dailybeast--2019-12-05--Lawsuit: The NRA’s ‘School Safety Initiative’ Was a Front to Increase Fundraising

In the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in December 2012, the National Rifle Association launched a grant program that it said would be instrumental in protecting students from gun violence.  The School Shield Emergency Response Program was touted as a way to help provide schools with everything from “armed security to building design and access control to information technology to student and teacher training.” And in the subsequent years, the gun lobby continued to push the idea as school shootings became more frequent.  “When People Cried, ‘Someone Do Something!’ We Did,” The NRA declared on its website. School Shield, it added, was “A Program Whose Time Has Come.”  But as the gun group promoted School Shield, questions mounted about how far-reaching the program actually was. And now, one of the NRA’s longtime vendors is claiming that the gun-rights group artificially boosted their fundraising numbers by raising money for its School Shield program while paying out only a small number of actual grants.  In an amended counterclaim filed in Texas federal court in November, the NRA’s former ad agency—Ackerman McQueen—says that the gun lobby used School Shield as a “shell” program that it did not intend to meaningfully execute.  The longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre, the counterclaim alleges, “boosted NRA revenue through the creation of shell programs” like School Shield, “that the NRA never had any intention or meaningful ability to execute (or execute competently).”  All told, Ackerman McQueen claimed the NRA only gave a “paltry” five grants to schools between 2012 and 2014. That revelation matches reporting from Mother Jones, which revealed that the NRA’s tax returns from 2013 to 2016 showed only three grants given to schools on behalf of the School Shield program—totaling up to $200,000.  The lack of grants were, apparently, a subject of concern internally. When Oliver North became the NRA’s president in May 2018, the counterclaim alleged he “demanded” that the NRA “make [the program] real.” The gun group announced later that year that it had given 54 grants totaling over $600,000 to public and private schools in 23 states. The program is still active, recently giving a $21,000 grant to a Missouri school.  School Shield isn’t the only program that Ackerman McQueen says was used as a shell for the NRA to raise more money. According to its counterclaim, the NRA also used its Carry Guard insurance program as a vehicle to bring in more cash without providing much benefit for its members. The program was unveiled in 2017, and offered members insurance-backed criminal and civil liability protection. It also offered three levels of concealed carry gun training before shutting down earlier this year.  The counterclaim alleged that Josh Powell, the senior NRA official responsible for Carry Guard’s development, “seemed generally dismissive of the training component of the program and kept referring to Carry Guard as nothing but an ‘insurance scheme.’” The ad firm said it resisted promoting the program until the NRA could deliver on their promises to members, and expressed that it wanted nothing to do with the so-called “scheme.”  “By appealing to members’ hearts or promising benefits that were never delivered, the NRA raised millions of dollars of ‘funny money’—LaPierre’s affectionate term for brand sponsorship funds,” the counterclaim reads.  The counterclaim makes additional claims about Youth for Tomorrow (YFT)—a Christian organization where LaPierre’s wife, Susan, was president. The gun group has been scrutinized for its lack of transparency in donations to YFT before, with a report from The New Yorker and The Trace revealing that over $180,000 in NRA contributions to YFT went unreported in their tax filings. According to Ackerman McQueen, the NRA also hid donations to YFT by using another entity, stating that it used a “third-party charity”, which would then give the NRA’s money to YFT. The counterclaim did not name the alleged “third-party charity” used by the NRA.  The ad firm said this arrangement was part of “‘back-scratching’ relationships” LaPierre structured to “siphon money to pet projects that the NRA would otherwise be prohibited from contributing to.”  Ackerman McQueen’s counterclaim comes as the ad agency and the NRA are currently locked in a bitter legal battle. The gun group first sued Ackerman McQueen, claiming it was unable to provide adequate documentation for its bills to the group. The ad firm sued back, and said it complied with the gun group’s records requests. The firm also claimed that the NRA was attempting to terminate the contract between them. Both entities are seeking tens of millions from each other.  “It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that Ackerman’s response to the agency’s legal issues is to attack a service program supported by many members of law enforcement and school officials across the country,” Andrew Arulanandam, the managing director of NRA Public Affairs, said in a statement. “We take great pride in NRA School Shield—and thank our many loyal members who join us in the effort to keep our children safe.”  The gun group's lawyers also said the counterclaim represented “another desperate chapter in the agency’s smear campaign” against them.  A representative for North declined to comment, and Ackerman McQueen’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.  Ackerman McQueen’s counterclaim was filed after the NRA launched a lawsuit against the ad firm in U.S. District Court in Texas. The two parties are also involved in a lawsuit in Virginia. The filing—which accuses the NRA of libel and LaPierre of libel and fraud—also includes previously reported claims of LaPierre hiding his personal expenses within the ad firm . In the NRA’s initial complaint, the gun group accused Ackerman McQueen of fraud, conspiracy, breaches of fiduciary duties, and others.


dailyheraldchicago--2019-07-05--Armed Utah teachers practice responding to school shootings

SPANISH FORK, Utah -- Nancy Miramontes had 30 seconds to find the gunman.  The Utah school psychologist weaved through a maze of dusty halls before spotting him in the corner of a classroom, holding a gun to a student's head. She took a deep breath and fired three shots, the first time she's ever used a gun. One bullet pierced the shooter's forehead.  "Nice work," a police officer told her as they exchanged high-fives in front of cardboard props representing the gunman and student.  Miramontes recently joined 30 other Utah teachers at a series of trainings where police instructed them on how to respond to an active shooter. Teachers went through the shooting drill inside a warehouse set up to look like a school, then moved outside to a shooting range.  Active shooter training for educators is becoming more common nationwide, and Utah is one of several states that generally allow permit holders to carry guns in public schools. Other states, including Florida and Texas, have programs that allow certain teachers to be armed if they are approved under a set of stipulations.  Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said the popularity of concealed carry permits in Utah makes such trainings even more important. About half the teachers brought their own handguns to the shooting range.  "If teachers are going to be bringing firearms into schools, let's make sure they know how to handle them safely," Smith said.  At least 39 states require lockdown, active-shooter or similar safety drills, according to the Education Commission of the States. Other states have less explicit requirements or leave it to districts. Utah requires its elementary schools to conduct at least one safety drill each month, and its secondary schools to have detailed emergency response plans. The firearm training is voluntary, but the Utah County Sheriff's Teachers Academy already has a waiting list for its next four-week program.  Despite increasing prevalence, some school safety experts aren't in favor of firearms training and worry that such lessons could cause undue stress or harm.  "Are police tasking teachers to perform a law enforcement responsibility by arming them to protect others? We have to be cautious of what we ask people to do in these traumatic, stressful situations," said Ken Trump, a school safety expert with the National School Safety and Security Services consulting firm.  Miramontes said her teacher friends in Utah and other states debated about it on Facebook. But after the training, she said she felt empowered.  "I know how to protect myself and my students now; I know what to expect if the worst happens," she said.  At the recent session, officers showed teachers how to disarm a gunman, where to shoot on the body, how to properly aim and unload a firearm. They also went over de-escalation techniques, self-defense and medical responses such as how to pack a wound and tie a tourniquet on a child.  Officers spent months designing the course and local businesses donated money and equipment. Attendees paid $20 to participate.  Between bites of pastries, teachers relayed their fears:  "Will the gunman leave after I shoot them?"  "How do I protect the children when they come?"  The sun stretched over the mountains as teachers put down their coffee and strapped into bulletproof vests, goggles and protective head gear. Above the ringing of gunshots, some teachers discussed summer vacation plans and classroom supply lists.  Sandy Grow, a special needs educator at a Lehi middle school, said the massacres at Parkland and Sandy Hook left her feeling unsafe at work. A gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last year. In 2012, 20 children and six educators were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.  "The idea of being trapped in a classroom with my students and not being able to protect them bothered me," she said. "I want to defend them and keep them safe, not be a sitting duck."  Mike Ericksen thinks a lot about how to keep students safe at Mountain View High School, where he's the principal and his son is a student. In 2016, before he began working there, five students were stabbed in the boy's locker room.  Reloading his handgun for target practice, Ericksen said the training has left him better prepared to fight back if someone threatens his school.  "I'm more confident in my skills and what to do if something happens," he said. "I'm not as nervous now. I can help."

