01:07:32 PM Amy Sebring:On behalf of the EIIP, I am pleased to welcome you to a special event in our Library. 01:07:41 PM Amy Sebring:For those of you who usually sleep during my intro, please ... PAY ATTENTION TO THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT INFO. 01:07:51 PM Amy Sebring:We had an upgrade installed last Friday, and because of unexpected changes made to the software, we are having an UNMODERATED session today. 01:07:58 PM Burt Wallrich:Good Morning. I had a rough time getting logged on today but I made it. 01:08:05 PM Amy Sebring:That means, whatever you type in the message area can be seen by EVERYBODY, so we beg for your cooperation. 01:08:16 PM Amy Sebring:Please hold all questions and comments until we get to the Q&A portion of the program. 01:08:29 PM Amy Sebring:Your questions and comments will go directly to the chat window, NOT through the moderator... 01:08:43 PM Amy Sebring:so you can see the problem we could have with several questions being submitted at once. I ask that you indicate that you have a question by typing just a question mark (?). 01:08:56 PM Amy Sebring:Then you can prepare your question, but PLEASE HOLD your question until you are recognized. With your cooperation, I think we can make this work. 01:09:10 PM Amy Sebring:One other warning ... if you are logged in using Full Java Option, do not touch the load page! Minimizing or changing pages will close your chat window. 01:09:24 PM Amy Sebring:Now ... before I introduce our special guest, I would like to review how to use links to display Web pages in another browser window for the benefit of our newcomers. 01:09:35 PM Amy Sebring:When a full URL is typed in the message area, it becomes a hot link, so you can just click on it, and a webpage will display in another browser window. 01:09:47 PM Amy Sebring:I will put up an opening screen URL so you may take a moment to size and arrange your windows so that you can swap easily between windows. 01:09:57 PM Amy Sebring:http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/rt01.htm 01:10:25 PM Amy Sebring:And now, it is my pleasure to introduce author, consultant, and EIIP Partner, Rick Tobin. Rick, welcome and thank you for being here today. 01:10:59 PM Rick Tobin:Thank you for having me on board 01:11:12 PM Rick Tobin:First slide please, Amy? 01:11:24 PM Amy Sebring:Its already up Rick 01:11:35 PM Rick Tobin:I CAN SEE SO FAR, TOMMOROW SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY 01:11:53 PM Rick Tobin:This discussion focuses on why I wrote "Emergency Planning on the Internet", and what Internet needs I see for emergency management in the near Future. 01:12:08 PM Rick Tobin:There are a number of steps I noted in the last 8 years regarding the use and understanding of the Internet by emergency management. Each step lead to another level of sophistication? 01:12:35 PM Rick Tobin:indicating that emergency management is climbing the technological ladder...if ever so tenuously. These steps lead me to write a book with my son, "Emergency Planning on the Internet." 01:12:58 PM Rick Tobin:In 1991, Thomas Drabek (a noted author and researcher in emergency management issues) discussed the coming use of the PC in emergency management. Even then he noted that... 01:13:37 PM Rick Tobin:In 1991, Thomas Drabek (a noted author and researcher in emergency management issues) discussed the coming use of the PC in emergency management. Even then he noted that... 01:14:10 PM Rick Tobin:The Internet was just beginning its leap to public consciousness. Still, Drabek had enough foresight to recognize that... 01:14:37 PM Rick Tobin:"Expanded implementation of microcomputer technology within emergency management brings new risk and dangers that must be recognized explicitly and protected against." 01:14:58 PM Rick Tobin:Pretty strong words, but he also stressed the Federal Government should take a stronger lead through FEMA, NCCEM, and the Sate and Local Emergency Management Data Users Group (SALEMDUG). SALEMDUG did indeed do a tremendous job from the late eighties on... 01:15:17 PM Rick Tobin:along with the Hazardous Materials Information Exchange (HMIX). They both started as Internet bulletin boards for sharing critical information... 01:15:33 PM Rick Tobin:and moved on to prosperous and successful World Wide Web site clearinghouses for critical technical information. 01:15:50 PM Rick Tobin:The Natural Hazards Observer newsletter, from the University of Colorado, Boulder, began providing key Internet locations in the middle of the decade. 01:16:04 PM Rick Tobin:They've been a big support for "newbies" and the experienced, alike. More and more EP magazines and information sources began to support the Internet as well. 01:16:20 PM Rick Tobin:Then a few years back, NCCEM and FEMA began formulating some ideas for forums and increasing connectivity, including the use of the Internet, through the Gemini Project and the National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS). 