EDM Monday Briefing: Oregon Standoff, Floods in Missouri and Illinois, Earthquake in India

Emergency and disaster management Monday Briefing for January 4, 2016: A rancher-rights protest in Oregon leads to an armed standoff, Missouri and Illinois try to recover from severe flooding, and a 6.7-magnitude earthquake strike eastern India.

1. A group of [link url=”http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/drama_in_burns_ends_with_quiet.html” title=”armed militiamen occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon“] this weekend in protest of federal land use in the West. The occupation of the wildlife refuge occurred after a [link url=”http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-04/militiamen-seize-us-government-buildings-reports/7065464″ title=”demonstration of about 300 people took place in nearby Burns, OR“]. The group, which is believed to total [link url=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oregon-militia-federal-building_568959dfe4b06fa688829f2c” title=”about a dozen people“], have said that they [link url=”http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/drama_in_burns_ends_with_quiet.html” title=”have enough supplies to stay for years“].
2. Several law enforcement organizations are [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/armed-activists-in-oregon-touch-off-unpredictable-chapter-in-land-use-feud/2016/01/03/17a45e5c-b272-11e5-a76a-0b5145e8679a_story.html” title=”monitoring the situation“] but have not yet taken action. Police are asking residents to [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ff-militia-oregon-20160103-story.html” title=”stay away from the refuge“] for their own safety, pending a resolution to the standoff. Many schools in the region will also be closed to start the week. [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-monitoring-situation-oregon-national-wildlife-refuge/story?id=36075007″ title=”The FBI is taking the lead“] in monitoring the situation, working with local and state law enforcement agencies to “bring a peaceful resolution to the situation.”
3. President Barack Obama [link url=”http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/obama-declares-state-emergency-missouri-provides-flood-recovery-help” title=”declared state of emergency in Missouri“] this weekend to help the state recover from destruction caused by recent floods. Heavy rains have caused the [link url=”http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/huge-cleanup-effort-remains-missouri-floods-slowly-recede-n489286″ title=”worst floods since at least 1993“] and there have been at least 15 fatalities in the state as a result of the extreme weather.
4. More than a foot of rain fell in parts of Missouri and Illinois, resulting in [link url=”http://www.nujournal.com/page/content.detail/id/1010497/Illinois–Missouri-access-damage–cleanup-after-flooding.html?isap=1&nav=5032″ title=”record crests of the Mississippi River and other waterways“]. Emergency crews have been contending with flooded roadways, [link url=”http://www.nujournal.com/page/content.detail/id/1010650/Illinois–Missouri-assess-damage–cleanup-after-flooding.html” title=”damaged wastewater treatment plants“], and rare cold-weather flood conditions.
5. Parts of southern Illinois are also battling floods like neighboring Missouri areas. A dozen Illinois counties were [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-weather-idUSKBN0UH0ND20160103″ title=”declared disaster area“] and at least nine Illinois residents died in the floods. Governor Bruce Rauner [link url=”http://wgntv.com/2016/01/02/rauner-activates-national-guard-in-flood-ravaged-southern-illinois-counties/” title=”activated the Illinois National Guard“] to help with flood recovery efforts in the affected regions in the southern part of the state.
6. At least six people are dead and at least a hundred injured after a [link url=”http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/03/india-earthquake-myanmar-border/78241542/” title=”6.7 magnitude earthquake struck eastern India“]. The quake occurred in the Manipur state near the India-Myanmar border, a region that is considered to be [link url=”http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/6-8-magnitude-earthquake-recorded-near-india-myanmar-border-n489501″ title=”one of the most seismically hazardous on the planet“].
7. Cleanup efforts continued in [link url=”http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/Tornado-cleanup-continues-in-Blue-Ridge–363963191.html” title=”Texas“], [link url=”http://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/local/2016/01/02/tornado-cleanup-continues-selmer/78152148/” title=”Tennessee“] and [link url=”http://www.wvtm13.com/news/one-week-after-tornado-cleanup-continues-in-birmingham/37229272″ title=”Alabama“] in the aftermath of Christmastime tornadoes that swept through various parts of the U.S. Midwest and Southeast. The series of tornadoes [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/deadly-storm-system-scatters-damage-south-35938531″ title=”killed at least 14“] in the South and resulted in at least [link url=”http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article52141310.html” title=”11 fatalities in Texas“].

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8. According to preliminary data released by the National Weather Service, the state of Kanas had [link url=”http://www.kmbc.com/news/preliminary-data-kansas-saw-tornado-total-jump-in-2015/37244222″ title=”124 confirmed tornadoes in 2015“]. This is a big jump from 41 confirmed tornadoes in 2014. Tennessee had an average number of tornadoes in 2015 — 19 confirmed — but [link url=”http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2016/01/03/tennessee-tornadoes-broke-records-2015/78228548/” title=”the months in which they struck“] made the year unusual. Nine tornadoes struck Tennessee in July and seven struck the state in December — both record numbers.