Disaster And Develpment Enewsletter 2

From Chief Editor’s Desk People ask how we can address the biggest issues like climate change when we cannot even decide how to work together, said Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, on his debut in a short movie on climate change awareness directed by Shekhar Kapur said, “It was great to be a part of “Global Cool” but I was only one of the billion people saving the planet in this movie, and they are all stars”. According to Stephen Tindale, the Executive Director of Green Peace, UK, “no one can ignore the relentless increase in extreme weather events and so called Natural Disasters, which in reality are no more natural than the plastic Christmas tree”. “We do not have time to play around with this” is what the former US Vice President Al Gore said to the US Congress, on the March 21, while expressing himself on climate change. Prince Charles spread optimism when he said that “we can do it, just think of what they did in the last war. Things that seemed impossible were achieved almost overnight.” Natural Disasters and Climate Change are closely inter-related, and both call for collective action in a spirit of global cooperative endeavour. The challenge is much bigger for the developing countries and so are their stakes. What is worse, it is not a flat world from where they operate from. Not working together is therefore not even an option any more. Thanks to the NAM S&T Centre, New Delhi, that the International Roundtable Meeting on Lessons from Natural Disasters, Policy Issues and Mitigation Strategies held in Vellore, India, during 8-12 January 2007 has brought the representatives of the member countries together in their resolve expressed through Vellore Resolution 2007 (The previous issue of the Newsletter refers). The bond has got further cemented, when under the umbrella of NAM S&T Centre, representatives of member countries met once again at the International Roundtable in Colombo, SriLanka during May 2007 to discuss united action against Lightning Disasters. Letus not forget that even this Newsletter in your hands is the result of the collective resolve of the member countries as reflected in Vellore Resolution 2007. The show of united performance must go on with a deep sense of commitment and strong ambition to succeed. While thanking those on the Editorial Board, I solicit a much wider participation in obtaining news despatches and in spreading awareness about the good work that is going on across the globe, through the medium of this Newsletter. It has been decided to include Readers’ Forum from the next issue onwards and it is my sincere hope and expectation that you will willingly come forward to express yourself through short letters for the Newsletter. Its success is entirely in your hands. The circulation of the Newsletter is bound to grow as we collectively add value to it. I wish to thank the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India and the Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore for support to the Newsletter. I wish to thank NAM S&T Centre for entrusting the responsibility to coordinate this activity.

R.K.Bhandari Chief Editor

Vellore, India : 1 July 2007

Climate Change and Survival water distress would already show up as human tragedy, unprecedented in the history of mankind.

The Fourth Assessment Report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has fanned the fire lit by the distressing nexus between Climate Change on one hand, and the consequential environmental catastrophe, economic doom, natural disasters, regional upheavals, and national and international security, on the other hand. Recently, UN Security Council, with the U.K. in the Presidential Chair, discussed for the first time, the connection between Climate Change and International Conflict. The bad news, the 1572 page IPCC report conveys, is that the mother Earth is unquestionably warming and that the ensuing multiple threats are real. The good news is that most political masters, who were so far both blind and deaf to the horrors of Climate Change have begun to understand link between Climate Change, International Conflict and Human Tragedy better. Coming months and years will see the pitch getting louder and louder.

The concerns unleashed by Climate Change are global. It is not unlikely that if the worst fears come true, Bangladesh may have to bid good bye to a large chunk of its landmass. Maldivians may have to find another place or planet to resettle. Australians and New Zealanders may be exposed to terrible heat waves, fires and drought. African continent may be subject to unprecedented water stress, flooding and outbreak of disease. Indeed such has been the news in circulation for quite some years, but it brought no more than a ripple effect in the corridors of power that be, as the largest green house gas emitters of the world and those who have already developed their economies on fossil fuels, remained unimpressed. America’s per capita emission of carbon dioxide is nearly twenty times that of India and five times that of China. What is worse, China is very likely to surpass the US level of emissions within the next five years when nearly half the Indian population will still be deprived of the power grid. And the reluctance of the US and China to listen to this disturbing news even at this critical stage is obvious in their argument that the UN Security Council was not the place to raise the issue.

India will be devastated by Climate Change was the spontaneous Indian reaction to the IPCC Report. A warming of 0.2 degree C per decade is considered likely, and with the best of controls in checking greenhouse gases, a further warming of about 0.1 degree C per decade is to be expected. Imagine if the Himalayan glaciers continue to retreat at the present alarming rate and the mighty rivers like the Ganga, Brahmputra and Indus turn seasonal. Surely that would have mind blowing consequences. About a quarter century ago, Imjha Tse Valley was full of glaciers but these are getting melted at an average rate of 10 metre a year. A huge lake has been formed containing 28 million cubic metres of water. The lake is 100m deep, 500m wide and 2km long. Imagine the implications when it bursts. The worst of the prediction is that by the time the glaciers vanish entirely by 2035 and the Indian rivers begin to dry out,

Stakes of India, South Asia, and infact of the entire developing world are very high and nothing will be more unwise than to expect the affluent countries of the North to have a sudden change of heart and take the right initiatives at the right time for the right reason. The developing countries will therefore have to gear up to guard their own interests. R.K.Bhandari, [email protected]

The hottest days across the globe

Climate Change and the Vanishing Cultural Heritage The Shiva lingam at the Amaranth caves in India which is seen as an icon of Lord Shiva, one of the Hindu Trinity began melting because of temperature crossing 35 degrees Celsius, unusually high for early July when the mercury usually hovers between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. Many believe Global Warming is the culprit. Those on the defensive explain the melting of Lingam to the heavy rush of pilgrims and the extra heat generated by helicopters polluting the skies. This trend of melting of the Lingam was first noticed in 1994 in the first week of the pilgrimage in July that year. In some previous years, the Shiva lingam was seen as small as four feet and vanishing much before the pilgrimage was over. On the 9 June this year, the Lingam was 12 feet high but the latest reports of complete meltdown have sent alarm wave across thousands of devotees all over the world. Indeed the posterity will have to believe this generation that what they will see in the photographs of history was once a reality! Source : From Indian Newspaper Reports

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May 28, 2007 was the hottest May day in Moscow for over a century. The thermometer read +32.9 degrees Celsius (91.2 degrees Fahrenheit), and meteorologists say that the Russian capital has not seen such a sustained streak of +30 degree days in May for 128 years.

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New heat records were registered throughout Lithuania. On Tuesday, May 22, the nation’s highs were 27 - 30 degrees Celsius, exceeding the temperature records for that day at as many as 15 meteorology stations

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April 27 is said to be the warmest April day in Britain since records began nearly 350 years ago and all over Europe tourists are slapping on the sun cream several weeks ahead of schedule.