01:16:37 PM Rick Tobin:Out of this grew EIIP, and here we are, but that's not the end of the story by any means... 01:16:51 PM Rick Tobin:EIIP has already had one forum about the Internet on October 19,1997 during their monthly presentations. EIIP now has weekly presentations and forums. 01:17:08 PM Rick Tobin:So, NCCEM has been right on track with what is breaking in this field. 01:17:20 PM Rick Tobin:In December of 1997 my book was released, "Emergency Planning on the Internet." 01:17:40 PM Rick Tobin:HYPE AND HYPODERMICS 01:17:50 PM Rick Tobin:Next slide please, Amy... 01:17:52 PM Amy Sebring:http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/rt02.htm 01:18:04 PM Rick Tobin:My experience in the '90s was that very few emergency management personnel were interested in learning the Internet and its quirky language. 01:18:20 PM Rick Tobin:It just took too much time sitting in front of the little green screen to get a limited bit of information. People who spoke of their successes on the Internet were looked at as those "geekish" types unstable for the emergency environment. 01:18:34 PM Rick Tobin:Most of the managers I talked to said, "Come to me when they get if figured out and it's easy to use." In other words, people were willing to be second after the others lead the way. 01:18:49 PM Rick Tobin:What really pushed the usability of the Internet was the development of Bulletin Board Systems and e-mail, soon followed by user-friendly browsers. 01:19:03 PM Rick Tobin:When access software like Trumpet Winsock came along, the coordination of protocols was simplified... 01:19:23 PM Rick Tobin:And then followed the surfing tools like Netscape---later followed by other surfing tools. Next came new graphically interesting search tools like Alta Vista and Yahoo... 01:19:33 PM Rick Tobin:Veronica and Gopher search tools had not been graphically interesting. 01:19:47 PM Rick Tobin:Performing research and find data in a timely manner was becoming so expensive for the private and government sector that the Internet naturally filled a void. 01:19:57 PM Rick Tobin:Desire to cut costs opened Internet use for information transfer and sharing. 01:20:11 PM Rick Tobin:In all of this change, FEMA was aware of the growth of the Internet and its impact. After Hurricane Hugo, FEMA made Internet connections and information sharing a crucial mechanism in their response to Hurricane Andrew... 01:20:23 PM Rick Tobin:the Northridge Earthquake, and the Missouri- Mississippi flooding. Those of us who saw what they had done were stunned---especially in California where we were supposed to be the cutting edge. 01:20:38 PM Rick Tobin:Next slide please, Amy... 01:20:42 PM Amy Sebring:http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/rt03.htm 01:20:53 PM Rick Tobin:NEVER INSERT TAB B 01:21:04 PM Rick Tobin:The problem with some of the earliest uses of the Internet in disaster was the lack of training and coordination. One of the pillars of emergency management is to avoid the use of a new technology in the middle of crisis. 01:21:16 PM Rick Tobin:There hadn't been enough time to prepare some agencies that tried to use it before they were caught in a disaster. The problem was training and guidance---but where was the guidance? 01:21:32 PM Rick Tobin:There were a few books providing directions for finding data on the Internet sites, LISTSERVs and new sites for chemical response, safety and environmental issues. But there was no book that tied the information to training... 01:21:45 PM Rick Tobin:to the stages of emergency management, to cultural changes in the work place and to future planning trends. That is what drove me to write my book. 01:22:03 PM Rick Tobin:My experience, and that of other emergency management staff in other government agencies, was that upper management, backed by very obstinate information technology specialists, restricted access to the Internet on a daily basis... 01:22:13 PM Rick Tobin:Managers, however, had access... 01:22:27 PM Rick Tobin:IT staff had access... 01:22:38 PM Rick Tobin:But not line staff. 01:22:56 PM Rick Tobin:"Emergency Planning on the Internet" is a tool to help overcome this unacceptable stance. And now, with the increasing number of stories about... 01:23:13 PM Rick Tobin:successful uses of the Internet during disaster, there is a more open environment developing---but it is a cultural change and those always come with pain and spurts of growth... 01:23:28 PM Rick Tobin:What is heartening, though, is more and more managers use the World Wide Web. 01:23:44 PM Rick Tobin:The more they are beginning to believe that their staff should become competent in its use---including put agency plans, updates, staffing, news releases and other information on the Web... 01:23:55 PM Rick Tobin:to serve the public and to serve the organization's own public image. 