AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Monday Briefing: Another Violent Weekend in Chicago; Tour Bus Accident

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Emergency and disaster management briefing for August 13, 2018: Dozens of passengers were injured when a tour bus hit an overpass at Newark Penn Station, a gate agent stole and flew a commercial airplane on Friday from Sea-Tac before crashing it on a small island in Puget Sound, Arizona works to recover from strong storms which caused power outages and prompted dust storm warnings on Sunday evening, the death toll from the earthquake that rocked Lombok, Indonesia has risen to at least 436, two police officers were among those killed in the mass shooting in Fredericton, New Brunswick early last Friday, Alaska’s North Slope was struck Sunday by the largest earthquake ever recorded in the region, another weekend of violence rocks Chicago leaving one dead and 27 wounded, and cooler temperatures are helping firefighters gain ground on the containment of wildfires burning throughout the state.

  1. A passenger bus traveling from Washington, DC to Newark Penn Station [link url=”https://abc7ny.com/traffic/tour-bus-hits-overpass-in-newark;-several-hurt/3944646/” title=”hit an overpass outside the station”] around 11:45 p.m. Sunday night. The bus, reportedly carrying 50 passengers, struck with enough speed that the roof of the bus peeled back when it hit the overpass, injuring many of the passengers. [link url=”https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Dozens-Hurt-When-Coach-Bus-From-DC-Crashes-Into-Overpass-in-NJ-490703171.html” title=”Police and firefighters responded to the scene”] and although dozens were reportedly sent to area hospitals, none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.  

  2. Investigators are trying to piece together clues on how Richard Russell, 29, and a ground service agent at Horizon Air, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/12/seattle-plane-thiefs-apparent-knowledge-loops-other-dangerous-maneuvers-is-mystery-investigators.html” title=”was able to steal and fly a commercial turbo-prop Q400 airplane on Friday at Sea-Tac Airport”] without being a licensed pilot. Russell started the plane, did an unauthorized take-off, then flew the aircraft for 75 minutes, at which time he performed dangerous maneuvers such as large loops and barrel rolls, before the plane finally crashed onto a small, remote island in Puget Sound. Authorities said two F-15C fighter jets were scrambled to chase the aircraft, but never fired on it, while [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/12/seattle-plane-thiefs-apparent-knowledge-loops-other-dangerous-maneuvers-is-mystery-investigators.html” title=”an air traffic controller can be heard attempting to coax the man to land the plane at a nearby airfield”].  

  3. Arizona was again impacted by strong storms on Sunday that prompted [link url=”https://www.ibtimes.com/arizona-weather-dust-storm-warning-issued-over-25000-homes-without-power-2708038″ title=”the National Weather Service to issue multiple dust storm warnings”] for portions of Interstate 10, including near Phoenix and Maricopa, into Sunday evening. The storms brought strong winds, rain, and hail to the Phoenix area, knocked out a major power line, and [link url=”https://www.ibtimes.com/arizona-weather-dust-storm-warning-issued-over-25000-homes-without-power-2708038″ title=”left at least 25,000 people without power”]. The monsoon storm is the third to impact the state in a week, and comes after a storm Friday caused heavy flooding, prompted flash flood warnings, and forced road closures.  

  4. The death toll from the earthquake that struck the Lombok region in Indonesia on August 5 [link url=”http://time.com/5365246/indonesia-earthquake-436-death-toll/” title=”has now reached 436″]. According to the nation’s national disaster agency, most of the people died in buildings that collapsed. The major earthquake is estimated to have caused at least several hundred million dollars in economic losses from the damaged or destroyed homes, infrastructure, and other property. The earthquake registered a 7.0 magnitude, and was [link url=”http://time.com/5365246/indonesia-earthquake-436-death-toll/” title=”the second large quake to hit the area within a week”], with the first quake killing 16 people.  

  5. [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/08/11/2-canadian-police-officers-among-4-dead-in-shooting-1-suspect-in-custody.html” title=”Two police officers are among the four people who were killed”] in the mass shooting in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada last Friday. The suspect, Matthew Vincent Raymond, 48, was charged with four counts of first degree murder in court on Saturday morning. Raymond remains hospitalized for the treatment of serious injuries from gunshot wounds after his confrontation with police, and [link url=”https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-fredericton-shooting-what-we-know-and-dont-know-so-far/” title=”no motive has yet been identified for the shooting”].  

  6.  A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit a remote part of Alaska on Sunday, [link url=”https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/12/us/alaska-earthquake/index.html” title=”the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the region”]. The quake hit on the North Slope, at 6:58 a.m., was about 6 miles deep, and centered approximately 42 miles east of Kavik River Camp and 343 miles from Fairbanks, Alaska. Just hours later, at 1:15 p.m., another strong earthquake, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/12/latest-alaskas-north-slope-region-hit-by-another-quake.html” title=”which registered a 6.1 magnitude”], again struck the North Slope, and was centered about 52 miles away from the city of Kaktovik, but no injuries or damages were reported from either quake. 

  7. Another violent weekend in Chicago ended with [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/12/another-bloody-chicago-weekend-gun-violence-leaves-1-dead-27-wounded.html” title=”at least two people dead and 29 others wounded after a string of shootings across the city”]. One of the victims who died was reportedly shot after attempting to get an order of protection from a man, who returned and shot her in the back. Politicians are reportedly highlighting the importance of family and community leaders in the fight against crime, but with the recent spike in violence across the city, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/12/another-bloody-chicago-weekend-gun-violence-leaves-1-dead-27-wounded.html” title=”many activists are calling for the Mayor, Rahm Emmanuel, to step down”].  

  8. Cooler temperatures across California are [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/12/crews-make-progress-battling-southern-california-wildfire.html” title=”helping firefighters make progress in the containment of wildfires burning across the state”], including the Holy Fire near Lake Elsinore, which is now 41 percent contained. On Sunday morning, [link url=”https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article216545070.html” title=”the Ranch Fire surpassed the Thomas Fire to become the largest wildfire in California history”]. The wildfire, which is part of the Mendocino Fire Complex, has scorched a total of about 525 square miles (282,479 acres), and has now reached 70 percent containment. Temperatures are expected to remain cooler over the next couple of days, hopefully allowing firefighters to gain more containment of the wildfires, which is critical as temperatures are expected to soar to [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/12/crews-make-progress-battling-southern-california-wildfire.html” title=”near triple digits by the end of the week”].  

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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