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Germany has also recorded the highest April average temperature at 12 degrees C, since records began in 1901, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

C.Lakshmi Narasimhan, [email protected]

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study led to the conclusion that an earthquake is going to occur in the next 18 months in northern California.

Earthquakes Solomon Islands Rocked

Source: http://seismo.berkeley.edu/~rallen/eps20/ extracredit/InTheNews.php

An earthquake of magnitude 8.1 occurred about 40 km SSE of Gizo, New Georgia Islands, Solomon Islands on April 02 at 7:39 AM Solomon Island local time. It pushed up the landmass, raising the coral reefs. Ranongga Island acquired several meters of new beach. Arial assessments have reported widespread damage in the Western and Choiseul Provinces of the Solomon Islands, where waves of up to 10 metres were reported following the earthquake causing damage at Lefung and Taro, Rossel Island and Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Multiple aftershocks were reported.

LASER Mapping aids earthquake prediction A map of California’s San Andreas Fault created with laser technology is expected to boost the accuracy of earthquake prediction efforts. According to a University of Florida release, the University of Florida, the University of California, Berkeley, and other institutions have prepared a detailed map of the 1,200-mile-plus fault and immediate adjacent terrain. By comparing the map with similar maps created after future earthquakes, seismologists will be able to determine the earth movements around the affected region more quickly and accurately than traditional surveying tools have allowed them to do.

The earthquake killed atleast 40 people and destroyed several villages. About 300 homes, schools and a hospital were destroyed at Sasamunga and about 500 houses were damaged at Gizo. Source: www.reliefweb.int

“We’re making it possible to get very accurate data on how much the earth around the fault is displaced during an earthquake,” said Ramesh Shrestha, director of the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping. “Seismologists can quantify that information and input it into their equations and models and ultimately try to better predict earthquakes.”

Earthquake hits Central America A powerful earthquake rattled Guatemala and El Salvador on Wednesday on June 13, 2007, forcing terrified residents to flee shaking buildings, but there were no reports of casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8 and was centered in the Pacific Ocean some 46 miles south of the Guatemalan town of Escuintla. The quake occurred at a depth of about 40 miles. Buildings in Guatemala City swayed for about 30 seconds and people ran into the streets. Parents formed long lines outside schools to look for their children, and authorities asked residents to stay out of high buildings. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a notice of Wednesday’s earthquake but said there was no danger of a tsunami as the earthquake was too deep to generate a tsunami hazard.

Source: www.gisdevelopment.net A new model for forecasting of an earthquake A new model has been developed to find the probability of earthquakes that acknowledges and bridges the gap between GPS measurements and geologically observed measurements. This gives a better account of fault-slippage rates. Source: http://seismo.berkeley.edu/~rallen/eps20/ extracredit/InTheNews.php

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19213365/

Early Warning against Earthquakes

Swiss Engineers trigger an Earthquake

Italian scientists have developed an early warning system for earthquakes with a response time of 2 seconds, similar to those implemented by American scientists in California. These earthquake systems rely on quick measurement of the P-Wave ground movement before the slower and more destructive S-Wave arrives.

While doing a geothermal experiment near the town of Basel, to extract heat from 5 km underground, Swiss engineers had to halt the work because of what could be called a manmade earthquake. The tremor was caused by high pressure fluid injection into a borehole, and measure 3.4 on a Richter scale. Mining –induced and reservoir-induced earthquake tremors are a common knowledge.

Source: http://seismo.berkeley.edu/~rallen/eps20/ extracredit/InTheNews.php Earthquake safe Construction

Source: http://seismo.berkeley.edu/~rallen/eps20/ extracredit/InTheNews.php

People of Istanbul are buying steel-girded flats and houses at an astonishing rate. There is a 65% chance that Istanbul will be hit by a 7.6 earthquake by 2030, according to one study, and that may affect about 5 million people. It is believed that steel-girded flats render earthquake-safe construction.

Earthquake in Northern California Predicted A team led by a BU professor has used physics and algorithms while examining low-magnitude earthquakes to gauge the probability of high-magnitude earthquakes occurring on fault lines that are relatively nearby. The

Source: http://seismo.berkeley.edu/~rallen/eps20/ extracredit/InTheNews.php

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An Advanced Seismic Testing and Research Laboratory established

Inside Plan View of the Earthquake Engineering Laboratory

View of the two Shake Table Facilities

An advanced seismic testing and research laboratory which includes two triaxial shake table facilities, and a pseudo dynamic test facility has been commissioned at Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai, a National Laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of the Government of India. One of the shake tables has a plan dimension of 4 m x 4 m and is actuated by eight servo-controlled electro hydraulic actuators to simulate the time history record of real and synthetic earthquakes. Another shake table has a plan dimension of 2 m x 2 m, and is actuated by six servo controlled electro hydraulic actuators. The pseudo dynamic test facility presently has three actuators which can be located at three different levels/directions. Centralized on-line data acquisition and control devices, and off-line data acquisition devices are available.This is one of the best facilities available, in the developing world including SAARC group of nations. The state-of-the-art facility is available to address problems of countries with perceived seismic risk. Ensuring seismic safety demands that buildings, structures, and other infrastructural facilities are suitably planned, designed and constructed to ensure adequate levels of safety. In spite of the advancements made in computational structural mechanics, the complexities of the earthquake motions coupled with variations in structural forms and material properties make it extremely risky to rely only on mathematical modeling to evaluate the responses. Structural testing and evaluation has long been accepted as an important tool in the design of special structures, as also for evolving design rules for normal structures. Development of guidelines and provisions for planning, design and construction of innovative earthquake resistant structural systems, development of innovative seismic retrofitting and rehabilitation strategies for seismically deficient structures, development of seismic response of control devices, development of seismic isolation strategies, etc., can be carried out economically and efficiently using shake table test facilities. For detailed information and problem solving, please contact Director, Structural Engineering Research Centre, Taramani, Chennai – 600 113, Tamil Nadu, India & Fax No.044 – 2254 1508; e-mail: [email protected])

Earthquakes may fuel regional volcanoes

Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on these satellites, pinpointing locations where surface temperatures are much hotter than their surroundings.The scientists combined the data with other details about the Indonesian volcanoes gathered by the satellites to analyze temperature and lava output rates over a 35-day period spanning the earthquake. The researchers are currently reviewing older MODIS hot-spot data, which extends back to 2000, to uncover additional earthquake-induced responses at erupting volcanoes.

