September 29, 1997 Panel Discussion

LIVE CHAT SUMMARY
Monday - September 29, 1997 - 12:00 Noon (EDT)

The EIIP Virtual Forum presented its second online live dialogue event on Monday, September 29, 1997, 12:00 Noon (EDT) with the following as the monthly Feature Topic:

Communicating in the extreme was discussed by in an online session hosted by the all-new EIIP Virtual Forum (http://www.emforum.org). The September dialogue speakers were:

• Dr. Herbert Lin, NRC
• Dr. Peter Ward, USGS
• Lois Clark McCoy, NI/USR
• Dr. Russell Coile, NCCEM

The one-hour dialogue was a moderated session with a moderator for the speakers and one for the audience. The audience viewed the discussion of the panelists until the floor was open for interaction between the speakers and the audience. Questions and comments from the audience went to the moderator who forwarded to the panelists as appropriate.

The Panelists’ Discussion:

A first round of questions addressed what is meant by "communicating in the extreme" and the special problems presented in disaster situations: high volume, time critical, multiple connectivity. Purposes identified included getting the right information to the right people at the right time, in a situation where there most likely is no telephone and no electricity.

Unmet needs include robust systems, interoperability, alternate power sources. Dr. Coile described California's OASIS satellite communication system which links the state and counties. Local vs. national communication needs were discussed. In response to audience input, need for an ongoing foundation of interorganizational relationships was highlighted. Also, the need for easily managed interfaces between people and communications devices or computers was identified.

This session was intended to be an introductory overview of the topic, and additional sessions will be devoted to particular aspects of the challenge of communicating in the extreme in the future.

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ACADEMIC PANELIST
Dr. Herbert Lin

Herb Lin received his Ph.D. in physics from M.I.T. in 1979. Since 1990, he has been a senior staff officer with the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council (NRC). Most recently, he was director of the CSTB/NRC study entitled
"Cryptography's Role in Securing the Information Society." This report on national cryptography policy was requested by the U.S. Congress and delivered in May 1996. From 1987 to 1990, he was a professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee.

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GOVERNMENT PANELIST
Dr. Peter Ward

Peter Ward has been a Geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California, since 1971. As Chief of the Branch of Earthquake Mechanics and Prediction, in the mid 1970's, he played a major role in developing the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. He has always has had a major interest in public education and in 1990 wrote, produced, and found financing for a magazine about earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area and what people can do to live more safely there. This award-winning magazine was carried in 41 local newspapers and has now been distributed in 3.3 million copies.

Recently Peter has been working on a study of the feasibility of a Global Disaster Information Network requested by Vice President Gore and is Chairman of a Working Group on Natural Disaster Information Systems under the Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction under the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council.

Peter received a BA from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. His scientific interests center around earthquakes, volcanoes, and global tectonics. He is married with four grown children, loves playing his piano, guitar, and accordion, and rafting or canoeing down exciting rivers.

Peter Ward
email:[email protected]
U. S. Geological Survey, MS 977 voice: 650/329-4736
345 Middlefield Road fax: 650/329-5163
Menlo Park, CA 94025

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GOVERNMENT PANELIST
Dr. Russell Coile

EDUCATION:

S.B., S.M. and E.E. degrees in Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ph.D. in Information Science, The City University, London, England.

Graduate of Senior Officers' course, Naval War College, Newport, RI.

Graduate of Air University's correspondence courses: Squadron Officer Course; Command and Staff Course; and Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL.

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION/REGISTRATION:

CEM - Certified Emergency Manager (National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management)

P.E.- Professional Engineer (District of Columbia #1108)

P.E.- Professional Engineer (Pennsylvania # PE-012126-L)

Fellow - Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies, London

EXPERIENCE:

Disaster Coordinator, Pacific Grove Fire Department, Pacific Grove, CA, Jan 1990 to present
Responsible for disaster preparedness for the City of Pacific Grove. Duties include: initiating emergency preparedness programs, revising and updating the City's SEMS Multihazard Functional Plan, designing the City's Emergency Operating Center, writing Emergency Operating Center Standard Operating Procedures, planning and conducting the City's exercises such as the participation in the annual statewide earthquake exercise each April, conducting public education programs, writing the City's Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service Plan, organizing local amateur radio operators in the City's RACES group, recruiting, teaching and organizing Volunteers in Preparedness (neighborhood emergency response teams), and training all City employees in the new Standardized Emergency Management System.

