In the immediate wake of the terrorist events of 11 September 2001, President Bush articulated major disaster declarations for the states of New York, Virginia and New Jersey, which have been subsequently published as “Federal Register Notices.” A summary of the President’s declarations, with amendments, is provided herewith. 

New York (FEMA-1391-DR). In a letter dated 11 September 2001, the President declared a major disaster pursuant to his authority as provided for in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288. Federal funds for Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation were limited to 75 percent of the total “eligible” costs. The President appointed Theodore A. Monette of FEMA as the “Federal Coordinating Officer” for the declared disaster. This declaration identified the Bronx, Kings, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Richmond Counties for individual and public assistance. Furthermore, all counties in the State were declared eligible to apply for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. In a September 18 amendment to this declaration, the President directed that FEMA be authorized to reimburse 100 percent of total “eligible costs” for public assistance. 

Virginia (FEMA-3168-EM). In accordance with the provisions of the Stafford Act, the President declared that a state of emergency existed in Arlington County that made it eligible for Federal emergency assistance.  Thomas Davies of FEMA was appointed to act as Federal Coordinating Officer for the emergency.

New Jersey (FEMA-3169-EM). At the request of the Acting Governor, the President declared that an emergency existed for the State pursuant to Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. The President recognized the extraordinary demand placed upon New Jersey for emergency and response services to NYC resulting from the disaster.  Peter Martinasco was appointed as Federal Coordinating Officer for the emergency. All 21 counties in the State were declared to be adversely affected by the emergency.

Sources: (1) Federal Emergency Management Agency, “Virtual Library and Reading Room”, 9/23/01; (2) Federal Emergency Management Agency, “Congressional and Intergovernmental Advisory # 20”. 9/19/01; (3) Federal Emergency Management Agency, “Disasters: Information on Federally Declared Disasters”, updates for 9/19/01 through 9/21/01; and (4) The White House, Office of Management and Budget, virtual news releases, 9/21/01.

107th Congress – Bill Summaries

·  H.R. 783. 
Official Title: To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to direct the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan for stockpiling potassium iodide tablets in areas within a 50-mile radius0f a nuclear plant.
Sponsor: Rep. Phil English (introduced 02/28/2001). Status: In Committee.

·  H.R. 748.
Title: Small Business Disaster Relief Act of 2001. To authorize the Small Business Administration to make grants and loans to small business concerns, and grants to agricultural enterprises, to enable such concerns and enterprises to reopen for business after a natural or other disaster.
Sponsor: Rep. Sue W. Kelly (introduced 02/27/2001). Status: In Committee.

·  H.R. 2762.
Title: Earthquake Loss Reduction Act of 2001. To provide incentives to encourage private sector efforts to reduce earthquake losses, to establish a national disaster mitigation program, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Darlene Hooley (introduced 08/02/2001). Status. In Committee.

·  H.R. 2333.
Title: National Disaster Medical System Act. To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a National Disaster Medical System, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Richard Burr (introduced 06/27/2001). Status: In Committee.

·  H.R. 2176.
Title: Disaster Burden Relief Act of 2001. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth rules for homes which were destroyed as a result of a disaster in a presidentially declared disaster area, including permitting a tax credit for certain mortgage payments.
Sponsor: Rep. Brian Baird (introduced 06/14/2001). Status: In Committee

·  H.R. 1760.
Title: Relief, Community Vitalization, and Emergency Readiness in India and El Salvador (RECOVERIES) Act of 2001. To authorize disaster assistance for recovery from the earthquakes of January and February 2001 in the Republic of India and the Republic of El Salvador, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Robert Menendez (introduced 05/08/2001). Status: In Committee.
Source: “THOMAS” (Legislative Information on the Internet).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will issue an RFP on October 2, 2001 for construction of structures and facilities under the Duck Creek Phase I, Ohio Flood Damage Reduction Project.  Bids are due by November 1, 2001.  For further information visit the Commerce Business Daily web site (cbdnet.access.gpo.gov.) 

The National Science Foundation is accepting grant proposals for Ecosystem Studies.  The program supports research that, in part, investigates landscape dynamics with an emphasis on quantitative models of disturbances, ecosystem resilience, and successional patterns.  The target submission date is December 15, 2001. For further information visit the grant proposal section of the NSF web site (http://www.nsf.gov/home/deadline/deadline.htm). 