disaster, accident and emergency incident


drudgereport--2019-04-03--Houston chemical plant fire turns deadly

Houston chemical plant fire turns deadly...

One dead in fire at KMCO chemical plant in Crosby  One person has died and two were critically injured in a fire Tuesday morning at KMCO chemical plant in Crosby, the second significant fire at a chemical plant in the Houston area within three weeks.  The fire at the KMCO plant on Ramsey Road, just northeast of town, erupted about 10:55 a.m.  Firefighters extinguished the blaze late Tuesday afternoon, the fire marshal's office said in a tweet about 4:20 p.m. Responders are continuing to monitor the scene and put out "hot spots," the office tweeted, while investigators are conducting interviews at the scene and seeking to determine where the fire started and what caused it.  "We are working with the company to determine exactly what chemicals are on site and in the warehouse that is on fire," said Harris County Fire Marshal's Office spokeswoman Rachel Moreno..  Moreno said the company believes the fire began when a transfer line carrying isobutelyne, a flammable gas, ignited.  HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM INVESTIGATES: Dangerous chemicals and a serious lack of information at plants around Houston.  She said helicopter ambulances transported the two injured workers to the hospital, where they are in critical condition.  "My heart and our hearts go out to the families of those who were injured, and the person who passed away as a result of the situation," said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who joined Moreno and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez at the news conference, held at a gas station near the facility.  KMCO has activated its incident command center and dispatched its emergency response team to help first responders extinguish the fire, president and CEO John C. Foley said in a statement.  "We are deeply saddened to confirm at this time that there have been injuries and one fatality," Foley said. "Those injured have been transported for medical treatment. Our hearts and prayers go out to the individuals involved, as well as our first responders, employees, and our community."  The blaze at KMCO comes almost three weeks after a tank farm at a petrochemical holding facility in Deer Park also caught fire. Investigators have yet to get to determine a cause for the blaze at Intercontinental Terminals Inc., where 11 of 15 tanks in the farm caught fire, sending up a plume of smoke and stoking concerns about air quality in the area.  No serious injuries in that incident were reported and daily press briefings ended on Monday.  "Texas is failing to protect people from chemical fires and explosions and rogue releases of toxic air pollution. It is untenable," said Elena Craft, senior director for climate and health at the Environmental Defense Fund, in a written statement following Tuesday's blaze. "The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality must inspect every single facility every single year. That should be a bare minimum."  In the KMCO fire, Matt Loesel of the federal Environmental Protection Agency said real-time air monitoring using aircraft and a bus-mounted mobile unit have not found any hazardous readings of any substance.  The incident prompted several school districts to issue a shelter in place. Emergency officials also issued a shelter in place for residents within a 1-mile radius. They have been lifted.  Houston ISD canceled all outdoor activities Tuesday afternoon at the following campuses located in the northeast portion of the district: Robinson, Oates, Hilliard and Elmore elementary schools; Furr and North Forest high schools; and Fonwood Early Childhood Center.  KMCO contractors Brian Balcerowicz and Cesar Mendoza were in the control room when the explosion happened about 10:55 a.m.. That meant they were just a couple of feet away from danger, the former observed.  "They said there had been a problem and stay in the control room," Balcerowicz said. "About five minutes later we heard and felt the explosion."  The operator then told everyone to leave the premises. Balcerowicz noted that the control room was a safe place since it was explosion-proof.  KMCO OWNERS: What we know about the company, at HoustonChronicle.com  Corey Prantil, 31, felt his house shake at about 10:55 Tuesday morning.  From his location about two and a half miles northeast of the KMCO plant, the ground shook, his windows rattled and it sounded like someone was trying to break in through the front door.  "I thought 'Oh Jesus,' went outside and drove down the road to the plant," Prantil said. "I got down there saw where lab was, and the plant was on fire."  Prantil said he had not been contacted by any local authorities to shelter-in-place but knew the local schools were shutting off their HVAC systems and keeping students inside as a precaution.  He watched smoke fill the sky from his back porch about an hour after the blast, looking to see whether the wind was pushing the black smoke closer to his house. It was.  The conflagration reminded him of what happened at the Arkema plant during Hurricane Harvey, when several of their tanks caught fire after the site was flooded by torrential rains. As a state trooper who responded to that blaze, he was troubled by that company's refusal to answer basic questions about the chemicals they had on hand and how much fluid was leaking into nearby floodwaters and neighborhoods.  Prantil said the Arkema incident, coupled with the fire at an Intercontinental Terminals Company plant in Deer Park in late March, should prompt local officials to take more action to police Houston-area chemical facilities.  "It seems like Houston is the capital of plants blowing up recently," Prantil said. "I think Harris County needs to step up on enforcement. a whole lot doesn't get said by these companies, and I don't think that's right."  Ernest Roder lives across Clara Wilson Road from the plant. Roder, 71, was working with his son on a tractor in his metal farm building when they felt a concussion.  "My first thought was a sonic boom," Roder said as he waited out the commotion in his house.  "But it was too loud. My son thought something dropped in the shop. When we walked outside we saw the smoke and knew exactly what it was."  Roder, who has lived on the street for nearly 50 years, said he wasn't alarmed by the fire, figuring if he needed to evacuate someone would tell him.  "It never has bothered me," Roder said of the plant. "Unless it gets worse we'll just wait it out inside the house."  About a mile west of the plant, flecks of soot and charred debris laid sprinkled across Lacy Roberts yard.  She put on nitrile gloves and picked them up so her dogs would not try to lick them, placing the black and gray flakes inside a freezer-sized plastic bag. Still, she's worried about what she and her dogs may have already been exposed to.  "It could be anything; they haven't said what it was yet," Roberts said. "If I find more I'll add it to the collection."  NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.


drudgereport--2019-10-17--California launching first ever earthquake early warning app for state...

