AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Monday Briefing: Flooding Devastates Nice, France – 8 Missing

By
flooding France Arsenault

Emergency and disaster management briefing for October 5, 2020: Tropical Storm Delta formed in the Caribbean on Monday; Air Force reconnaissance planes determine further weakening of Tropical Storm Gamma; Country Fresh has issued a voluntary recall for sliced fruit due to potential listeria monocytogenes contamination; Red Flag Warnings are in place for areas near the Cameron Peak and Mullen Fires; the Mullen Fire continues to actively burn in extremely rugged terrain with an abundance of available fuels; to help create defensible space, Green Waste Collection Days are underway in Washoe County, Nevada; increased activity of the Glass Fire prompted new evacuation orders Sunday; torrential rainfall in the south of France has led to devastating flooding that has left at least eight people missing and destroyed homes, roads, and bridges.

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1) Tropical Storm Delta formed in the Caribbean on Monday, just south of Jamaica, and it is currently tracking toward the northwest. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts the storm to become a hurricane once it moves past Cuba. Its current path will take it dangerously close to the Cayman Islands, where tropical storm warnings have already been issued. The storm is currently projected to make landfall somewhere along the northern Gulf Coast.

2) An Air Force Reconnaissance plane determined that Tropical Storm Gamma, stalled and meandering near the Yucatan Peninsula, has weakened. The storm is expected to continue to weaken due to strong shearing, and the future track of the storm remains highly uncertain. The system is still forecast to produce heavy rainfall through Wednesday over portions of southeast Mexico, including the Mexican states of Yucatan, Campeche, Chiapas and Tabasco, where it is likely to produce significant flooding.

3) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a voluntary recall of sliced fruit due to potential listeria monocytogenes contamination. The recall of sliced fruit was initially issued by Country Fresh for watermelon, but has now been expanded to include cut or sliced apples, grapes, mangoes, pineapples, and cantaloupe. The watermelon was distributed to Walmart and RaceTrac locations in Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas, and the sliced fruit is being recalled just from Walmart stores in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.

4) Critical fire weather is forecast for the region in Colorado where the Cameron Peak and Mullen Fires are burning. Fire officials noted that a Red Flag Warning was issued on Sunday night through Monday evening at 7 p.m; warm and windy weather on Monday could challenge the containment they have achieved on both fires. The Cameron Peak Fire has scorched just over 126,000 acres, making it the third largest wildfire in Colorado history.

5) The Mullen Fire, which began on September 17 in extremely rugged Wyoming terrain has swiftly scorched over 151,700 acres and spread heavy smoke over the Laramie Valley. The rapid spread of the wildfire was due to plenty of available fuel from dense vegetation and beetle-killed deadfall. The fire swept into Colorado last week, prompting evacuations. Current critical fire weather has again increased the size of the fire, which continues to burn actively, with only about 14% containment.

6) The Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District in Nevada is having its Green Waste Collection Days in October and November. The Green Waste Collection Days allow for the removal of dead and dry vegetation, trees, shrubs, and other potential wildland fuels at no cost for all of Washoe County’s residents. The collection effort is meant to help prevent wildfires and create defensible space around homes, businesses, and other structures to stop fire spread.

7) Additional evacuation orders were issued for the Glass Fire burning in California on Sunday as fire activity increased. According to CalFire, evacuation warnings were also issued for areas in Lake County, and residents should be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. The fire has scorched nearly 65,000 acres and damaged at least 17 wineries in Napa since it began on September 27. The highly active fire behavior is likely to continue due to available dry fuels and very warm, dry weather conditions.

8) French authorities are searching for at least eight people, including those whose homes were washed away in flooding in Nice. The French Riviera saw nearly a year’s average rainfall in less than 12 hours, which caused heavy flooding that knocked over trees, washed away homes, and destroyed roads and bridges. Two of the people who are missing are firefighters whose vehicle was swept away in a torrent of water after a road collapsed in the village of Saint-Martin-Vesubie.

 

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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