Emergency and disaster management briefing for May 12, 2016: Authorities now consider the massive fertilizer plant explosion in Texas in 2013 to be a deliberate act, a prominent doctor increases concern over Zika virus at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, scientists call attention to the growing threat of yellow fever in Angola, and the WHO warns about worsening air pollution across the globe.
- Federal investigators deepened the mystery around a fertilizer plant explosion in Texas that occurred in 2013 by announcing yesterday that [link url=”http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/west-texas-fertilizer-blast-criminal-charges-deepen-mystery-n572341″ title=”it was a deliberate act.“] Authorities determined that someone started the fire on purpose [link url=”http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/west-texas-fertilizer-blast-criminal-charges-deepen-mystery-n572341″ title=”but have provided little other information“] up to this point. The April 17, 2013 blast at a West Fertilizer Co. plant killed 15 people, including a 12 emergency responders, injured 260, and destroyed at least 120 buildings.
- Dr. Amir Attaran, writing in the Harvard Public Health Review, warned that the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro could spark a [link url=”http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/rio-olympics-2016-zika-virus-global-health-disaster-a7024146.html” title=”‘full-blown public health disaster.’“] With an estimated 500,000 foreign tourists traveling to Rio for the Olympics, Dr. Attaran is concerned that [link url=”http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/rio-olympics-2016-zika-virus-global-health-disaster-a7024146.html” title=”new Zika virus outbreaks will be established“] as travelers return home.
- At least 277 people have died in Angola in Southern Africa since December due to yellow fever, and scientists recently warned that a [link url=”http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36256161″ title=”shortage of yellow fever vaccines“] could spark a [link url=”http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36256161″ title=”global health emergency.“] The World Health Organization (WHO) said that six million people have been vaccinated in Angola, which has a population of 24.3 million. Scientists are asking the WHO to [link url=”http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/863161″ title=”convene an emergency committee“] “to mobilize funds, coordinate an international response, and spearhead a surge in vaccine production.”
- A new World Health Organization (WHO) report warned yesterday that [link url=”http://phys.org/news/2016-05-percent-world-city-dwellers-bad.html” title=”80 percent of world’s city dwellers breathe bad air.“] The WHO’s latest air pollution analysis revealed the growing risk of serious health conditions from polluted air, including stroke and asthma. India is home to [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-airpollution-idUSKCN0Y30AZ” title=”four of the five cities in the world with the worst air pollution,“] and only 2 percent of cities in poorer countries had air quality that met WHO standards.
- Georgia Tech researchers recently took a look back at the [link url=”https://amuedge.com/a-look-back-at-the-hurricane-sandys-impact-on-new-yorks-power-grid/” title=”impact of Hurricane Sandy on New York’s power grid.“] The study analyzed both large-scale and small-scale grid impacts from the storm and attempted to use data to help formulate updated recovery plans that could ultimately [link url=”https://amuedge.com/a-look-back-at-the-hurricane-sandys-impact-on-new-yorks-power-grid/” title=”increase power grid resiliency against future storms.“]
- Australian scientists recently discovered that sea level rise has [link url=”https://amuedge.com/rising-sea-level-claims-five-in-the-solomon-islands/” title=”consumed five small islands“] in the chain of Solomon Islands. The archipelago over nearly 1,000 islands is now five fewer after a handful of small islands vanished under the rising sea. The scientists also discovered [link url=”https://amuedge.com/rising-sea-level-claims-five-in-the-solomon-islands/” title=”six additional islands“] that are experiencing severe shoreline recession and could be next to be claimed by rising a global sea level.
- Video footage reportedly [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/05/11/video-shows-officers-punching-driver-after-police-chase-through-massachsuetts-and-new-hampshire/” title=”captured police beating a man“] after an hours long police chase that began in Massachusetts and stretched into New Hampshire. A helicopter flying overhead [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/05/11/video-shows-officers-punching-driver-after-police-chase-through-massachsuetts-and-new-hampshire/” title=”filmed the incident,“], and at least one of the agencies involved in the chase said it was reviewing the use of force involved in the arrest.
- A [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/10/politics/us-china-destroyer-sails-by-disputed-island/index.html” title=”U.S. destroyer sailed near a disputed Chinese island“] earlier this week, which prompted China to scramble fighter jets and dispatch warships to “expel” the American ship. The Pentagon issued a statement that explained how the destroyer [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/10/politics/us-china-destroyer-sails-by-disputed-island/index.html” title=”exercised the right of innocent passage“] “while transiting inside 12 nautical miles of Fiery Cross Reef, a high-tide feature that is occupied by China, but also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.”
- The St. Joseph, MO City Council voted this week to appropriate more than $3.2 million [link url=”http://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_news/article_e674f788-0f78-5a17-a25b-7938cfd2fc69.html” title=”to repair levees on the Missouri River.“] Overall repairs to local levees in the region will [link url=”http://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_news/article_e674f788-0f78-5a17-a25b-7938cfd2fc69.html” title=”cost a total of $70.71 million“] and are expected to take four years. Mayor Bill Falkner said “the project is a necessity in order to keep local businesses afloat.”
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