U.S. scientists have found that a major earthquake can boost volcanic activities in the same region, adding a new impetus to a long-standing debate over whether earthquakes can trigger new volcanic eruptions. Scientists monitored two ongoing eruptions on Indonesia’s Java Island in May 2006 after a powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake had rocked the region. “During that period, we found clear evidence that the earthquake caused both the volcanoes to release greater amounts of heat, and lava emission surged to two to three times higher than that prior to the tremor,” said Andrew Harris, the lead author of the study. At the time of the earthquake, each volcano was being checked for changes in heat output by satellite sensors as part of a routine global “hot spot” monitoring effort that uses real-time satellite data from NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. Maps of worldwide hot-spot with data from the Moderate

The scientists are hoping they can identify patterns that might be used to build a model for forecasting earthquake-induced volcanic eruptions. The finding, based on NASA-satellite data, was published in the latest edition of the American Geophysical Research Letters. Source: www.gisdevelopment.net

activity are created Resolution Imaging

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National Centre for Ocean Information Services in Hyderabad, the system will generate and issue timely and reliable warnings. The Department of Ocean Development is the nodal agency to set up the tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean.

Tsunamis Another Sumatra Tsunami Likely In Coming Decades Scientists at USC and Caltech have conducted research that has shown that within the next couple of decades, another tsunami resulting from an earthquake will occur in the areas south of those affected by the 2004 Sumatra event. This is most relevant in that the researchers modeled the way in which earthquakes in the past have flooded cities on the Sumatra coast, and are working towards attaining a more detailed understanding of future tsunamis so as to mitigate damage and destruction.

Source: The Hindu Killer waves and Missing Fisher men The Indonesian rescue officials found 11 people missing after a fishing boat was engulfed by 6m waves off the north coast of Java islands. Two survivors were rescused after the boat was swamped by waves on Thursday, the18 May, 40km from the town. The boat had been heading to Indonesia’s Kalimantan province on Borneo Island.

Source: http://seismo.berkeley.edu/~rallen/eps20/ extracredit/InTheNews.php

Source:http://home.att.net/~thehessians/ disasterwatch.html

Mangroves an antidote for Tsunamis The World Conservation Union (IUCN) compared the death toll from two villages in Sri Lanka that were hit by the devastating giant waves. Two people died in the settlement with dense mangrove and scrub forest, while up to 6,000 people died in the village without similar vegetation. Many forests in the past fell to prawn farms and tourist resorts. The IUCN said it showed that healthy ecosystems acted as natural barriers. “It saved a lot of lives as well as properties,” said Vimukthi Weeratunga, the union’s biodiversity coordinator in Sri Lanka. Research has shown mangroves are able to absorb between 70-90% of the energy from a normal wave. There is, however, no reliable data on how the trees mitigate the impact of a tsunami.

Lightning Lightning kills six children in Jharkhand At the very onset of monsoon in Jharkhand in India on Wednesday the 13 June 2007, lightning struck a school near Ranchi killing six schoolchildren and injuring about a dozen others. The children were playing in the ground of the Greenfield School in Rampura village of Namkom block, when the tragedy struck. Source: ©Times of India Lightning Creates a Crater in India

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Smoke and flame were found emanating from a 40foot long and two- feet wide crater, caused by lightning which struck on Friday the 25 May afternoon at Talaikuda village on the outskirts of Udhagamandalam, TamilNadu, India. Nearly 300 eucalyptus trees were burnt, following the lightning which hit the area, and the big crater was formed. The smoke, which was found last evening, continued emanating heavily on Saturday and a flame was visible deep below eight feet. People who went near it felt a burning sensation in their eyes, plus headache and nausea.

Indian Ocean laced with Tsunami early warning buoys The first of a planned network of tsunami early warning buoys is being laid in the Indian Ocean. The buoy is being placed between Thailand and Sri Lanka, two of the countries worst-hit by the 2004 tsunami which killed more than 200,000 people. It is able to detect sudden increases in pressure deep under the sea and give coastal communities early warning of a tsunami. The US already operates a similar system in the Pacific Ocean and the cost of the US-designed device is being shared by the US and Thailand. It is hoped that eventually a network of 24 buoys will extend to Indonesia and Australia, along the deep and unstable fault-line that caused the 2004 earthquake.

http://www.radixonline.org/cchs.html Lightning hits Rice Terraces in Bangladesh At least five people were killed as lightning hit rice terraces in northern Bangladesh on 27 May 2007 with heavy showers pounding villages across the country. Three rice farmers were killed while working in soggy fields during thunderstorms in the worst hit Kurigram district near the India-Bangladesh border. Further up north in the Thakurgaon district, another farmer was struck down by lightning during an overnight storm. A 12-year-old girl was also fatally hit by lightning when she was returning home from her school.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk Tsunami early warning system for India to be operational by September 2007 An early warning system against tsunamis and storms in the Indian Ocean will be functional in Hyderabad by September this year, said a senior Union Home Ministry official of the Indian Government at a national conference on disaster management convened in New Delhi to review monsoon preparedness. Being set up at the Indian

Source:http://home.att.net/~thehessians/ disasterwatch.html

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International Roundtable on Lightning Protection in Colombo The International Roundtable on Lightning Protection, held in Colombo, SriLanka, from 22-25 May 2007 was jointly organized by the National Science & Technology Commission of Sri Lanka (NASTEC) and the Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre), New Delhi. About 52 scientists from 12 countries, namely, Bangladesh, Botswana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa and Sri Lanka participated in the event. The The Participants of the International Roundtable on Lightning Protection held roundtable concluded with Colombo in Colombo, SriLanka during 22-25 May 2007 Declaration 2007. The main recommendations include establishment of an International Institute for Lightning Protection and Safety either in Sri Lanka or in Pakistan to address various issues with respect to lightning safety and protection, especially to create awareness among the public about the lightning hazards and mitigation measures, and to promote collaboration between the lightning institutions in the world. The roundtable also made recommendations on (a) Spreading of safety awareness among the public, (b) enhancing technical knowledge and skills among professionals dealing with Lightning Protection, (c) Safety of buildings and structures (d)Mitigation of adverse effects on equipment and systems, (e)Protection of towers, Power Systems and Communication Networks, (f) Protection of High Risk Installations, (g) Development of National Standards on Lighting Protection and Safety, (h) Testing and Research Facilities and Data Collection (i)Local manufacture of protective devices, and (j) Protection of National Heritage Sites.

Landslides A spectacular mud-volcano in Indonesia Staff Writers, Jakarta (AFP) reported a spectacular mudvolcano on 20 June, 2007.It was in the form of a massive water spray gushing from the ground near a “mud volcano” of toxic sludge on Indonesia’s Java island. Ahmad Zulkarnain, the spokesman for the government team handling the disaster, said that the five-metre high spray began before dawn on Saturday through the floor of a restaurant in Jatirejo village, near the mudflow area. “We are going to channel the water to the river to prevent it from flooding the area,” he told AFP, adding that workers had failed on Tuesday to “plug” the water. “We are afraid that if we do not hurry, it may submerge the village, highway and railway,” he said.

