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Disaster Information Research Symposium

An opportunity for a forensics examination of two events.

See the information below. I've blogged on professor Hans Scholl's two reports in the past. This is an opportunity to hear from him in person. If you are here in the region — I recommend attending to learn and perhaps change your operational procedures to make them more effective. 

INFORMATION SCHOOL RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

University of Washington: Monday, June 3, 12:30 p.m. in Bloedel 070

by Hans Jochen Scholl

Accurate, timely, vetted information is the most important, yet most scarce, resource in disaster responses — as first responders are always fond of pointing out. For information scientists, the challenge is to understand why the information situation is as challenging as it is, and what remedies might help provide better, more timely information to first responders.

Two recent studies provide insights on the current response capabilities and the major informational and managerial challenges that disaster responders face in the Pacific Northwest. One was a real disaster — the devastating 2014 Oso/SR530 landslide, which cost 43 people their lives; and one was the simulated response to “the big one,” a magnitude 9+ earthquake from a rupture of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. In this talk, Dr. Scholl summarizes and discusses the major findings from five peer-reviewed papers resulting from these studies.

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.