[ESIP-all] ESIP Disaster Response cluster
Joan Aron
joanaron at ymail.com
Mon Feb 3 17:11:21 EST 2014
The list distributed is all about an event (predicting, detecting, warning and response after the fact).
Disaster Prediction
Disaster Detection
Disaster Warning
Disaster Response
Something is missing: Disaster Risk Reduction is the concept for the U.N. agencies.
"The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction is now the world's foremost gathering of stakeholders committed to reducing disaster risk and building the resilience of communities and nations."
- Joan Aron
--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 2/3/14, Joe Hourcle <oneiros at grace.nascom.nasa.gov> wrote:
Subject: Re: [ESIP-all] ESIP Disaster Response cluster
To: "Eric Kihn" <eric.a.kihn at noaa.gov>
Cc: esip-all at lists.esipfed.org
Date: Monday, February 3, 2014, 3:53 PM
On Feb 3, 2014, at 1:51 PM, Eric Kihn wrote:
> All,
>
> Just to add a little to the conversation.
>
> http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2013/12/10/Scientist-Near-miss-solar-storm-should-be-a-wake-up-call/UPI-60331386713722/
>
> Dan Baker claims we had a "near" miss last year that
would have been
> larger than Carrington.
I'm not going to deny that should a big one hit us, it'd be
really, really bad ... but there's completely different
information needed for *prediction* vs. *response*.
For instance, for prediction:
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/
http://solarmonitor.org/
http://helioviewer.org/
But for *response* ... you'd need to be able to answer
questions like 'how many years is the backlog for a
replacement transformer for my power substation?' or 'when
and where are the satellites likely going to fall?' or even
as simple as 'what areas don't have power?' or 'when can we
use GPS again?'.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110302-solar-flares-sun-storms-earth-danger-carrington-event-science/
http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/21jan_severespaceweather/
Most of the issues are similar to areas that have been hit
by earthquakes, hurricane Katrina, tsunamis or the 2003
blackouts ... but on a wider scale (possibly the whole
Earth), with the possibility of no communications satellites
or GPS (and GPS is slated to be used for air traffic
control). So even if someone had spare parts for
fixing blown transformers (very unlikely, as they'll all
fail the same way), you might not be able to communicate
with anyone to find out, or transport it once you find it.
That's not to say that there aren't some systems that are
detection ... bridging between prediction and response (eg,
a satellite at L1 just detected something) ... but depending
on what it is and how fast it's moving, they might not have
a chance to sound an alert. (and if they did, it might
not be sufficient time for satellites near earth to be
maneuvered to protect themselves)
A year or two ago, I remember reading an article on Japan's
disaster response system (or maybe I saw it on the news ...
I tend to watch MHz WorldView) ... it was fed by seismic and
marine data, and it could be used to judge how severe the
damage was in various areas, correlated against population
densities and info about how well reinforced structures were
in that area, so they could determine what level of response
was needed and where. I'm not having luck finding it,
though (most websites talk about the 2011 earthquake).
I found something from the JMA on an update last year on
their warning systems:
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Emergency_Warning/ew_index.html
...
So anyway, my point is that you should clarify what the
bounds of the group are:
Disaster Prediction
Disaster Detection
Disaster Warning
Disaster Response
... some response stuff is fairly universal (what areas were
affected, where are the people most in need of help, what
areas are too hazardous for responders, where are groups
deployed to help, what resources are available / needed /
deployed, what groups are participating in responding, etc.)
... but some of the specifics may not be. (eg, for
Katrina, they got industrial pumps from Germany ... but you
may not know what specialty equipment needs to be tracked in
advance of the disaster ... or that some specialty equipment
even exists)
-Joe
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