01:24:11 PM Rick Tobin:Next slide please, Amy... 01:24:13 PM Amy Sebring:http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/rt04.htm 01:24:24 PM Rick Tobin:THREE-LEGGED SACK RACES... 01:24:41 PM Rick Tobin:The other part of "Emergency Planning on the Internet" is about technical elements. My son Ryan developed much of that since he is a computer whiz. 01:24:57 PM Rick Tobin:That is one of the key elements for getting the Internet accepted... 01:25:09 PM Rick Tobin:getting the right hardware. Many emergency management staff feel intimidated by the plethora of devices and terminology. If they didn't start out with a 286 or an early Apple, they may feel technically overwhelmed. 01:25:26 PM Rick Tobin:That's where the cultural changes come. Each of us needs to become a technocrat for the next millennium. It is not just a skill... 01:25:51 PM Rick Tobin:it is a requirement for job security. The time to introduce these skills across the board is now, as the World Wide Web becomes a daily tool for every aspect of our work. 01:26:07 PM Rick Tobin:But no process will work completely if people are crawling along with the wrong hardware and training. The power of the processing systems today have made such a huge difference. 01:26:19 PM Rick Tobin:With 300 MHz systems, cable modems, and the growing use of Internet telephone and video conferencing, the old saying becomes a standard... 01:26:33 PM Rick Tobin:"Too fast is not fast enough." The technocrat will have access to incredible information resources and minds around the world. The EIIP Forum is just one example of this capacity. 01:26:46 PM Rick Tobin:But before you leap into the technical aspects of the Internet for your emergency management program, I suggest you read the works of Christine Comaford... 01:27:05 PM Rick Tobin:Especially valuable is her article, "Shipwrecked on the Islands of our LANS." 01:27:17 PM Rick Tobin:She provides a safe view of interconnectivity by outlining its pitfalls. Her work is easily accessible through your favorite search engine. And what does this all mean? 01:27:26 PM Rick Tobin:As faxes became more prevalent 15 years ago I used to tell people that now we could communicate ten times faster than before, but with the same poorly written messages. 01:27:43 PM Rick Tobin:The material content and style didn't keep up with the medium. Nor did the Internet and emergency management. Without a new way of approaching all of this data two things are likely to happen... 01:27:53 PM Rick Tobin:decision processes are frozen due to mountains of information, or managers shut off the information source, taking the Internet out of the culture and the process. 01:28:06 PM Rick Tobin:So, it may be either gridlock or whiplash! 01:28:19 PM Rick Tobin:One of the missing pieces was a technique to quickly organize and assess the available data. That is another focus of the book... 01:28:31 PM Rick Tobin:---how to organize the sources, types of information, and during what stage of emergency management. 01:28:49 PM Rick Tobin:Next slide please, Amy... 01:28:51 PM Amy Sebring:http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/rt05.htm 01:28:54 PM Burt Wallrich:[Amy - based on content, I think you are one slide behind Rick] 01:29:05 PM Amy Sebring:http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/rt06.htm 01:29:21 PM Rick Tobin:WHAT'S COMING NEXT 01:29:27 PM Rick Tobin:There are several steps ahead that are needed to completely tie the Internet into the emergency management environment: 01:29:44 PM Rick Tobin:Ensure the Internet is stable and robust for the future... 01:29:57 PM Rick Tobin:Develop interactive online training programs for emergency management... 01:30:16 PM Rick Tobin:Develop protocols to support emergency management use as well as public access... 01:30:38 PM Rick Tobin:Develop large-scale resource networks independent of the Internet (Intra-net hubs) like California's Response Information Management System (RIMS) 01:31:01 PM Rick Tobin:Develop national international structures for response and recovery over the Internet (ARiS, NEON, NEMIS, GDN, NHEMATIS)... 01:31:16 PM Rick Tobin:Strengthen individual's capacity through Internet connectivity. 01:31:33 PM Rick Tobin:AND IT IS GROWING AS WE SPEAK... 01:31:48 PM Rick Tobin:How timely that we should be discussing the applications of the Internet in emergency management, especially during response. During the recent horrific ice storms that assaulted the US Northeast and eastern Canada... 01:32:04 PM Rick Tobin:the New York Department of State coordinated recovery efforts by linking disaster teams by videoconferencing over the Internet to their remote sites. This system was also used to connect to schools, hospitals and community centers. 