Saudi Nurses Get Training on Disaster Management

Lulwa Shalhoub, Arab News

JEDDAH, 30 November 2007 — Eighteen Saudi nurses have completed a three-year training program in Japan, a Ministry of Health official said recently. This three-year program consisted of various workshops for teaching different areas of the field, such as disaster response and forensics. "The Saudi-Japanese partnership serves as an instrument for the development of a three-year program leading to the professional and personal development of Saudi nurses in areas of nursing education and disaster-nursing management," said Dr. Muneera Al-Osaimy, director general of the General Directorate of Nursing at the Ministry of Health. Disaster nursing was the main issue of discussion during the Second Scientific Symposium for Disaster Nursing Management that took place at King Fahd General Hospital on Tuesday. "The basic topic today is about disaster nursing, which is convenient to be discussed at this time of the year before the Haj season," said Ryuichi Tomizawa, resident representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at the Embassy of Japan in Riyadh. "This training gives the opportunity for these nurses to utilize their knowledge in disaster nursing during Haj when many accidents happen." He said that disaster-nursing project focuses on the procedures in treating injured people at accident sites and in establishing triage to diagnose and identify more seriously injured persons. "Japan's government has been very cooperative in developing human recourses," said Toshimitsu Ishigure, consul general of Japan in Jeddah. "We have no oil or mineral resources so we are keen on developing our people. That is why we are happy to cooperate with Saudi Arabia to develop its human resources." Al-Osaimy said that Japan is known for dealing with natural disasters, like earthquakes and volcanoes, and that the ministry was correct when it chose Japan for disaster nursing training. "Nurses who underwent the three-year program are now capable of proper planning to deal with accidents that might occur, especially during Haj," said Tomizawa

Severe storms

Thunderstorms, hail, blizzards, high winds and heavy rain can develop quickly and hit hard, threatening life and property. Here are some tips on what to do when a severe storm hits. Have your children and family members discuss and practice these methods for avoiding injury during severe storms.

Indoors

• Stay away from windows, doors and fireplaces .
• During thunderstorms, stay away from items that conduct electricity, such as telephones, appliances, sinks, bathtubs, radiators and metal pipes.
• Do not go outside to remove laundry from the clothesline because it may conduct electricity.

Outdoors

• Take shelter immediately, preferably in a building or, failing this, in a depressed area such as a ditch, culvert or in a cave. Never go under a tree.
• If you are caught in the open , do not lie flat but crouch down with your feet close together and your head down (the "leap-frog" position). By minimizing your contact with the ground, you reduce the risk of being electrocuted by a ground charge.
• Do not ride bicycles, motorcycles, tractors, golf carts or use metal shovels or golf clubs because they may conduct electricity.
• Take cover if hail begins to fall . Do not attempt to cover plants, cars or garden furniture or to rescue animals. Hail comes down at great speed, especially when accompanied by high winds.
• Never touch power lines: a hanging power line could be charged (live) and you could be electrocuted. Remember also that ice, branches or power lines can continue to break and fall for several hours after the end of the precipitation.

In a car

• stop the car (away from trees or power lines that might fall on you) and remain in the car.

Minnesota's trauma translates to lessons in disaster management

Two history making disasters in August taught emergency managers in Minnesota and around the nation what works and what doesn't when the unthinkable becomes reality. Now lawmakers want to tap into that knowledge as the state gears up for the next big one.

"State and local efforts need to be well-coordinated, ready to move at a moment's notice and prepared to see the long-term recovery process through to the end," Representative Ryan Winkler said Wednesday.

Winkler and Senator Linda Higgins convened a legislative working group on disaster planning at the Capitol. Most of what they heard was pretty positive news, which is that training and interagency coordination paid off during the traumatic events of 2007.

"We had our collapsed structure team on site within 8 minutes," Rocco Forte testified.

The former Minneapolis fire chief now heads the city's emergency preparedness office, and was at the center of the storm, so to speak, the night the 35-W bridge collapsed. He ran the emergency operations center which was the nerve center of the massive rescue effort.

"We had victims in the water, we had victims in the debris, we had victims on the banks, and we had victims on the bridge itself."

Forte said had the bridge fallen down five years earlier it would have been a much more chaotic situation. But on that night years of planning, training and building strong relationships with other agencies paid off for the survivors.