Dr.Coile submitted a nomination, "Pacific Grove - A Model for Small City Disaster Preparedness" to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in September 1996. FEMA notified the City of Pacific Grove that its screening panel had recommended this nomination for inclusion in "Parnerships in Preparedness: A Compendium of Exemplary Practices in Emergency Management, Volume 2". The Compendium was published in May1997
containing 38 exemplary practices from 18 states, selected after the national search.

RUSSELL C. COILE, Ph.D., CEM, P.E., FICD
970 Egan Avenue
Pacific Grove, CA 93950-2406
(408) 649-8946
[email protected]

Recent Professional Papers & Presentations on Disaster Preparedness

Comprehensive Disaster Planning for Earthquakes - Russell C. Coile. To be published in the ASPEP Journal 1997, American Society of Professional Emergency Planners, Falls Church, Virginia.

Collaboration of Community Based Organizations for Disaster Preparedness - Russell C. Coile. Poster Section paper (PS97-3) at the University of Colorado's 1997 Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop, Denver, Colorado, July 13-16, 1997.

How California's Cities Will Help Each Other in Disasters - Russell C. Coile. Paper on the IDNDR Internet Conference: Solutions for Cities at Risk to Disasters, October 16, 1996. The United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs, International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction Secretariat, Geneva.

California's Standardized Emergency Management System - Russell C. Coile. The ASPEP Journal 1996, pages 37-39, American Society of Professional Emergency Planners, Falls Church, Virginia.

Disaster Management Conferences on the Internet - Russell C. Coile. The ASPEP Journal 1996, pages 34-36, American Society of Professional Emergency Planners, Falls Church, Virginia.

Disaster Management in the Carmel River Floods - Russell C. Coile. The ASPEP Journal 1996, pages 28-33, American Society of Professional Emergency Planners, Falls Church,Virginia.

The Role of Amateur Radio in Providing Emergency Electronic Communication for Disaster Management - Russell C. Coile. Paper on the Internet; June, July, August 1996 in DISASTER '96 (First Internet Conference "Electronic Communication and Disaster Management")
<http://www.mcb.co.uk/services/conferen/jun96/disaster/coile/coile.htm> Virtual Conference Center, MCB University Press / Disaster Prevention and Limitation Unit, University of Bradford, UK. (Published in Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, Vol 6, No, 3, pages 178-185, 1997)

Disaster Preparedness by Local Authorities in California - Russell C. Coile. Paper presented at the Second International Conference: Local Authorities Confronting Disasters and Emergencies, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 22-24 April 1996 (and published in Proceedings 2nd International LACDE Conference).

Prevention of Non-Structural Damage in Schools - Russell C. Coile. Paper presented at the Monterey Peninsula College, Cabrillo Community College District, Community College League and the California State Office of Emergency Services, Earthquake Response & Recovery Workshop, November 17, 1995, Monterey, CA.

Disaster Preparedness Activities In California after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake - Russell C. Coile. The ASPEP Journal 1995, pages 31-40, American Society of Professional Emergency Planners, Falls Church, Virginia.

Northern California Disaster Preparedness Network: Five Years of Community Education - Russell C. Coile. Poster session paper (PS95-5) at the 1995 Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop, July 16-18, 1995, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.

Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams For Community Outreach - Russell C. Coile. Poster session paper (PS95-4) at the 1995 Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop, July 16-18, 1995, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.

Emergency Managers Mutual Aid in California - Russell C. Coile. The ASPEP Journal 1994, pages 57-63, American Society of Professional Emergency Planners, Falls Church, Virginia.

Emergency Management in the United States - Russell C. Coile. Paper presented at the Emergency Planning Society's 1995 Annual Conference, June 21,1995, Scarborough, Yorkshire, England.

Disaster Preparedness Activities in the United States for Oil Spills - Russell C. Coile. Paper presented at the Institute of Civil Defense and Disaster Studies Annual Study "Effect of Disasters on the Environment" June 16-18, 1995, at the Home Office's Emergency Planning College, Easingwold, York, England. (Extract from this oil spill paper presented at the Institute's 1995 Annual Study entitled U.S. peps up oil spill preparedness - Russell C. Coile, published in the Home Office's Civil Protection, Issue No.36, page 16, Autumn 1995, London England.

