting Community Resilience

2011-02-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

From the FEMA reference library ... "Policy Challenges in Supporting Community Resilience" explores how governments can better engage with the public to increase locally-organized disaster resilience and empower citizens and local institutions to take an active role in protecting themselves and their communities. MORE INFO

CA Earthquake Fault Zones

2011-02-10T19:33:00.000-08:00

The California Geological Survey has announced that it has posted its fault zone maps online for the first time. The 547 maps were previously available only in paper or CD formats.

The index map identifies all Official Maps of Earthquake Fault Zones delineated by the California Geological Survey through December 2010 under the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act. Individual Earthquake Fault Zone Maps can be viewed on screen. Digital image files (pdf) and Geographic Information System files (GIS) of individual maps can be downloaded by selecting a specific quadrangle map. MORE INFO

Record demand for information brought down Weather Service website

2011-02-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

The National Weather Service experienced nearly six times its normal volume of Web traffic as a major winter storm moved across the country the last days of January 2011, leading to a slowdown and partial shutdown of its website and NWSChat, the tool the agency uses to communicate with emergency managers across the country. Read article on nextgov ...

OPINION ... Agencies like NWS really need to distinguish between public information and data needed by the emergency management community (NWSChat) and have independent capabilities to support the two missions.

HAZUS-MH CDMA training

2011-01-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security is sponsoring a free three-day L317: Comprehensive Data Management for Hazus-MH course from Tuesday, May 24 to Thursday, May 26, 2011 on the Valparaiso University Campus in northern Indiana. HAZUS.org is not sure how/if IDHS will support non-Indiana folks who want to attend this course.

This course focuses on updating the HAZUS-MH inventory. It is recommended for GIS analysts, database administrators, and others who will be responsible for migrating local data into the HAZUS-MH database structure.

The course provides an overview of the methodologies that were used to develop and compile the HAZUS-MH provided inventory. However, emphasis is placed on the use of the Comprehensive Data Management System (CDMS) and other tools developed by FEMA for HAZUS-MH users interested in improving the accuracy of hazard loss estimations by integrating local building, infrastructure, and population related data into the HAZUS-MH analysis process. Numerous hands-on exercises will empower participants with the skills to use CDMS as well as other tools to update both HAZUS-MH state geodatabases and study regions. The course will also help participants effectively prepare for their own data updating projects by identifying those inventory elements that have the most impact on the estimation of losses for flood, earthquake, and hurricane events.

COURSE INFO & REGISTRATION

ARkStorm

2011-01-15T08:25:00.000-08:00

The USGS Multi Hazards Demonstration Project (MHDP)’s second full scenario, called ARkStorm, addresses massive U.S. West Coast storms analogous to those that devastated California in 1861–62.

The ARkStorm is patterned after the 1861–1862 historical events but uses modern modeling methods and data from large storms in 1969 and 1986. The ARkStorm draws heat and moisture from the tropical Pacific, forming a series of Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) that approach the ferocity of hurricanes and then slam into the U.S. West Coast over several weeks.

HAZUS-MH was used extensively for the ARkStorm analysis.

MORE INFO: USGS Multi-Hazard West Coast Winter Storm Project

MORE INFO: Overview of the ARkStorm Scenario

The overview report summarizes a winter storm scenario called ARkStorm (for Atmospheric River 1,000). Experts have designed a large, scientifically realistic meteorological event followed by an examination of the secondary hazards (for example, landslides and flooding), physical damages to the built environment, and social and economic consequences. The hypothetical storm depicted here would strike the U.S. West Coast and be similar to the intense California winter storms of 1861 and 1862 that left the central valley of California impassible. The storm is estimated to produce precipitation that in many places exceeds levels only experienced on average once every 500 to 1,000 years.

Report: Overview of the ARkStorm Scenario (.pdf)...

DHS Adopting Integrated Risk Management Approach

2011-01-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

A recent article in Public Entity Risk Institute newsletter discusses the evolving policy for DHS to work with its partners to use Integrated Risk Management as an approach to address the uncertainty inherent in its complex mission space, and to help make the tough decisions necessary to keep the nation resilient and secure with limited resources. The policy is based on the premise that partnerships can enable the most effective risk management. READ MORE ...

