NOAA Pacific Services Center Support of Hazard Mitigation Planning in the US Flag Pacific Islands

摘要

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Pacific Services Center (PSC) is supporting hazard mitigation planning efforts underway in the U.S. Flag Pacific Islands by enhancing capacity and improving coordination. The PSC has built local capacity in the areas of geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing on the islands of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). In addition to the islands assistantships program and a number of training workshops for coastal resource management staff, the PSC has been involved in larger NOAA efforts to provide high-resolution satellite remote sensing data to the islands. This imagery is being used as base geospatial data layers in the development of hazard mitigation plans. A "Roundtable of Federal Mitigation Partners in the Pacific Islands" (FMPPI) was held in Honolulu, Hawafi, on March 11 and 12, 2003. This meeting brought together more than 50 representatives from Pacific Island agencies, institutions, and organizations involved in hazard mitigation-related projects and activities being conducted at the federal level. A key outcome of the March 2003 FMPPI meeting is the embryonic action plan that calls for a Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to play the lead role in supporting dialogue between the users and providers of information. Members of the RCC will be drawn from several working groups or hui o hana. These working groups will provide guidance to the RCC in its efforts to evaluate and prioritize regional hazards-related products and services needs.