A Yank at Easingwold - Russell C. Coile. The ASPEP Journal 1994, pages 45-55, American Society of Professional Emergency Planners, Falls Church, Virginia.

Certified Emergency Manager - Russell C. Coile. Paper published in Emergency, page 9, Autumn 1994, Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies, London England.

Emergency Preparedness Training In England - Russell C. Coile. Paper presented at the annual Conference of the California Emergency Services Association, October 28, 1994, South Lake Tahoe, California.

Recent Disasters In California - Russell C. Coile. Paper presented at the Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies Annual Study "International Civil Protection Preparedness and Response to Major Disasters", June 17-19,1994 at the Home Office's Emergency Planning College, Easingwold, York, England. (Published in the Final Report of the Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies Annual Study June 17-19,1994 "International Civil Protection Preparedness and Response to Major Disasters", Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies, Bell Court House, 11 Blomfield Street, London, EC2M 7AY, England.)

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in Future International Security Operations - Russell C. Coile. Paper presented at the Tenth International Symposium on Military Operations Research, September 6-9, 1993. Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, Wiltshire, England.

Oil Spill! - Russell C. Coile, author, producer, & director. Play to dramatize and help wildlife rescue volunteers visualize how they should fit into the Incident Command System. Play presented by a cast of 22 volunteers of the California Ocean Assistance Spill Team to Friends of the Sea Otter, on ,March 20., 1993 at Ohlone School, Hillcrest Road, Watsonville, California.

Disaster Preparedness - Russell C. Coile. Paper presented at the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) / The Institute of Management Science (TIMS) Joint National Meeting, November 2, 1992, San Francisco, California.

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VOLUNTEER PANELIST
Lois Clark McCoy

Lois Clark McCoy currently serves as President of the National Institute for Urban Search and Rescue, a not-for-profit partnership of organizations dedicated to improved emergency mitigation and response. She lives and works in Santa Barbara, California and has been actively involved in emergency response since 1967. She retired in 1991 as Emergency Services Coordinator for the County of Santa Barbara, CA. She previously served as Operations Officer for 6 years with the San Diego County Office of Disaster Preparedness. She served on the Governor's Earthquake Task Force as chairman of the subcommittee for Search and Rescue from its inception in 1981 until its dissolution in 1987.

Her search and rescue activities have included 10 years as a member and Operations Officer for the San Diego Mountain Rescue Team, active in both the United States and Baja California, Mexico. She is a Life Member and served two terms as president of the National Association for Search and Rescue and remained on their Board of Trustees until 1990.

She currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the publication Hazard Technology and was a Contributing Editor for FIRE and RESCUE Magazine. She has held an experimental license with NASA for satellite communications since 1977.

In 1996 she received the Diamond Award from the California Emergency Services Association. In 1993 she received the Fletcher J. Hickerson Lifetime Achievement Award in "Emergency Management and Advanced Information Technology." In May of 1991, she received an award from the Congressional Fire Service Caucus for "Dynamic Leadership and Dedication to the Field of Urban Search and Rescue". She has received awards for her involvement in search and rescue from the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service, the California Legislature, and in 1984 was awarded the National Hal Foss Award for "Outstanding Effort in Search and Rescue." She is listed in Who's Who.

She is a native of Connecticut and holds a Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, from Skidmore College in New York State. In 1950 she relocated to La Jolla, California then moving in 1986 to Santa Barbara. She has seven children and eight grandchildren.

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NRC SEEKING INFORMATION on DISASTER MANAGER COMMUNICATION NEEDS

The following request/notice was recently published in the July 22 edition (#228) of the Natural Hazard Center's Disaster Research Newsletter:

It is well-understood that the information needs of disaster management practitioners are extraordinary, especially in times of acute crisis. Information technology developed for ordinary business use may well be inadequate under such demanding conditions. Inspired by the positive reception of the disaster management community to its report "Computing and Communications in the Extreme," the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council is seeking to build intellectual bridges between disaster management practitioners and the information technology research community.

If you wish to be kept informed about CSTB plans in this area, please send us your name, organization, address, phone number (fax and voice), and e-mail address. We can be reached at (202) 334-2318 (fax), or [email protected] (email).

Moreover, if you have operational needs that are currently unmet by today's information technology, please let us know what they are. Put differently, what is your wish list for information technology that you would want to have during a crisis?

Herb Lin
Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
National Research Council
[email protected]

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