01:32:31 PM Rick Tobin:They were able to do all of this because they had the foresight to install a new frame relay communication system called the Adirondack Area Network. Many private vendors helped government make this amazing process successful. 01:32:49 PM Rick Tobin:Last slide please, Amy... 01:32:51 PM Amy Sebring:http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/rt07.htm 01:33:07 PM Rick Tobin:I'd like to open the floor up now to questions. 01:33:17 PM Amy Sebring:If you wish to comment or ask a question... 01:33:23 PM Amy Sebring:please just type ? 01:33:31 PM Amy Sebring:and we will recognize you. 01:33:44 PM cindy rice:? 01:33:50 PM Amy Sebring:Cindy. 01:34:25 PM cindy rice:Several of the acronums are familiar but I have not seen anything more is there a natural starting point for things like 01:34:44 PM cindy rice:RIMS or other projects going on? 01:35:19 PM Rick Tobin:That's a good question. Acronyms are killer, and I believe Amy and Avagene have discussed having a cross reference listing for new technolgies and acronymns on the EIIP site. 01:35:52 PM cindy rice:? 01:35:52 PM Burt Wallrich:? 01:35:58 PM Amy Sebring:follow up cindy 01:36:55 PM cindy rice:We are using forms and other applications (some inhouse developed) which may someday reach RIMS status but there no way to pass info to other 01:37:11 PM cindy rice:agencies which may find them useful. 01:37:31 PM Rick Tobin:That is one of the great values of RIMS in California... 01:37:54 PM Rick Tobin:It allows access openly to agencies not even involved in a disaster area... 01:38:19 PM Rick Tobin:but it also allows the agencies involved to secure information that is not yet ready for general distribution. 01:38:32 PM Amy Sebring:burt 01:38:40 PM Burt Wallrich:Rick, a problem is the mass of data when opening e-mail, some useless (Spam), much duplication (self- perpetuating messages on listservs), and then the real stuff, all mixed together 01:39:17 PM Rick Tobin:Yes, I know the concern... 01:39:46 PM Rick Tobin:There are filter options on many of the new e-mail software packages, but who has the time to put in new filter references, constantly? 01:40:02 PM Rick Tobin:I think legislation is the only way to clean up the airways... 01:40:13 PM Rick Tobin:and it has to be enforceable. 01:40:37 PM Amy Sebring:More questions? 01:40:55 PM Rick Tobin:The duplication of messages, however, is difficult, and I understand that the software manufacturers are going to allow more options for filtering in the near future. 01:41:10 PM Amy Sebring:Let me go ahead and ask a question ... 01:41:15 PM cindy rice:? 01:41:23 PM Amy Sebring:what future trends do you see emerging Rick? 01:41:36 PM Rick Tobin:Two primary trends... 01:41:54 PM Rick Tobin:the good one is lowering costs for all hardware and software applictions... 01:42:24 PM Rick Tobin:the bad one is more and more technology without management training on how to bring it successfully into the workplace... 01:43:19 PM Rick Tobin:the Internet is just one tool. It should not be a hammer looking for nails to pound. I find managers who are either afraid or wary, or those who jump in without preparing staff and wonder why staff scream in frustration. 01:43:35 PM Amy Sebring:cindy 01:44:19 PM Tim Murphy:? 01:44:27 PM Darryl Parker:? 01:44:37 PM cindy rice:If there is to be a cross-reference on technology, when might it go online? 01:44:53 PM Rick Tobin:Amy, that's your turf. 01:44:57 PM Amy Sebring:(after you type in your ?, please go ahead and prepare your question) 01:45:14 PM Amy Sebring:We do need something she is asking for. 01:45:27 PM Amy Sebring:It is very hard to keep up with all the changes! 01:45:29 PM Amy Sebring:Tim. 01:45:33 PM Tim Murphy:Many of our em folks at local level are reluctant to trust the Internt to be there for them during a disaster...consequently they do not want to lean on it when the sun shines. 01:45:46 PM Tim Murphy:Do you feel that dial up access can be available during a hurricane?? 01:46:27 PM Tim Murphy:A loaded question perhaps, but a common remark I hear. 01:46:28 PM Rick Tobin:That's an important question. Actually, one of the most stable utilities in disaster has proven to be the telephone service... 01:47:06 PM Rick Tobin:however, keep your camels tied down. In California we have something called the Operational Area Satellite Information System (OASIS) 01:47:25 PM Rick Tobin:this is a hardened, disaster resistant system to back up the phone services.. 01:47:58 PM Tim Murphy:Can OASIS support TCP/IP? 01:48:03 PM Rick Tobin:It connects the State to every county EOC. It's not perfect either...but it is another back up trail and can allow continued connectivity. 