Rescue workers looking for the survivors and victims of the Mudslides on 11 june, 2007

http://www.terradaily.com Heavy rains spark mudslides in Bangladesh Mudslides caused by monsoon rains buried bamboo and straw shacks in shantytowns and collapsed brick houses in southeastern Bangladesh Monday, killing at least 67 people. Another 11 died when they were struck by lightning, rescue officials and witnesses said. Officials say a hill partially collapsed onto a shantytown trapping many residents under the rubble. Soldiers and fire fighters were called out to help with rescue operations. A man trying to recover his belonging from his car which

Source:DHAKA, Bangladesh, June 11 (UPI) - United Press International, Inc.

is drowned by the heavy monsoon rains in Bangladesh

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Killer Landslides in China

Mudslides in Colombia

At least 21 people were killed and another 18 injured late on 25 May 2007, when a mudslide swept through a village in Sichuan province’s Garze region. In nearby Shimian county, nine people were killed when falling rocks hit a bus, knocking the vehicle off the road. Torrential rain and flash floods have already brought severe damage to the region in recent days. Friday’s mudslide happened in Heba village, in an ethnic Tibetan region of Sichuan province some 60km (37 miles) from the town of Juilong, Xinhua news agency reported. More than 3,000 houses were washed away and 1,300 hectares of farmland destroyed. A 4km (2.5 mile) stretch of the highway was also washed away, the agency said.

In southern Colombia, authorities declared a state of emergency on Saturday, 19 May 2007 after a mudslide caused by heavy rains destroyed 12 houses and left dozens homeless. Heavy rains in southern and western Colombia triggered a mudslide that has seriously affected 30 neighborhoods and left dozens homeless. The flooding took place in Cali, the country’s third biggest city where rescue workers had to evacuate people from their residences and vehicles. http://home.att.net/~thehessians/ disasterwatch.html Mudslides in Southern Kyrgyzstan The Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergencies (MOE) on 24 April 2007 reported flooding of more than 300 homes by mudslides after heavy rains in the southern province of Jalalabad. The local people were reportedly unwilling to abandon their homes and cattle. This is the second time southern Kyrgyzstan has been affected by floods and mudflows in one week, and further landslides can be expected. Jalalabad and neighbouring Osh province are particularly prone to natural disasters resulting from complex interactions of geological, tectonic, geomorphological and hydrometeorological factors.

Floods 144 dead as India’s monsoon sweeps westward A part of the landslide occurred on 25 May is seen

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk Earthquake-induced Landslides in India. Two persons were killed in a quake-triggered landslip in South Sikkim on May 27. As many as seven tremors, most of them between 3 and 5.5 on the Richter scale, were reported from several parts of the State. Two young men were buried alive when a pile of debris fell on them at a construction site on Ralong Road in Rabongla. “Many of us did not feel most of the tremors during the day, but the last jolt around 5 pm was scary. It caused panic with people running helter-skelter.” In Ralong, four houses were destroyed and another house and an ICDS centre developed cracks at Kewzing. Sikkim has been witnessing a series of tremors since last Monday, the 22 May. There were three mild quakes that day followed by one that measured 5 on the Richter scale on the night of May 22. Monday’s earthquake caused damage to the Tashiding monastery, one of the oldest in Sikkim. Deep cracks have appeared on the walls while a roof with an iron cast has tilted. Many houses in areas surrounding Gyalshing, the West district headquarters, have also been affected.

Men are wading through inundated waters in Mumbai

A house collapsed due to the incessant rains

Source: http://home.att.net/~thehessians/ disasterwatch.html

in Maharashtra

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Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council urged residents living near Ulley Dam in South Yorkshire to leave their houses after an expert warned of a “significant risk” if the dam walls could fail after abnormally heavy rain. A gaping hole appeared in the reservoir after a landslide. Meanwhile, a desperate race against time continued to shore up a crumbling dam and save three villages from being swamped by 150 million gallons of water. Engineering experts described the state of the Ulley Reservoir as ‘critical’ and warned that if more heavy rain falls there may be nothing that can be done to stop its defences collapsing. The cost of flooding damage across much of Britain was expected to run into tens of millions of pounds, with the typical flood-related insurance claim reaching £15,000 to £20,000.

Monsoon rains pummeled western India starting 24 June 2007 after easing in southern states where 144 people have died in three days of heavy downfalls and flash floods. The southern state of Andhra Pradesh was among the worst hit with 38 dead. State officials said the flooding had disrupted road, rail and air traffic, and caused power and telecom failures. In coastal Kerala state, 52 people died in the past four days, the Press Trust of India reported. In neighbouring Karnataka, the death toll stood at 39. In western Maharashtra state, 15 people died in house collapses from powerful storms and lightning strikes, with the heavy rain continuing into Sunday. Mumbai, Maharashtra’s capital and the country’s financial hub, received almost 300 millimetre of rain in the 24 hours up to Sunday morning, causing flooding and traffic jams and raising fears of a repeat of deadly floods two years ago. It must be recalled that more than 400 people had died in Mumbai in 2005 as silted drains were unable to handle a surprise deluge of monsoon rains that flooded the seaside city.

Source: http://news.scotsman.com/ index.cfm?id=997872007

(c) 2007 Agence France-Presse

4000 Households displaced by Western Kenya Floods

Floods across U.K. creates road and rail chaos and leave 3 dead

As of 25 April, some 4,000 households were reportedly displaced due to floods in Busia District in Western Province. The Nzoia River burst its banks and broke a dyke at Swalwanga point near Makunda on the 22 April. Over 4,500 acres of food crops were destroyed and an unknown number of livestock got swept away. Source: Nation Media, East African Standard Villages in Tajikistan ravaged by Floods and Landslides Torrential rains caused the Shirkent river to overflow and triggered several mudslides on 16 and 17 April 2007 in the in the region of Tursunzade, according to the Red Crescent. The rains are reported to have affected 150 families (1000 people) in ten villages of the region, though these numbers could change. Houses and public buildings were reported damaged or destroyed, and access to the affected villages was severed due to the destruction of a key bridge.

Aerial view showing rain water inundated South Yorkshire

Source: IFRC, NBCentral Asia Flash Floods in Thailand The death toll from flash flooding in the southern province of Trang over the Thai New Year rose to 39 by 15 April 2007. Emergency disaster zones were declared around the Sai Roong (Rainbow) and Prai Sawan (Heavenly Forest) waterfalls, where search and rescue operations had to be continued. Most of the victims were reportedly swimming below the falls during the long weekend holiday for the new year Songkran festival.

