AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Friday Briefing: London Acid Attacks, Flooding, Wildfire Threat

Emergency and disaster management briefing for July 14, 2017: Arrested suspect admits to killing four missing men in Pennsylvania, police arrest teenager after acid attack spree in London, hot and dry conditions are set to impede fire fighting efforts in the western United States, an Air Canada flight nearly lands on a busy taxiway at San Fransisco’s International Airport, the H3N2 swine flu is confirmed in hogs at an Ohio county fair, a U.S. Army soldier has been arrested and charged with terrorism, knife wielding attackers kill 11 at a child’s birthday party, and the Des Plaines River continues to rise following severe storms and heavy rains.

  1. The search for four missing men may be over after [link url=”http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cosmo-dinardo-suspect-confesses-to-killing-4-pennsylvania-men-tells-police-where-to-find-bodies/” title=”investigators in Bucks County, Pennsylvania discovered human remains”] in a grave nearly 13 feet deep. The grave was found after Cosmo DiNardo, a person of interest in the case and said to be suffering from schizophrenia, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/13/cosmo-dinardo-confesses-to-murders-4-missing-pennsylvania-men-will-be-spared-death-penalty-lawyer-says.html” title=”reportedly confessed to the murders on Thursday and then told police where to find the bodies”]. Reports also indicate that another individual might have been involved in at least three of the murders. 
  2. A teenager has been arrested following [link url=”http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-40604002″ title=”five acid attacks in London”] that occurred during a 90 minute period overnight Thursday by two male suspects riding mopeds. The attackers first threw acid in the face of a man at the junction of Hackney and Queesnbridge Roads before stealing the man’s vehicle and carrying out four more attacks around the city, one of which caused life-changing injuries. Acid attacks in London nearly doubled from 2015 to 2016, and there have been [link url=”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/14/teenager-arrested-five-acid-attacks-london-90-minute-period/” title=”over 1,800 attacks with corrosive substances since 2010″] within the city. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/initial-hazmat-planning-response/” url2=”http://edmdigest.com/response/health-information-management-video/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/advantages-of-using-response-times-as-a-metric/”]
  3. The threat of wildfires is set to grow this weekend as a [link url=”https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/surge-of-heat-may-incite-new-fires-across-already-ravaged-western-us/70002185″ title=”high pressure system over the west brings extreme heat and dry conditions”] that are likely to help fuel fires in the western United States. The heat will also enhance the risk of new wildfires, with [link url=”https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=usa&wwa=Red%20Flag%20Warning” title=”red flag warnings already issued in Oregon, Montana, and Nevada”]. Wildfires are currently burning in every state west of the Rocky Mountains including Alaska and New Mexico and [link url=”https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm” title=”wildfires across the country have consumed more than 3.95 million acres to date in 2017″]. 
  4. An incident on Friday night at the San Fransisco International Airport (SFO) involving [link url=”http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/11/sfo-near-miss-air-canada-flight-got-extremely-close-to-planes-on-taxiway/” title=”an Air Canada flight is under investigation”] by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) after the aircraft narrowly avoided landing on a taxiway that held four wide body jets waiting to take off. Flight AC759 from Toronto was on approach to land at SFO when a pilot asked “where’s that guy going?” alerting the air traffic controller that something was wrong. The tower requested the Air Canada pilot to go around and the pilot complied, [link url=”https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/07/12/air-canada-pilot-didnt-mention-taxiway-near-miss-to-passengers.html” title=”coming within 100-200 feet of the four aircraft on the taxiway”], narrowly averting a catastrophic disaster. 
  5. At least two animals have [link url=”https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio/articles/2017-07-14/ohio-county-fair-hogs-to-be-destroyed-after-swine-flu-found” title=”tested positive for the H3N2 swine flu at the Clinton County fair in southwest Ohio”], causing officials to order the slaughter of nearly 300 hogs. Officials ordered everything in the barn to be destroyed, including animals, then confirmed the barn will need to be thoroughly disinfected to prevent recontamination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that [link url=”http://www.wlwt.com/article/clinton-county-fair-hog-barn-to-be-destroyed-due-to-swine-flu/10304124″ title=”humans contract the virus from prolonged exposure to contaminated hogs”], such as at agricultural fairs.  [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/tipra-influenza-pandemic/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/sunday-book-reviews-pandemics/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/improvised-nuclear-devices-guide/”]
  6. After nearly a year long investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Army, Ikaika Erik Kang, 34, has been arrested and charged with terrorism. Kang was an active duty U.S. Army air traffic control operator stationed in Hawaii and was [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hawaii-army-soldier-thought-911-false-flag-attack-48623920″ title=”ordered to be held without bail”] due to fears he is a flight risk. Kang allegedly [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/14/politics/army-soldier-isis-flag/index.html” title=”pledged allegiance to ISIS and appeared intent on joining and assisting the group”]. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/media-blockouts-terrorism/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/rethinking-security-terrorist-attacks/” url3=”http://edmdigest.com/response/response-considerations-vehicles-become-terrorist-weapons/”]
  7. A vicious attack at a [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/11-killed-gunmen-party-central-mexico-48615136″ title=”child’s birthday party on Thursday in central Mexico by knife wielding attackers”] resulted in the deaths of 11 people, two of which were minors. Seven females and four males were killed in the attack, including one man whose identification noted he was a Mexico City police officer. The Hidalgo state prosecutor, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/07/13/11-killed-by-attackers-at-childs-birthday-party-in-mexico.html” title=”Javier Ramiro Lara Salinas”] indicated that the attack, which appears to be a “settling of scores,” occurred in Tizayuca, a town just north of Mexico City. 
  8. In Lake County, Illinois, recent severe weather and torrential rains have caused [link url=”http://abc7chicago.com/weather/des-plaines-river-still-rising;-rauner-to-tour-lake-county-flood-damage/2216321/” title=”the Des Plaines River to overflow its banks”], flooding nearly 100 homes and about 16 businesses, but the river has yet to reach its crest. Homes and businesses along the river and throughout the area at risk have used sandbags to keep out as much water as possible, and rising water levels have forced numerous road closures. [link url=”http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/07/13/flooding-north-suburbs-gurnee-lincolnshire/” title=”Flood warnings are in effect for several areas”] and officials expect the river to crest above major flood levels at about 12 feet, breaking the current record in Gurnee, Illinois of 11.9 feet. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/a-whole-community-approach/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/ngos-filling-gaps-in-planning-response-recovery/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/cert-teams-an-important-part-of-community-resiliency/”]

Kimberly Arsenault serves as an intern at the Cleveland/Bradley County Emergency Management Agency where she works on plan revisions and special projects. Previously, Kimberly spent 15 years in commercial and business aviation. Her positions included station manager at the former Midwest Express Airlines, as well as corporate flight attendant, inflight manager, and charter flight coordinator. Kimberly currently holds a master's degree in emergency and disaster management from American Public University.

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