MCEER Contributes to NYS Hazard Mitigation Plan

MCEER was part of a team of professionals assembled by the New York State Emergency Management Office to review, assess and recommend changes to the existing State Hazard Mitigation Plan. The 1995 Plan needed updating to comply with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and to address recent disasters in the State, including the World Trade Center attack, the 2000-2001 snowstorm in Western New York, and the Au Sable Forks earthquake. As part of this effort, Michel Bruneau was invited by the State Disaster Preparedness Commission to attend a summit October 30-31, 2002, in Albany, New York, where a number of agencies and organizations provided input and advice. Dr. Bruneau presented an overview of the state-of-practice and state-of-the-art in earthquake-resistant design concepts and related them to terrorism-resistant design. He also discussed on-going MCEER research activities and opportunities for new research in this area. His presentation stressed the importance of research as a mitigation tool, as it can often lead to more effective and economical solutions in achieving disaster resilient communities.

Prior to this effort, MCEER participated in the New York State Disaster Preparedness Conference in Niagara Falls, NY on Sept. 18-20, 2002. Michel Bruneau served with Kelly Donoghue, Clinton County Office of Emergency Services, on a panel to discuss earthquakes in New York. Robert Fakundiny, State Geologist, moderated the panel, which provided an overview of the earthquake risk in New York State. Other topics included the seismic history of New York State, the probability of future earthquakes, experiences from the April 2002 Au Sable Forks earthquake, and loss estimations using the FEMA HAZUS model.

MCEER’s Information Service hosted an exhibit and demonstration during the conference, which attracted over 400 emergency management and public safety professionals, from both public and private sector organizations.