The rains created a landslide along the canals According to Hazel Mollison , floods claimed the lives of three people in England and played havoc with road and rail links. About 250 people were evacuated from their homes because of fears that a dam could burst.

Source: Reuters

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Floods destroys Isolated Villages in Papua New Guinea

Cyclones

Flooding due to continuous rainfall in mid-April As of 13 April affected the Makambu and Pangembit villages of the East Yangoru area. Floods reportedly destroyed houses, food gardens and livestock, leaving the families without homes, food or potable water. Reports were delayed due to the inaccessibility of the area.

Cyclone Gonu leaves trail of havoc in Muscat

Source:http://home.att.net Flooding displaces Thousands in Namibia Floods displaced about 15,000 people as of 04 April 2007 and the majority of the people lost their source of livelihood including their livestock. The bursting of the banks caused flooding in the Caprivi flood plains. Although the level of the Zambezi River was seen to recede gradually , authorities and humanitarian agencies were concerned about looming food shortages and disease outbreaks following the burst of Zambezi River banks.

Water pours down from the edges of a destroyed road in the aftermath of Cyclone Gonu in Muscat, Oman, on Thursday, the 7th June, which killed at least 32 people in Oman.

Source: IFRC Argentina Floods displace Tens of Thousands

Saturday, Jun 09, 2007: Residents of the city known as the ‘Geneva of the Middle East’ spoke of a night of horror as the cyclone caused floodwaters to tear into homes. Cyclone Gonu romped through the tidy Omani capital before heading north across the Gulf of Oman and hitting Iran. Torrential rains poured onto the bone-dry peaks and then flowed into canyons and dry riverbeds that channeled the raging water directly into the city. Bridges collapsed. Buses were piled in the wadis, the normally dry riverbeds that course through the city. Muscat’s lush palm and eucalyptus groves were blown over along with telephone and power lines. Cyclone Gonu left the coast of Oman and swept into a major oil shipping route toward Iran yesterday, after killing at least 32 people. In Muscat, residents spoke of a night of horror as turgid floodwaters ripped into their homes, carried off refrigerators and cars, and left their streets gouged by sinkholes and caked in shoals of mud. Oman’s weather centre, which has been keeping records since 1890, says Gonu could be the strongest storm to reach Oman’s coast since 1977.

Heavy rainfall caused flooding that killed at least seven people and affected 70,000 in the Argentinean provinces of Entre Rios and Santa Fe by 3 April 2007. More than 31,000 people in Santa Fe and 18,000 in Entre Rios were reportedly living in temporary shelters.

Source: OCHA Floods and Avalanches displaced thousands in Afghanistan and Pakistan In early April, the government of Afghanistan declared humanitarian emergency when 13 of its 34 provinces were ravaged by floods and avalanches, requesting urgent assistance from the international community. Floods also hit the capital, Kabul, causing the Kabul River to burst its banks and displacing some 1,100 families. In the western province of Heart, about 1,700 houses were destroyed and in the eastern province of Kunar, more than 1,100 houses reportedly got damaged. In addition, tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land was damaged in many parts of the country. Hundreds of families lost livestock. Damaged roads, rugged terrain and insecurity impeded the humanitarian response and many flood-affected people have received no assistance yet. In neighboring Pakistan, an avalanche killed at least 23 people in the Hindu Kush Mountains of the Chitral region, where some communities have been cut off for days.

© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com) Cyclone Yemin Killed more than 200 people in Pakistan

Source: IRIN, Reuters ISLAMABAD, 22 July 2005 (IRIN) - A second massive surge of water into the River Indus over recent days has caused extensive damage to houses and fields while passing through the southern belt of Pakistan’s Punjab province. At least 29 people have died, while over 452,000 were reported affected in more than 1,050 villages and small settlements across 14 floodhit districts of Punjab since rivers started swelling in early July, according to a statement by the central Emergency Relief Cell (ERC) in the capital, Islamabad.

Floods in Argentina captured by NASA’s MODIS Argentina, 13 April 2007: Accumulated rainfall in the month of March 20-26 has created floods in Argentina’s Paraná River and its tributaries. When the clouds cleared on April 3, 2007, the MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite captured the main image of the floods in the Santa Fe and Entre Rios states, where the flood damage was worst. Source : www.gisdevelopment.net

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entire villages, according to some reports. Road links across the province have been cut, making both communication and rescue work extremely arduous, witnesses said. The nearby Soorab Dam burst its banks, and water flowing downstream reportedly entered the town of Turbat on the 28 June. Waves of water quickly swamped it. Panic-stricken people in the area took shelter on the roofs of tall buildings, including mosques, and in the hills. Engineering Cyclone Safety of buildings Certain home shapes and roof types can better resist high winds and hurricanes, according to a researcher at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Civil engineer Rima Taher, PhD, special lecturer in the New Jersey School of Architecture at NJIT, spent two years examining the findings of research centers that have studied the best designs and construction materials and methods needed to withstand extreme wind events and hurricanes. “Although I’d like to say that there is a simple and economical solution for housing that won’t fail or collapse in the perfect storm, such information does not yet exist,” said Taher. “Design of Low-Rise Buildings for Extreme Wind Events” (Journal of Architectural Engineering, March, 2007) by Taher highlighted such research findings. Wind researchers at the Center for Building Science and Technology (CSTB) in France, researched and tested reduced-scale home models at its wind tunnel facilities, and developed a prototype of a “cyclonic” or hurricane-resistant dwelling. Taher cooperated with the CSTB wind researchers, working on the structural aspect of the home’s design.

The ferocity of the storm was unprecedented in recent memory.

Source: Newark NJ (SPX) Jun 20, 2007 ACTech Panel System for Hurricane Safety

Some of those who died were electrocuted as power lines fell onto flooded streets.

Melbourne FL (SPX) Jun 20 - ACTech(TM) Panel System is used in the design and production of state of the art buildings in commercial, residential, industrial and modular building applications. Generically known as structural insulated panels (SIPs), Alternative Construction Company says its ACTech Panel System will be compared in a test of hurricane projectile strength against conventional building materials.

“Flood situation is serious in parts of the districts Leyyah and Rajanpur located along River Indus. The same areas were affected by previous surges of floodwater in early July in the district Leyyah, where we are providing emergency relief supplies including both food and nonfood items,” Umair Hasan, coordinating the humanitarian assistance programme of UK-based charity Oxfam said in Islamabad. Around 290 flood relief centres have been established by the district relief authorities in their respective flood-hit areas, where free food and fodder for livestock is being provided to flood-affected people, indicated the latest flood situation report from the Punjab relief cell.

