AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Wednesday Briefing: A Train and Truck Crash Causes the Release of Hydrochloric Acid

By

Emergency and disaster management briefing for March 7, 2018: A truck carrying hydrochloric acid that collided with a train forces the evacuation of a Pennsylvania borough, a police officer in Missouri is shot and killed by a murder suspect, the East Coast is bracing for another nor’easter that could bring a foot of snow or more, a murder suspect is shot and killed after a nearly 20 hour a stand-off in Indiana, Papua New Guinea is impacted by yet another strong earthquake, a volcano on Japan’s Kyushu Island disrupts air travel, portions of an airport’s roof in China collapses amid gale force winds, and central New Hampshire is shaken by a minor earthquake.

  1. A community in western Pennsylvania was partially evacuated on Tuesday morning after [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/06/train-hits-truck-carrying-hydrochloric-acid-in-pennsylvania-evacuations-ordered.html” title=”a CSX freight train hit a truck carrying thousands of gallons of hydrochloric acid”], creating a HAZMAT incident. The train struck the truck, who appeared to be trying to beat the train, at about 11:00 a.m. in the Centerville Borough, about 40 miles south of Pittsburgh, and at least one person was injured during the crash. Emergency personnel were going door-to-door to facilitate evacuations, while [link url=”http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/03/06/train-collides-truck-hauling-hydrochloric-acid/” title=”the state’s emergency management agency coordinated efforts with local emergency responders”] to ensure the continued safety of the community’s residents. 

  2. A police officer in Missouri was [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/07/missouri-police-officer-killed-2-others-wounded-in-shooting-suspect-dead.html” title=”shot and killed and two other officers were wounded”] on Tuesday night while responding to a 911 call at a home in Clinton, about 75 outside of Kansas City. Officer Christopher Ryan Morton, 30 suffered a fatal gunshot wound while responding to the call with two other officers when they were trying to apprehend the suspect. The suspected shooter fired at the officers from inside the house, and when a [link url=”https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/07/us/missouri-clinton-shooting/index.html” title=”SWAT team entered the home at around midnight after a brief standoff”], they found the suspect dead. 

  3. [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/06/what-to-know-about-incoming-noreaster.html” title=”Another major nor’easter is set to impact the East Coast Wednesday into Thursday”] with up to a foot or more of snow in some areas. The area of greatest uncertainty as to its impact and snowfall amount is the [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/06/winter-storm-set-to-hit-northeast-with-snow-after-battering-midwest.html” title=”I-95 corridor between Philadelphia and Boston”]. Winter storm warnings are already in place for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. A snow emergency has already been declared in Philadelphia, and New Jersey declared a state of emergency in preparation for the impending storm. Officials urge residents to [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/noreaster-threatening-communities-east-coast-53572836″ title=”stay off the streets, monitor forecasts, and be aware of changing weather conditions”]. 

  4. Nearly 20 hours after a stand-off began with a man suspected of murder, an Indiana State Patrol [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/06/indiana-police-standoff-after-double-shooting-enters-2nd-day.html” title=”tactical team shot and killed the individual after he made threatening gestures toward them”]. The man was suspected of fatally shooting Amanda Kerns, 40, and wounding a 70-year-old man in a home in Terre Haute, Indiana. The standoff began after the man, who was wearing body armor, fled to another home about 2 miles away, [link url=”http://www.mywabashvalley.com/news/whats-next-in-the-terre-haute-standoff-investigation/1015346756″ title=”where police caught up with him and he fired at them”], but did not strike anyone.  

  5. [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/03/06/another-strong-quake-shakes-remote-papua-new-guinea-region.html” title=”Another strong earthquake has struck Papua New Guinea”] in a remote region already devastated by a powerful quake last week. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), [link url=”https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us2000dcx1#executive” title=”Tuesday’s quake measured a 6.7 magnitude”], was fairly shallow at a depth of 14.3 miles, and was centered 70 miles south of Porgera. The nation is still struggling to provide emergency relief to citizens in remote areas after the original quake [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/03/06/another-strong-quake-shakes-remote-papua-new-guinea-region.html” title=”triggered landslides and damaged roadways and airfields”], making access to remote areas nearly impossible.  

  6. In its most violent explosion since 2011, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/03/06/japanese-volcano-erupts-dozens-flights-grounded.html” title=”the eruption of the Shinmoedake Volcano in southern Japan on Tuesday”] shot smoke and ash thousands of feet into the air. The eruption resulted in about [link url=”http://time.com/5188592/shinmoedake-volcano-eruption-japan/” title=”80 flights into and out of the nearby Kagoshima airport being canceled”]. The volcano, situated on Japan’s southern most main island of Kyushu, erupted several times on Tuesday, and lava was seen rising from inside the crater of the volcano.   

  7. [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/03/06/gale-force-winds-cause-airport-roof-to-collapse.html” title=”Gale force winds caused the collapse of a portion of the roof”] at China’s Nanchang Changbei International Airport on Sunday. The airport, located in East China, suffered the collapse of part of its roof over the entrance to Terminal 2 when heavy rains and winds, exceeding 65 mph, whipped through the area. Although the damage was extensive, [link url=”https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/china-nanchang-changbei-airport-roof-collapse-10013016″ title=”no injuries were reported”] and the airport resumed normal operations on Monday.   

  8. The State of New Hampshire was struck by [link url=”https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-hampshire/articles/2018-03-07/minor-earthquake-shakes-central-new-hampshire” title=”a minor 2.4 magnitude earthquake”] early Wednesday morning in the town of Hopkinton. The quake, which was centered northeast of the village of Contoocook, struck just after 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Residents in multiple communities in the surrounding area [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/07/minor-earthquake-shakes-central-new-hampshire.html” title=”reported hearing a boom, then felt some shaking”], although no injuries or damage appear to have occurred.  

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.

Related Posts

Comments are closed.