Scientists cannot yet predict when the next deadly earthquake will strike, but emergency response authorities in California plan to unveil the first statewide quake warning system Thursday, which marks the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.  The warnings will be issued in two ways: a cellphone app called MyShake and the more traditional wireless notification system that sends out Amber Alerts.  "The California Earthquake Early Warning System will marry a new smartphone application with traditional alert and warning delivery methods such as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The system uses ground motion sensors from across the state to detect earthquakes before humans can feel them and will notify Californians so that they can "Drop, cover and hold on" in advance of an earthquake," the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services said in a press release announcing system launch on Thursday.  The California Earthquake Early Warning System is a joint project of the Office of Emergency Service, the U.S. Geological Service, UC Berkeley, CalTech, and others.  The system uses seismic monitoring sensors located throughout the state set to detect the start of a quake. That information moves through high-speed communications pathways to computers that identity the location and strength of a quake and then sends out alerts before severe shaking occurs in an area. The alerts will give people a second to tens of seconds to take potentially life-saving action.  The system was tested this week when residents of the San Francisco Bay Area and Central California were jolted by a magnitude 4.5 quake and a 4.7 quake respectively. Alerts hit phones with a median time of 2.1 seconds in the first case and 1.6 seconds in the latter, said Richard Allen, director UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory.  Authorities say the system is promising but far from perfect.  "The California Earthquake Early Warning System is based on innovative technology that will improve over time. In rare circumstances, you may receive a ShakeAlert when there was no earthquake," the announcement of the system said.


drudgereport--2019-11-01--Keystone pipeline shut after spilling 9,000 barrels of oil in NDakota...

Oct 31 (Reuters) - An estimated 9,120 barrels of oil have spilled from TC Energy Corp's Keystone crude pipeline in North Dakota, state authorities said on Thursday, a major leak at a time of increased regulatory scrutiny of oil pipeline expansions.  The initial estimate makes it one of the biggest onshore crude spills in the past decade and the largest for Keystone, according to U.S. Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) data back to 2010.  The cause of the rupture has not been disclosed.  Pipeline operator TC Energy is seeking to expand its pipelines linking Western Canadian oil fields to U.S. refineries with its proposed Keystone XL project. The $6 billion project has faced regulatory and environmental hurdles despite backing by U.S. President Donald Trump.  A nearly 10-year legal fight between TC Energy, formerly called TransCanada, and environmental activists has delayed development of the line that would run from Alberta, Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast. A Nebraska court in August affirmed an alternative route through the state, raising hopes the project might proceed and provide badly needed transport for Alberta's crude.  Western Canada Select heavy oil traded on Thursday at $20 per barrel less than U.S. benchmark WTI, the biggest discount in 11 months, according to Net Energy Exchange.  On Wednesday, TC Energy said its 590,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Keystone pipeline system to the United States was shut after a drop in pressure was detected. It said there were no injuries and it was investigating the cause of the breach near Edinburg, North Dakota.  The company has not said when pipeline operations would restart, but told shippers that service to U.S. Midwest refiners would remain shut during the outage. The line could remain shut for at least a week, according to market sources on Thursday.  TC Energy has begun using backhoes and vacuum trucks to recover the spilled oil, said Brent Nelson, an emergency response manager for Walsh County who visited the site.  "At this time I would estimate 50 – 75 persons on site working between two shifts ... they are focusing on oil recovery at this time and will then move to making repairs," he said.  The exact amount of oil released will not be available until recovery has been completed, TC Energy said in a statement on Thursday.  In 2017, a Keystone crude pipeline leak in rural South Dakota spilled nearly 6,600 barrels, the PHMSA data showed. Earlier this year, Keystone was partially shut after leaking 43 barrels of crude in Missouri.  The latest release also affected a wetland area, a statement from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality said.  "They've had a few spills ... more than you would hope to have on a line that's still fairly new," said Carl Weimer, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust in Bellingham, Washington, a nonprofit promoting pipeline safety.  Keystone has leaked substantially more oil, and more often, in the United States than the company indicated to regulators in risk assessments before operations began in 2010, according to a Reuters review in 2017.  The Keystone outage also disrupted flows on the Marketlink pipeline out of the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub, roiling oil prices at the delivery point for U.S. crude futures. (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York, Additional reporting by Eileen Soreng and Sathya Narayanan in Bengaluru, Laila Kearney and Scott DiSavino in New York, Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Editing by Diane Craft and Stephen Coates)


eveningstandard--2019-01-09--Donald Trump threatens to cut off federal aid for forest fires in California

Donald Trump has threatened to cut off federal emergency aid to California for forest fires.  Amidst the government shutdown, the US President said no more money would be sent to the state by the Federal Emergency Management Agency "unless they get their act together".  Writing on Twitter on Tuesday, he said: "Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for forest fires that, with proper forest management, would never happen.  "Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money."  Mr Trump has previously criticised Californian officials for poor forest management, despite the federal government being in charge of many of the state's forests.  It comes after German insurance company Munich Re announced that the wildfire in Paradise was the world's costliest single natural disaster in 2018.  The reinsurance giant said on Tuesday that the November fire, which killed dozens of people, caused overall losses of $16.5 billion. The company said some $12.5 billion in losses were insured.  The firestorm destroyed thousands of homes and other structures.  In November, the US President visited Paradise to see the devastation caused by the wildfire and help those affected.  Mr Trump was accompanied by then-Governor Elect Gavin Newsom, who has been vocal in his criticisms of the president after being sworn into office this week.  Responding to the president's threat on Tuesday, he posted on Twitter: "Mr. President -- Just yesterday, @OregonGovBrown, @GovInslee, and I sent a letter asking the federal government to work with us in taking on these unprecedented wildfires. We have been put in office by the voters to get things done, not to play games with lives.  "Disasters and recovery are no time for politics. I’m already taking action to modernize and manage our forests and emergency responses.  "The people of CA -- folks in Paradise -- should not be victims to partisan bickering."


eveningstandard--2019-02-19--Chingford house fire woman arrested on suspicion of murder after man dies in blaze in north-east Lo

Chingford house fire: woman arrested on suspicion of murder after man dies in blaze in north-east London

