AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Friday Briefing: Mandatory Evacuations for Residents in Hawaii

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Emergency and disaster management briefing for June 1, 2018: A recycling plant fire sends two firefighters to the hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, the manhunt is over for a suspect accused of shooting a Dickson County deputy on Monday, Hormel issues a recall for two of its canned meat varieties, new mandatory evacuations have been issued for residents near the Kilauea volcano as lava flows become aggressive, nearly 700 people have been vaccinated against Ebola in the DRC, Texas unveils a new school safety plan in the wake of the deadly Santa Fe school shooting, heavy rain caused a mudslide in North Carolina that killed two people, and three people remain missing from flash flooding in Charlottesville, Virginia.

  1. [link url=”http://fox8.com/2018/05/30/dark-smokes-pours-from-fire-on-clevelands-west-side/” title=”A fire at a recycling plant in Cleveland, Ohio”] on Wednesday afternoon sent two firefighters to a local hospital with heat related injuries, while paramedics treated other injuries at the scene. Ten fire companies responded to the blaze which began outside the facility in [link url=”https://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/05/fire_breaks_out_at_recycling_c.html” title=”bales of compressed cardboard stacked four high”]. Bobcats were used to pull apart the bales to get water in between them to help contain the blaze.
  2. The manhunt is over for the suspect, Steven Wiggins, 31, [link url=”https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/05/31/steven-wiggins-wanted-woman-watch-suspect-fatally-shoot-dickson-county-deputy/659392002/” title=”charged with the murder of a Dickson County Sheriff’s deputy in Tennessee”] on Wednesday. Sgt. Daniel Baker was found dead in his vehicle after responding to a 911 call about a suspicious vehicle. Another person, a woman who was in the vehicle with Wiggins, [link url=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/slain-sergeant-manhunt-find-suspect-killer/story?id=55556738″ title=”was also arrested and charged in the murder of the deputy”].  

  3. Over 228,000 pounds of [link url=”https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spam-recall-hormel-canned-meats-2018-05-27/” title=”canned Hormel meats have been recalled due to reported injuries from metal objects in the products”]. The products include Hormel’s Spam Classic, sold in the United States, and Black-Label Luncheon Loaf, shipped to Guam only, [link url=”http://www.mlive.com/news/us-world/index.ssf/2018/05/spam_hormel_products_recalled.html” title=”with a best by February 2021 date”]. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is urging consumers to avoid consumption of the related products and to either discard or return the items for a refund.
  4. A new [link url=”https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/01/us/hawaii-kilauea-volcano/index.html” title=”mandatory evacuation has been ordered”] for certain residents living near the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. Emergency management officials issued the evacuation order Thursday night for residents in a portion of the Leilani Estates due to strong lava eruptions that were threatening area homes.  Residents were ordered to leave their homes by Friday at noon–the same deadline for when first responders will also [link url=”https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lava-flow-from-hawaiis-kilauea-volcano-blocking-escape-routes/” title=”cease rescue operations for anyone who remains in the evacuation area”].  

  5. Ebola vaccinations have begun in the Democratic Republic of Congo as [link url=”http://www.tampabay.com/nearly–get-ebola-vaccine-in-congo-more-cases-possible-ap_worldd7c40d4e1d4c4c37ae1b68f4577be267″ title=”nearly 700 people have already received the experimental vaccine”] to help contain the deadly virus. Health officials warn that more cases of the virus have been reported, meaning the virus is still being spread even as workers push to find contacts of those infected. Nearly 1,000 contacts have been already been located, [link url=”http://www.tampabay.com/nearly–get-ebola-vaccine-in-congo-more-cases-possible-ap_worldd7c40d4e1d4c4c37ae1b68f4577be267″ title=”while majority of the vaccinations, 500, have been given in Mbandaka”], an urban city with a population of around 1.2 million.
  6. In the wake of the deadly school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott [link url=”https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/30/615474790/texas-governor-lays-out-school-safety-plan-after-10-died-in-santa-fe-shooting” title=”unveiled a proposed safety plan for the state and its schools”]. The proposal covers 40 recommendations to help improve school safety, such as reducing the number of entries and exits, along with the possibility of having an active shooter alarm system – to distinguish it from a fire alarm-and thus saving lives. The proposal also called for [link url=”https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/30/615474790/texas-governor-lays-out-school-safety-plan-after-10-died-in-santa-fe-shooting” title=”adding school marshals”] and decreasing the time to report individuals with mental health issues who are unfit to have a firearm. 

  7. Thousands of residents have been evacuated in North Carolina in the wake of heavy rains from the remnants of Alberto, a situation that caused the governor to declare an state of emergency in the western part of the state. [link url=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/05/30/thousands-evacuated-alberto-flooding-mudslides/655086002/” title=”Rushing water also pushed a 33,000 pound dump truck over 1,000 feet down river”], and a total of four deaths in North Carolina have been attributed to Alberto. Those deaths include two people in Boone who died when [link url=”http://myfox8.com/2018/05/31/4-people-have-died-this-week-in-north-carolina-since-alberto-made-landfall/” title=”a mudslide triggered a gas explosion which leveled their home”]–rescuers found their bodies in the rubble.
  8. [link url=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/people-swept-floodwaters-remain-missing-amid-heavy-rain/story?id=55558064″ title=”Three people remain missing in Virginia after floodwaters swept them away”] amid heavy rains overnight Wednesday to Thursday. Anywhere from 7 to 9 inches of rain fell just west of Charlottesville, [link url=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/people-swept-floodwaters-remain-missing-amid-heavy-rain/story?id=55558064″ title=”causing dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding”] in Madison County and near Charlottesville. Rescuers continue to search for the missing people, one female in Madison County, and a man and woman who were swept away outside their vehicle in Albemarle County.

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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