Unprecedented flooding and severe weather impacted the Hawaiian Islands in March and April. PDC provided intensive support to emergency managers and officials statewide.

In the last issue. . .

What's New

Coming Soon: World Hazard Briefs

In the midst of recent hazard events—including a severe earthquake and volcanic activity on the Indonesian island of Java, and an earthquake offshore of Tonga that triggered tsunami alerts throughout the region—PDC has been providing emergency managers with a daily "World Hazard Briefs" information service. These products will soon be made available to the public on PDC's web site. (Image: AP)

International Highlights

Technical Assistance: National Disaster Warning Center, Thailand
As part of a technical assistance project to support the National Disaster Warning Center, Thailand, the PDC completed two deliverables this quarter—a Concept of Operations report and an Information and Communication Technology Gap Analysis. Both documents were completed following workshops that were held with key stakeholders in Bangkok. See ongoing project updates.

Supporting Tsunami Early Warning Efforts in the Indian Ocean 
As part of a recent United Nations-sponsored workshop to support early warning efforts in the Indian Ocean, PDC presented crucial "lessons learned" from its eight years of work in the Pacific Islands, including "best practices" on tsunami early warning.

Earthquakes and Megacities Project: Metro Manila Fieldwork
As part of a collaborative project between PDC and the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative to promote sustainable development through disaster risk reduction in complex "megacities" worldwide, both organizations conducted intensive fieldwork in the Metro Manila area of the Philippines this past quarter. Activities included facilitating a training session for over 100 local and national officials on the "Metro Manila Map Viewer" Risk Communications Tool.

Hawaii Support

The Center provided intensive support for this year's "Makani Pahili" annual State Hurricane Exercise—including facilitating trainings on exercise support products for over 100 county, state, and federal officials.

Hawaii Community Outreach

As part of an ongoing commitment to Hawaii, the PDC continues to support educational and outreach opportunities for local schools, professional organizations, and the public. Recent activities have included educating local school children about high-tech career opportunities and supporting community-based disaster preparedness efforts on the Island of Maui.

Of Note . . .

Recent media coverage has included reporting by Voice of America that conveys PDC's perspective on tsunami early warning issues, as well as additional articles about Center's support to emergency managers during the 2006 Hawaii floods.