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man died in a house fire in north-east London today.  Police said they were dealing with a “suspicious death” following the incident at the house in Genever Close, Chingford on Tuesday afternoon.  London Ambulance Service scrambled to the scene shortly after 1pm.  A man was found dead at the scene, while another person was rushed to a major trauma centre, LAS said in a statement.  A huge emergency response was seen in the cul-de-sac, with the air ambulance also landing nearby.  A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “Police are dealing with a suspicious death in Waltham Forest.  “Officers were called at 13:12hrs on Tuesday, 19 February to a residential address in Genever Close, E4.  “London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service had been called to a fire and found a man deceased inside the house.  “A woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder.  A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 1:11pm today (19 February) to reports of an incident at a residential address on Genever Close, Chingford.  "We sent a number of resources to the scene including: an incident response officer, an advanced paramedic, two ambulance crews and our hazardous area response team (HART).  "We assessed a person at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre.


eveningstandard--2019-06-26--Chiswick WW2 bomb Residents in west London evacuated after unexploded ordnance found in garden

Chiswick WW2 bomb: Residents in west London evacuated after unexploded ordnance found in garden

Residents in Chiswick were evacuated from their homes after an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered.  Met Police were called at 1.35pm to St Mary’s Grove after the ordnance was found in the garden of a residential property.  They later confirmed that the bomb was safely disposed of through a "controlled explosion" by specialist officers.  Several nearby homes had been evacuated although police would not specify how many people were affected.  "The device has now been safely disposed of by controlled explosion. The incident is now complete," the Met Police said.  "Local residents are thanked for their cooperation."  The bomb was found one road away from Grove Park Primary School on Nightingale Close. One parent said the school asked all pupils to be collected, but did not explain why.  They tweeted: "Lots of emergency response vehicles in the area, pretty scary."  Another replied: "Just heard this too! Apparently parts of St Mary’s Grove have been evacuated."  A Met Police spokeswoman said: “We are dealing with it and making sure that it is being disposed of safely.  “A number of the properties nearby were evacuated as a precaution until the item was disposed of properly."  It comes just weeks after thousands of residents underwent a major evacuation in Kingston when an unexploded World War Two ordnance was found in a building site.  Many were left without accommodation for the night until the bomb was exploded by a specialist Explosive Ordinance Disposal team.


eveningstandard--2019-09-08--Hurricane Dorian Powerful winds batter Canada as rescue efforts continue in the Bahamas

Hurricane Dorian: Powerful winds batter Canada as rescue efforts continue in the Bahamas

Hurricane Dorian has battered parts of Canada's Atlantic coast and Nova Scotia with heavy rain and powerful winds.  Powerful winds toppled a construction crane in Halifax and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people.  While a roof was also ripped off an apartment complex in the city and a number of homes were evacuated.  Weather officials said Dorian is "bringing hurricane-force wind gusts to a large portion of Atlantic Canada", with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.  The top sustained winds are occurring mainly over water, bringing tropical storm and hurricane conditions to portions of Nova Scotia, though experts predict the post-tropical cyclone will likely "drop below hurricane strength" on Sunday.  The fallout continues as officials in North Carolina said a second death in the state has been attributed to Hurricane Dorian.   State Emergency Response Team spokeswoman Diana Kees said in an email on Saturday afternoon that a 67-year-old man died Friday in Pamlico County after collapsing at his home while cleaning storm debris.  At least five deaths in the Southeast have been blamed on Dorian, with the others being men in Florida or North Carolina who died in falls or by electrocution while trimming trees, putting up storm shutters or otherwise getting ready for the hurricane.  While at least 43 people have been killed in the Bahamas, where many more remain missing as search and rescue efforts continue.  Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said 35 people died on Abaco and eight on Grand Bahama island.  Teams were still trying to reach some Bahamian communities isolated by floodwaters and debris after the disaster.  The US Coast Guard said it has rescued a total of 290 people in the northern Bahamas following the hurricane.  Six MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and nine cutters are helping in the aid effort, the Coast Guard said.  The United Nations said eight tons of food supplies were on the way by ship and some 14,700 ready-to-eat meals as well as logistical and telecommunications equipment are being delivered, said Herve Verhoosel, spokesman for the UN World Food Program.


eveningstandard--2019-11-10--Cyclone Bulbul path latest: At least six killed as deadly storm hits India and Bangladesh

At least six people have been killed in Bangladesh a strong cyclone slammed into the Bay of Bengal.  Some 30 people have been injured and around 6,000 homes were damaged, authorities said, while families are desperately searching for 36 missing fishermen.  Five of the six victims were killed by falling trees, according to reports.  Two fishing boats are yet to return and relatives have been unable to contact the men on board, said Anwar Uddin, a local public representative in the southern Bhola district.  Packing winds of up to 75mph, with gusts of up to 80mph, the cyclone made landfall at Sagar Island in the southern part of India's West Bengal state before moving towards Bangladesh.  Some two million people from all of Bangladesh's 13 coastal districts were moved to over 5,000 shelters.  The weather office said coastal districts were likely to be inundated by storm surges of up to seven feet above normal tide because of the impact of the cyclone.  About 1,200 mainly domestic tourists were stuck at the Saint Martin island in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Enamur Rahman, junior minister for disaster management and relief, told Reuters.  "With the signal down to 4 all of them will be rescued," he said, referring to a storm-warning system.  Several ships from Bangladesh's navy and coastguard were kept ready in parts of the affected region for an emergency response, it was reported.  On Saturday, volunteers used loudspeakers to ask people to move to shelters in Chittagong and other regions, according to the Disaster Management Ministry.  Authorities suspended all activities in the country's main seaports, including in Chittagong, which handles almost 80 per cent of Bangladesh's exports and imports. All vessels and fishing boats were told to stop operating.  Local authorities ordered school buildings and mosques to be used as shelters in addition to dedicated cyclone shelters.  The path of the cyclone includes the south-western Khulna region, which has the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, straddling the Bangladesh-India border.  The storm was also expected to impact parts of north-eastern India, where precautions were being taken.  India's states of West Bengal and Odisha have received heavy rainfall since early Saturday and there were reports of hundreds of trees being uprooted.  The cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal can last from April to December. In 1999, a super-cyclone battered the coast of India's Odisha state for 30 hours, killing 10,000 people.


eveningstandard--2019-11-11--Lewes Castle collapse: Emergency services search rubble after Medieval wall topples

Emergency services are searching through tonnes of rubbled after a wall at an 11th-century castle collapsed.  Ambulance crews and members of hazardous area response are among those at the scene in Lewes, East Sussex.  A pub has been evacuated as emergency responders seek to make the area safe, while residents and shoppers are being asked to avoid the main centre of the historic town.  East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service confirmed crews were called to the scene at 12.22pm, along with search and rescue staff.  Incident commander Matt Lloyd said the wall had collapsed into an adjacent garden and house.  He said the rubble was estimated to have had "hundreds of tonnes of impact".  "I would say this is a protracted incident," he told PA.  The wall was reportedly undergoing work to remove ivy in recent weeks.  A police dog team has been brought in to help assess the integrity of the structure and the large emergency response is made up teams from three counties, including specialist search and rescue teams trained to work in earthquake scenarios.  A fire service spokesman said: "Residents are being asked to avoid the area, as there are expected to be a high number of emergency appliances involved in this multi-agency search and rescue operation.  "Firefighters are working alongside other emergency services to check the area to ensure that no one needs rescuing."