"Through mutual aid we were able to take our force of 100 firefighters to about 600 firefighters in a matter of about a half hour."

He said the city's investment in 800 megahertz radios enabled unprecedented communication among emergency responders from different jurisdictions.

Forte remarked that level of cooperation doesn't come naturally. It takes a plan, and getting every agency on the same page before tragedy strikes.

"So not only Minneapolis knew the plan we were going to follow but all the partners who came in and worked with us knew and understood our plan beforehand."

The job of the Emergency Operations Center, he asserts, is to think of what rescuers will need and move it into position before they even arrive.

"For instance it's nighttime and we realize we're going to need lights. We realize we need generators, so we started moving that equipment up to staging areas before they get there."

Forte said the agency has already made some upgrades to its plans as a direct result of the bridge collapse, including having more stockpiles of medication on hand for episodes involving a large number of victims and rescuers.

If anything caught the emergency experts by surprise it was the speed at which sightseers converged on the huge accident scene, which added another layer of complication.

"After about the first 20 minutes of this incident we started having civilians coming in and taking trophy pictures," Forte said.

"At the time we didn't know what caused the bridge to collapse. It could have been terrorism, so we had to treat it as a crime scene."

The legislators also heard testimony on the National Guard's response to the flash floods in southeast Minnesota, which claimed seven lives in August.

Lieutenant Colonel Eric Waage remembered the urgent plea from the Winona County Sheriff, which came at 2:30am August 18.

"He said he had families hanging in trees and rooftops and vehicles swept away," Waage told lawmakers.

He said in the past it would take as long as three days to get the Guard mobilized, but that morning units started arriving within four hours.

"We were in a pretty good position to send units pretty quickly because the two units we selected were already drilling and were exercising for just such an event." Waage reflected.

What worked against them was the region's hilly terrain and blank spots for cell phone reception.

"You're surrounded on all sides by high bluffs and we have a lot of line-of-sight equipment," Waage said.

"What we were short of was satellite communication, and even then, satellites require a large horizon and we didn't have that horizon."

The heroes that come to mind first are the emergency responders and average citizens that put themselves in harm's way to help victims in the river and the rubble. The people coordinating the effort can't be ignored.

new trend was noticed when an earthquake hit Delhi

  NEW DELHI: The world's appetite for news breaks is definitely growing, fuelled in no uncertain terms by Live TV and Internet coverage. But a new trend was noticed when an earthquake hit Delhi and other adjoining areas of the National Capital at 4:40 am Monday morning.

The Net version of this paper, which is updated 24X7 with real time information, had put up the story about the tremor within a minute of its occurrence. While congratulatory messages from people flowing in is the norm whenever a good job is done, what struck one immediately was not that messages were coming in but that most of them were from readers within India.

One would normally expect the readership at that hour to be mostly from the Far East or the US, but for Indian users to access the Net for the latest information early on a cold winter morning was new. It shows two things. One, the Internet is emerging as a credible source of information for people, and two, and more importantly, it is entering their mind space to an extent that they seek it out as well to stay updated.

And the response from the cross-section of society validates that the Net has insidiously crept into their everyday system. Even as students from IIT and JNU campuses, call centre employees, housewives and professionals in the Capital and other parts of India were all praise for the speedy update, for the bunch of overseas Netizens in UK, US and Dubai alike, this brought in some relief to know that their family in India was safe. A much-relieved Lokesh from Dallas in the US wrote in to say, "Got the news while browsing for news in the US. The first thing I did was to call up my mother & brother in Delhi. Although the news sent jitters through me, it was good reporting."

Likewise for Kamal Goklani in St Maarten in the West Indies , who called up his sister in Delhi and Avinash Mathur Down Under who was able to reach out to his family in Delhi/Gurgaon after the news was flashed on the website. Neeraj from Malaysia also sent in a note appreciating "the fast update".

For the Indian audience, the story wasn't much different. Noida-based professional Aman Gupta , who rushed out of office along with other colleagues after the tremors, read the news first on TOI.com after having "searched lots of websites for the news". For JNU student Vikas Gupta the frustration with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) website was visible. "You of course were the first to mention the quake! The IMD's dull website seems clueless and their toll-free weather phone no.18001801717 is useless".