Revels Construction of SW Florida will be conducting the test at a current jobsite in Bradenton. The presentation is also to include a demonstration of the speed and ease of use of the ACTech Panel System and many of the other inherent “efficiency” qualities of the system. Dave Revels, the Founder and co-owner of Revels Construction and a former Manatee County Building Inspector stated, “As far as we are concerned, this is the state of the art in housing technology. We have not found the number of features and benefits found in the ACTech structural insulated panel in any other materials at any cost.” The demonstration will begin at 1PM, June 22 at 4419 37th Street East (2 blocks North from State Road 70 on 37th Street E). To be compliant with hurricane projectile test standards, FEMA requires that an 8 foot, 6 pound “2 X 4” be projected at a structure or construction material at a speed of 34 m.p.h. without penetration. A “wind” cannon will be present to launch the projectiles.

In Punjab, farming communities in areas close to the Indus have been worst hit by floods in southern districts of Leyyah, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Muzzafargarh and Rahim Yar Khan. Rains leave 100,000 homeless in Balochistan QUETTA, 28 June 2007 (IRIN) - Rains triggered by the cyclone that hit coastal areas of Pakistan this week have continued across Balochistan Province in the southwest of the country, home to some eight million of Pakistan’s estimated 150 million people. The unusually heavy rains have created havoc across an area ill-prepared for them, unleashing torrents and floods that have swept away

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The demonstration will compare results of the “2 X 4” projectiles shot at a wood framed (and sheathed) construction method, a block based construction method and the ACTech Panel system. Spectators, builders and builder associations, broadcast and print media and potential home buyers are invited to view the demonstration.

major ash column to a height of up to seven kilometre above the sea level. There was no danger to nearby settlements. Major incandescence was observed at the night time above the volcano summit. Hot volcanic bombs were spewed from the crater every five-ten seconds. The spews height reached 500 metres. Several lava flows heated to 1,000 degrees Celsius were descending on the slopes. “At least three such flows were clearly visible.” Lava is melting the glacier and water and mudflows are coming down the volcano slopes, but they pose no direct danger for the Klyuchi settlement. The volcano roar and explosions could be heard in this settlement. House windows have repeatedly been shaken by massive explosions from the volcano.

Source: http://www.terradaily.com

Storms Fierce storm devastates Australia’s East Coast

Source:http://home.att.net Fortification against Indonesia’s disastrous “mud volcano” A massive concrete dam 15 storeys high would be built around Indonesia’s disastrous “mud volcano” under the latest proposal to stop toxic sludge spewing from its core. Under the plan, the mud building up in the dam would eventually be so heavy that it could act as a counterweight to the sludge trying to emerge from the crater, blocking off the flow. “If this technique is successful, the area will be ready to be rebuilt into a new city. The wall encircling the volcano would be 10 metre thick and 120 metre in diameter. The wall itself would consist of two separate fences of thick steel pipes encased in concrete up to 48 metres high. The dam would also have a machine to extract water from the mud, with the liquid moving down a massive chute for piping to a nearby river. Expected to take eight months to build, the dam would also feature a geology museum and a park, estimated to cost US$5.6 million. The plan comes after engineers spent two months trying to plug the volcano by dropping concrete balls on chains into its yawning crater.

Storm in Australia

Saturday, Jun 09, 2007: Wild weather brought chaos to Australia’s east coast on 8 th June, driving a huge freighter aground in tumultuous seas, sweeping cars into flooded rivers, disrupting flights and cutting power lines. Helicopter rescue pilots braved gale-force winds to airlift 21 crew from the stricken ship as giant waves threatened to beach several other vessels, sparking a series of distress calls as they were dragged closer to the coast.

Source:http://home.att.net/~thehessians/ disasterwatch.html

Fire Forest Fire in Quebec 29 May, 2007: Forest fires reached a critical level in Quebec, especially in the northwest and north-central regions, while forcing more than 1,000 people to flee an eastern reserve. The year 2007 has been worse than usual for forest fires in the province. “To date, we’ve had 280 forest fires since the beginning of the season”, an official said.

Spectators look on as waves batter a coal frieghter during the strom in Australia

Source: (c) 2007 Agence France-Presse (AFP, Sydney)

Volcanoes Volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka of Russia Erupts

Source:http://home.att.net

In the month of May, the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula was seen spewing a

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Remote Sensing in Disaster Management Satellite data free of charge to those affected by disasters Digital Globe and GeoEye, world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery providing firms, have joined forces with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in support of the global team of space and satellite agencies that constitute the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters”. The International Charter works to provide emergency response satellite data free of charge to those affected by disasters anywhere in the world. According to Barbara J. Ryan, USGS’ Associate Director for Geography and current Chair of the International Charter, “The Charter has been activated about 125 times since its inception in November 2000, including here in the United States for Hurricane Katrina in 2005.” Digital Globe and GeoEye’s participation in the Charter will advance its goal of getting imagery for disaster response into the hands of the people who need it. The International Charter currently includes as its members the British National Space Center/Disaster Monitoring Constellation (BNSC/DMC), the French Space Agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the Argentine Space Agency Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the USGS. Each member agency has committed resources to support the provisions of the Charter and, in so doing, is helping to mitigate the effects of disasters worldwide. These resources include imagery collected by a variety of civilian and commercial satellites. This alliance of U.S. commercial satellite imagery providers and the member agencies of the International Charter represent a unique collaboration between governments and industry in the area of space imaging. The USGS will act as the interface between GeoEye and Digital Globe and International Charter operations. “This is a wonderful example of a public-private partnership,” said Ryan, “that benefits thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people worldwide.” For more information visit www.digitalglobe.com and www.geoeye.com Source : http://www.gisdevelopment.net Disaster Management gets a boost with Japan’s space initiatives 13 April 2007: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has outlined its plans to forge a range of initiatives, from disaster warning systems, probes to Mercury, Venus and Jupiter, as well as conducting an aggressive lunar exploration campaign. Kaoru Mamiya, Vice President, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) outlined his country’s long-term space plans, speaking at the 23rd National Space Symposium produced by the Space Foundation. Mamiya detailed recent major accomplishments, such as last year’s launch of the Advanced Land Observing Satellite called “Daichi” (ALOS) meaning Terra. “It is operating smoothly and producing significant amounts of observing data,” he said. Other recent satellite

