AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Monday Briefing: Oklahoma Earthquake, Georgia Police Shooting, Wildfires

Emergency and disaster management briefing for November 7, 2016

  1. A [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/07/damage-reported-no-injuries-as-5-0-earthquake-rattles-central-oklahoma.html” title=”magnitude 5.0 earthquake shook Cushing, Oklahoma”] late Sunday evening, causing widespread mild to moderate damage and a few minor injuries. The [link url=”http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us100075y8#executive” title=”U.S. Geological Survey”] indicates that the quake was centered about one mile from Cushing, in the largest oil storage terminal in the world. Officials cordoned off portions of the older downtown area and schools are closed on Monday until a complete assessment of the damages can be completed.
  2. On Sunday evening, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/07/georgia-police-officer-killed-another-wounded-in-shooting.html” title=”one police officer was shot and killed and another wounded in Byron, Georgia”] after responding to a dispute between neighbors. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that someone opened fire on the police officers just after they arrived on the scene. A suspect taken into custody also suffered a gunshot wound, and the condition of the [link url=”http://www.11alive.com/news/local/ga-deputy-killled-in-shooting-identified/348839463″ title=”injured police officer is listed as critical at a Macon area hospital”].
  3. In Spartanburg County, South Carolina on Thursday, [link url=”http://www.goupstate.com/sports/20161105/sheriff-kohlhepp-responsible-for-superbike-motorsports-quadruple-slayings” title=”a woman who went missing in early September, was found alive and chained inside a storage container”] on a large expanse of property. During an ongoing and extensive search, police found a body on Todd Kohlhepp’s property, the alleged suspect, on Friday and confirmed on Saturday that it was Charles Carver, the woman’s boyfriend. Police arrested Todd Kohlhepp, owner of the property, and on [link url=”http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/06/500919205/womans-accused-kidnapper-in-s-c-confesses-to-multiple-murders” title=”Saturday, nearly 13 years to the day, Kohlhepp confessed to another crime — a quadruple homicide”] that occurred at Superbikes Motorsports in Chesnee, S.C.
  4. Officials warn that Central Italy, recently devastated by a series of strong earthquakes, is [link url=”https://www.rt.com/news/365531-italy-earthquakes-future-scientists/” title=”at risk for more of these strong quakes”]. The area sits on two geological fault lines, and after studying satellite imagery, experts noted that the recent quakes have moved the ground either up or down in the area, by nearly 27.5 inches. After studying the recent quakes, [link url=”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/05/italy-faces-more-earthquakes-scientists-warn” title=”scientists believe the chances are high in the near future for another significant quake”] within the same area. Italy is one of the most seismically active regions in Europe.
  5. A strong storm cut through Central Italy on Sunday, spawning a [link url=”https://weather.com/news/news/tornado-italy-cesano-ladispoli-rome” title=”
    tornado that killed two and caused localized flooding”] in Rome, Italy. One man, who was 25, was reportedly killed in Ladispoli when pieces from a building fell off and hit him in the head. According to reports, the other death occurred when a [link url=”https://www.rt.com/news/365563-italy-hit-tornado-storm/” title=”tree fell on a vehicle”], killing retired military officer, Fernando Fiorese.  More storms are expected to [link url=”https://sg.news.yahoo.com/two-dead-tornado-strikes-quake-hit-italy-095438038.html” title=”impact the area throughout Monday”] straining already swollen rivers.
  6. Deemed one of the worst polluters in New England, a power generating station in Holyoke, Massachusetts is about to get a new lease on life. The [link url=”https://www.yahoo.com/news/solar-farm-rises-ashes-coal-burning-power-plant-152705118.html” title=”Mount Tom Power Station, now a defunct coal-burning plant, is being turned into a 5.76-megawatt solar farm”]. The coal-burning plant was decommissioned in 2014, but its French-based parent company, [link url=”http://www.engie-na.com/2016/10/13/comes-sun-coal-solar-power/” title=”Engie, saw an opportunity to provide the local community with a clean, renewable energy source–solar power”]. The major benefit of this project is that the site is already connected to the power grid.  There is also hope that this project can be a role model for other cities considering options for defunct power plants.
  7. The gas pipeline that exploded last Monday in Helena, Alabama was [link url=”https://www.yahoo.com/news/company-blast-damaged-gasoline-line-152023962.html” title=”back in service on Sunday, according to its owner, Colonial Pipeline Co”]. The company noted that it might take a few days for regular service supply schedules to resume following the pipeline’s closure. The [link url=”http://www.wsj.com/articles/gasoline-pipeline-is-back-in-service-after-last-weeks-deadly-blast-1478449286″ title=”pipeline carries fuel from the Gulf Coast to New York City”] and its shut down caused a minor spike in fuel prices for a brief period in several states. [link url=”https://www.yahoo.com/news/company-blast-damaged-gasoline-line-152023962.html” title=”Anthony Lee Willingham, 43, of Heflin, Alabama was killed”] during the explosion that injured four others. The explosion was caused when workers, who were making repairs to the line after a September spill, struck the pipeline with excavation equipment. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/the-dangers-of-hidden-infrastructure/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/infrastructure-critical-to-americas-continued-economic-success/”]
  8. [link url=”https://www.yahoo.com/news/ge-alerts-airlines-engine-part-american-airlines-fire-220510225–sector.html” title=”General Electric Co., maker of the CF6-80C2 engine involved in the fire of an American Airlines engine at Chicago O’Hare last week”], is seeking to have an engine part removed. A “material anomaly” has been noted by the part manufacturer, who said that only a limited number of the these parts were actually installed. GE has confirmed that all but one part has been removed and it is working with the airline whose aircraft contains the remaining part. American Airlines had no other aircraft with this part installed.
  9. As the drought deepens across portions of the United States, [link url=”http://www.thefranklinpress.com/breaking-news-news/crews-battling-fires-throughout-nantahala-national-forest” title=”firefighters are battling fires in various locations, including the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina”]. Hundreds of acres have been burned over the last 16 days, taxing fire fighting resources due the [link url=”http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprdb5354612″ title=”number and frequency of the fires”]. Even though temperatures have gotten cooler, drier vegetation due to decreasing moisture levels continues to increase the fire risk. Six fires remain active across the Nantahala National Forest region, portions of which have caused the closure of the Appalachian trail. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/wildfire-risk-to-shift-from-west-to-east-this-fall/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/wildfires-how-to-prepare-and-protect-homes-and-families/”]
  10. [link url=”http://newschannel9.com/news/local/lookout-mountain-wildfire-grows” title=”Georgia continues to battle a fire on Lookout Mountain”] that had previously quieted down. Citing extremely dry and windy conditions, firefighters have noted that the Lookout Mountain fire is unpredictable and difficult to fight due to updrafts and extremely steep and rocky terrain. There have been no evacuation orders, but a hang gliding business was forced to close temporarily as crews attempted to fight the fire. Smoke from the fire has also settled in parts of [link url=”http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2016/nov/07/fires-wrap-city-smoky-haze/396432/” title=”Chattanooga, TN, as other fires in Tennessee, including on Signal, Mowbray, and Lookout Mountains”] have also impacted the area.

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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