AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Monday Briefing: Lava Flows Cut Off Two Neighborhoods in Hawaii

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Emergency and disaster management briefing for June 4, 2018: Three people were airlifted to safety after they were trapped by vigorous lava flows in Hawaii, the rapidly moving Ute Park Fire has forced evacuations and destroyed at least 14 structures, flood warnings remain in several mid-Atlantic states following heavy rains on Sunday, a police officer in Georgia was fired after striking a suspect with his patrol vehicle, at least 25 people were killed when a volcano erupted in Guatemala, a neighborhood football game turned violent in Dallas and five people were shot, India successfully tested a nuclear-ready ballistic missile, and Houston police are searching for a suspect in a deadly hit-and-run incident early Sunday morning.

  1. Authorities announced on Sunday that [link url=”https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/03/us/hawaii-kilauea-volcano/index.html” title=”about a dozen residents were trapped in two neighborhoods that had been cut off by lava flows”] from vigorous eruptions of Kilauea and they were without power, county water, landline or cell service. According to the Hawaii Fire Department, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/06/03/three-stranded-in-kilauea-lava-zone-are-airlifted-cops-cite-7-others-for-loitering-near-lava.html” title=”three people were evacuated by helicopter”] after their homes were surrounded by lava. Sunday marked four weeks since the Kilauea volcano began erupting, and lava flows now cover approximately 5.5 square miles and have destroyed at least 87 homes. 

  2. The rapidly moving [link url=”https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/5820″ title=”Ute Park Wildfire in New Mexico was only 23 percent contained as of Monday morning”], and has forced evacuations and consumed more than 36,000 acres since it started on Thursday. Evacuations were mandatory in the Villages of Cimarron and Ute Park communities, and evacuation centers were set up for those required to evacuate their homes. As of Sunday evening, the wildfire was threatening 550 structures in the Cimarron community, another 219 in the Ute Park area, and [link url=”http://www.koat.com/article/ute-park-fire-swells-to-nearly-32-000-acres/20981785″ title=”had consumed 14 non-residential structures”]. 

  3. After heavy rains, [link url=”http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bs-md-flood-watch-20180603-story.html” title=”flood warnings were issued for parts of Maryland by the National Weather Service on Sunday”], even as more rain fell across the area. The heavy rains caused flooding that closed roadways in many locations across Maryland by Sunday evening, [link url=”http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bs-md-flood-watch-20180603-story.html” title=”including 32 roads primarily in the western and southern portion of Howard County”]. Weather forecasters noted that the ground was saturated and rivers and estuaries were already overflowing, which was likely to lead to additional flooding as the rains continued.  

  4. [link url=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/officer-fired-intentionally-hitting-fleeing-suspect-police-car/story?id=55613845″ title=”An Athens-Clarke County police officer was fired”] after review of body camera video showed the officer, Taylor Sautlers, hitting a suspect with his patrol car while pursuing him on June 1. The suspect, wanted for a felony probation warrant, was running on foot through a neighborhood when Saulters drove over a curb and tried to use his car as a roadblock. The body camera footage revealed that when the suspect did not stop, [link url=”http://abc13.com/officer-fired-after-patrol-car-hits-fleeing-suspect/3556082/” title=”Saulters pursued him and knocked him to the ground with his car”].
  5. At least 25 people were killed and another 20 were injured when [link url=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/least-7-killed-20-hurt-erupting-volcano-guatemala-n879686″ title=”the Volcan del Fuego in Guatemala erupted in a fiery explosion of ash and molten rock on Sunday”]-and its the volcano’s second eruption this year. The death toll includes two children who were burned to death as they watched the eruption from a bridge. The volcano is situated approximately 27 miles from Guatemala City, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/06/03/guatemala-volcano-kills-at-least-7-covers-villages-in-ash.html” title=”and the eruption spewed ash, lava, and molten rock at least 4 miles into the sky”], caused at least 300 people to evacuate, and covered all the villages in San Pedro Yepocapa and Sangre de Cristo with ash.  

  6. A neighborhood football game in [link url=”https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/crime/five-shot-at-neighborhood-football-game-in-south-dallas/287-561213515″ title=”Texas on Sunday turned violent and five people were shot”]–three men and 2 woman–including one who was pregnant. Witnesses stated that they heard several people arguing before gunshots rang out at Dallas’ Fair Park Neighborhood around 9:30 in the evening. [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/06/04/several-people-shot-including-pregnant-woman-at-texas-football-game-police-say.html” title=”Two people were in critical condition following the shooting”], the pregnant woman-who was shot in the chest and required a C-section to save the baby- and another person who was shot in the head. 

  7. A long range ballistic missile Agni-5 was [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/06/03/india-tests-nuclear-capable-agni-5-ballistic-missile.html” title=”successfully flight tested by India on Sunday”] according to the office of the country’s defense minister. The test flight took place on the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island–or Wheeler Island–on Sunday at 0945 hours local. According to reports, [link url=”https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-successfully-test-fires-nuclear-capable-agni-5-missile-details-here-1861693″ title=”the missile is nuclear-ready and has a range of 3,107 miles”], and was developed after tensions increased with China over a border dispute high in the Himalayans.  

  8. A suspect is wanted in [link url=”http://abc13.com/tag/hit-and-run/” title=”a deadly hit-and-run that occurred in Houston, Texas early Sunday morning”] which a woman police believe may have been his ex-girlfriend, and injured two other men. Witnesses say they saw a man speed into a crowd with his truck, strike two men and a woman, then back up and run over the woman two more times. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/06/03/woman-killed-after-man-runs-her-over-with-truck-in-texas-2-others-injured-police-say.html” title=”and police are searching for the driver of the truck”], who is believed to be a man in his mid 30s–Rigoberto Alexander Escobar.  

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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