The results of the official Congressional investigation into the government's preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Presenting the results of an ambitious research activity this book intends to understand why Early Warning Systems (EWSs) fail. However, from the beginning, the objective turned out to be challenging; first, because, so far, there is not a shared understanding of what an EWS is (among both researchers and practitioners communities); second, as a consequence, because it is equally unclear when an EWS can be considered successful or not. Due to this, the research needed first to face some “open questions” instead of going straight to the point under investigation. Specifically, it was first necessary to define EWS, identify its components and functions, peculiarities, and weak points. Only at that point, a first attempt to evaluate EWS performance was possible. Flood Early Warning Systems Performance is organised according to the conceptual steps required by the research. In part I the “open questions” about the definition and the role of EWSs are handled, the aim being the identification of how to evaluate their effectiveness/performance. Part II focuses on the real aim of the research, providing concepts and tools to assess EWS performance; suggested tools are also implemented in a case study to describe how they can be applied in practice. Focusing specifically on the topic of flood risk in mountainous regions, the book can be viewed as a sort of manual for EWS designers, managers, and users. It is organised into different independent sections which will appeal both to experts as well as those with an interest in the subject. Most of results can also be exported to other hazards.

Apply the experience of dozens of leading authorities with the new Organizing for Fire and Rescue Services. This special fire service edition of NFPA's Fire Protection Handbook is comprised of 35 informative chapters that present the big picture in a single volume. All the topics fire service managers and fire and life safety educators need to know about are here including: Fire and fire science basics including fire data collection and databases, and use of incident data and statistics Information on fire and life safety education including how to reach high-risk groups, understanding media, and evaluation techniques Guidance on fire department administration and operations, pre-incident planning, EMS, training, apparatus and equipment, PPE, managing response to haz-mat incidents, rescue operations, fireground operations, and more! Order your copy today and put time-tested knowledge to work for you!

Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering for Protection and Development of Environment and Constructions contains invited, keynote and theme lectures and regular papers presented at the 7th International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering (Rome, Italy, 17-20 June 2019. The contributions deal with recent developments and advancements as well as case histories, field monitoring, experimental characterization, physical and analytical modelling, and applications related to the variety of environmental phenomena induced by earthquakes in soils and their effects on engineered systems interacting with them. The book is divided in the sections below: Invited papers Keynote papers Theme lectures Special Session on Large Scale Testing Special Session on Liquefact Projects Special Session on Lessons learned from recent earthquakes Special Session on the Central Italy earthquake Regular papers Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering for Protection and Development of Environment and Constructions provides a significant up-to-date collection of recent experiences and developments, and aims at engineers, geologists and seismologists, consultants, public and private contractors, local national and international authorities, and to all those involved in research and practice related to Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering.