| |
June 26, 2006
Dear Members and Friends of GHI,
Recent attention to the 100th Anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake on April
18 placed some key issues regarding natural disaster preparedness, prevention and mitigation
in the international spotlight. The century of progress that has improved earthquake safety
standards in California provides a model for the world. GHI's mission involves "exporting"
the lessons learned in California, as well as others learned in Europe and Japan, to vulnerable
communities in the developing world. We are grateful to the Munich Reinsurance Company for
including the GHI story in the current issue of its publication on losses and loss prevention,
Schadenspiegel. Also courtesy of Munich Re, we now have a generous supply of article reprints
that will help us tell our story (See "Exporting earthquake safety practices from California -
A look at the work of GeoHazards International.")
Update on India and Central Asia Projects
Our recent USAID-funded work in Delhi to retrofit five lifeline buildings will serve
as a model for projects in other cities of India. The expertise of Mel Green, Bill Holmes,
Kip Edwards and Ed Idriss significantly enhances our contribution through this project.
We now expect an extension of funding for our project work in Delhi to initiate actual
construction. In Central Asia, the Hospital and School Disaster Preparedness Handbooks
(Russian editions) have been developed with multi-national teams and will be distributed
electronically in the near future. The project's ten five-minute public education videos,
produced with funding from Risk Management Solutions, are now being shown on television
throughout the region.
Tsunami Preparedness
Although the South Asia Tsunami has moved from center stage in the world's media focus,
GHI continues to take a long-term, strategic view of the developing world's rapidly increasing
natural disaster risk. In accordance with our mission, we seek ways to assist threatened
regions with tsunami disaster awareness, preparedness, prevention and mitigation measures.
Supported by funding from the National Academy of Sciences, GHI's Laura Samant is now
preparing tsunami materials developed in the United States for adaptation abroad. Experts
will convene at a GHI-organized workshop in November to review materials assembled in this
project before they are distributed in at-risk regions.
Ishiyama Foundation Funds GHI Endowment
|
|
| |
|
GHI Trustees express their gratitude to Terrie McDonald, representative of the Ishiyama Foundation, San Francisco, at April 12th luncheon in Palo Alto. |
GHI received a contribution to our endowment in the amount of $75,000.00 from the Ishiyama
Foundation, San Francisco, in December 2005. Terrie McDonald represented the Foundation at an
informal luncheon with the GHI Board of Trustees following the Board meeting on April 12, 2006,
at which time the Board expressed appreciation for the gift. Terrie's interest in the mission
and work of GHI underlies her support and advocacy on behalf of the organization.
Page 1 |