eveningstandard--2019-12-29--Five stabbed at rabbi's house during Hanukkah celebration in New York

Five people have been stabbed inside a rabbi's home during a Hanukkah celebration in New York by a knifeman who fled after the attack, police said.  The attack, which took place an hour north of New York City, happened around 10pm local time on Saturday (3am GMT).  The blade-wielding perpetrator is believed to have entered the rabbi’s home and unleashed the attack before fleeing in a vehicle.  Police later said they had located a suspect and a vehicle, but have not confirmed if anyone had been arrested.  The stabbings happened in Monsey, one of several Hudson Valley towns that have seen an influx in large numbers of Hasidic Jews in recent years.  Photos and videos posted on Twitter showed a large emergency response with paramedics running and pushing stretchers.  The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council for the Hudson Valley region tweeted reports that the stabbings took place at the house of a Hasidic rabbi while they were celebrating Hanukkah.  Several state and local officials described the location of the stabbing as a synagogue. The rabbi’s home is next door to a synagogue.  Saturday was the seventh night of Hanukkah.  Governor Cuomo, who called the stabbings a “cowardly act”, has directed the State Police hate crimes task force to investigate the attacks.  “Let me be clear: anti-Semitism and bigotry of any kind are repugnant to our values of inclusion and diversity and we have absolutely zero tolerance for such acts of hate,” he said.  “In New York we will always stand up and say with one voice to anyone who wishes to divide and spread fear: you do not represent New York and your actions will not go unpunished.”  Police chief Mr Weidel said the five people were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries was not clear.  Authorities have not provided a motive for the attack.  The incident happened a month after a man needed surgery after being stabbed while walking to a synagogue in Monsey. It is not known if anyone has been arrested for that attack.  Jewish communities in the New York City metro area have been troubled following a deadly gun rampage at a northern New Jersey kosher market on December 10.  Six people died in the shooting, including the two killers, a police officer and three people who had been inside the store.  New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said the attack was driven by hatred of Jews and law enforcement.  Around New York City, police have received at least six reports this week – and eight since December 13 – of attacks possibly prompted by anti-Jewish sentiment.  Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday that the police presence would be increased in Brooklyn neighbourhoods with large Jewish populations.  Additional reporting by the Associated Press.


france24--2019-04-29--UN gives 13 million as second cyclone pounds Mozambique

UN gives $13 million as second cyclone pounds Mozambique

Mike Hutchings, REUTERS | A group of men wade through floodwaters as rain falls in the aftermath of Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique, on April 28, 2019.  The United Nations has said it will grant Mozambique $13 million in emergency funds to help cope with the massive flooding and destruction caused by Cyclone Kenneth, the second tropical storm to hit the country within weeks.  Cyclone Kenneth crashed into the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado on Thursday just as the country was recovering from Cyclone Idai that hit further south last month.  Weather experts are warning that Kenneth could dump twice as much rain on northern Mozambique as Idai did. It has already killed 38 people as it unleashed heavy rains and flooding that has seen rivers burst their banks and smash whole villages, the Disaster Management Institute said.  An estimated 160,000 people are at risk, with more torrential rain forecast in the coming days, officials have warned.  On Sunday, the UN said it would grant $13 million in emergency funds to help provide food and water and repair damage to infrastructure.  "This new allocation of Central Emergency Response Fund funds will help humanitarian partners to scale up the response to address the needs of those most vulnerable in the aftermath of Cyclone Kenneth", said UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock in a statement.  Earlier in April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) granted the southern African nation a $118.2 million credit facility, with the World Bank estimating that Mozambique and other countries affected by the tropical storm will need over $2 billion to recover.  Mozambique officials have described flooding from the new cyclone as "critical" in parts of Cabo Delgado province such as the towns of Ibo, Macomia and Quissanga, where many buildings and homes have been destroyed.  As soon as the rains lift aid distribution will begin Monday via helicopter and boats in Ibo and Quissanga, said officials, noting that roads have been rendered impassable by the heavy rains. Canoes may be used to deliver aid in Macomia, they added.  Safe drinking water is also becoming a challenge as wells have been contaminated, raising the threat of cholera. Malaria is another concern.  The prolonged heavy rains in Pemba, the provincial capital and an historic port city, caused deadly mudslides. As the rains eased Monday, residents of a poor neighbourhood were digging for bodies.  Two houses were crushed by the collapse of a sprawling dumpsite that hit just after midnight when rains poured, local resident Manuel Joachim told the Associated Press.  "We have pulled out one body only, maybe we can find the other five," he added.  In other parts of Pemba, some tried to return to a semblance of daily life amid the destruction.  At a school in one suburb, school children in blue uniforms trooped into classes. In central Pemba, traders put their wares on street pavements and wooden tables while others were busy removing rubble from their homes and yards.


greenwichtime--2019-12-20--Greenwich home heavily damaged by fire

Greenwich home heavily damaged by fire

GREENWICH — Firefighters worked through the day to extinguish a blaze that tore through a home on Whitney Drive in the northwest corner of town on Friday and left it uninhabitable.  No injuries were reported, but the damaging fire is certain to renew debate about emergency response times in the neighborhood, which lags behind other sections of Greenwich.  “On arrival, we had heavy smoke conditions, and determined that fire was present on the first third of the main floor. It already extended up to the attic space,” Deputy Chief Brian Koczak said.  There are no hydrants in the area to draw water from, so the fire department relied on a “tanker relay” system, ferrying water from the nearby Tamarack Country Club to douse the flames.  “That whole water supply is a big thing to coordinate,” Koczak said. But there was no problem with getting water onto the flames: Tankers from departments in nearby Westchester County, N.Y., Banksville and Armonk, assisted in the operation.  The fire proved to be a stubborn one — it took an extensive effort to break through plywood and sheetrock to extinguish the flames in the attic of the large raised ranch home, he said. The fire was under control in about 45 minutes, and about 40 to 50 fire personnel took part in the daylong operation.  First Selectman Fred Camillo thanked the first-responders via Twitter on Friday afternoon, noting their “mission was complete without any injuries.”  No one was home at the time of the fire. The cause of the blaze at the home, in a neighborhood off the upper section of King Street near the Westchester County Airport, had not been determined Friday evening.  The fire department’s records showed that the call came in at 10:39 a.m., and the first unit arrived at 10:50, for a response time of 11 minutes.  Response times by firefighters to the northwestern quadrant of town has been a persistent concern in the neighborhood. Residents and leaders in northwest Greenwich have pushed for a fire station to be built closer to their homes, as the neighborhood has no dedicated fire facility based within it.  The engine company based in Glenville is closest to the northwest section of town, but it is several miles away from many residential areas. The scene of the fire on Friday was 5 miles from the Glenville engine company’s headquarters.  Former First Selectman Peter Tesei noted the issue on Twitter on Friday. While in office, he had pushed for a new fire station in the northwest corner but ran into opposition from budget-hawks in town government. The Representative Town Meeting did not approve funding proposed by Tesei.  “Good luck @Greenwich_Fire_ hope BET & RTM BOC had stop watches out to track response time to Northwest Greenwich!!. #SafetyFirst #GreenwichFirst be safe & thank you,” Tesei said on Twitter.  In the summer of 2018, it took firefighters 11 minutes to respond to a house fire at an unoccupied home at 1415 King St. No one was injured in that blaze, but the house was destroyed. The response time in many other sections of Greenwich averages about five minutes, or well under in some sections of the south end of town.  The house damaged in Friday’s fire was declared uninhabitable by the fire marshal after sustaining significant damage. The raised ranch house, with six bedrooms and four bathrooms, sold for $1.415 million in 2016, according to real-estate records.


