AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Monday Briefing: Chuckegg Creek Wildfire Prompts Additional Evacuation Alert Notice for 12,000

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Emergency and disaster management briefing for June 3, 2019: Officials search for a motive for the deadly Virginia Beach workplace shooting that killed 12 people and wounded four others; more precipitation is in store for the rain-soaked and flooded central U.S. as water levels spark concern about levees; explosions at a munitions plant in Russia injured 79 and caused widespread building damage in Dzerzhinsk; Hong Kong detected its second case of African swine fever in just three weeks; four people were injured and at least 100 homes damaged as southeastern Albania was rocked by six earthquakes in just two hours; five people were injured when a massive cruise ship crashed into a river tour boat and dock in Italy; Mozambique receives pledges of $1.2 billion to help with post-cyclone reconstruction; and as the Chuckegg Creek Wildfire continues to rage out of control in Alberta, Canada, an additional 12,000 people have been issued an evacuation alert notice.

1) Officials are searching for a motive in the deadly shooting in Virginia Beach that killed 12 people and wounded four people on Friday at a municipal building complex. The gunman, DeWayne Craddock, 40, resigned via email that morning, then used his badge to enter a secure area of the building and indiscriminately opened fire. Craddock was shot and killed during an exchange of gunfire with police. Officials described Craddock as disgruntled, although he was not under any disciplinary measures or in the process of being terminated, according to reports.

2) Although the skies cleared over the central United States on Friday, relentless rains led to rain swollen rivers that now threaten levees, including the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers. One levee has already breached in Arkansas, and as more rains are predicted in the region through Wednesday, widespread flooding will continue unabated. Officials are concerned that more levees may fail since rain-soaked soils did not have enough time to dry out. Many of the levees are being overtopped as the deluge of water makes it way south to the Gulf of Mexico. While that still means flooding, overtopping of a levee means it remains intact to protect lands from future floods.

3) Several explosions occurred along with a fire at a Russian munitions plant in the central town of Dzerzhinsk on Saturday, which injured 79 people and caused widespread damage across town. According to reports, at least 180 buildings were damaged by the shock waves from the blasts. The explosions shattered or damaged windows and caused a fire in a nearby forest, along with sections of the Kristall Scientific Institute plant. The plant is part of Russia’s Rostec, a state conglomerate, and a major developer of explosive technology for military and civilian use.

4) A second case of African swine fever has been confirmed in Hong Kong, forcing the destruction of 4,700 pigs. The detection of the disease in Hong Kong further confirms the spread of the disease outside of China, where it has been found in every province in the nation since it was first detected in August of 2018. The first case confirmed in Hong Kong was three weeks ago. The government ordered the destruction of 6,500 animals in order to prevent the spread of the disease, which, while fatal to pigs, is harmless to humans.

5) Southeastern Albania was rocked by six earthquakes in just two hours on Saturday, the first which registered a 5.3 magnitude and damaged homes across the area. Four people were injured and at least 100 homes were damaged during the quakes, as roofs and walls collapsed from the temblors. The first quake struck at a depth of about 8.7 miles and was centered approximately 9.3 miles south of the town of Korce. It was followed just seven minutes later by another quake that had a depth of about 11 miles.

6) Five people were injured when a towering cruise ship, the MSC Opera, crashed into a dock and a tourist riverboat on Sunday morning in the Giudecca Canal in Venice, which leads to the popular St. Mark’s Square. The massive cruise ship, which was being guided by two tugboats, was about to dock at a passenger terminal in Venice, when the ship experienced a mechanical failure. The captain immediately blasted the ship’s horn and radioed the failure. However, tugboats were unable to stop the ship from crashing into the moored tourist river boat and the bank, which destroyed a section of the dock.

7) Back-to-back cyclones destroyed homes and critical infrastructure across Mozambique, including six provinces and the city of Beira, one of the worst-hit locations. Donors have now pledged $1.2 billion to help with the rebuilding in Mozambique, but it is less than half of what the government says is needed for post-cyclone reconstruction. Cyclone Idai — the worst cyclone in decades to strike the eastern Indian Coast — and Cyclone Kenneth struck just six weeks apart. The storms caused widespread devastation and killed more than 1,000 people in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe as they swept across the nations.

8) As the Chuckegg Creek Wildfire continues to burn out of control, a new evacuation alert notice has been issued for an additional 12,000 people in Alberta, Canada. The alert was sent out of an abundance of caution due to shifting winds and dry conditions, and to help residents be prepared to evacuate. The fire has consumed more than 691,895 acres (1,081 square miles) and is nearly half the size of the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire. The Fort McMurray fire burned 1,456,810 acres, forced the evacuation of over 88,000 people and destroyed more than 3,200 buildings.

 

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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