Appendix B Federal Disaster Information Centers*
Advanced System Center (ASC), USGS: A facility in Reston, Virginia, that provides special facilities for member agencies of the Civil Applications Committee (CAC) to integrated classified data into unclassified programs.
Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), DOI/USGS, UAF/GI, ADGGS: Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska. Monitors and studies Alaska's hazardous volcanoes to predict and record volcanic activity and to implement public safety measures. URL: http://www.avo.alaska.edu
Aviation Weather Center (AWC): Kansas City, Missouri. Enhances aviation safety by issuing warnings, forecasts, and analyses of hazardous weather to aircraft in flight and to the aviation community. The center also forecasts weather conditions affecting domestic and international aviation interests out to two days. The AWC is one of nine centers within the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). URL: http://www.awckc.noaa.gov
Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO), DOI/USGS: Vancouver, Washington. Provides accurate and timely information pertinent to the assessment, warning, and mitigation of natural hazards (volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, and debris flows) and performs research into the effects of geologic or hydrologic processes on the landscape (e.g., volcanic gases on the atmosphere, increased sediment transport on streams). URL: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov
Center for Integration of Natural Disaster Information (CINDI): A research facility operated by the USGS to develop better ways to integrate and disseminate disaster data and information. Many other agencies with
natural disaster responsibilities contribute data and expertise to this effort. URL:http://cindi.usgs.gov/events/index/html
Climate Prediction Center (CPC): Washington, D.C. Maintains a continuous watch on short-term climate fluctuations to diagnose and predict them. Assists agencies both inside and outside the federal government in coping with climate-related problems such as food supply, energy allocation, and water resources. The CPC is one of nine centers within the NCEP. URL: http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov
Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), DOD/USACE: Hanover, New Hampshire. Provides research on solving technical problems that develop in cold regions, especially those related to construction, transport, and military operations. CRREL provides this information to defense services, civilian agencies of the federal government, and to state agencies, municipalities, and private industry. URL: http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil
Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center (EDC), DOI/USGS: Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Handles data collection and distribution of images from satellites and aircraft. The EDC holds the three decades of land-surface phenomena information within the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive. The EDC also acts as the Distributed Active Archive Center, or DAAC, for land processes on behalf of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. URL: http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/eros-home.html
Emergency Operations Center (EOC), DOD/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: EOCs provide command and control for emergency operations, which include advance measures, flood response, and post-flood recovery as well as activities to save lives and protect improved property. Additionally, FEMA is supported during disaster response under Public Law 93-288, including the Federal Response Plan. EOCs support the Commanding General U.S. Forces Command and commanders outside CONUS for mobilization, deployment, and sustainment of U.S. forces during contingencies.
Environmental Modeling Center (EMC): Camp Springs, Maryland. Improves numerical weather, marine, and climate predictions at the NCEP through research in data assimilation and modeling. The EMC develops, improves, and monitors data assimilation systems and models of the atmosphere, ocean, and coupled system using advanced methods developed in-
ternally as well as cooperatively with scientists from universities, NOAA laboratories and other government agencies, and the international scientific community. The EMC is one of nine centers within the NCEP. URL: http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov:8000
FEMA National Mapping and Analysis Center and Regional Offices, FEMA: Washington, D.C. Maintains baseline disaster management data and develops integrated products distributed to regional offices, which further assimilate local information for emergency management purposes. URL: http://www.fema.gov/msc
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), DOI/USGS: Hawaii National Park, Hawaii. Monitors and studies Hawaii's hazardous volcanoes to predict and record eruptive activity and to implement public safety measures. URL: http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov
Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC): Camp Springs, Maryland. Provides basic hydrometeorological analysis and forecasts for National Weather Service field offices and the entire meteorological community. HPC meteorologists are experts in quantitative precipitation forecasting and numerical model interpretation. Products provided by the HPC include surface analyses, outlooks for heavy rain and snow, and weather forecasts through 5 days. The HPC is one of nine centers within the NCEP. URL: http://www.ncep.noaa.gov/HPC
Mapping Applications Center (MAC), DOI/USGS: Reston, Virginia. Serves as the U.S. government's leading civilian organization devoted to developing maps and geospatial data based on high altitude photographs, earth orbiting satellite images, and other technologically advanced and unconventional sources. URL: http://www-nMDusgs.gov/mac
Marine Prediction Center (MPC): Issues marine warnings and guidance in text and graphical format for maritime users. Quality controls marine observations globally from ship, buoy, and automated marine observations for gross errors prior to being assimilated into computer model guidance. The MPC is one of nine centers within the NCEP. URL: http://www.ncep.noaa.gov/MPC
Mid-Continent Mapping Center (MCMC), DOI/USGS: Rolla, Missouri. Operates as a major field production facility in the National Mapping Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. Produces paper and digital maps.