mercurynews--2019-03-18--Utrecht tram riders shot in possible terrorist attack

By Michael Birnbaum, (c) 2019, The Washington Post  ![](https://i2.wp.com/www.mercurynews.com/wp- content/uploads/2019/03/AFP_1ES2DY.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)Gokman Tanis in an image released by Utrecht police. (Photo by Marie-Laure MESSANA / UTRECHT POLICE / AFP)  BRUSSELS – Several people were injured Monday in a shooting on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, authorities said, an attack they said could be connected to terrorism.  Counterterrorism authorities in the Netherlands raised the terror threat level to five, the maximum, until evening in the province containing the city and said that the attacker was still on the run.  Police said they were searching for a 37-year-old Turkish-born man, Gökman Tanis, in connection with the attack, releasing a surveillance photo from what appeared to be the tram minutes before the attack.  There appeared to be some confusion about the extent of the incident, with the Dutch national coordinator for counterterrorism and security, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, telling reporters that there had been multiple shootings around Utrecht, while a police spokesman told local media that there had only been a single barrage at the tram.  Police did not immediately release details of the number of injured or say whether there were fatalities. But photographs from the scene of the incident showed at least one body covered in a white sheet next to the halted tram.  The shooting, three days after an attack on mosques in New Zealand killed 50 worshipers and left 40 wounded, set off alarms in Europe, and Dutch authorities unleashed a massive emergency response even as the extent of the attack and its motivations remained unclear.  Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was “very concerned,” cutting short his ordinary meetings to address the crisis response.  “We can’t rule out terror,” Aalbersberg told reporters. He said top Dutch officials were meeting to try to determine the motivation behind the incident. “There is a big operation to catch the suspect,” he said.  Local media reported that ambulances rushed to the area around the incident, near the 24 Oktoberplein, a busy intersection in southwest Utrecht. Authorities also closed off a lane of a busy highway to make it easier for emergency vehicles to speed in.  Authorities said the attack took place around 10:45 a.m.  The shooting was “a horrible and shocking incident in which victims have fallen,” Utrecht Mayor Jan van Zanen said in a statement.  City authorities told residents to stay inside while the shooter or shooters were on the loose.  One witness quoted by the NRC newspaper said a man got up on the tram and started shooting around him with a “big pistol.” “He shot around him, but seemed to be aiming at people sitting on the benches. Everybody ducked away,” said the witness, who NRC said asked to remain anonymous. “The conductor did not open the doors immediately. Two boys next to me kicked in a window, so I jumped outside. Several people did that.”  Authorities, uncertain about the motive for the attack and nervous that the perpetrator or perpetrators were still on the loose, increased security across the country. In Rotterdam, police said they were increasing security at mosques and at train stations. In the Dutch capital, The Hague, the military police who patrol government buildings were carrying their rifles at the ready, a different posture than normal, according to Dutch media.  All mosques in Utrecht were closed after the incident, according to a spokesman for the Ulu Mosque, Utrecht’s biggest, quoted by the ANP news agency.  —  Amar Nadhir in The Hague contributed to this report.


naturalnews--2019-12-29--Human workers forced to work in highly radioactive area to topple dangerous Fukushima exhaust stack

(Natural News) Back in March of 2011, the province of Fukushima, Japan, was struck by a series of devastating events that culminated in one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. The area was hit first by a massive earthquake, and then by a 15-metre (50-foot) tsunami. That massive tsunami, in turn, disabled the power supply and cooling functions at the Daiichi nuclear power plant, which finally triggered a nuclear accident on the 11th of March that was rated a 7 on the INES scale. Four nuclear reactors were destroyed, and clean-up work has been ongoing ever since.  Experts estimate that the task of decommissioning the plant and cleaning up the site will take upwards of four decades and cost billions of yen to complete.  In August of this year, news agencies reported that work had commenced at the plant to dismantle a highly contaminated, unstable exhaust stack. Before the disaster, the 110m (360 foot) high exhaust stack was used for the No. 1 and 2 reactors, and dismantling it is seen as a crucial part of the decommissioning work.  The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), responsible for getting the cleanup work done, decided that the dismantling work would have to be done via crane and remote control because of the incredibly high levels of radiation surrounding the stack. Even at the base of the stack radiation levels have been deemed to be too high for humans to work in.  Then, on December 3, Japanese newspapers began reporting that people had nonetheless been sent up to the top of the exhaust stack to cut the cylinder body with power tools, after the cutting device used to cut the cylinder via remote control had become unstable and emergency action had to be taken. (Related: Fukushima — Storage tanks are full, radioactive waste to be dumped straight into the ocean.)  The power of the elements: Discover Colloidal Silver Mouthwash with quality, natural ingredients like Sangre de Drago sap, black walnut hulls, menthol crystals and more. Zero artificial sweeteners, colors or alcohol. Learn more at the Health Ranger Store and help support this news site.  As reported by Strange Sounds, after the robotic remote-controlled equipment failed, humans had to be sent in to assist with cutting the cylinder body:  Some weird stuff is happening at the TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant right now. While Japan has decided to drop radioactive water in the ocean, Tepco sent humans to repair where robots failed. …  The workers at the top of 110-m high Fukushima Dai-ichi vent stack were exposed to an estimated 810 ?Sv, making this action an emergency response.  This, despite the fact that officials had assured workers and the public that radiation levels would not exceed 300 ?Sv. (Related: Is Fukushima radiation affecting the West Coast? Consider these signs.)  According to Japanese sources, work initially commenced late in the afternoon of the 3rd, when three workers were lifted by crane to the cutting device located at the top of the cylinder. The workers were busy for around three hours, all the while wearing protective masks to cover their faces. Work had to be suspended in the evening over concerns about strong winds that had come up.  The following morning, another three workers climbed up to the cutting device where they refueled the generator. Within 4.5 hours, exposure levels had increased to 0.47 mSv.  TEPCO plans to cut the cylinder body of the exhaust pipe into sections of between 2 and 4 meters at a time, and estimates that its size will have halved by March 2020.  Since TEPCO officials were initially adamant that humans should not be involved in this work at all because of the dangerously high radiation levels involved, it can only be hoped that the robotic equipment will not fail again before the project is completed. Stay abreast of the latest developments at Fukushima.news.


