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Fifty days and counting until
hurricane season as I write this… Didn't last hurricane
season just end?
A flurry of activity surrounds
all our partner agencies and members. From meeting with emergency
management officials in and out of state and "hotwashes"
of hurricanes now passed still vivid in our memories to stories
of another active season, every SART member has a lengthy to-do
list. It seems as if all work and life as we know it will cease
when the clock ticks to 12:01 AM on June 1. Although I know this
will not happen, I feel myself getting caught up in the fervor
as well. We are going to keep working hard in our various tasks
and prepare for the impending hurricane season, too.
Keep an eye on the Florida
SART Web site for updates, calendar postings, and new features!
And of course if you have any stories you want to share, send
them our way.
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Recent Web Updates:
Avian Influenza Page Added
If you have not visited the
Florida SART Web site recently, you have missed the Avian
Influenza page! Located off the main SART Web page, links
are listed that provide reliable information about avian influenza,
its manifestation status, and preparations to combat the disease.
As new information and links become available, updates will be
made to the page.
Please report any dead links
to our webmaster. Got a link you think should be included? Send
it to us!
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New SART Training Unit Posted: Using Climate Forecasts in Agriculture
A new lesson plan has been
added to the SART Training Materials page. Using Climate
Forecasts in Agriculture includes a lesson plan, PowerPoint,
and participant workbook. This training unit covers basic concepts
about climate, specifically the El Niño and La Niña
phenomena and their impact on the southeastern United States.
It also introduces participants to the AgClimate
Web site and its tools.
To view the new training unit,
go to the SART
Training Materials page and scroll down to the Climate-Based
Decision Tools section.
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Trial Precipitation
Page from NOAA National Weather Service
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service Web site includes
a new Precipitation
Analysis page, which provides high-quality precipitation
analyses to be used for flood forecasts, drought monitoring,
and climate trends. The service is being offered on a trial basis
through June 2006. During this time, feedback on the service
will be collected to determine whether it effectively meets users'
needs and should be continued after the trial period. A nine-
question survey is available on the page for providing feedback.
Fine resolution precipitation
data can help government agencies, river authorities, agribusiness,
hydropower utility companies, and others make better, more cost-effective
decisions about water management and the impacts of water surpluses
and shortages. Emergency management agencies will be able to
monitor impending flood conditions and conduct more effective
operations during floods.
-- As reported in Disaster
Research, 448, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado,
Boulder
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Hurricanes Zolo,
Hector, and Biz Table-Top Exercises from the American
Red Cross
The Capital Area Chapter of
the American Red Cross has made available through their Web site
three table-top exercises, two to be held in the next few months
and one which was held in March.
- Hurricane Zolo - A Neighborhood
Table-Top Exercise
On April 29, 2006 several Tallahassee
and Leon County agencies and neighborhoods will participate in
this exercise aimed at providing neighborhood leaders and residents
an opportunity to learn the importance of working together when
disaster strikes. Participants will work on activities such as
neighborhood planning and preparedness, threat assessment, needs
assessment, debris removal, and damage assessment. This table-top
could be reworked for your neighborhood or community. Visit <http://www.tallytown.com/redcross/zolo>
to access the exercise information, documents, activities, and
registration.
- Hurricane Hector - A Human
Services Organization Table-Top Exercise
A four-hour table-top exercise
will be held on June 22, 2006 for the Leon County and Tallahassee
area human service agencies to provide an opportunity for managers
to work with paid and volunteer staff to learn the importance
of working together when a disaster strikes. Participants will
work within their workplace group as they undertake coordination
of activities such as disaster planning and preparedness, threat
assessment, needs assessment, and continuity of operations. This
table-top could be used for the area you live in as well. Visit
<http://www.tallytown.com/redcross/hector>
to access the exercise information, documents, activities, and
registration.
- Hurricane Biz - A Business
Table-Top Exercise
Hurricane Biz was conducted
March 23, 2006 and provided an opportunity for business leaders
and company employees to learn the importance of working together
when disaster strikes by working within workplace groups and
undertaking coordination of activities like business planning
and preparedness, threat assessment, needs assessment, and continuity
of operations. Documents like advisories, situation manual, maps,
businesses who took part, and pictures are available at <http://www.tallytown.com/redcross/biz>.
-- Contributed by Chris Floyd,
Emergency Services Director, Capital Area Chapter of the American
Red Cross
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Enhanced Fujita Scale
The National Weather Service
(NWS) announced plans to implement the Enhanced
Fujita Scale. The EF Scale will continue to rate tornadoes
on a scale from zero to five, but ranges in wind speed will be
more accurate with the improved scale. The NWS expects implementation
of the EF Scale to be complete by February 2007.
Additional background from the Wind
Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University.
-- As reported in Disaster
Research, 447, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado,
Boulder
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Annual National Voluntary
Organizations Active in Disasters Conference
This conference includes NVOAD
committee meetings as well as opportunities to exchange ideas
on disaster response and training workshops. Site of conference
is Raleigh, North Carolina. Dates: May 9-12, 2006. For more information,
contact Ande Miller, NVOAD, PO Box 151973, Alexandria, VA 22315;
(703) 339-5596; email: <amiller@nvoad.org>;
or Web site <http://www.nvoad.org/annualconf1.php>.
-- As reported in Disaster
Research, 446, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado,
Boulder
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Changing Hurricane
Risk in the North Atlantic
This report
(PDF) from the major German insurance group, Munich Re, addresses
the elevated frequency of intense storms in the North Atlantic
Ocean in 2004 and 2005, the implications of a systematic change
in the hazard situation, and the resulting shift in the loss
distribution and its parameters.
-- As reported in Disaster
Research, 446, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado,
Boulder
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Hazardous Weather Awareness
Week Essay Winners Announced
The list
of winners (PDF) from the Hazardous Weather Awareness Week
Essay Contest, held in February, is now available on the SERT
Web site. Each region's winner is named and their essay included.
No worries -- the PDF document is only seven pages long -- so
it takes no time to read what each student wrote. As a responder
to any of the storms discussed, you may be uplifted by the essays.
Congrats to each of the winners
on an excellent job!
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The SART SENTINEL
Editor: Elizabeth Wang, SART Coordinator, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry
Associate Editor: Gregory S. Christy, DVM, State ESF-17 Coordinator, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry
The SART SENTINEL is an e-mail newsletter prepared monthly by Elizabeth Wang and the staff of the Florida State Agricultural Response Team. Past issues of the Sentinel are archived on the Florida SART Web Site: <www.flsart.org>.
If you have a story or photo that you would like to have considered for publication in The SART SENTINEL, contact the Editors at <SARTNewsEditor-L@lists.ifas.ufl.edu>.
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Disaster Links
For additional information on agriculture, animals, and disaster, visit:
Florida SART Home Page: <www.flsart.org>
UF/IFAS Disaster Handbook: <http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu/>
Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN): <http://eden.lsu.edu/>
For a complete list of all SART participating agencies, visit the Florida SART Web site: <www.flsart.org>.
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Tip of the
Month! -- Animal Cruelty Prevention
Month
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The ASPCA celebrates April
as Prevention
of Animal Cruelty Month. In recognition of this important
month, the ASPCA is working with animal shelters and humane societies
across the country to raise awareness and offer you some great
resources to help prevent animal abuse.
Animal cruelty is defined as
any act of violence or neglect committed against an animal. Today,
35 states and the District of Columbia have laws that make intentional
cruelty a felony charge; in the remaining states, animal cruelty
is a misdemeanor.
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