EDM Friday Briefing: Hudson River Train Derailment, Montana Earthquake

Emergency and disaster management briefing for July 7, 2017: A New Jersey Transit train derails in the Hudson River Tunnel, Montana and surrounding states are rocked by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake, dead, beetle killed pine trees fuel the Breckenridge, Colorado fire, Dartmouth College confirms a student has the mumps, Clif Bar & Co issues a voluntary recall of three bar varieties, a strong earthquake in the Philippines causes widespread injuries and damages, fire fighters battle extreme weather and terrain trying to contain Utah’s Brian Head Fire, and extreme heat prompts wildfire and health warnings across the Southwest.

1. [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/06/new-jersey-transit-train-derails-at-new-yorks-penn-station.html” title=”New Jersey Transit rail service at Penn Station in Manhattan was suspended”] on Thursday due to the derailment of one of its trains in the [link url=”https://amuedge.com/aging-rail-tunnels-under-the-hudson-river-need-attention/” title=”Hudson River Tunnel”].  The incident occurred at about 8:55 p.m. when one of the cars on an New Jersey Transit train that was carrying about 100 people, derailed outside the station. The incident is just the latest in [link url=”https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/nyregion/penn-station-train-derailment.html” title=”a long line of problems that have plagued the station and the train system over recent months”] due to failing and aging infrastructure that includes power outages, signal problems, and other derailments. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/aging-rail-tunnels-under-the-hudson-river-need-attention/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/infrastructure-critical-to-americas-continued-economic-success/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/transportation-infrastructure-bridges/”]
2. Residents of [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/western-montana-rattled-strong-earthquake-48465773″ title=”Western Montana were jolted awake shortly after midnight on Thursday by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake”] that rocked the area and caused some minor damage. The shallow quake occurred about three miles underground and originated approximately six miles south of Lincoln, Montana and also impacted the cities of Helena and Missoula. Within an hour, [link url=”http://helenair.com/news/shaken-not-stirred-montana-escapes-significant-damage-from-quake-centered/article_66b7ba68-8771-5809-95ea-144452d598f0.html” title=”at least nine aftershocks were recorded ranging from 3.1 to 4.9 magnitude”], and reports indicate that the original quake was felt into Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, and Canada. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/preplanning-our-daily-disasters/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/business-continuity-planning-fire-police/” url3=”http://edmdigest.com/response/emergency-preparation-requires-prior-planning-and-logistics/”]
3. Evacuations remain in place for more than 400 residents in areas surrounding Breckenridge, Colorado as crews continue to battle [link url=”http://kdvr.com/2017/07/07/85-acre-peak-2-fire-in-summit-county-at-7-percent-containment/” title=”a blaze that has consumed at least 85 acres between Breckenridge and Frisco”]. Pre-evacuation notices have been issued for the town of Breckenridge along with the Silver Shekel, Gold Hill, and Farmer’s Korner neighborhoods. Fire fighters are having difficulty containing the blaze, dubbed the Peak 2 Fire, because it is being fueled by dead, beetle killed pine trees in [link url=”http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/06/breckenridge-fire-evacuations/” title=”an area that is heavily forested and amid rugged, rocky terrain”]. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/evacuations-preparation/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/colorados-834-million-dead-trees-threaten-to-worsen-fires/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/firefighting-right-resources/”]
4. A Dartmouth College student has been placed in isolation after [link url=”http://nhpr.org/post/case-mumps-confirmed-dartmouth-college#stream/0″ title=”health officials confirmed the individual has the mumps”]. In an effort to prevent the spread of mumps across campus, school officials are urging students with health concerns to contact the Dartmouth College Health Services and asking faculty and staff to contact their primary care physicians. Experts caution that if the virus, which is contagious, is left untreated, life-threatening complications could arise, and symptoms of the disease can appear anywhere from [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/07/06/dartmouth-student-diagnosed-with-mumps.html” title=”16 up to 25 days after infection”]. [relink url=”http://edmdigest.com/response/health-information-management-video/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/sunday-book-reviews-pandemics/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/global-health-security-agenda-advances/”]
5. A voluntary recall has been issued by the [link url=”http://www.wpxi.com/news/trending-now/clif-bar-recalls-3-varieties-including-childrens-bars/551931884″ title=”Clif Bar & Co for three varieties of its bars”] due to the potential presence of peanuts and other tree nuts. The bars, two of which are specifically made for children, lack an allergy warning on the label and have been identified as Clif Kid Zbars protein chocolate mint and protein chocolate chip varieties, along with the Clif Builders chocolate mint flavored bar. The recall was issued after the company received complaints that [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/06/health/clif-bar-recall-nuts-allergy-complaints/index.html” title=”some customers were suffering from allergic reactions”] after consuming the bars. 

Planning to have a CLIF bar for breakfast? Check out this recall first:https://t.co/Vkj67ynzBR

— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) July 6, 2017

6. [link url=”https://weather.com/news/news/philippines-earthquake-july-6-2017″ title=”A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck the Philippines on Thursday afternoon”] has killed two people, injured over 100 others, and resulted in widespread damages. The quake caused [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/strong-shallow-earthquake-shakes-central-philippines-48466798″ title=”landslides, cracked roads and buildings, and damaged a power plant”]. A collapsed building in the town of Kanaga killed one person, injured at least 20, and trapped 6 others who were later rescued. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was centered just two miles from Masarayao at [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2017/07/06/damage-reported-after-magnitude-65-earthquake-strikes-central-philippines/” title=”a shallow depth of about four miles”], which often causes greater surface damage. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/tsunami-preparedness/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/study-93-percent-chance-of-moderate-earthquake-in-utah-in-next-50-years/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/earthquakes-what-you-need-to-know/”]
7. Fire fighters are struggling to contain the human-caused Brian Head Fire that began on June 17 and is raging across southwestern Utah amid [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2017/07/06/hot-dry-conditions-to-hinder-brian-head-fire-containment-efforts/” title=”scorching heat, low humidity, and extremely dry conditions”]. The blaze has already consumed over 70,500 acres and is being fought by nearly 1,100 personnel. Erratic winds and steep, rugged terrain have hindered effective containment efforts, resulted in [link url=”https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/5253/36160/” title=”road closures for fire fighting activity”], and caused the evacuation order for multiple communities to remain in effect. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/intense-hot-dry-weather-fuels-wildfires/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/ngos-filling-gaps-in-planning-response-recovery/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/friday-book-reviews-wildland-fire-history/”]
8. Officials across the Southwest cautioned residents of [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/06/spiking-temperatures-fire-danger-in-southwest-us-heat-wave.html” title=”extreme heat and increased wildfire dangers”] as dry, hot winds kicked up Thursday night and temperatures were predicted to skyrocket on Friday. Officials in [link url=”https://www.edhat.com/news/red-flag-warning-in-effect-for-critical-fire-weather-conditions” title=”Santa Barbara County, California issued red flag warnings for its mountains and south coastal areas”], while other fire warnings remain in effect from Sequoia to Yosemite due to dry air and high temperatures accompanied by increased winds. Arizona and Las Vegas were also issued [link url=”http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-weather/2017/07/05/excessive-heat-warning-phoenix-area-through-friday/452139001/” title=”excessive heat warnings by the National Weather Service”], with Friday temperatures forecasted to reach 117 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. 

A heat wave blanketing the U.S. Southwest has toppled temperature records and raised wildfire danger. https://t.co/IFiT8zUeNa pic.twitter.com/e26WbU1lHy

— ABC News (@ABC) July 7, 2017