Port Alfred, South Africa—At the invitation of The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS), PDC Deputy Executive Director Chris Chiesa presented results of the PDC-NASA collaboration at TIEMS 2023, the 30th annual meeting of the organization. Hosted by Rhodes University and Stenden South Africa College from September 12-14, the annual meeting included experts from 30 countries, with more than 50 participants attending in-person and virtually.
During his session “Early Warning and Hydrometeorological Disasters,” Chris Chiesa provided an overview of PDC and an interactive demonstration of DisasterAWARE for active floods in South Africa before showcasing the results of the PDC-NASA collaboration over the past three years, including the recent incorporations of the MoM model to extend PDC hazard coverage for floods and the LHASA 2 model for landslide hazards, which were released in the fall of 2023. A preview of the Center’s development of DisasterAWARE “Checklists”—starting with one for flood hazards to assist disaster management offices and emergency management operations centers to quickly and effectively use DisasterAWARE Pro to monitor, provide warning and respond to flooding events—was also included in Chiesa’s presentation. The Checklists will be extended to wildfire and landslide hazards in the coming months.
“We were excited to share the fruits of our collaboration with NASA and its partners with such a diverse international audience of disaster management professionals and students. It generated significant interest in DisasterAWARE, the expanded hazard coverage for floods and landslides, and for Checklists.,” said Chiesa during the meeting.
Dr. Shanna N. McClain, Disasters Program Manager for NASA’s Earth Science Applied Sciences Program stated, “We are happy to see PDC so widely promote our collaboration and to learn that it was so well received by international disaster managers. We look forward to expanded collaboration and continued partnership with PDC.”
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TIEMS is a global forum for experts specializing in education, training and certification in emergency and disaster management. The organization provides a platform for the exchange of information on the use of innovative methods and technologies to improve on the ability to avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from natural and technological disasters. For further information on the annual conference as well as the work being done to develop and bring the benefits of modern emergency management tools, techniques, and good practices to the international community, visit TIEMS.