International

The Republic of Argentina has received a loan of $300M from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to help finance a program to rehabilitate areas affected by the floods of 1998.  Bids are due by October 26, 2001.

The Government of Grenada has received a loan of $5.06M from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and a credit of $5.01M from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management Project and intends to use part of the proceeds for road rehabilitation, sea defenses work, and emergency communication and meteorological equipment.  Bids are due by October 31, 2001.

The Government of India has received a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) toward the cost of the Gujarat Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project.  The Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) invites sealed bids for the procurement of conductors and insulators.  The Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board (GWSSB) invites sealed bids for the procurement of iron and steel pipes.  Bids are due by November 15, 2001. 

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has proven effective in all four phases of the disaster management cycle:  preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery because of its ability to capture, store, retrieve, manipulate, analyze, and display geographic information. 

In 1999, real-time GIS aided in the largest peacetime evacuation of 700,000 people along South Carolina’s coast in U.S. history when the threat of Hurricane Floyd.  Prompted by the damage of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) had developed a Hurricane Evacuation Decision Support Solution by using web-based maps that incorporated live information from SCDOT’s GIS.  It was designed to put rapidly changing traffic and weather information at the fingertips of state officials who are tasked with managing evacuations. 

Specific Resources:

FEMA - Emergency Managers may find the Mapping and Analysis Center (MAC) at FEMA helpful since they may receive remote sensing data that indicates areas affected by the disaster, as derived from various imagery products.  Typical examples include flooded, saturated, and/or damaged areas. 

ESRI Press - They recently released a book talking about a dozen different ways in which GIS software is being used to save lives and protect property before, during, and after a disaster or emergency.  The title is “Disaster Response:  GIS for Public Safety.”  This book contains information of how GIS is used for wildfire operations, managing emergency management system response, earthquake damage assessment, analyzing fire response performance, and other public safety applications. 

The National Association of Counties (NaCo) and ESRI, Inc. has recently launched a Technology Foundation Grant Series to provide GIS software, training, support and data to qualified NaCo members seeking to initiate and expand their technology infrastructure.  NaCo will award 200 introductory grants and 100 intermediate grant packages.  The grant period began April 30, 2001 and ends April 1, 2002.  NaCo and ESRI will issue a “Best Practice Guide” that records the methods and procedures used by the grant recipients to help form a peer exchange network. 
Technology:
GIS Resources for
Emergency Managers… continued
 

Uses that Emergency Managers have found for GIS software:
· Digital system map creation and maintenance
· Inventorying structures relevant to preparedness
· Enhanced 911 mapping – direct emergency to very dispersed residents
· Rural addressing – with the aid of GPS, large rural area’s infrastructure can be mapped fast and inexpensively and include communications, transportation, energy, water systems, housing and community facilities
· In-Vehicle Navigation Aid 
· Dispatch Aid – dispatch nearest available vehicle to the task location on network map
· Recovery Phase – rapid repair response documentation for federal and state funding
· Instrumental Measurement Mapping – pollution containment flood management
· Map Disaster Conditions - precisely note locations of fires, downed power lines, disrupted roads
· Official emergency evacuation routes
· Road Closure and detour maps
· Real-time weather information from the internet

References and Resources: 
Geo World; June 2001, v.14, p10
Public Works; Jan. 2000, v.131, p41 & Sept. 1994, v.125, n.10 p96 
www.esri.com/news/releases
www.gismaps.fema.gov
 
 

On January 10, 2001, James Lee Witt, the previous Director of FEMA, met with representatives of the nation’s major fire service organizations to announce the implementation of a $100 million Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. From January 23-25, representatives from the major fire service organizations met with FEMA officials and the United States Fire Administration (USFA) to help put together the criteria for evaluating the grant proposals. 

Between April 2 and May 2 more than 19,700 applications for grants were accepted from fire departments all over the country. The grant program was divided into six categories: training, wellness/fitness programs, vehicles, firefighting equipment, personal protective equipment, and fire prevention programs. Each fire department was allowed to apply for grants in a maximum of two different categories. 

In May and June three peer review panels were convened that were made up of more than 200 fire service personnel.  These panels met at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, MD, to review the applications and make recommendations. The recommendations were then forwarded to FEMA/USFA for review and final selection. 

A list of the most recent grants that were made in September can be found at: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/grants/. Information on all of the awards that have been made in this program, starting in July, is available from: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/about/press/. All of the grants for this program had to be awarded by September 30, 2001.