01:48:19 PM Amy Sebring:darryl 01:48:27 PM Rick Tobin:Yes, we've already used internet connections through OASIS. 01:48:34 PM Darryl Parker:Rick, is the time delay of the internet much of a problem? What values are typical? What values are acceptable? What values are reasonable? 01:48:35 PM Tim Murphy:thanks 01:48:49 PM cindy rice:! 01:49:02 PM Rick Tobin:Darryl, one of the biggest problems is overload during disaster... 01:49:32 PM Rick Tobin:One of the examples in the book is about a key state site that gave river levels from a state agency in California during the 1997 floods... 01:49:53 PM Rick Tobin:they had no idea that there would be such an intense PUBLIC interest... 01:50:18 PM Rick Tobin:two days into the event their server was swamped and we couldn't access it for response information... 01:50:53 PM Rick Tobin:of course we still had direct access to the agency, and their reps, and got information that way, but without planning ahead for peak loads it can be a nightmare. end of comment. 01:51:07 PM Amy Sebring:cindy 01:51:18 PM cindy rice:KY's Dept of Educ has a statewide network that 01:51:35 PM cindy rice:rocess of lokking at for expanded bandwidth and 01:51:53 PM cindy rice:gular phone lines other agencies 01:52:19 PM cindy rice:state or commercial nets that they can appropriate during a crisis or emergency. 01:53:02 PM cindy rice:sorry state wide network into every county on other 01:53:19 PM cindy rice:than regular phone lines 01:53:40 PM Rick Tobin:There are, of course, many options for bandwidth. ISDN is one option, T-1 and T-3 can help, and ATM lines are sky-high in cost. The use of cable systems may be the answer, but they are not universal yet. 01:53:42 PM Vernon Adler:If a server will be swamped, can't advance preparedness through mirroring be accomplished? 01:54:33 PM Rick Tobin:Yes, Vernon, they can. But the agency in this example didn't think mirroring would be necessary. They mirror information now, however, and have separate access for disaster services connections. 01:55:08 PM Randall Davis:? 01:55:16 PM Amy Sebring:RANDALL 01:56:03 PM Randall Davis:NYS is laying fiber alongside the Thruway (major Statewide highway system) to develop a 01:56:43 PM Randall Davis:'State Info Superhighway' to link to the Fed Superhwy - dows the Fed effort help standardize state nets??? 01:57:37 PM Rick Tobin:Fibre optic is wonderful, once in place, but vulnerable to earthquake and accidental cutting, as are all lines. I don't think FEMA has a complete answer on a national system yet... 01:58:12 PM Rick Tobin:The UN and other countries, like Canada, are pushing for larger system, that have a standard look, feel, and use for information management during disaster... 01:59:00 PM Rick Tobin:Burt Wallrich, who is online with us, is also developing such a network for local non-profit and other accessible resources through the NERIN project... 01:59:30 PM Rick Tobin:that's just one example of trying to develop standardized systems, but there is no single "blueprint" answer out there, yet... 01:59:48 PM Rick Tobin:I think RIMS works for California, but I don't know that it would work for the entire nation. 01:59:49 PM Ken Jordan:? 01:59:52 PM Rick Tobin:end of comment 02:00:03 PM Amy Sebring:Last question. ken 02:00:16 PM Ken Jordan:Was OASIS funded completely by the state of California or were there other resources available? 02:01:30 PM Rick Tobin:As might be expected, FEMA played a funding role in the process as part of the California Cooperative Agreement Process. It wasn't cheap, and I don't know that funding today would allow for its production in all 50 states. end of comment 02:01:43 PM Amy Sebring:Thank you very much Rick for a thought- provoking session. We will have the transcript of today's session posted in a few days with the background material... 02:01:56 PM Vernon Adler:I have a lot of gray screen time so my questions may lag the 'conversation'. Nevertheless, I'd like to ask if these State and Federal 'lines', often inaccessible one to another, could be integrated in the so-called NDIN, or National Disaster Information Network, currentlfunded at the Federal level? 02:01:56 PM Amy Sebring:http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/980401.htm 02:02:09 PM Rick Tobin:I'm hoping I can discuss some of the other elements of the book in general chat. 02:02:21 PM Amy Sebring:Thank you audience, and since our time is up, we will close down the Tech Arena for today, but we will be in the Virtual Forum room for a few minutes longer, and you are welcome to join us there for open discussion. 02:02:23 PM Burt Wallrich:Thanks Rick and Amy. Good forum! 02:02:31 PM Amy Sebring:That's library. oops 02:02:41 PM Amy Sebring:Thank you also audience for your cooperation today. 02:02:51 PM Amy Sebring:It worked out very well thanks to you. 02:03:05 PM Amy Sebring:Let's go back on over to Virtual Forum.