Introduction and Overview

Japan Field Study Workshop Outcomes - Keiko Tamura



Overview: U.S. Disaster Management Policy Trends-9/11, Katrina, Sandy - Kenneth Topping

Emerging Researcher Perspectives - What Science Suggests about Recent Catastrophic Disaster Resilience and Recovery Lessons

Nursing Home Vulnerability in Hurricane Irene - Samantha Penta

In August of 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall on the eastern coast of the United States, triggering the evacuation of one Delaware nursing home.  As a result, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services Division of Long Term Care Residents Protection sponsored a study to examine the challenges congregate care facilities face regarding disaster preparedness, emergency evacuation, and sheltering.  Data from interviews and focus groups conducted with administrators and senior level personnel from 17 skilled facilities in Delaware were combined with information garnered from an emergency preparedness workshop for long-term care facilities and informal conversations with officials in DLTCRP to understand experiences during Hurricane Irene and preparedness activity more generally. While nursing home personnel all supported a basic minimum level of preparedness, the degree to which facilities engaged in more extensive preparedness activity varied across the sample.  In this industry, experience is highly valued, and thus takes a privileged position in risk assessments, which are based on routine and familiar events, and are rooted in mostly benign experiences.  The exception was Hurricane Katrina, which seemed to reinforce existing ideas related to emergency activity.  All of this works to create a condition of pretend or imagined preparedness, in which personnel diminish the likelihood of facing a disaster event, and believe they are more prepared for a disaster than they may actually be.  The groundwork for this pretend preparedness is laid in the recovery from the previous disaster.



Minority Impacts from Hurricane Ike - Shannon Van Zandt



Large-Scale Disasters and Federal Recovery Policy - John Marshall

Delay in implementing long-term housing rehabilitation and rebuilding programs following urban disasters profoundly disrupts a city’s and a region’s recovery.  John Marshall, an Assistant Professor of Law at Georgia State University talked to the workshop participants about his research on regulatory reform in the area of disaster recovery.  Based on experience with recent large-scale urban disasters, Marshall noted that some place part of the blame for a slow urban recovery on an environmental review process ill-suited for the exigencies of disasters in urban settings.  Drawing on lessons and stories from the Katrina and Rita long-term recoveries and recent stories emerging from New York and New Jersey regarding the beginnings of the post-Sandy recovery, Marshall urged that it is important to take a close look at the role the environmental review requirement is playing in how quickly urban recovery unfolds.  He added that it is critical that we help local, state and federal officials find more effective ways to advance urban disaster recovery -- as quickly as possible -- while not compromising key environmental and historic resource protection objectives.



Population Vulnerability to Tsunami Hazards on the U.S. West Coast - Nathan Wood

Emerging Practitioner Perspectives - Innovative Initiatives Promoting Catastrophic Disaster Resilience and Adaptation Capabilities

California Geological Survey-Probabilistic Tsunami Modeling and Public Policy - Rick Wilson



Rapid Understanding of Earthquake Impacts: The California Earthquake Clearinghouse - Maggie Ortiz

The California Clearinghouse is a consortium that facilitates coordination of post-earthquake field investigations and shares observations and knowledge among the scientific, engineering and emergency response communities after a damaging California earthquake. Since the Clearinghouse was established in 1972, there have been more than 10 Clearinghouse activations. The last major clearinghouse activation was after the Northridge earthquake in 1994. Since that time, technology has advanced greatly. The static map and pins has been upgraded to a dynamic GIS map with markers, geospatial overlays, and zoom capabilities. The Clearinghouse is exploring new technologies and data-sharing methods that would provide emergency managers with trusted observations from the scientific and engineering community after an earthquake. New technology presents its own challenges, but through exercises, the Clearinghouse is working to ore quickly inform emergency responders which can speed up the recovery process and improve the resilience in California.



Flood Recovery in Cedar Rapids, IA - Christine Butterfield

On June 13, 2008, the Cedar River crested at 31 feet in Iowa's second largest city -Cedar Rapids. Community leaders responded quickly and collaboratively and public safety professionals evacuated tenants and property owners from 1,400 city blocks prior to the floods crest. With the contributions of more than 2,500 residents and business owners, city staff, technical experts and state and federal officials, the community designed a plan for flood protection within 5 months. On November 12, 2008, the City Council approved the River Corridor Redevelopment Plan. Today, the City has acquired over 1,300 properties for construction of flood protection, floodway, infrastructure improvements and new housing production. Public endorsement of the plans allowed policy makers to focus on service delivery and problem solving to address recovery needs and projects rather than being tied up in emotional charged discussions regarding what needed to be done.  Cedar Rapids agreed on the "what" of recovery.  The plans provide the community the ability to focus on the "how."

Afternoon Presentations

Recovery Issues in Taiwan: Chi Chi Earthquake and Morokot Typhoon - Key Themes for October Field Study Workshop - L-C. Chen, W. Li