For Noida-based Manish , the reference to the date 26 was uncanny. "It is 26th again! It is just a coincidence that all recent earthquakes have been felt on 26th. In many cases the day also happens to fall just 1-2 days after a full moon or new moon night."
Another reader, Ujjwal , himself is quite kicked about the power of the Net. The reader from Delhi says: I am surprised to see so many comments by 9:00 am. Indeed the power of the Internet can be visualised here. Even after the quake, so many people logged on to see if it is on the Net!"

There are many readers like Ujjwal for whom the Net is no longer a revolution but has become a commonplace reality. And as their numbers grow, the power of the mouse is definitely rising. And in the words of Vips from Delhi's Katwaria Sarai "You people are faster than earthquake", goes on to prove that news on the Net is no longer a mousy affair.

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India offers to help Asia Pacific region build disaster management system

Bangalore (PTI): India on Thursday offered to share its experience in establishing a disaster management support system with countries in the Asia Pacific region.

"This region has a number of islands, large coastal line, and fishing community needing timely information," Secretary, Department of Space, G Madhavan Nair said in his address to the 14th session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) here.

"Low cost communication terminals for the fishermen community to provide information of impending events and rescue operations will go a long way," he said.

Nair, also Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, said the search and rescue method developed by India and the technology for data acquisition platform proven through the INSAT system can be of immense help in the area.

"The Indian satellite provides 'earth observation' once in 40 hours and soon it will be made on a daily basis".

Noting that Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency had taken the initiative to implement "Sentinel Asia" programme aimed at utilising earth observation satellite data for disaster management support system in Asia Pacific region, Nair said India would be playing a very major role in providing appropriate inputs and near real time data in this regard.

He also said there was an urgent need for having a constellation of microwave imaging satellites which can see through the clouds as well as to have more number of earth observation systems for meeting the needs and monitoring parameters which were of paramount importance, especially in the context of global warming.

 

SAUDI GIVES 100MILLION TO CYCLONE HIT BANGLADESH

For detail write up click on link below

SAUDI GIVES 100MILLION TO CYCLONE HIT BANGLADESH

Saudi gives $100 mln cyclone-hit Bangladesh

Saudi gives $100 mln cyclone-hit Bangladesh RIYADH - Oil-rich Saudi Arabia said on Monday it is giving Bangladesh 100 million dollars in emergency aid to help victims of a devastating cyclone, which left thousands dead.

Safe India 2007’ showcases tools for disaster management

Safe India 2007' showcases tools for disaster management Staff Reporter

Sophisticated gadgets including devices for anti-Naxal operations on display

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Gadgets galore: Chief Justice of Karnataka Cyriac Joseph; Jeeja Harising, DGP and CG Home Guards; Vatsala Watsa, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department; and C. Chandrashekar, IGP Fire Services, at 'Safe India 2007' in Bangalore on Thursday.

BANGALORE: It looks very like an executive's briefcase. Open it and you find a lightweight, compact V-SAT communication device, which doubles up as a satellite phone for use in areas cut-off from communication.

The device, called S-Band Briefcase Terminal, is among the many equipment showcased as disaster management tools by the Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL). Developed in association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation and DEAL, Dehradun, BEL displayed this unique device at the three-day "Safe India 2007" exhibition on disaster management, organised by Directorate of Home Guards, Civil Defence and Fire and Emergency Services. The exhibition was inaugurated by Chief Justice of Karnataka Cyriac Joseph here on Thursday.

Deputy General Manager of BEL Manoj Kumar explained that the briefcase terminal helps in establishing a communication network in inaccessible areas which are totally cut-off. "The first man reaching the spot can establish the much-needed communication system and facilitate relief operations. This can be carried anywhere," he said.

Mr. Kumar said the Indian Army was extensively using the briefcase terminals in its combat operations. Chhattisgarh uses the device for their anti-Naxal operation. "Still, there have not been any requests from the States for using this device for disaster management operations," he said.

The Mobile Emergency Operation Centre (MEOC) is another offer from BEL. It looks similar to the vans used by the broadcast media. The all-terrain vehicle carries among other facilities, the VSAT (very small aperture terminal), video camera, video phone and a laptop computer. Communications can be set up within 30 minutes and links can be established with police stations across the country, using the POLNET facility.

