AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Monday Briefing: Salt Lake City Shooting Spurs Protests, U.S. Bridges Need Work, More Questions Arise in Flint

Emergency and disaster management briefing for February 29, 2016: A police shooting in Salt Lake City brings protests, a new report points out that nearly 59,000 U.S. bridges are structurally deficient, and more questions about the Flint water crisis rise to the surface.

  1. Salt Lake City police officers [link url=”http://www.cbsnews.com/news/authorities-say-broomstick-wielding-man-shot-by-salt-lake-city-police/” title=”shot and critically wounded a teenager“] Saturday night, setting off hours of unrest in the city. After the shooting, people began shouting at police and some reportedly [link url=”http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/02/28/salt-lake-police-battle-rock-throwers-after-shooting/81068444/” title=”threw rocks at officers.“] Protestors are planning [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/protesters-plan-rally-following-utah-police-involved-shooting/2016/02/28/9621817c-de5c-11e5-9c36-e1902f6b6571_story.html” title=”to demonstrate in downtown Salt Lake City“] today.
  2. A new report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) pointed out that there are [link url=”http://www.artba.org/2016/02/18/nearly-59000-u-s-bridges-still-structurally-deficient-new-analysis-finds/” title=”58,500 structurally deficient bridges in the U.S.“] right now. According to the ARTBA, approximately 9.5 percent of the more than 610,000 bridges in the U.S. are structurally deficient, and [link url=”http://www.artba.org/2016/02/18/nearly-59000-u-s-bridges-still-structurally-deficient-new-analysis-finds/” title=”vehicles cross the deficient structures more than 200 million times a day.“] Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma have the most structurally deficient bridges, the ARTBA report noted.
  3. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/bridges-left-unchecked-at-what-cost/”]

  4. Newly released emails show that Michigan Governor Rick Snyder [link url=”http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/02/28/emails-snyder-could-have-declared-flint-emergency-sooner/81085672/” title=”knew about lead poisoning of Flint’s drinking water months before officially declaring an emergency“]. Snyder reportedly acknowledged the lead contamination in the city’s water in early October 2015 but did not declare a state of emergency until early January 2016.
  5. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/flint-michigan-water-crisis-seeking-an-innovative-hero/”]

  6. Additionally, there are still lingering questions in Flint about a possible connection between the water contamination and [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/did-flints-contaminated-water-cause-deadly-legionnaires-outbreaks/2016/02/27/0c0791b8-dbda-11e5-891a-4ed04f4213e8_story.html” title=”outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease in the area.“] Two separate outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease in Flint resulted in [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/did-flints-contaminated-water-cause-deadly-legionnaires-outbreaks/2016/02/27/0c0791b8-dbda-11e5-891a-4ed04f4213e8_story.html” title=”87 illnesses and nine deaths“] and one state health official has pointed out that the outbreak “closely corresponds with the time frame of the switch to Flint River water.” Despite the concerns, [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/did-flints-contaminated-water-cause-deadly-legionnaires-outbreaks/2016/02/27/0c0791b8-dbda-11e5-891a-4ed04f4213e8_story.html” title=”no government agency has tested the water supply“] for legionella bacteria as of yet.
  7. [relink url=”http://edmdigest.com/response/heres-to-the-heroes-of-flint/”]

  8. More than 6,000 emergency and military personnel will conduct [link url=”http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/science/preparing-for-the-really-big-one-cascadia-earthquake-tsunami-drill/” title=”a four-day mega-earthquake exercise“] in the Pacific Northwest in early June. The exercise, termed “Cascadia Rising,” will [link url=”http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/science/preparing-for-the-really-big-one-cascadia-earthquake-tsunami-drill/” title=”test emergency response to a simulated powerful megaquake and tsunami“], and will be the biggest ever conducted in the Pacific Northwest.
  9. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/discovery-and-resilience/”]

  10. Florida Governor Rick Scott [link url=”http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-lake-o-state-of-emergency-20160226-story.html” title=”declared a state of emergency“] in connection to the draining of Lake Okeechobee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [link url=”http://www.naplesnews.com/news/environment/us-sen-bill-nelson-to-visit-fort-myers-today-on-lake-okeechobee-water-runoff–2cc2556e-c95d-285d-e05-370366741.html” title=”decided to release water from Lake Okeechobee“] to protect South Florida from flooding after heavy rains hit the region in January. Scott said that coastal waterways are suffering from the drainage and he is seeking aid to fund projects that serve as alternatives to discharging lake water out to sea.
  11. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/dams-its-a-matter-of-water-and-much-more/”]

  12. Virginia police officer Ashley Guindon [link url=”http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/us/new-virginia-officer-killed-on-domestic-violence-call.html” title=”was killed on her first day on the job“] Saturday responding to a domestic disturbance call. Army sergeant Ronald Hamilton [link url=”http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/us/new-virginia-officer-killed-on-domestic-violence-call.html” title=”shot and killed Guindon and wounded two other officers with gunfire.“] Hamilton, who also shot and killed his wife before officers arrived, surrendered to authorities.
  13. Two suicide bombings [link url=”http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-isis-bombing-baghdad-shiite-market-sadr-city/” title=”killed 73 and wounded at least 112 more“] in Baghdad on Sunday — the deadliest attack in the city this year. Two bombers reportedly rode motorcycles into a crowded market in Sadr City and blew themselves up. The Islamic State [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-idUSKCN0W10EL” title=”claimed responsibility for the blasts.“]
  14. President Barack Obama [link url=”http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Obama-Signs-Georgia-Disaster-Declaration-For-Winter-Storms-370370651.html” title=”declared a major disaster in 33 Georgia counties“] due to severe storms that hit the state in late 2015 and early 2016. With the declaration, federal aid will now be available to state and eligible local governments and some private nonprofit organizations.

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