launches highlighted by Mamiya included a satellite for weather forecasting and air traffic control, Japan’s first infrared imaging satellite, “Akari”, as well as “Hinode” a solar physics spacecraft undertaken cooperatively with the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. A particular focus of JAXA’s initiatives is developing a disaster management support system. Natural Disasters being occurred world over in the form of earthquakes, wild fires, floods, etc Mamiya pointed out, “To tackle this problem for our civilization is to use space technologies”. He continued,” A JAXA initiative in this regard is Sentinel Asia, a rapid response system using satellite data and images”. Sentinel Asia involves 19 nations and 52 establishments to establish a disaster management system that is user-friendly to help combat natural disaster, Mamiya added. Source: www.gisdevelopment.net Indian Satellite CARTOSAT-2 images released Bangalore, 11 April 2007: The images captured by CARTOSAT-2, the 12th satellite of the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite series, were released by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) here on Wednesday.ISRO released panchromatic images captured by the satellite at an altitude of 630 km in sun-synchronous orbit with a spatial resolution of one metre. The satellite has a lifespan of approximately five years. The one-metre spatial resolution has its uses in cartography, disaster management, urban and rural infrastructure planning and monitoring, watershed management and coastal land use monitoring. IRS data has already been applied in land-use mapping, agroclimatic zones planning and crop acreage and production estimation. “These satellite images will be far more affordable for domestic users than those bought from the United States, which are priced at $20 for one sq km,” said K. Radhakrishnan, Director, National Remote Sensing Agency. He added, “CARTOSAT -2 in the next three years is bound to become one of the key players in the international market worth $120 million, for remote sensing data products”. Source: www.gisdevelopment.net Improved Emergency Response in India through Intergraph’s Incident Command and Control System The implementation of the Intergraph system was announced by the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Mr. R. R. Patil along with the Commissioner of Police A. N. Roy, at the modernized Police Main Control Room in Mumbai. Intergraph’s Command and Control System serves as the foundational technology for the security systems of high-value assets and critical infrastructure in the public safety, government and transportation industries. As the core technology for these security systems, Intergraph’s software captures, analyzes, organizes, and shares intelligent information to provide a common operational picture to the intelligence and first-responder communities to more effectively prevent and respond to critical incidents.

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Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has published satellite images which shows that the commonly-held belief that river waters would disperse before reaching the reef was not always true. While under normal circumstances the force of the flow leaving estuaries is insufficient to carry sediment more than 15km out to sea, in extreme conditions the polluted waters can hit both the inner and outer reefs while sediment is still at high concentrations.

The Command and Control System, as implemented by Intergraph’s Indian distributor, Rolta India Limited, provides Mumbai Police force with the ability to quickly identify the location of a fixed line used to Dial 100 emergency call, on a map of Mumbai city. The system also provides detailed information of any emergency event. While the emergency call details are being registered, operators can also quickly locate the nearest police patrol vehicle to the reported incident site with help of this location-aware technology.

The CSIRO used images from NASA satellites to build up a picture of what was happening during these extreme events which may have gone unnoticed abo ve the surface but could hav e lasting consequences for coastal waters.

The solution helps Police Control Room officials to immediately alert the closest patrol teams in the field to improve reaction time to any emergency incident and further better its services to the public.

According to the organisation’s Arnold Dekker, extreme coastal events have been captured by remote sensing before, this is the first time they can be seen and analysed straight after the event as there are now more satellites imaging the Earth and CSIRO has invested in fast information delivery systems. “A re-think is needed now that we know where flood plumes go and what this means as organic micropollutants may be travelling to parts of the reef scientists hadn’t thought to look before.”

“Intergraph’s Incident Command and Control System implemented by Rolta for Mumbai Police is the first project of its kind in this rapidly developing country,” said Halsey Wise, Intergraph President and CEO. “Mumbai Police joins public safety agencies in more than 24 countries that use Intergraph’s geospatially-enabled public safety software solutions to rapidly detect and respond to critical incidents. Through our long-standing partnership with Rolta India Ltd., our India distributor, and with our 15-year history of developing software in Hyderabad, Intergraph looks to expand our public safety implementations throughout India, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing economies.”

South America to benefit from GOES coverage to limit effects of natural disasters South America, 17 April 2007: NOAA is planning to re-position its GOES – 10 spacecraft, a move designed to lessen the effects of natural disasters in the region thereby helping South Americans to escape from natural disasters. The satellite’s successful shift from a position above the equator in the West, to a new spot in orbit, was recently announced.

Source: www.gisdevelopment.net 4,800 Survey of India maps to be released into public domain India’s National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) mission promises to change the way citizens look at their world. At the core of this dream are plans to forge digital links and construct information highways that place data secreted in official vaults, and as diverse as street maps, forest areas, tax collection and hospitals, within the reach of a PC. The NSDI scheme aims to use GIS to meld satellite imagery and good old toposheets with data on water resources, flooding, rainfall, crop patterns, civic layouts to produce 3-D digital maps. GIS enables the user and it can be anyone with a PC to fuse several layers of data to a base map of the region and then analyse the information. NSDI will, once ready, act as an online database to maintain such data layers and base maps in an easily retrievable form.

“Re-positioning GOES-10 provides a constant vigil over atmospheric conditions that trigger severe weather, and I am pleased that the United States can strengthen the quality and quantity of data available to our Latin American partners,” said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. Shifting GOES-10 to a new orbit is part of the emerging GEOSS in the Americas, a Western Hemisphere initiative designed to advance the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS. Through this endeavor NOAA is exploring partnerships with countries and scientific organizations in Americas and Caribbean to share Earth observations and develop and strengthen data networks.

But like many plans, the GIS scheme faced bureaucratic firewalls. It languished for more than two years with various departments reluctant to share data and the Ministry of Defence taking its time to clear 4,800 Survey of India maps. Without the maps, the project wasn’t going anywhere.

In the Western Hemisphere, nine countries are working with global partners to build GEOSS, including Argentina, Brazil, Belize, Canada, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay and the United States. More countries are expected to begin participating later this year. The goal of the integrated GEOSS system is to provide comprehensive, coordinated and sustained Earth observations from thousands of instruments worldwide, transforming the data they collect into a range of societal benefits spanning global public health, energy, agriculture and weather and climate, among others.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com Satellite images show river pollution threatening Great Barrier Reef Pesticide-rich plumes of sediment spewed out of Australian river mouths have been shown to reach the Great Barrier Reef, threatening to damage the coral and other sealife which make up the natural wonder.Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and

Source: www.gisdevelopment.net

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Training Programme on Geomatics in Disaster Management The resonance between the power of Geomatics and science of disaster management alone can bring about the much needed innovation and transformation leading to the culture of disaster safety. This is the central message of a three day training programme organized jointly by the Centre for Disaster Mitigation and Management at the Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore and the Centre for Remote Sensing at the Bharathidasan University. The training programme was inaugurated by Professor NVC Menon, member National Disaster Management Authority of the Government of India, today. The participants from Department of Science and Technology, Bharathidasan University, Border Roads Organization, Structural Engineering Research Centre, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Defence Terrain Research Laboratory, National Institute of Disaster Management , Central Building Research Institute , and many others deliberated on this subject with the main objective of harnessing the potential of Geomatics in problem solving. Professor Menon was of the view that the knowledge institutions should dare to challenge established practices because of the access to the new knowledge and power of Geomatics. Chancellor of VIT University, G.Viswanathan said that we have a breed of disaster managers who know little about Geomatics. We also have a large number of specialists in Geomatics who do not know much about natural disasters. Such training programmes will go a long way in correcting this situation. Dr R.K.Bhandari concluded by underscoring the challenge that lies in finding reliable and cost-effective solutions of practical problems in disaster management using the flood of new knowledge and emerging technologies.

