Natural Hazards Observer

January 2007

Volume XXXI | Number 3

Scientists Creating Coastal Relief Models to Aid Tsunami Forecasting

A team of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Geophysical Data Center and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) is creating high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) to support tsunami warning systems and improve coastal flood forecasting. Considered a key step in NOAA’s effort to prepare U.S. coastal communities for tsunami and storm-driven flooding, the DEMs are constructed from near-shore seafloor depth and land elevation data to create detailed models of coastal relief.

The NOAA/CIRES research team has already created DEMs for several key coastal communities on the east and west coasts, as well as in Alaska and Puerto Rico. They expect to complete more than 100 DEMs for other communities in the coming years. Once a DEM is finished, it is delivered to the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington, where it is incorporated into tsunami model scenarios that simulate offshore earthquakes, the resulting tsunami movement across the ocean, and the location and magnitude of resultant coastal flooding. Ultimately, NOAA’s Tsunami Warning Centers will use these simulations to issue flood forecasts resulting from an earthquake-generated tsunami. The coastal DEMs will also be useful for predicting storm surge damage from hurricanes and other natural events.
Completed DEMs, accompanying graphics, and more information about their development and use are available from the NOAA Web site, www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/inundation/.

2006 Hazards Workshop Abstracts and Summaries Available Online

In July 2006, hazards researchers and professionals, including federal, state, and local government officials; representatives from nonprofit organizations and private industry; scholars; and other interested individuals, convened in Boulder, Colorado, for the Natural Hazards Center’s 31st Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop. Participants debated, explored, and shared information on a wide range of issues.

To share some of the ideas and discussions presented during the workshop, the Center publishes brief summaries of all sessions, abstracts of the research presented, and descriptions of the projects and programs discussed. Intended as a resource for those who were unable to attend, as well as for those who were, these session summaries, abstracts, and other workshop materials are available online at www.colorado.edu/hazards/workshop/archives/2006/.

DRC Offers Summer Research Institute for Undergraduates

The Disaster Research Center (DRC) at the University of Delaware is again offering its Summer Research Institute to provide undergraduate students hands-on training in social science disaster research. The DRC selects ten students from various social science disciplines to participate in the nine-week program. Participants are awarded all transportation and lodging expenses as well as a stipend for the summer.

Students who will be entering their junior or senior year in the fall of 2007 are invited to apply, and applications from students who are under-represented in graduate schools (minority students, women, students from poorer regions of the country, and students from institutions with limited graduate programs) are especially encouraged. The application deadline is February 1, 2007, and students will be notified of acceptance by March 1, 2007. Program details, guidelines, and application materials can be found online at www.udel.edu/DRC/REU/. The program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Call for Papers: Annual Hazards and Disasters Student Paper Competition

The Natural Hazards Center is pleased to announce its fourth annual Hazards and Disasters Student Paper Competition. Papers may present current research, literature reviews, theoretical arguments, or case studies. Paper topics may include, but are not limited to, floods/floodplain management, Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes, climate change, warning systems, hazard mitigation, emergency management, vulnerability, or other topics relevant to the social/behavioral aspects of hazards and disasters. Papers will be judged on their originality, organization, and demonstrated knowledge of the topic. One undergraduate and one graduate winner each will receive $100; mention in the Natural Hazards Observer; publication on the Natural Hazards Center Web site; and an invitation to the Annual Hazards Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, registration fees included. The deadline for submissions is March 16, 2007. Additional information is available online at www.colorado.edu/hazards/awards/paper-competition.html.

Posting Tributes to Gilbert F. White

Before his passing, the renowned geographer and Natural Hazards Center founder Gilbert White requested that any memorial service on his behalf be conducted in the manner of a Quaker meeting—that it begin with quiet contemplation and continue with reflections from anyone moved to speak. In that spirit, the University of Colorado has established a page as part of the Gilbert F. White Web site (www.colorado.edu/hazards/gfw/tributes.html) on which friends and colleagues can post tributes, anecdotes, and memories of Gilbert. Anyone wanting to add a comment or story should send an e-mail to gfwmem@colorado.edu.

Farewell Christa!

Christa Rabenold, the Natural Hazards Observer editor, left the Center in early November to pursue work with AMEC Earth and Environmental assisting local governments to develop hazard mitigation plans. During her time at the Center, Christa published 16 Observers, endless Disaster Research e-newsletters, and oversaw the first major overhaul of the Observer’s look and organization in nearly a decade. Her dedication and attention to detail brought a new standand of excellence to the Center’s publications and projects that we will strive to uphold in her absence.

She will be missed as an integral part of the Center’s staff, but we are excited that she will still be a part of the hazards and disasters community. We wish her well and look forward to working with her in her new role in the future.

Learning from Catastrophe: Quick Response Research in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina

Center Special Publication #40 Now Available

Now available from the Natural Hazards Center is Special Publication #40, Learning from Catastrophe: Quick Response Research in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina. A peer-reviewed edited volume, Learning from Catastrophe is a collection of 18 chapters from 39 researchers who conducted social science research during or immediately after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005. At that time research teams were deployed under the Center’s own Quick Response program, the National Science Foundation’s Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) effort, or through support of other various academic institutions.

Much of disaster research must by necessity be carried out in the aftermath of major events and it is therefore essential that each opportunity to be seized so that the appropriate lessons can be learned. The devastation and social and institutional failures wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, unfortunately, provided ample fodder for quick response research. Quick response studies are also important because they frequently identify research questions for future, longer-term research. Disasters inevitably bring surprises, and quite often those surprises turn into researchable topics.

Because of the multiple severe impacts and the utter devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, rapid response field work was especially challenging—perhaps more so than in any recent U.S. disaster. Field workers witnessed catastrophe and its depredations first hand and are now bringing the human story of Katrina and its research and policy implications to a wider audience through the publication of this edited volume.

Special Publication #40 is available from the Natural Hazards Center for $25, plus shipping. There is a 10% discount for purchases of 10 or more copies. To order a copy, contact Diane Smith, (303) 492-6818; diane.smith@colorado.edu. Visit www.colorado.edu/hazards/publications/katrina.html for more information.

START Launches Research Brief Series

START—the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism—is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence based at the University of Maryland. It is dedicated to using state-of-the-art theories, methods, and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve understanding of the origins, dynamics, and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. The consortium announced in November the launch of a new online publication series, “START Research Briefs,” which present interim findings from ongoing START research projects. New entries in this series will be added on a regular basis.

The first publications address the following topics:

Efficacy of counterterrorism approaches
Public school preparedness for disasters
Public risk communication
Predictors of support for anti-Western terrorism

The fulltext of each brief can be downloaded from the publications section of the START Web site: www.start.umd.edu/publications/research_briefs/.

Call for Abstracts

The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), together with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP), is requesting submissions for the annual scholarship award in planning and natural hazards. Papers can address topics such as:

Land use or other types of planning that incorporate natural hazards
Strategies for minimizing hazards impacts through community, regional, or state planning and related mandates/laws
Hazard mitigation planning and implementation
Disaster resilient communities
Economic recovery/business continuity

Resources and materials are available from IBHS at www.ibhs.org/land_use_planning/ to help stimulate thinking about these topics. Undergraduate and graduate student papers are eligible. Please see www.acsp.org/awards/awards.html for abstract submission procedures and deadlines. Abstracts must be submitted to ACSP between January 10 and February 21, 2007. Interested individuals should contact Diana McClure at IBHS, dmcclure@ibhs.org for more information.

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