This mobile unit can also establish contacts with the Prime Minister's office and many of the Central Government organisations.

Mr. Kumar said the Home Ministry's National Disaster Management was presently using seven such vehicles.

Knowledge base

Besides the stalls showing disaster management devices, the exhibition also showcases organisations involved in disaster management.

One such stall is that of the Green Hounds, the special anti-Naxalite force of Andhra Pradesh Police. "Dealing with Naxalities is also part of disaster management," said G. Krishna Murthy, Additional Superintendent of Police, as he spoke about the modern weaponry, communication equipment and other gadgets used by the force.

Mr. Murthy displayed the "heat-and-eat" food products procured from Mysore, "which sustains our men for 15 days in the jungle," he said.

The Directorate has a separate stall where the work of the Home Guards, Civil Defence and the Fire and Emergency Services is explained to children. The National Disaster Response Force of Central Industrial Security Force, Indian Coast Guard and Nuclear Power Corporation also display their disaster management mechanisms. A HAM (Amateur) Radio Station also finds a spot in the exhibition.

For more info log on to  Disaster Awareness

New guidelines on disaster management released

New Delhi (PTI): With natural and man-made disasters taking a heavy toll, the country is now gearing up to prevent mass casualties during calamities by setting up specialised trauma centres, burn facilities, blood banks and integrated ambulance network.

According to the guidelines prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which were released here on wednesday, emergency medical response at incident site, evacuation of casualties and hospital disaster management planning both for acute and chronic health effects would be rigorously followed to prevent large scale deaths during disasters.

The guidelines, prepared by a number of experts, specialists and representatives from the nodal Health and Family Welfare Ministry as well as other departments focus on prevention of deaths by preparing integrated disease control programmes.

"We prepared the guidelines after conducting mock exercises at 12 different places in the country," General (retd) N C Vij, Vice Chairman of the NDMA, told reporters. The guidelines also espouse a mechanism for minimum standards of relief and provision for rehabilitation and reconstruction and media management.

"We also need to incorporate community-based practices to develop a resilient community," Lt Gen J R Bharadwaj, member of the NDMA said, adding medical preparedness for mass casualty management will also get a mainstay in the education curricula.

 

UN, Remote Sensing Authority Organizes Workshop on Disaster Management

By: Sudanvisiondaily
The United Nations Office for outer space Affairs and the Remote Sensing Authority will organize a workshop on space-based solutions for Disaster Management and Emergency Response from 9th to 12th December 2007.
The general objective of the United Nations/Sudan International UN-Spider workshop is to increase the awareness of national and regional users of the potential of both new UN-SPIDER programme and of Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management, more specifically, nominated National focal points. Northern and Eastern African and Western Asia will have an opportunity of working together during the workshop to share experiences and knowledge and learn of the potential of space-based solutions to support disaster management activities in their respective countries. Learn how to access and use such solutions and also how to implement national policies and activities to take advantage of such solutions.

For more info log on to  Disaster Awareness

Nasa Photo

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Dear All:  

This photo is a very rare one, taken by NASA.  This kind of  event occurs once in 3000 years.
This  photo has done miracles in many lives.     
Make a wish ... you  have looked at the eye of God. Surely you will see the changes in  your
life  within a day.!
Whether  you believe it or not, don't keep this mail with you. Pass this at least  to 7 persons.
This is a picture NASA took with the Hubbell  telescope.
Called "The Eye of God."  
Too  awesome to delete.  
 It is worth  sharing.




During the next  60 seconds, Stop whatever  you are doing, and take this opportunity.
(Literally it is only One  minute!)

Just send  this to people and see what happens. Do not break this,  please.

 

drinking water on empty stomach

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DRINK WATER ON
EMPTY STOMACH
KEEP THE WATER IN A COPPER VESSEL OVERNIGHT

 

It is popular in Japan today to
drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore,
scientific tests have proven a its value. We publish below a description
of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as
modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a
Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases:

 

Headache, body ache, heart system,
arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma,
TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea,
piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and
menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

 

METHOD OF TREATMENT

 

1. As you wake up in the morning
before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water

 

2. Brush and clean the mouth but do
not eat or drink anything for 45 minute

 

3. After 45 minutes you may eat and
drink as normal.

 

4. After 15 minutes of breakfast,
lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours

 

5. Those who are old or sick and
are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by
taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.