In the News: Devils Lake Threat to Minnewaukan, ND

2011-01-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

Christina Cummings, a graduate student in UND’s Department of Geography, has spent the past two years writing her master’s thesis using HAZUS-MH on the flooding threat Devils Lake poses to Minnewaukan, ND. When completed, her work will become part of the Devils Lake risk assessment study. READ MORE

First Release of OpenQuake Engine

2011-01-03T22:56:00.000-08:00

Version 0.2 of OpenQuake has just been released; the first public release of a series leading up to a comprehensive computational engine that will power seismic hazard and risk assessment applications. The current version is an alpha-version aimed at code-developers, and newer versions are being released each 3 months with new or expanded features and functionality. Initial user-interfaces are planned for the V0.3 release of March 2011, to better enable the user community to participate in the OpenQuake project.

OpenQuake was created as part of the global collaborative effort GEM (Global Earthquake Model), as an engine for GEM’s risk assessment platform OpenGEM, which aims to serve a full spectrum of users by 2013 in assessing and modeling earthquake risk, and in communicating it through maps and other types of output, so that it can be shared. OpenQuake’s initial development is based on the requirements that emanate from the development of models, databases and standards by scientists and practitioners from around the world, within the scope of GEM.

OpenQuake

Global Earthquake Model (GEM)

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Can Hurricanes Trigger Earthquakes?

2011-01-03T22:36:00.000-08:00

Scientists from the University of Miami presented a theory at the American Geophysical Union meeting last month linking the devastating Haiti earthquake in January 2010 to strong tropical storm systems that struck the region in 2008.

The hypothesis put forth is that the mass of sediment removed from Haiti’s uplands (and deposited in adjacent lowlands) influenced the stresses on the Léogâne Fault zone enough to cause it to rupture, resulting in the devastating Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake. The cause of such rapid erosion, according to the abstract, was the combined effects of two hurricanes and two tropical storms in 2008 on a severely deforested landscape.

READ MORE...

Natural disasters 'killed 295,000 in 2010'

2011-01-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

In their annual report, Munich Re reports that the Haiti earthquake and floods in Pakistan and China helped make 2010 a significant year for natural disasters, killing 295,000 and costing $130 billion.

The last time so many people died in natural disasters was in 1983, when 300,000 people died, mainly due to famine in Ethiopia.

READ MORE

PRESS RELEASE

Report Summary

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HAZUS-MH MR-5 Released!

2010-12-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

FEMA has announced that HAZUS-MH Maintenance Release 5 (MR5) is now available to order. The software is expected to ship within the next 2-3 weeks.

Download HAZUS-MH MR-5 Flyer...

HAZUS-MH MR5 provides continued updates to HAZUS-MH usability and functionality, including:

Windows XP/SP3 /7 compatibility

Certified for use with ESRI ArcGIS 9.3.1 SP1

Auto-patching which provides users automatic updates to the current Hazus software versions/patches

Improvements in web-based 508-compliance

Improved user depth grid import capabilities in the flood module by allowing multiple imports.

Support for defining the USGS HUC-8 Watershed geospatial boundaries as study regions in Hazus.

Federal, State and local government agencies and the private sector can order HAZUS-MH free-of-charge from the FEMA.

The Comprehensive Data Management System (CDMS) version 2.5 is also now available.

Download the CDMS v2.5 Release Notes

Download the CDMS v2.5 software

2010 HAZUS Conference Archives

2010-10-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

The 4th Annual HAZUS Conference was held August 23-25, 2010 at the Indiana Government Center Complex (South Building) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was 2 ½ days of educational sessions, hands-on training, and one-of-a-kind networking opportunities with GIS specialists, emergency managers, geologists, state/local planners.

FEMA has posted a ZIP file containing the portfolio of all proceeding and individual presentations.

MORE INFO...

