Volume 4, Issue 3

October 2009

PDC Highlights

“Disaster Week” on the ground in Manila: PDC dispatched Senior Geospatial Information Analyst Todd Bosse to Manila on September 30 to work with the U.N. Disaster Assessment and Coordination team (MapAction and other NGOs), responding to the severe flooding in the Philippines. He remained there until October 10, assisting with the development of maps and imagery products displaying hazard and impact data in easily understood forms. He also helped to coordinate the efforts in Manila with remote work underway at PDC Maui and elsewhere.

PDC Responds to Typhoons, Earthquakes and Tsunami in Pacific—“Disaster Week”

The brief period including the last days of September and the beginning of October was an incredibly active time for Pacific disasters—two tsunamis, one of them deadly, several major earthquakes, and many typhoons, several of them ranking in the “record-breaking” category in one or more ways. Therefore, PDC was busy providing support for response activities, helping protect populations, infrastructure and economies. Busy doing what? When disasters strike, PDC often assists by providing imagery (pre- and post-disaster images for example) and maps (such as maps of at-risk, impacted or potentially impacted populations and infrastructure). The Center’s web-based disaster management and decision support tools are updated constantly during hazards, too. For more information on some of these activities, read the PDC web articles published during this brief period. Once the stories are no longer headlined on the home page at PDC.org, they are archived.

Experts Gather at PDC to Launch New International Program

PDC has been engaged with experts—including Dr. Nguyen Huu Ninh of Vietnam—for more than a year and a half to develop plans and partnerships to take action with regard to the shifting risks associated with climate change and variability. The new International Advisory Panel met October 13, then hosted a two-day Workshop on Climate Variability and Water: Shifting Risks for Agriculture and Energy.

PDC Assists the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Pacific Disaster Center is currently engaged in finalizing an information and communication technology gap analysis for the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) Centre. The project is funded by USAID’s ADVANCE program as part of the U.S.-ASEAN Cooperation. This is just the most recent PDC project undertaken on behalf of the ten-nation organization. In 2005, PDC completed an Information & Communication Technology Assessment for the Disaster Information Sharing and Communication Network (ASEAN DISCNet), an effort that continues to evolve. In 2008, PDC developed and presented Disaster Assessment and Needs Analysis (DANA) training for ASEAN.

PDC Updates Representation of “Swine Flu” in Global Atlas

In the early weeks and months of the spread of Influenza A (H1N1), also called “Swine Flu,” PDC added a layer to its Global Atlas of Natural Hazards and Vulnerabilities. At that time, the Centers for Disease Control and others were reporting suspect cases, confirmed cases and deaths as actual numbers, and the Atlas displayed those numbers. As the numbers grew, and H1N1 became a worldwide pandemic, reporting methods were updated. With the counts no longer available, PDC’s Atlas now reflects affected geographical areas.

PDC Supports Maui Keiki (Kids) and Students

There are frequently interns working at PDC, often placed through a Maui Community College program. These are young professionals, just starting their tech careers, but PDC also supports much younger Mauians. The Center frequently hosts and often makes presentations to groups of youngsters at various grade levels. Youthful Mauians with high tech dreams who have spent time with PDC pros include Boy Scout groups, a First Lego League robotics team, Excite Campers, middle-school students on Career Day outings and many others.