On March 20th, Joe Allbaugh, Director of FEMA, announced that the FEMA FY2002 budget request included $100M to continue the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.  He stated: “As our nation’s first responders to disasters, the fire service community deserves FEMA’s support and the continuation of this vital program acknowledges their important role.”

The Internet provides a wealth of information to those seeking hazard prediction and research into the methods of forecasting these events.  Though the technology itself has not improved as a result of this new data tool, the transfer of knowledge has become far easier and as result, more widespread and useful.  Timeliness is vital in issues pertaining to forecasts and warnings, and nothing is faster than the instant access of information on the web.
By far a leader in the area of weather forecasting, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) posts a website that reports predictions for hazards ranging from hurricanes to droughts, precipitation to wild fires.  This information is illustrated in detail through maps and matrices, and includes temporal ranges from current to several months in the future.  For instance, NOAA currently reports the following:

· The Northwest region should expect continued low water supplies through spring 2002.  The Northeast should expect dryness to persist from October until December.  Droughts should persist in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
· No severe wind or precipitation threats are predicted in the short run.
· There is a 40% probability of a normal or above average hurricane season, with an average of 2-3 storm landfalls observed in similar years.
· El Niño/La Niña effects not expected to play a major role this season.
The National Hurricane Center (www.nhc.noaa.gov) Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch posts satellite information pertaining to tropical cyclones such as their location and intensity.  Current storms tracked are hurricane Humberto (Bermuda threat), hurricane Juliette (Mexico threat) and tropical storm Kiko (diminishing threat). A new service offered, though explicitly stated as experimental, is the strike probability map (see below). This display shows “the probability, in percent, that the center of the tropical cyclone will pass within 75 statute miles of a location during the 72 hours beginning at the time indicated in the caption.” (NHC 2001) 
National Hurricane Center “Strike Probability Map”(NHC 2001)

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) posts a website that displays maps which highlight predictions for above or below normal wild fire potential (www.nifc.gov).  This season, they report increased danger throughout the west coast and in upper New England (see below page 4) 
Hazard Update:
Continued from page 3

National Interagency Fire Center “Fire Potential Assessment” (NIFC 2001)
 
 
 

For those seeking forecasts pertaining to the oceans, such as high seas warnings and predictions, the Marine Prediction Center (MPC) offers numerous options.  Searching will provide information relating to marine currents, fog, as well as most of the storm data identified above. 

The Weather Channel Online (www.weather.com) provides arguably the most comprehensive choice of satellite images, photos, video clips, interactive maps, as well as up to the minute short and long term predictions throughout the world.  For instance, their hurricane predictions have been recently upgraded to reflect an above average season with 6-8 hurricanes anticipated.

Many weather centers, including NOAA and The Weather Channel, utilize the expertise of renowned storm predictor William Grey of the University of Colorado.  His team’s long-range meteorological predictions are takes as gospel.  His website can be visited directly at typhoon.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts.
Other useful sites, which offer additional prediction and tracking information, include the Atlantic Tropical Weather Center (www.atwc.org), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (www.fema.gov), and many, many others. 
 

Upcoming Conferences:

"Environmental management and the mitigation of natural disasters: a gender perspective" - Expert Group Meeting sponsored by the Division for the Advancement of Women, Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) of the Secretariat for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), United Nations, Ankara, Turkey, 6 - 9 November 2001. The objectives of the meeting will be to assess the link between environmental management and natural disasters from a gender perspective with a focus on the specific phases of natural disaster mitigation. Contact: Ms. Dorota Gierycz, Chief, Gender Analysis Section, Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, DC2-1244, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A., Tel: (212) 963-5913, Fax: (212) 963-3463, E-mail:
gierycz@un.org

“The Business of Earthquakes – What we learned from the Nisqually Earthquake.” Sponsored by the Cascadia Regional Earthquake Workgroup (CREW), FEMA and the USGS, November 27-28, 2001 in Seattle Washington and will feature presentations by representatives from the business community, engineering, physical and social scientists, elected officials and government agencies discussing the impacts of the Nisqually Earthquake. For additional information and registration visit www.crew.org. Contact: Bob Freitag at bfreitag@mindspring.com.  The Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup (CREW) is a coalition of private and public representatives working together to improve the ability of Cascadia Region communities to reduce the effects of earthquake events