An Earth Science Information Center (ESIC), where walk-in and phone orders for USGS products are processed, is also part of the mapping center. URL: http://pluto.er.usgs.gov/xindex.html
National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), DOC/ NOAA/NWS: Washington, D.C. Provides worldwide weather forecast guidance products. This agency is the starting point for all weather forecasts. It is the parent center for Tropical Prediction Center (TPC) and National Hurricane Center (NHC). URL: http://www.ncep.noaa.gov
National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), DOC/NOAA: Asheville, North Carolina. Supports programs involving remotely sensed and in situ information on meteorology and climate. NCDC operates World Data Center-A (WDC-A) for Meteorology under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, with the responsibility of gathering data on global climate and weather. URL: http://demo1.eis.noaa.govnesdis/nesdis_ncdc.html
National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC), DOI/USGS: Golden, Colorado. Determines earthquake locations following occurrence, alerts appropriate entities, archives earthquake information, and performs active research to improve earthquake detection. URL: http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov
National Hurricane Center (NHC), Tropical Prediction Center (TPC), DOC/NOAA/NWS: Miami, Florida. NHC and its parent center, TPC, maintain a continuous watch on tropical cyclones over the Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific (from May 15 through November 30); they prepare and distribute hurricane watches and warnings, as well as marine and military advisories; conduct research to evaluate and improve hurricane forecasting techniques; and are involved in public awareness programs. The TPC is one of nine centers within the NCEP. URL: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) Disaster Support Center: Washington, D.C. Provides products derived from classified assets to U.S. government agencies. URL: http://www.nima.mil
National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), DOI (BLM, FWS, NPS, BIA, OAS), USDA (USFS), DOC (NOAA/NWS): Boise, Idaho. Serves as primary U.S. logistical support center for wildfire suppression; also serves as
a focal point for wildfire information and technology. URL: http://www.nifc.gov
National Response Center (NRC), DOT/USCG: Washington, D.C. Serves as the sole national point of contact for reporting all oil, chemical, radiological, biological, and etiological discharges into the environment anywhere in the United States and its territories; sends alerts to appropriate entities; and serves as the communications and operations center for the National Response Team (NRT). URL: http://www.dot.gov/dotinfo/uscg/hq/nrc
National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), DOC/NOAA/NWS: Norman, Oklahoma. Enhances national capabilities to provide accurate and timely forecasts and warnings of hazardous weather events (e.g., blizzards, ice storms, flash floods, tornadoes, lightning) through research into weather processes, research in forecasting and warning techniques, and development of operational applications and transfer of technology. URL: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov
National Storm Prediction Center (SPC): Norman, Oklahoma. SPC monitors hourly and forecasts severe and non-severe thunder-storms, tornadoes, winter storms, extreme winds, heavy rain, and other hazardous weather phenomena across the continental United States. Its parent agency is the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (DOC/NOAA/NWS). URL: http//www.nssl.noaa.gov/~spc
National Weather Service (NWS), DOC/NOAA: Silver Spring, Maryland. Serves to protect the life and property of U.S. citizens from natural disasters by issuing warnings and forecasts for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, winter and summer storms, and all manner of severe or extreme weather. URL: http://www.noaa.gov/nws/nws.html
Pacific Disaster Center (PDC), DOD: Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. The PDC is a federal center designed to provide world-class information support to federal, state, and local disaster managers in mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for disasters within the Pacific region. The PDC is being developed under the auspices of the DoD with the goal of transitioning the operation to an appropriate federal civil agency at the full operational capability milestone. URL: http://www.pdc.org
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), DOC/NOAA/NWS: Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii. Serves as operational center of the Pacific Tsunami Warning System (PTWS), providing Pacific basin tsunami watches, warnings, and information/education services to the disaster preparedness community and the general public.
Rocky Mountain Mapping Center, DOI/USGS: Denver, Colorado. Produces and develops map products and conducts research, concentrating activities in western United States. Facility is responsible for distributing more than 100,000 map-related products of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal agencies. URL: http://avsrvr-1.cr.usgs.gov
Volcano Systems Center (VSC), University of Washington and USGS: Seattle, Washington. Formed to integrate research across disciplines to understand the role of volcanic systems in geological evolution. URL: http://www.vsc.washington.edu
West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WC/ATWC), DOC/NOAA/NWS: Palmer, Alaska. Serves as the Tsunami Warning Center for Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California; provides timely tsunami warnings, watches, advisories, and information/education services to the disaster preparedness community and the general public. URL: http://www.alaska.net/~at+wc