CUSEC News & Announcements

2006 CUSEC News Archives

Region IV Mitigation Conference
November 2006 - CUSEC participated in a conference of State Hazard Mitigation Officers and Earthquake Program Managers on November 6-9.  The conference was held at the FEMA Region IV Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia and featured sessions on different hazard mitigation programs that have occurred in the different states.  Among highlighted programs was the Memphis, Light, Gas & Water mitigation project, where several facilities were retrofitted to mitigate against seismic hazards.  A side meeting at the conference included State Earthquake Program Managers from Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  Topics discussed included:  NEHRP Updates, State Updates, Training Initiatives, Catastrophic Planning development, and more.  This side meeting also included representatives from CUSEC, FEMA Headquarters, FEMA Region IV, IEM, and the MAE-Center.

New Staff at CUSEC
October 2006 - CUSEC has hired two new staff members recently.  Alisa Nave, Public Outreach Coordinator, will work to increase CUSEC's public awareness and outreach efforts.  She comes to CUSEC after working with International Paper, in Memphis, Tennessee.  Ms. Nave earned her bachelors degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Martin.  She has also minored in Journalism at the University of Memphis.  Alisa is the editor of the new CUSEC Newsletter, which is distributed by email on a quarterly basis. To sign up for the newsletter, go to the CUSEC home page and fill out the form at the bottom.  Also new to CUSEC is Paul Hogue, Exercise and Training Officer.  Paul comes to CUSEC from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, where he served as Training Coordinator and more recently as Operations Officer.  At CUSEC, he will be responsible for creating and updating training courses to support the CUSEC Member States.  He will also work with the States to coordinate their earthquake exercise activities.  Paul is a veteran of the United States Army, where he served three enlistments as a Signals Intelligence Analyst.  Please join us in welcoming Alisa and Paul to the CUSEC Staff.

CUSEC Board Member Retires
June 2006 - At the June 7 CUSEC Board Meeting, Director Robert Latham announced his retirement from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, effective July 1, 2006.  Director Latham was the CUSEC Board Chairman from March 2004 to December 2005 and has played an active role in promoting earthquake mitigation, awareness, planning, and research in the CUSEC states since joining MEMA and beginning his tenure on the CUSEC Board in February 2000.  Since his appointment as State Director, Director Latham has overseen MEMA during 11 presidential disaster declarations, including Hurricane Katrina.  Latham had previously served with the Mississippi National Guard for 26 years, retiring in 1995 with the rank of Sergeant Major and was the director of Tate County Emergency Management from 1994 until his appointment as State Emergency Management Director in 2000.  David Paulison, acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called Latham one of the "nation's finest emergency management leaders."  "Mr. Latham was pivotal to the recovery goals achieved in Mississippi in the months following Hurricane Katrina," Paulison said.  For the full news article from the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, click here. 

Centers for Disease Control Launches EMAC Page
June 2006 - A new webpage has recently been launched on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Emergency Preparedness and Response website that provides information on the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) and the EMAC Environmental Health Assistance Project. Currently, 49 states, two territories and the District of Columbia are signatories to EMAC, which was ratified by Congress in 1996.  This informational page can be accessed at www.bt.cdc.gov/planning/emac. 

Summer Workshops Announced
May 2006 - CUSEC is providing two different summer workshops in 2006.   The first workshop will be an ATC20 Post-Earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings course that teaches attendees how to evaluate buildings for safe occupancy after an earthquake.  This program is useful in other disasters as well.  Typically, after a disaster, emergency management officials work with trained volunteer inspectors such as engineers, architects, or building inspectors to identify the safety of critical facilities and residential structures.  This course will be held on June 12, 2006 in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Next is an Earthquake Non-Structural Mitigation workshop which will be held in Memphis, Tennessee on June 19, 2006 and again in St. Louis, Missouri on July 27, 2006.  These workshops will provide attendees with basics of structural vs. non-structural elements, non-structural hazards, non-structural mitigation practices, and mitigation funding sources.  Meeting space for the workshops is being generously provided by MLGW in Memphis and A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. in St. Louis.  To register or for more information, please contact CUSEC. 

1906 Earthquake 100th Anniversary Conference
April 2006 - CUSEC is a co-sponsor of the conference commemorating the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, which left many legacies for California, including anticipation of the next, inevitable, great quake. The 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference will bring together earthquake professionals from around the world – scientists, engineers and preparedness experts – in San Francisco on April 18, 2006, to commemorate the 1906 Earthquake, review what we have learned, and discuss what we can do to further preparedness.  This conference will have it's main focus on California. But the lessons and policies will ripple to quake-sensitive regions worldwide, and affect preparations for all natural disasters.    Visit the 1906eqconf.org website for more information.

Earthquakes in the Central US on TV
February 2006 - The Weather Channel recently started a series of television programs entitled "It Could Happen Tomorrow", which looks at which looks at the potential for catastrophic disasters impacting various parts of the US. One of those program focus areas is the New Madrid Seismic Zone. This special on the New Madrid will air on March 12, 2006 at 9:30PM EST.  Also, the History Channel and National Geographic are producing a specials on the New Madrid. The History Channel was recently at the CUSEC office, filming for their special. The program is tentatively set to air around the end of May 2006. No word on when the National Geographic program will air yet.

Earthquake Awareness - February 1-10, 2006
January 2006 - The CUSEC Member States of Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee will be having varying earthquake awareness activities February 1-10, 2006. Indiana is holding several activities throughout the week, and Kentucky is holding an Earthquake Town Hall Meeting and having a training workshop that will teach attendees how to inspect buildings for potential seismic hazards.  Missouri is holding a Business & Industry earthquake awareness program and hosting an earthquake exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center on February 4, 2006, among other activities.  For more information on activities in Missouri, contact the Missouri Earthquake Program Manager, Steve Bessemer.  For information about activities in other Member States, contact their Earthquake Program Manager.  For the official CUSEC EQ Awareness Flyer, download this PDF...