"Preparing for a Pandemic - Forum for Business"
The BC Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Health co-sponsored the Pacific Pandemic Forum for Business on December 15 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver. Approximately 150 representatives from business and government (local, provincial and federal) attended this session. Topics presented at the forum included:
- details on Avian Influenza, its source and its potential impacts
- comparisons of impacts from historical pandemic influenza outbreaks
- economic impacts of a pandemic in today’s business environment
- planning strategies for maintaining business continuity during a pandemic
- business guidelines for pandemic preparedness
Forum speakers represented the medical field, economists, business continuity planners and emergency response planners. Details of the forum presentations and related material are available on the Ministry of Economic Develop website:
http://www.ecdev.gov.bc.ca/Pandemic_Flu/
A 10.5 Earthquake - Fact or Fiction?
Myths are being perpetuated in the earthquake disaster miniseries "10.5" that recently aired on NBC. These myths or errors were identified by scientists, and the following is adapted from the Southern California Earthquake Country website with contributions from geologists, engineers and seismologists in Canada and the United States.
View the pdf file associated with this article
Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes - A Magnitude 9.0 Earthquake Scenario
This scenario was prepared by the Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup
(CREW). We are a partnership of the private and public sectors, created to
help our area prepare for earthquakes. We know that magnitude (M) 8 to 9
earthquakes have occured in our region and will occur again, on average,
every 500 years.
http://crew.org/papers/CREWCascadiaFinal.pdf
Just-in-Time Inventory - Effects on Earthquake Recovery
How long could your business survive without replenishing inventory? It's
an important question if you're in earthquake country. This paper uses the
Seattle area as a case study of how crucial it is to understand inventory
and supply chain practices as part of earthquake preparation.
http://crew.org/papers/JITfinal032405.pdf