A HAZUS Flood Case History

2010-10-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

Flood Damages in North Dakota: Analyzing the extent of flooding impacts using a site specific analysis and user generated depth grids. DOWNLOAD Presentation (.pdf)

By: Sean McNabb, FEMA RVIII, GIS Analyst

This analysis will be discussed at the Rocky Mountain HAZUS User Group Conference Call
October 12, 2011 at 1 PM MST MORE INFO...

17th Annual California GIS Conference

2010-10-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

17th Annual California GIS Conference
March 28-31, 2011
Radisson Hotel & Conference Center / Fresno, CA

NOTE: The call for papers is being extended from Oct 4th ...

More Info...

2009 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions

2010-10-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

The 2009 edition of the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions is the seventh update since the first publication in 1985. This new edition adopts ASCE/SEI 7-05 by reference, which allows the Provisions to resume its role as the resource for introducing new knowledge, innovative concepts, and design methods to improve the national seismic standards and codes. The Provisions are presented in a new one-volume format with three parts. Part 1 adopts ASCE/SEI 7-05 by reference and presents consensus approved modifications to the reference standard. Part 2 provides a completely rewritten commentary that explains how to design using the reference standard. Part 3 comprises a series of resource papers that focus on emerging seismic design concepts and methods for exposure to and trial use by the design community and on issues that have proven historically difficult or complex to adequately codify. FEMA P-750 CD contains the Provisions, design maps, and other supporting materials. DOWNLOAD

USGS Global Earthquake Alerts to Include Economic Loss and Casualty Information

2010-09-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Estimated economic loss and casualty information will now be included in earthquake alerts sent out by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) following significant earthquakes around the world.

The USGS automated system, PAGER (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response), rapidly assesses earthquake impacts by estimating the shaking distribution, the number of people and settlements exposed to severe shaking, and the range of possible fatalities and economic losses. The estimated losses trigger the appropriate color-coded alert, which determines levels of response: no response needed (green); local or regional (yellow), national (orange) or international (red).

USGS Press Release...

Feedback wanted for socio-economic GEM earthquake mpact model

2010-09-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

The Global Earthquake Model initiative has released an online review within the scope of its Socio-Economic Impact module, to obtain feedback from experts, decision-makers and others with an interest in social and economic consequences of earthquakes.

The review will be open to all from 15 September - 15 November 2010.

Click here to access the review page and submit your comments!

2010-09-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's capabilities to assess potential national threats, with the exception of natural disasters, need improvements to adequately support DHS decision making because their validity and reliability are untested, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. The report recommends DHS strengthen its scientific practices, including documentation, validation, and peer review. Download Report

U.S. Tsunami Detection Improved, But Coastal Communities Still Vulnerable

2010-09-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

The nation's ability to detect and forecast tsunamis has enhanced since 2004, but efforts are insufficient to meet challenges posed by tsunamis generated near land that leave little time for warning, says a new congressionally requested report from the National Research Council. The report calls for a national assessment of tsunami risk and improved communication and coordination among the two federal Tsunami Warning Centers, emergency managers, media, and the public. MORE INFO

NOAA Coastal Services Center

2010-09-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

The NOAA Coastal Services Center works with various branches of NOAA and other federal agencies to bring information, services, and technology to the nation's coastal resource managers. The Center is a partner in over 100 ongoing projects geared to site specific coastal issues.

NOAA Coastal Services Center Web Site...

The NOAA Coastal Services Center Digital Coast provides the tools, training, and information needed to turn these data into the information most needed by coastal resource management professionals.

Digital Coast Web Site...

HAZUS-MH on the Digital Coast Web Site...

Using social media for better emergency response

2010-09-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

A recent Red Cross survey, Social Media in Disasters and Emergencies, reports that more people are now use social media tools to report emergencies or call for help, and they expect government response agencies to be actively engaged in using the technology, too.
READ MORE

2011-2012 HAZUS-MH Classes at the Emergency Management Institute

2010-09-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

EMI has published the schedule of courses for 2011-2012 at the Emergency Management Institute, including the HAZUS-MH curriculum.

Download the catalog ...

On-line course schedule ...

