DP-Index-dec07-lead2
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A section of
DOCPOST which is an
extract, executive
summary, index
rolled into one.
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December
2007
DISASTER MANAGEMENT / DISASTER
PREPAREDENESS
Brad
Pitt designs a new Orleans
.
Thorn
Mayne of Morphosis in Los Angeles designed a house that would float
if the city floods. James Timberlake of Kieran Timberlake Associates
in Philadelphia created a house with native vines climbing up the
sidewalls to provide shade and coolness. Steven B Bingler of
Concordia in New Orleans envisioned a house with wide front steps
ideal for a traditional crawfish boil. Those are three of the designs
by 13 architecture firms commissioned by the actor Brad Pitt to help
rebuild New Orleans's impoverished Lower Ninth Ward, one of the
neighbourhoods hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina in 2005
by
Robin Pogrebin. The Times Of India. 04/12/2007
Trained
to survive
In
thousands of villages across India, a growing number of ordinary
people are learning to deal with disasters better and recover from
them faster. This growing force includes many illiterate women
trained to protect themselves and others during floods, earthquakes,
rural fires and tsunami. The potential of such a training is immense:
In 2007 three States in India — Orissa, Bihar and Assam —
suffered unprecedented floods, destroying lives and property. In
fact, floods are an annual feature with 60 per cent of India’s land
prone to them. Past experiences suggest that if the local people are
equipped to handle the first 8-10 hours after the floods strikes, the
losses can be drastically reduced.
by
Malvika Kaul. The Hindu. 30/12/2007
Eco-friendly
sea wall planned at Alappad
There
are plans to erect eco-friendly sea wall at Alappad panchayat in the
district.
The
coir bags and nets carrying sea sand will be main materials of this
eco-friendly wall instead of the graphite tetra poles now being used.
A meeting chaired by Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran held
at the Collectorate on Tuesday (19/12/2007) decided in principle to
implement the project on an experimental basis at Alappad panchayat
where there is severe sea erosion.
The
project is being planned to be implemented jointly by Coir Mattings
and Centre for Earth Technology with the support of IIT.
Newindpress.
19/12/2007
Haryana
to get disaster control body
After
the earthquake on Monday, the Haryana government has decided to
constitute a District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). Gurgaon
Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Gupta has called a meeting in the mini
secretariat on December 4. According to Gupta, the state government
will have a DDMA in every district.
by
Sanjeev K. Ahuja. The Hindustan Times. 01/12/2007
Mumbai
to get floodwater mapping plan
In
a bid to closely track the flow of floodwaters, the state government
has now asked for a contour mapping project to closely survey the
terrain in Mumbai, mapping points a mere 20 cm apart. Mumbai which
had no contour maps to start with, may now end up having more
detailed maps than most countries in the world. While most such maps
in India and abroad map points 1.5-10 metres apart, the government
has asked the BMC to conduct an examination of the city on a closer
scale.
by
Rukmini Shrinivasan. The Times of India. 07/12/2007
Guidelines
to tackle tsunamis soon
The
National Disaster Management Guidelines to tackle tsunamis will be
out in the next two to three months, N.Vinod Chandra Menon, member,
National Disaster Management Authority, said.
by
Ramya Kannan. The Hindu. 22/12/2007
Shelter-belt
plantations proposed along coastline
The
State Forest Department has proposed to implement the shelter-belt
plantation programme on private lands along the Tamil Nadu coastline,
C.K. Sreedharan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), said.
Briefing
reporters about the successful implementation of the Emergency
Tsunami Reconstruction Programme (ETRP), Mr. Sreedharan said the
Department planted casuarina and other species along the coastline
covering 13 districts during the past two years.
In
the second phase, it proposed to take up the planting on private
lands.
The
department would plant casuarina and other species on 1,000 hectares.
The
Hindu. 30/12/2007
Deformations.
in upper Shivaliks help predict earthquakes
Deformations
in some sedimentary layers of the upper Shivaliks provide information
on earth movements and can help predict earthquakes. These
deformations occurs when the sedimentary rock is in the process of
formation and is soft, explains Ravindra Kumar of Punjab University’s
geology department who was part of the research team, along with
scientists of IIT, Roorkee.
Down
To Earth. 31/12/2007
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