Indeed, Lynn. And it's not a matter of if, but when it happens. Though California collections have put more emphasis in recent years on fortifying their buildings to make them more prepared for the big one when it comes.
Kinda makes me wonder if there isn't an opportunity here (with our larger meeting and more international members joining us in Orlando) for a mini-symposium on collection emergency preparedness or lack thereof. Hint, hint... The earthquake here in 2011 followed 4 days later by Hurricane Irene taught us much about our physical infrastructure and what we were doing right vs. what could be improved. Entomology survived without a single specimen lost (and across the museum the loss of specimens was relatively small), but we are STILL in the process of fixing the damage.
Floyd
---------------------------------------------------------
Floyd W. Shockley, Ph.D., F.R.E.S.
Collections Manager (Acting)
Department of Entomology
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 165
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Tel (office): 202-633-0982
Fax (office): 202-786-2894
Mobile (personal): 703-789-4924
Email: [log in to unmask]
Staff Website: http://entomology.si.edu/StaffPages/ShockleyF.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Entomological Collections Network Listserve [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lynn Kimsey
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2016 2:57 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Delhi museum catastrophe
Doug,
That's horrible. They've basically lost their biological heritage in one fire. This is what worries me about collections in California. Most of them are located on major fault lines.
Lynn
________________________________________
From: Entomological Collections Network Listserve <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Doug Yanega <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2016 10:26:05 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Delhi museum catastrophe
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36136752
This the NMND, India's National Museum, and this is truly an appalling disaster. They do not report any injuries, which is good, but our colleagues there are apparently now without either a home, or a collection. Truly devastating.
Sincerely,
--
Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
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