California Hospitals Using HAZUS-MH - UPDATE

2010-09-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

California has had a long running program requiring hospitals to seismically upgrade so that they can survive the inevitable earthquake. The state has prepared a list of vulnerable hospital buildings, based on construction, that were required to be upgraded/replaced.

Starting in 2004 California began using HAZUS-MH to let hospitals determine a specific building’s danger of collapse ... this allowed the state and hospitals to narrow in and allow people to put the focus on the buildings most at-risk.

READ MORE

HAZUS Coastal Surge Model

2010-09-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

The recent Building Science Newsletter from NIBS provides some insight into the developing HAZUS Coastal Surge Model.

The HAZUS hurricane wind field model will be coupled with SWAN, an ocean and near shore wave model, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) SLOSH model. The HAZUS-MH wind-only and flood-only loss estimates will be combined into an overall estimate of combined coastal wind and flood losses for a single hurricane event while avoiding double counting of damages.

Work remains on the Coastal Surge Model for overland waves, flood-only damage functions in V zones, and damage/loss matrices for building classes other than residential. Data from either Hurricane Ivan or Hurricane Gustav will be used to create a spreadsheet of prototype Coastal Surge Model loss results that will be validated with actual losses to be obtained from FEMA. It is anticipated that the Coastal Surge Model will be incorporated into HAZUS-MH MR6, tentatively scheduled to be released in late winter 2011.

SOURCE

WARNING Issued For Hurricane Earl...

2010-09-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Check out the National Weather Service National Hurricane Center web site for the latest info on Hurricane Earl. WARNINGS and WATCHES for the U.S. east coast have been issued.

National Hurricane Center

National Preparedness Month

2010-08-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

September 2010 is National Preparedness Month, MORE INFO ...

The future of HAZUS training ...

2010-08-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

This past March 100 individuals participated in Basic HAZUS training course. Not that unusual unless you consider that these participants were located in five classrooms spread across four time zones. This logistical phenomenon is an entry way for more HAZUS training courses to be held in the years to come.

FEMA has documented this successful event in a recently released document;
Five Classrooms and Four Time Zones Combined for the Inaugural Virtual Basic HAZUS Training Course - More info...

4th Annual 2010 HAZUS User Conference

2010-07-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

August 23-25, 2010

Indiana Government Center - South Building
302 West Washington St
Indianapolis, IN 46204

To register, Click Here...

FEMA HAZUS-MH Conferences Site...

National Report Card on Protecting Children During Disasters

2010-07-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

Fewer than one quarter of all states and the District of Columbia have enacted basic safeguards to protect kids who are in school or child care during disasters. READ MORE

Save the Children: PRESS RELEASE

Tornadoes: Understanding How They Develop and Providing Early Warning

2010-07-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

Presentations from the July 21, 1010 Hazards Caucus Alliance Briefing Series: MORE INFO

Hazards Caucus Alliance: Tornado Fact Sheet

HAZUS.org/Western Disaster Center is a member of the Hazards Caucus Alliance ...

ShakeAlert - Earthquake warnings coming soon

2010-07-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

The proposed ShakeAlert system will detect strong shaking at an earthquake's epicenter and transmit alerts ahead of the damaging earthquake waves. The speed of an electronic warning message is faster than the speed of earthquake waves traveling through the earth. Potential applications include stopping elevators at the nearest floor, slowing or halting trains, monitoring critical systems, and alerting people to move to safer locations. In warning systems deployed abroad, alerts are distributed via TV and radio networks, the Internet, cell phones and pagers.

One technology called cellular broadcast being developed in Japan would allow providers to broadcast to all towers in the affected region and all phones will receive the warning simultaneously -- no addressing to individuals." READ MORE; USGS Press Release

ArcGIS 10

2010-07-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

HAZUS.org has just received our first inquiry concerning compatibility of HAZUS.-MH with ArcGIS 10 ... a HAZUS user says he cannot install HAZUS-MH with ArchGIS 10 ...

Anybody else out there have the same problem? .. is there a work around yet ??

Update: July 13, 2010: The HAZUS-MH Help Desk is saying "Planning-wise, certified support is planned for MR7 release (March 2011)" ...