[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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