AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Tuesday Briefing: Texas Flooding, Severe Weather, Aging Federal IT Systems, EgyptAir 804

Emergency and disaster management briefing for May 31, 2016: Torrential rain in Texas leads to at least six deaths, forecasters call for more severe weather in Texas and up through the U.S. into North Dakota, a GAO report calls out federal agencies for maintaining decades-old IT systems, and EgyptAir Flight 804’s black boxes continue to elude searchers.

  1. At least six people died in [link url=”http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/us/6-dead-in-texas-floods-and-more-rain-is-coming.html” title=”flooding due to severe rain across Texas,”] and authorities were searching for an 11-year-old boy in Kansas who was [link url=”http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/us/6-dead-in-texas-floods-and-more-rain-is-coming.html” title=”swept away in a flooded creek in Kansas.“] Emergency workers in Texas [link url=”http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/05/30/texas-floods/85165494/” title=”rescued at least 40 people in the past few days“] as rivers and waterways continued to rise after a wave of torrential rain slammed the region in the last week.
  2. Forecasters say [link url=”http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/05/30/texas-floods/85165494/” title=”flooding of the Brazos River in parts of Texas“] will continue at least through today, and the river could crest at a record level soon. More severe storms are possible [link url=”http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/flood-hit-texas-plains-set-winds-hail-possible-tornadoes-n582551″ title=”in Texas and all the way up to the Dakotas.“] Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota could all be hit hard. Additionally, the National Weather Service (NWS) said that more heavy rains could hit Texas later this week — [link url=”http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/31/us/6-dead-in-texas-floods-and-more-rain-is-coming.html” title=”up to a foot of rain from Wednesday through Friday“] in central and southeastern regions of the state.
  3. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently analyzed IT spending at government agencies and discovered that agencies are [link url=”https://amuedge.com/gao-aging-federal-it-systems-need-attention/” title=”increasingly spending IT funds to maintain legacy systems“] and are spending less on modernization of those IT systems. And [link url=”https://amuedge.com/gao-aging-federal-it-systems-need-attention/” title=”many of the systems they are spending to maintain are old.“] Some federal agencies are reportedly still using IT systems that utilize 8-inch floppy disks, and code from the 1950s, for example.
  4. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/report-government-organizations-rank-last-in-cyber-security/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/education/cyber-security-the-true-greatest-threat-to-our-future/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/hack-my-servers-please/”]

  5. Searchers from multiple countries continue to try to locate the [link url=”http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/egyptair-flight-804s-black-box-8072921″ title=”black boxes from EgyptAir Flight 804,”] which are believed to be sitting deep in the Mediterranean Sea. The battery-powered boxes will typically emit ‘pings’ to help investigators locate it for 30 days, so the midway point in the assumed battery life is quickly approaching. Because [link url=”http://time.com/4349687/egyptair-flight-804-bomb-isis-al-qaeda/” title=”no terrorist group has claimed credit for the crash,”] investigators are scrambling to come up with [link url=”http://time.com/4349687/egyptair-flight-804-bomb-isis-al-qaeda/” title=”other theories“] as to what may have happened to bring the plane down.
  6. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/egyptair-flight-804-brings-renewed-focus-on-tsa-in-u-s/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/a-not-so-direct-flight-egyptair-804/”]

  7. With the start of hurricane season rapidly approaching tomorrow, June 1, the [link url=”https://amuedge.com/hurricane-season-begins-june-1st-are-you-prepared/” title=”National Hurricane Center released detailed information“] about hurricane and storm expectations for the upcoming season. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also offers a [link url=”https://amuedge.com/hurricane-season-begins-june-1st-are-you-prepared/” title=”wealth of information on hurricanes“] — how to prepare families for hurricanes, suggestions on creating emergency plans, and more.
  8. [link url=”http://www.9news.com/weather/tornado-touches-down-20-miles-north-of-sterling/223119640″ title=”A tornado touched down yesterday afternoon near Peetz, CO,”] a town located in northeast Colorado just south of the Nebraska border. The Logan County Sheriff’s Office said the tornado destroyed a barn, caused other minor damages to residences, and [link url=”http://www.9news.com/weather/tornado-touches-down-20-miles-north-of-sterling/223119640″ title=”knocked down power poles in the area.“] But no injuries were reported.
  9. South Korean authorities reported that [link url=”http://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-korea-says-north-korea-attempted-missile-launch-likely-failed/” title=”North Korea attempted another missile launch“] and that the launch [link url=”http://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-korea-says-north-korea-attempted-missile-launch-likely-failed/” title=”likely failed.”] The alleged missile test is the latest in a [link url=”http://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-korea-says-north-korea-attempted-missile-launch-likely-failed/” title=”months-long wave of military exercises“] conducted by North Korea in an attempt to showcase its nuclear and missile technology progress. The failed test was reportedly a launch of an intermediate-range Musudan missile; the country attempted three Musudan test launches in April, [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missile-fail-idUSKCN0YM015″ title=”all of which failed,“] according to South Korean and U.S. sources.
  10. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/qa-analysis-of-recent-events-in-north-korea/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/north-korean-missilesatellite/”]

  11. [link url=”http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36412094″ title=”Severe floods in southwestern Germany“] resulted in at least four deaths. According to one official, [link url=”http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36412094″ title=”more rain fell in just a few hours than typically falls over months“] on Sunday. Authorities reported that [link url=”http://www.dw.com/en/heavy-rains-cause-deadly-flooding-in-southern-germany/a-19292399″ title=”rising flood waters were trapping people“] in both houses and businesses and many roads remained closed as rescue efforts continued.
  12. Scientists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife News (CDFW) recently discovered that there has been an [link url=”https://amuedge.com/trees-in-the-sierra-nevada-are-moving-higher-due-to-warmer-temperatures/” title=”upward movement of trees“] in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Red fir, western white pine, and mountain hemlock all showed obvious signed of upward elevation movement toward cooler temperatures in recent years. According to the CDFW, this study “foreshadows how [link url=”https://amuedge.com/trees-in-the-sierra-nevada-are-moving-higher-due-to-warmer-temperatures/” title=”climate warming may significantly alter entire habitats“] for multiple species” in regions hit with significant temperature changes in coming years.
  13. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/climate-change-adaptation-bridging-the-finance-gap/” url2=”http://edmdigest.com/adaptation/climate-change-adaptation-too-little-too-late/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/noaa-a-hot-summer-is-forthcoming/”]

  14. The World Health Assembly approved reforms that will increase the U.N. health agency’s [link url=”http://www.voanews.com/content/world-health-assembly–boost-rapid-emergency-repsonse/3347628.html” title=”ability to respond rapidly and more effectively to health emergencies.“] According to officials, the new measures will [link url=”http://www.voanews.com/content/world-health-assembly–boost-rapid-emergency-repsonse/3347628.html” title=”help countries battle urgent public health emergencies“] like Ebola, Zika, and yellow fever. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports 130 million people worldwide are in need of health assistance today.

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