Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TH#%AMECOCK Online five days a week starting Thursday. Sweet. I www.dailygamecock.com ■ puns • conunuED froid i President’s Perspective, during which USC President Andrew Sorensen will talk about academics, research and other aspects of USC. To close out the retreat, participants will go to Williams-Brice Stadium to watch USC take on the University of Central Florida on Thursday in this season’s opener. Comments on this 'story? E-mailgamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu A LfiB • COflTinilCD PROm I Lab is to facilitate the training and use of geographic information sciences for the analysis and management of environmental hazards, whether they be human induced or natural,” said researcher Bryan Boruff. Students and professors combine traditional means of | data collection, such as interviewing people affected by a disaster, with more advanced technological tools. Chris I Emrich, geography Ph.D. candidate and Hazards Research Manager, said the HRL makes frequent use of remotely sensed I data (satellite images and aerial photographs) and geographic information systems, which analyze and display digital " information spatially. Funding for this research comes from a variety of sources, 1 _>_ including NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the S.C. Emergency Management Division of FEMA. Emrich said most hurricane deaths result from non evacuation storm-surge drownings. This ties into one of the main focuses of HRL researchers — the study of vulnerable populations. This involves understanding the characteristics of a population and locating where those people most at risk live. When emergency managers know this information, preventative steps can be taken during an evacuation to save lives. The HRL studies hazards caused by nature and humans. For example, the HRL was chosen earlier this year by the Department of Homeland Security to be part of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. Under the direction of Susan Cutter, professors and students study the origins of terrorism and how to better prepare the U.S. to resist terrorism attempts. Other current research projects include assessing tsunami vulnerability in the Pacific Northwest, examining the human responses to the Graniteville chlorine spill and creating flood risk maps for South Carolina. In addition to the usual motivation among academics to publish research, the HRL hopes to see the results of their research help in future disasters. “Hopefully, policy and decision makers will take our results into consideration when planning for and responding to disasters,” Emrich said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm. sc. edu d(i(HUGE • connnuED mom i became clearer with every tale of misery. Mississippi’s governor said the number of dead in one county alone could be as high as 80. “At first light, the devastation is greater than our worst fears. It’s just totally overwhelming,” Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the morning after Katrina howled ashore with winds of 145 mph and engulfed thousands of homes in one of the most punishing storms on record in the United States. Bill Lokey, an official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called Katrina “the most significant natural disaster to hit the United States.” In New Orleans, water began rising in the streets Tuesday morning, swamping an estimated 80 percent of the city and prompting the evacuation of hotels and hospitals. The water was also rising perilously inside New Orleans’ Superdome, and Blanco said the tens of thousands of people now huddled there and other shelters would have to be evacuated as well. “The situation is untenable,” Blanco said at a news conference. “It’s just heartbreaking.” Because of two levees that broke Tuesday, the city was rapidly filling with water, the governor said. She also said the power could be out for a long time, and the storm broke a major water main, leaving the city without drinkable water. Also, looting broke out in some neighborhoods. New Orleans lies mostly below sea level and is protected by a network of pumps, canals and levees. Officials began using helicopters to drop 3,000-pound sandbags onto one of the levees, hoping to close the breach. All day, rescuers were also seen using helicopters to drop lifelines to victims and pluck them from the roofs of homes cut off by floodwaters. The Coast Guard said it rescued some 1,200 people. --—-1 <0 yM Pol NTE WEST^HPP 739•0899 Share your space, but live on your own. All furnishings pictured are from Wal-Mart. Storage Get everything for your dorm room at Walmart.com and still afford tuition. WAL-MART* ALWAYS LOW PRICES. a am !%■ WQIITKirT.COfTi