(Posted September 12, 2005)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College faculty experts on geology, civil engineering and environmental science will present a panel discussion, "The Katrina Disaster: Why and What's Next?" at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9 in Alumni Hall in the Brumbaugh Academic Center, followed at 7 p.m. by a documentary film on the legendary 1900 flood that devastated Galveston, Texas in A-202 in the Brumbaugh Academic Center on the Juniata campus.

The event is free and open to the public. David Lehmann, associate professor of geology, encourages students from area schools to attend to hear the presentations and participate in the discussion.

Among the topics to be discussed will be: how hurricanes affect the coastal environment and communities on the coast; hurricane protection and levee stability; how disease and sanitation issues can affect communities and people; and the economic costs of hurricanes.

The documentary film to be shown at 7 p.m. in Room A-202 is "Isaac's Storm" an award-winning documentary centered on the devastating 1900 hurricane that obliterated Galveston, Texas on Sept. 8, 1900. More than 8,000 people lost their lives, more than twice the combined death tolls for the 1889 Johnstown Flood and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The documentary is centered on Isaac Cline, the chief weatherman for the state of Texas. Cline had predicted that a major storm was about to approach Galveston, but could get few officials to act on the information.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.