newyorkpost--2019-02-22--75-magnitude earthquake rocks Ecuador-Peru border region

7.5-magnitude earthquake rocks Ecuador-Peru border region

QUITO/LIMA — A deep magnitude-7.5 earthquake struck the Peru-Ecuador border region early Friday, the US Geological Survey said, causing tremors that the Ecuadorian president said were felt around the country.  The quake’s epicenter was in a sparsely populated area 140 miles east-southeast of Ambato, Ecuador, at a depth of 132 km (82 miles). The USGS’ initial reading assessed the quake, which occurred at 5:17 a.m. local time, at magnitude 7.7.  There was no risk of a tsunami being triggered, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and there were no initial reports of casualties or damage.  Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said on Twitter that preliminary reports “do not indicate major damage,” though he added that provincial response teams had been activated and that the tremors had been “felt throughout the country.”  One resident in Cuenca, Ecuador, 157 miles from the epicenter, described the temblor as very strong, while a second resident there reported experiencing “a good 30-second shake,” according to witness statements on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center website.  Ecuador’s emergency response service said the main quake and other smaller ones had shaken the south of the country, with reports of some minor injuries, evacuation of patients and staff from several hospitals and damage reported in some Amazonian towns.  Some areas were without electrical power, authorities said, while the country’s oil pipelines and hydroelectric dams were operating normally.  In towns near the epicenter of the quake, the tremors caused alarm. “I felt the walls and the floor move. I was very scared and we went out to the street,” Lissette Alarcón, a 25-year-old university student, told Reuters.  “We still aren’t used to these earthquakes,” she said.  A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Peru’s southern coast in January 2018, killing one person, injuring scores more and causing roads and homes to collapse. A 7.8-magnitude quake in Ecuador killed around 700 people in 2016.


npr--2019-03-20--Plight Of Survivors After Cyclone Idai No Power No Homes No Roads

Plight Of Survivors After Cyclone Idai: No Power, No Homes, No Roads  When Cyclone Idai, a devastating tropical storm, swept across southeastern Africa on Thursday, it killed at least 150 people, displaced hundreds of thousands and left Beira, a coastal city of a half-million people in central Mozambique, almost totally destroyed.  In the aftermath, with some of their neighbors still trapped on rooftops or in trees, some local residents began the long process of recovery with a small but notable rebuttal to nature, by beginning to move the beach back to its rightful place.  The storm, which made landfall on Thursday, pushed tons of sand from the city's beach onto downtown streets, complicating emergency response efforts that were already hampered by a total lack of electricity, telecommunications networks or running water, says Jamie LeSueur, emergency operations manager for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, who is helping to lead emergency response efforts in Beira and was one of the first aid workers to reach the scene.  "We saw massive destruction," LeSueur says. "But within two days, people were in the streets with shovels. Seeing the response has been just awe-inspiring."  But nearly a week after the storm, sand and rubble are still being cleared. As aid begins to trickle in, it's becoming clear that other impacts of the catastrophe, which LeSueur calls "the worst humanitarian crisis in Mozambique's history," will be much harder to resolve. An unknown number of people are still stuck on rooftops, in trees or on small islands of land that stayed above the floodline. The IFRC estimates that at least 400,000 people in Mozambique were made homeless by the storm.  The death toll could rise to more than one thousand as search-and-rescue efforts coordinated by the government and the United Nations continue, Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi told the Associated Press on Monday. Hundreds of deaths were also reported in neighboring Malawi and Zimbabwe, where the storm triggered flash floods, high winds, and mudslides. Altogether, up to 2.6 million people were affected by the storm, according to the U.N., which on Tuesday said it will need $40.8 million in emergency relief funding.  As of Tuesday evening in Beira, electricity and water pipelines were still down. The main hospital is open but has sustained severe damage, and a number of smaller clinics lost their roofs or were otherwise taken out of commission. Some roads are open but not the main one leading out of town to the capital, Maputo, meaning that the only way for aid to reach the city has been by helicopter. According to The New York Times, more than a dozen aid trucks are stuck on roads outside the city.  The few emergency aid groups that have managed to reach the site are severely outnumbered by the people they're trying to help: LeSueur has a team of ten, which he hopes to increase to 30 in the next few days. Claudia Aguiar, advocacy manager for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Maputo, says her group has managed to bring in seven people so far, in addition to 150 Mozambican staff who had already been based in Beira at an HIV clinic (all are unharmed, she says).  For now, many displaced people are taking shelter in schools and churches, and humanitarian groups are focused on delivering food, clean water for drinking, bathing, and cooking and blankets. LeSueur says that aid helicopters have been dropping floating aid parcels into the floodwaters near homes, and using the draft from the choppers' propellers to blow the packages close to those in need, so that the draft and the dropped packages wouldn't further damage fragile buildings.  The situation is even more precarious in the vast countryside surrounding Beira, where roads remain inundated and affected towns are still largely unreachable by emergency responders. By the end of this week, MSF plans to complete its assessment of the human toll in order to determine what services are most needed — and where, Aguiar says.  "It's a really dire situation," she says. "We need to decide where it's most pressing to for us to intervene. We don't want to duplicate efforts of other relief organizations."  Even as the work to save lives continues, other risks loom in the near future. Paul Spiegel, director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says he expects to see an increase in cases of dysentery and cholera, since clean water, soap, and functioning latrines are scarce. Especially for children under five, diarrhea can quickly turn life-threatening. Rain is still falling; the damp conditions are associated with a higher risk of contracting pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, which can then spread easily in crowded shelters, he says. At the same time, people who suffer from non-communicable diseases like epilepsy and diabetes may lose access to their medication, he says.  Gert Verdonck, MSF's emergency coordinator in Beira, said in an emailed statement that providing medical treatment will be a challenge even as medical supplies become available.  "It's even difficult to get to the health centers, because the roads are destroyed or because the health centers themselves are destroyed," he said. "I think that's our biggest challenge right now."  As more people move into emergency shelters, a key priority for humanitarian workers will be to construct sufficient latrines, supply soap and water chlorination equipment and remind displaced people to wash their hands, a step that's easily overlooked in a crisis but can be crucial to cut off hygiene-related diseases before they begin to spread, LeSueur says.  "Really the priority right now is saving lives," LeSueur says. "But we want to make sure displaced people have a blanket over them and roof over their head, and we want to get ahead of the water situation."  Once the flood waters recede and search-and-rescue operations end, the storm will likely lead to food shortages for months or years in a region where a high portion of the population are subsistence farmers, says Kieran McConville, a spokesperson for the humanitarian group Concern Worldwide, which has operations in the affected countries. The storm hit just before the annual harvest season, damaging at least 330 square miles of crops, according to the U.N., and killing an unknown number of cows and other livestock.  "We're in the hungry season, when food from last year has started to run out and the harvest has not started to come in," McConville says. "So people are not in a good place to cope with something like this."  For now, LeSueur says, the top priorities are expanding the reach of first responders and aid workers into rural areas along with opening transportation lines so that aid can get in more easily.  Tim McDonnell is a journalist covering the environment, conflict and related issues in sub-Saharan Africa. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.