Partcipants of the training programme on Geomatics in Disaster Management, 18-20 June 2007

A Geomatics Specialist and a Disaster Manager trapped in the ring of Computers is like water everywhere and not a drop to drink !

Release of Knowledge Products

Auto Certification Test Series (ACTS) CD-ROM on ‘Learn to Live with Lightning’ was produced by the Centre for Disaster Mitigation and Management at the VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the fourth CD-ROM released under the Self Education Series Programme of the Centre. Details can be found at www.vitcdmm.org

Professor NVC Menon, Member of the National Disaster Management Authority of the Government of India released a CD-ROM on ‘Learn to Live with Lightning’. It was received by Chancellor Shri G. Viswanathan of the VIT University while Pro-Chancellors Sankar Viswanathan and GV Sampath also graced the occasion

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Indian National Guidelines on Disaster Management Released

A useful tip for your personal safety in an Emergency

The National Disaster Management Authority of the Government of India have recently released National Disaster Management Guidelines on (1) Management of Earthquake Disasters (2) Management of Chemical Disasters. The details can be found at the NDMA website, www.ndma.gov.in

Your mobile phone can save your life.Ususally for a rescuer, your mobile phone is of little use because it will be very difficult for any one to find who one should call out of a mass of telephone numbers saved in your mobile. The simple way out is to adopt a consistent approach of storing numbers for emergency call under under the name ICE (In Case of Emergency) .The idea was thought up by a paramedic, who found that when they went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they did not know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. Following a disaster in London, the East Anglican Ambulance Service has launched a national ‘In case of Emergency (ICE) campaign.

Chemical Disasters

In an emergency situation, emergency service personnel and hospital staff would then be able to quickly contact your next of kin, by simply dialing the number stored as “ICE”. It really could save your life, or put a loved one’s mind at rest. For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. Earthquake Disasters making the implementation of earthquake-resistant building codes and the new techno-legal regime mandatory; especially for all new constructions in the high risk earthquake zones. It is to be regarded as the first landmark effort in the thousand-mile-long journey. We quickly need to add similar guidelines for dealing with highly vulnerable, huge stock of old constructions, many of which may collapse even before the next earthquake.

A Step forward in a Long Journey Earthquake Saftey of Buildings

To begin with, all the Ministries of the Central and State governments should ensure that public buildings under their care are earthquake safe. Planning Commission should review all major sanctioned projects already under implementation, and if necessary, provide additional funding to ensure that we do not add to the stock of unsafe constructions any more. We also need public education and a breed of highly trained and honest professionals in large numbers who are well versed with the provisions of the various design codes as well as with the modern construction materials and technologies to ensure that the building design in the drawing is actually delivered on the ground. Since the volume of constructions in the private sector far exceeds that in the public sector, need for pro-actively engaging the private sector is obvious. Non-engineered additions and alterations, especially by the owners of the residential buildings, must also end. One last thing which can make all the difference- those who are given the authority to certify safety of new constructions must not only know their jobs well but should also be incorruptible. Let us begin to search for such people so that our end-objective does not elude us.

My fee will depend on what do you need- my professional opinion, my personal opinion or my honest opinion?

The National Disaster Management Authority of the Government of India is to be complimented for releasing National Guidelines on Earthquake Management and for

R.K.Bhandari, [email protected]

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Readers Views on the Inaugural eNewsletter •

Congratulations to the Chief Editor and production team for the first issue of eNewsletter. Very well brought out, rich in contents with a good presentation format. From the second issue onwards we should have News, Views, Reviews and over-view of developments in the sector within the country, and global snapshots. Could consider anchor correspondents from different parts of the country and abroad who could feed in stories. Would be happy to extend my supportive inputs.Mr. V. Suresh, Specialist in Housing and Urban Development & Former CMD,HUDCO, New Delhi, India

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This is a very timely initiative and should be continued. Experience sharing is the key to shorten learning curves and the forum enables this. Er Anuj Sinha, Scientist G and Head Science Communication Division, Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India

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Its fine, educative but I hope the target audience is going to increase to create more impact as hazards are big problem to livelihood of many communities. Dr. Aribo Lawrence , Meteorologist (GIS and RS specialist)/Researcher, Uganda

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It is very useful & needed. Suggest structure it into defined parts (some always there, some change), plus Departments, Themes, Events, Country News, Publications … etc. Dr. Mohamad Khawlie, Chief Researcher, Lebanon

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We have received and gone through the contents of your magazine “eNewsletter”. The information contained therein, it is believed would be useful for readers. Hopefully, your efforts would also help inculcate amongst general public a better sense on disaster management. Mr. Zia-ul-Islam, Director (EIA/Mont.), Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, Islamabad, Pakistan

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Really educative Ms. Vedavathy, President, Herbal Folklore Research Centre, Tirupati, India

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This first newsletter is only an introductory one and in future issues we look forward to specific articles and news in relation to Disaster Management. in India as well as notes on best practices and other information from other countries Dr Ahana Lakshmi, Programme Advisor, TRINet: Tsunami Rehab Information Network, India

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It is difficult to comment on the first newsletter but will comment easily on the subsequent newsletters. I guess we had a lot of pictures than the actual content of what is happening around the world. Mr. Gloria Seitei, Senior communications Officer, Botswana Technology Centre, Botswana

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Being the first issue, teething problem are expected such as too much information, the red colour at the top of the front page, though meant to accentuate disaster, it can also be a bit repulsive. Mr. Melckzedeck Osore, Research coordinator, Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association, Zanzibar, Tanzania

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Not particularly useful. More like a description of the round table than a sustainable venture. However I am all more awareness and network creation so wish good luck Mr. Muralee Thummarukudy, Operations Manager, UNEP, Post Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, Geneva, Switzerland

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Newsletter should not be summary of one event. In this issue the topic covered is the workshop and details of it, which are all important, but it should go beyond that. Mr. G. Padmanabhan, Emergency Analyst, UNDP, New Delhi Comment from the Chief Editor: Please note that the first issue of the Newsletter was a special number exclusively devoted to an event which gave birth to the very idea of initiating the Newsletter.

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