EDM Tuesday Briefing: CDC Activates Highest Emergency Level Due to Zika Virus, CA Gas Leak May Be Nearing End

Emergency and disaster management briefing for February 9, 2016: The CDC activates its highest emergency level due to the threat of Zika virus transmission in the U.S., officials say that the massive gas leak in Porter Ranch, CA may finally be capped this week, and many questions remain about North Korea’s rocket launch from this past weekend.

1. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/Health/zika-virus-outbreak-prompts-cdc-activate-highest-emergency/story?id=36796510″ title=”activated its highest emergency level“] yesterday due to the risk of Zika virus transmission in the U.S. There have been only three other Level 1 activations in the history of the emergency operations center: during the 2014 Ebola epidemic, during the H1N1 influenza outbreak in 2009, and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

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2. The White House announced yesterday that is it asking for [link url=”http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/02/white-house-zika-virus/461886/” title=”$1.8 billion to combat Zika virus“] both within the United States and around the globe. The nearly $2 billion request to Congress includes [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-usa-idUSKCN0VH13L” title=”$200 million for research and development“] of a Zika vaccine and also diagnostic tests for the virus.

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3. Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) Company officials said that the natural gas leak in Porter Ranch, CA [link url=”http://abc7.com/news/porter-ranch-gas-leak-could-be-capped-sooner-than-expected/1188268/” title=”could be capped as soon as this week“]. The final phase of the utility company’s plan to stop the massive leak was expected to begin yesterday and the [link url=”http://abc7.com/news/porter-ranch-gas-leak-could-be-capped-sooner-than-expected/1188268/” title=”the leak could be permanently sealed by the end of the week.“] The leak has been occurring since at least October 23, 2015 and has released [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-0205-porter-ranch-leak-20160205-story.html” title=”at least 80,000 metric tons of methane“] into the atmosphere.

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4. All told, the California gas leak resulted in the [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-gas-leak-relocation-plan-20160208-story.html” title=”evacuation of more than 4,400 households“] in the Aliso Canyon region, north of Los Angeles. Once the leak is completely repaired, displaced residents will have [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-gas-leak-relocation-plan-20160208-story.html” title=”up to seven days to move home“]. SoCalGas originally set the return-home limit at just two days, but then extended the deadline to seven days after [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-gas-leak-relocation-plan-20160208-story.html” title=” discussions with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office“].
5. Questions remain about North Korea’s reported [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/08/qa-what-do-we-know-about-north-koreas-missile-capability/” title=”launch of an ‘earth observation satellite’“] into orbit this weekend, although both South Korea and U.S. officials have confirmed that the launch appears to have been successful. North Korea said that the launch was for [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/08/asia/north-korea-rocket-launch/” title=”scientific and peaceful purposes“], but other nations viewed the exercise of the dual-use technology as a [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/08/asia/north-korea-rocket-launch/” title=”front to test a ballistic missile“].
6. The estimated range of the rocket (6,300 miles) confirms that North Korea [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/08/qa-what-do-we-know-about-north-koreas-missile-capability/” title=”now has the ability to reach the contiguous U.S.“], as California is approximately 5,800 miles from North Korea. The country’s newly orbiting satellite reportedly [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/north-koreas-satellite-flew-super-bowl-site-36782865″ title=”passed almost right over the site of the Super Bowl“] about an hour after the game ended, an event that one journalist termed [link url=”http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/a-north-korean-satellite-passed-over-super-bowl-50/” title=”‘nothing more than a coincidence, but an interesting one.’“]
7. Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi [link url=”http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/31170691/big-island-mayor-declares-state-of-emergency-to-address-dengue-fever-outbreak” title=”declared a state of emergency“] yesterday in response to the growing threat associated with the current dengue fever outbreak in the region. The state Health Department said Monday that there are [link url=”http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/31170691/big-island-mayor-declares-state-of-emergency-to-address-dengue-fever-outbreak” title=”251 confirmed cases of dengue fever on Hawaii Island“], and two of the 251 cases are still potentially infectious. The [link url=”http://khon2.com/2016/02/08/hawaii-county-mayor-declares-state-of-emergency-over-dengue-outbreak-2/” title=”state of emergency will be in effect for 60 days “] or until further action is taken by the Mayor’s office.

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8. Taiwan police [link url=”http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/10/world/asia/taiwan-earthquake-arrest-wei-guan.html?_r=0″ title=”arrested the developer of a collapsed building“] on suspicion of bearing some responsibility for the building’s collapse during the 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the city this weekend. The [link url=”http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201602090009.aspx” title=”death toll from the quake is up to 41“], with 39 fatalities being residents of the building, and 109 people are still missing. The majority of those still missing are believed to be trapped under the toppled building.
9. The [link url=”http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/03/explosion-daallo-airlines-flight-somalia-bomb” title=”explosion on a flight from Somalia“] last week is suspected to a suicide bomber who was reportedly [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-blast-turkish-airlines-idUSKCN0VH0QA” title=”meant to be on a Turkish Airlines flight“], Daallo Airlines officials said. There have been no reports of any group taking responsibility for the attack but U.S. officials [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-blast-turkish-airlines-idUSKCN0VH0QA” title=”suspect the involvement of Islamist militant group al Shabaab“].

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