Natural Hazards Observer
| November 2004 | Volume XXIX | Number 2 |
New QR Report from Hazards Center and MCEER
A new Hazards Center Quick Response (QR) report features damage survey data gathered using satellite imagery by Beverly J. Adams and other researchers from the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) in the wake of Hurricane Charley. Charley represents the first category 4 hurricane for which both before and after satellite imagery is available from very high-resolution systems, offering the opportunity to investigate the use of remote sensing for postdisaster urban damage assessment and response activities.
In order to validate building damage characteristics identified on the satellite imagery, corresponding ground-based observations were required. Two field reconnaissance trips were conducted to collect perishable damage data using the VIEWS (Visualizing Impacts of Earthquakes with Satellites) system. It is envisioned that the data collected will ultimately form the basis of research activities extending the application of postdisaster damage assessment methodologies and algorithms developed for earthquakes to multiple hazards and improving the effectiveness of disaster response.
This QR report is available free online at http://mceer.buffalo.edu/research/Charley/Charley-screen.pdf. Other Hazards Center QR reports and information about the Quick Response program can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/qr/.
2004 Workshop Summaries and Abstracts Now Available Online
In July 2004, hazards researchers and professionals, including federal, state, and local government officials; representatives from nonprofit organizations and private industry; and other interested individuals, convened in Boulder, Colorado, for the Hazard Center’s 29th Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop. As is typical for the workshop, participants debated, explored, and shared information on a wide range of issues. This year’s session topics included the National Response Plan, community-based hazards management, the Project Impact spirit, risk communication, land use planning, benefits and costs of mitigation, remote sensing and GIS, public health, the National Flood Insurance Program, and the legal aspects of hazards and disasters. Plenary sessions addressed hazards and disasters in a homeland security environment, the 2003 California wildfires, and the social impacts of the Bam earthquake and the implications for community recovery.
To share the ideas and discussions presented during the workshop, the Center publishes brief summaries of each session, abstracts of the research presented, and descriptions of the projects and programs discussed. This is a valuable resource for those who were unable to attend, as well as for those who were. Session summaries and abstracts are available online at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/workshop/2004/.
. . . And the Winners Are
The Hazards Center is pleased to announce the winners of our inaugural Hazards and Disasters Student Paper Competition. First place papers were awarded in both graduate and undergraduate categories. Entrants represented a variety of disciplines related to natural, human-caused, and technological hazards and disasters.
The undergraduate award went to Tristan Emery of Purdue University for a paper about the open flow of disaster- and hazards-related information. Walker Ashley of the University of Georgia took home the graduate award for a paper on derecho hazards in the United States. Copies of these winning papers are available online at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/specialprojects.html.