 

6. The above method of treatment
will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy
life.

 

The following list gives the number
of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases:

 

1. High Blood Pressure - 30 
days

 

2. Gastric - 10  days

 

3. Diabetes - 30  days

 

4. Constipation - 10  days

 

5. Cancer - 180 days

 

6. TB - 90  days

 

7. Arthritis patients should follow
the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week
onwards - daily.

 

This treatment method has no side
effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate
a few times.

 

It is better if we continue this
and make this procedure as a routine work in our life.

 

Drink Water and Stay healthy and
Active.

 

This makes sense .. The Chinese and
Japanese drink hot tea with their meals ..not cold water. Maybe it is time
we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything
to gain...

 

For more info and comments blog on   Ways2fitness

Meet on disaster risk reduction starts today

NEW DELHI: Faced with threats from almost every possible natural hazard, Asia has taken the lead in setting up the global agenda for disaster risk reduction. China hosted the First Asian Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which adopted the 'Beijing Action for Disaster Reduction in Asia'.

The second two-day Asian ministerial conference begins on Wednesday here and will be attended by over 500 delegates from across the world, including ministers, scientists and UN representatives. Disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness has been one of the core areas of concern for Times Foundation , the social arm of the Times Group , is supporting the conference.

A number of regional and international organisations have joined hands with the Union home ministry to collaborate with the conference. These include WHO, United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, United Nations Development Programme as well as World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Times Centre for Disaster Management is a joint initiative of Times Foundation and the University of Mumbai. It aspires to be an apex academic institution, which will be responsible for capacity-building in disaster-preparedness by running both short and long term courses and research projects.

Additionally, Centre aims to create infrastructure and facilities, which would facilitate effective response to any major calamity in the future. The centre will offer certificate programmes from January 2008 and a diploma programme in disaster management from the academic year 2008-09. A similar centre is being planned in Hyderabad.

Times Foundation is also collaborating with various leading associates in the area of disaster management like Disaster Management Training Institute, National Civil Defence College, and Department of Atomic Energy of Government of India.

For more info log on to  Disaster Awareness

UN Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response Opens Office in Bonn | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference - Sent Using Google Toolbar

UN Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response Opens Office in Bonn

PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Thursday, November 1, 2007
Source: United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

VIENNA, 31 October (UN Information Service) - The newly established United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER), which is implemented by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), has opened its first office in Bonn, Germany, on Monday, 29 October 2007.

"UN-SPIDER will provide universal access to all countries and relevant international and regional organizations to space-based information and services relevant to disaster management to support the full disaster management cycle and will have a considerable impact on the way space-based information is used in dealing with disasters around the world," noted Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, Franz Baumann, in his inauguration speech. The programme, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2006, will serve as a gateway to space information for disaster management support, a bridge to connect the disaster management and space communities. UN-Spider will also be a facilitator of capacity-building and institutional strengthening in particular for developing countries.

Besides Vienna, where UNOOSA is located, UN-SPIDER will have offices in Beijing, China and Bonn, Germany, as well as a liaison office in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr. Baumann expressed the hope that the UN-SPIDER Office in Bonn will contribute successfully to the mitigation and prevention of natural disasters, such as the Indian Ocean tsunami catastrophe, via satellite-based disaster information and management. He thanked the authorities of Austria, China and Germany for their contributions to making UN-SPIDER become reality.

Alongside the opening of the UN-SPIDER Bonn Office, a three-day workshop is bringing together experts from around the world to discuss and shape the future activities of UN-SPIDER. This workshop is the starting point for a series of regional workshops and expert meetings that will contribute to making space-based information an integral part of disaster management policies worldwide.

* *** *

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) implements the decisions of the General Assembly and of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its two Subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. The Office is responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and assisting developing countries in using space science and technology.

Located in Vienna, Austria, UNOOSA maintains a website at http://www.unoosa.org .

FW: Cinnamon: For Spice and Good Health

Akbar  Jiwani

9867700066

9323500008

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 An interesting article to read on

Cinnamon: For Spice and Good Health