What's New

Congressional Briefing on Eroding Coastlines: Geological and Societal Impacts of Extreme Storms, Wetland Loss, and Sea Level Rise
The American Geophysical Union and Geological Society of America, in cooperation with the Congressional Hazards Caucus Alliance and the Congressional Hazards Caucus, invite you to a briefing on "Eroding Coastlines: Geological and Societal Impacts of Extreme Storms, Wetland Loss, and Sea Level Rise." The briefing will be held on November 18, 2009 from 11:30 - 12:30 pm in 2359 Rayburn. Contact Kaitlin Chell (kchell@agu.org) to RSVP, or for more information.

Congressional Briefing on The Future of Disaster Mitigation
The National Emergency Management Association, in cooperation with the Congressional Hazards Caucus Alliance and the Congressional Hazards Caucus, invite you to a briefing on "The Future of Disaster Mitigation: Integrating Operations, Insurance, and Building Codes into the Overall Mitigation Strategy". In June 2009, NEMA released a white paper titled “Recommendations for an Effective National Mitigation Effort.” The paper, and the preceding collaborative effort, was a successful example of the power of Federal, State, local, and organizational cooperation to call attention to disaster preparedness. Join us for a discussion on the future of mitigation. The briefing will be held on September 10, 2009 from 10:30 - 12:00 pm in 2253 Rayburn. Contact Alexa Noruk (anoruk@csg.org) to RSVP, or for more information.

Congressional Briefing on Disaster Preparedness: Lessons from the California ShakeOut
The Geological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, and Seismological Society of America, in cooperation with the Congressional Hazards Caucus Alliance and the Congressional Hazards Caucus, invite you to a briefing on "Disaster Preparedness: Lessons from the Great Southern California Shakeout". Over 5 million people participated in the Great Southern California ShakeOut, the largest disaster preparedness drill in U.S. history. The briefing will feature the science behind the ShakeOut and changes that are taking place to strengthen infrastructure and improve emergency response. The briefing will be held on July 29, 2009 from 2:30 - 3:30 pm in the Capitol Visitors Center (SVC 215). RSVP is required for entry by non-Hill staff. Contact Craig Schiffries (cschiffries@geosociety.org) for more information and to RSVP.

Congressional Briefing on Wildfires
The National Fire Protection Association and the American Geophysical Union, in cooperation with the Congressional Hazards Caucus Alliance and the Congressional Hazards Caucus, invite you to a briefing on "Climate Change and the Science of Safeguarding our Communities from Wildfires". The panel will explore the science and societal impacts of increasing wildfire frequency and intensity, the latest approaches to wildfire modeling and mitigation. The briefing will take palce on July 6, 2009
from 10:30 - 12:00pm in 2103 Rayburn House Office Building.

Congressional Briefing on Long-term Recovery
The Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness, in cooperation with the Congressional Hazards Caucus Alliance and the Congressional Hazards Caucus, invites you to a briefing on “Beyond Preparedness and Response: The Challenges of Long-Term Recovery” on March 10, 2009 in the Capitol Visitor Center (SVC 212/210) from 12-1:30pm. Contact Andy Garfinkel (ajg@broydrick.com) for more information and to RSVP.

Updated Status of Hazards-Related Legislation
The devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean caused by the Sumatra earthquake in 2004, Hurricane Katrina and a record-breaking number of Atlantic Ocean storms in 2005, additional typhoons elsewhere and more recent devastating earthquakes in Pakistan and China are reminders of the need to address risks at the federal level. The 111th Congress will do so in an effort to avoid catastrophe before it happens. A list of hazard-related legislation provides a summary of how the 111th Congress will work together to reduce risks. (1/14/09)

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About the Hazards Caucus

The caucus provides Members with information and education on preparing for, mitigating against and responding to natural disasters and man-made hazards. The caucus provides Members with an opportunity to demonstrate their concern and commitment to reducing hazard losses. The caucus is led by the following co-chairs in the Senate, Senator Mary Landrieu (LA), Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Senator Ben Nelson (NE) and by the following co-chairs in the House, Representative Dennis Moore (KS), Representative Jo Bonner (AL) and Representative Zoe Lofgren (CA). A one page summary of the Caucus is available as a pdf document.

About the Hazards Caucus Alliance

The primary goal of the Hazards Caucus Alliance is to develop a wider understanding within Congress that reducing the risks and costs of natural disasters, as well as man-made hazards, is a public value.  That requires educating Members and staff about the costs of these disasters to their districts and states, and the benefits their constituents will realize through greater efforts to understand, prevent, and mitigate all hazards. The alliance supports the efforts of the caucus, originally established under the leadership of co-chairs Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Senator John Edwards (D-NC) in 2000. A successful caucus reflects a strong partnership between its congressional members and organizations outside Congress that share similar interests. This effort is an outgrowth of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) 2000 forums on public policy issues in natural disaster reduction, a cooperative endeavor of the National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction, the Institute for Business and Home Safety, and other private sector organizations.

Why a Congressional Hazards Caucus?

Jurisdiction for hazards programs, both natural and man-made, is spread among many committees in Congress. Each committee only handles a piece of the overall efforts to prevent and mitigate hazards. A caucus can provide the "big picture" to interested lawmakers and their staff, and give them the opportunity to see how the issues that fall within individual committee jurisdictions fit within a larger national effort. Typical caucus events include Capitol Hill luncheon briefings, roundtable discussions, special forums, receptions, and events targeted to a subgroup of the caucus. Events can also be structured so that they also provide a forum for raising the visibility of a hazards-related topic with the media and the public.

Shared Objectives

• Focus greater attention in Congress on the natural and technological hazards facing the nation and improve understanding of the need to mitigate against the impacts of floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides and land subsidence, tornadoes, volcanoes, wind storms, drought, fire, and tsunamis.

• Enhance the integration of science and engineering in land-use planning and building code development.

• Strengthen public and private support for science and engineering research by demonstrating how advances in science and engineering research can be applied to save lives and money.

• Support the implementation of new technologies, such as geographic information systems, to address societal challenges faced by state and local government and the private sector.

• Identify additional areas of consensus and common interests related to hazards.

Alliance Participants

The Hazards Caucus Alliance is an information network of professional, scientific, and engineering societies, relief organizations, higher education associations, institutions of higher learning, trade associations, and private companies. The alliance has come together with a common desire to reduce the toll -- both human and financial -- of both natural and man-made hazards and to enhance the nation's ability to recover from those events. We plan to work together to help our nation become more resilient to all hazards.

For More Information

The alliance is currently seeking additional congressional members to join the caucus as well as organizations interested in joining the alliance. Please contact Linda Rowan at the American Geological Institute (703-379-2480, ext. 228; rowan@agiweb.org)

Contributed by Linda Rowan and Corina Cerovski-Darriau, AGI Government Affairs Staff

Posted: June 11, 2000; Last updated November 10, 2009

Please send any comments or questions about this web site to Linda Rowan.