December 1, 1999 Presentation

A New Planning Tool from NOAA
Community Vulnerability Assessment Methodology

with

Sandy W. Eslinger
Coastal Hazards Specialist
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

SUMMARY

EIIP Classroom Online Presentation
Wednesday - December 1, 1999 - 12:00 Noon EST

A New Planning Tool from NOAA
Community Vulnerability Assessment Methodology

Sandy Eslinger
Coastal Hazards Specialist
NOAA's Coastal Services Center

Amy Sebring
Moderator, EIIP Technical Projects Coordinator

The December 1 EIIP Virtual Classroom hosted Sandy Eslinger, Coastal Hazards Specialist with NOAA's Coastal Services Center. Sandy discussed a new Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool that is available on CD-ROM; there is also a Web version, and the NOAA Coastal Services Center plans to offer training.

The Coastal Services Center project is an informational aid designed to assist communities in their efforts to reduce hazard vulnerability. The project was developed in partnership with New Hanover County, North Carolina, one of FEMA's original seven Project Impact pilot communities. The CD-ROM provides a newly developed methodology for conducting a community-wide vulnerability assessment. The tool can be used for all hazards, not just coastal ones. The general methodology is included as a tutorial that steps the user through a process of analyzing physical, social, economic and environmental vulnerability at the community level.

SANDY WARD ESLINGER

Coastal Hazards Specialist
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Sandy Ward Eslinger is an urban planner and coastal hazards specialist and has been with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since October of 1996. Before joining NOAA’s Coastal Services Center, Sandy was the planning director for a regional council of governments in coastal South Carolina. Her background in hazards comes
from several years’ experience as a state and local natural hazards planner and hazard mitigation program manager. In addition to holding several senior regional and state planning positions, Sandy also served as a land use and disaster planner for the Department of Defense.

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