npr--2019-05-04--Boeing 737 Plane With 143 On Board Skids Into St Johns River In Jacksonville

Boeing 737 Plane With 143 On Board Skids Into St. Johns River In Jacksonville  Updated Saturday at 3:20 a.m. ET.  A Boeing 737 aircraft arriving at the naval air station in Jacksonville, Fla., from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, skidded into the St. Johns River on Friday night.  All 136 passengers and seven flight crew members on board are alive and accounted for, officials at Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement. Twenty-one adults were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries reported.  "Non-critical status is what we had of the 21 individuals transported [to local hospitals]," Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department spokesman Tom Francis said.  Officials did not immediately say what caused the plane to leave the runway.  During a news conference, Capt. Michael P. Connor, the commanding officer at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, said "the cause of the mishap has yet to be determined." He said the aircraft's passengers were a mix of civilians and military personnel.  "I think it is a miracle," Connor told reporters. "We could be talking about a different story."  After securing the passengers' safety, Connor said crews began working to contain any jet fuel leaks, according to the Associated Press.  The jet, which went off the runway at 9:40 p.m. ET, was in "shallow water" and "not submerged," the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Twitter.  Navy security and emergency response personnel were on the scene, and an investigation into the accident is currently underway, according to the Navy's statement.  Connor said the National Transportation Safety Board is heading to Jacksonville to try to determine what went wrong.  Boeing also said it was investigating the incident.  "We are aware of an incident in Jacksonville, Fla. and are gathering information," the company said in a tweet.  Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry posted multiple updates on Twitter throughout the night. He said the White House called to help as the situation unfolded.  This is a developing story. Details may change as more information becomes available.


rawstory--2019-11-27--Large explosion rocks Texas chemical plant

An explosion at a chemical plant in Texas early Wednesday sent a large fireball into the sky, reports and witnesses said, triggering a mandatory evacuation.  Dramatic videos and photos shared on social media showed a large blast, with one resident describing waking up to a huge boom and “glass all over us”.  Ryan Mathewson, who lives roughly two minutes from the plant in Port Neches, near Houston, told AFP: “We woke up to glass all over us and parts of the ceiling caved in, (and) doors blown in.”  The 25-year-old said he and his family were “shook up and scared” following the blast.  County Judge Jeff Branick told local news site KFDM News that there were no fatalities reported and only three people with minor injuries. He called it “a miracle”.  At least two people have been taken to hospital, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office told the New York Times.  “Please be aware that there is a mandatory evacuation for everyone within a 1/2 mile of the TPC plant in Port Neches,” local fire officials said in a post on the Nederland Volunteer Fire Department’s Facebook page.  TPC Group, which operates the plant, said the explosion happened in what it said was a “processing unit” at around 1am local time (0700 GMT).  “TPC Group has activated its Emergency Response Plan and requested assistance from Port Neches Fire Department and Huntsman.  “The event is ongoing, but will be brought under control as quickly and safely as possible.  “At this time, personnel at the site have been evacuated. We have accounted for all site personnel and three personnel have sustained injuries and are being treated.  “Right now our focus is on protecting the safety of responders and the public, and minimizing any impact to the environment.”  The Port Neches plant is around 85 miles (135 kilometers) from Houston.  More than 200 people work at the facility, according to TPC Group’s company website.  The facility produces butadiene, a flammable gas used in the production of synthetic rubber, and other petrochemicals such as butane.  A shelter for those forced from their homes has been opened at a church in Nederland, local media said.


rferl--2019-07-01--Death Toll From Siberia Floods Rises To Seven

Russian officials have raised the death toll from the flooding in the southern Siberian region of Irkutsk to seven, reports say.      Emergency officials in Irkutsk were quoted as saying seven people had been confirmed dead and that nine others remained missing on July 1, including a child.      Rescue teams have provided assistance to some 24,000 residents in several districts hit by the flooding caused by torrential rains, the officials said.      More than 150 people have been hospitalized and thousands of homes have been destroyed by the floods.      Heavy rains and storms are expected to hit Irkutsk on July 2.      On June 30, President Vladimir Putin visited the city of Bratsk, northwest of Lake Baikal, to discuss the emergency response.      He ordered Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to be prepared to send in military units to assist rescue teams if the situation doesn’t improve.


rt--2019-04-30--2 killed 4 injured in University of North Carolina shooting on last day of classes

2 killed, 4 injured in University of North Carolina shooting on last day of classes

Two people have been killed and at least four injured in a shooting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Police reportedly have one male suspect in custody.  Shots were fired near the Kennedy building on the UNCC campus on Tuesday afternoon around 4:40pm and the campus was temporarily locked down in response, with the school issuing an alert advising students to remain in a safe location. As police swept the remaining buildings on the campus, students were released to reunite with parents or family members at a designated location.  Two patients were dead on arrival and three more were in critical condition, according to police. Six victims in total were taken to to area hospitals.  Tuesday was the last day of classes and a concert was scheduled for the evening.  Videos retweeted by local media show students running and walking away from the building where the shooting occurred and police running toward the building, as well as a high concentration of emergency vehicles, including helicopters flying overhead.  A video posted by a student shows police leading an individual believed to be the shooter away.  Last year, a UNCC student was arrested and committed to a hospital after telling a doctor that he “could not wait to buy a gun and shoot the university up” and discussing an “explicit detailed plan…about killing and harming [UNCC] students and staff,” according to campus police. A search of his room turned up a copy of the school’s emergency response guide, with the section on dealing with active shooters attached to the wall – but no weapons. The student was banned from entering the campus.  Like this story? Share it with a friend!


rt--2019-07-04--Magnitude 64 quake hits southern California on Independence Day

Magnitude 6.4 quake hits southern California on Independence Day

A strong earthquake shook Southern California, the largest to hit the region in a decade. First estimated at 6.6 magnitude, the quake has been downgraded to a 6.4, recorded near the city of Ridgecrest, near Los Angeles.  The quake was reportedly centered on the remote Searles Valley area in San Bernardino, and was felt from the Mexican border to the northern limits of Nevada, according to a reporter with the LA Times.  Two magnitude 4 aftershocks were also recorded in the area, according to the United States Geological Survey.  A local fire department said it was dealing with over two dozen incidents, ranging from requests for medical assistance to structure fires in and around Ridgecrest.  Local emergency response agencies have been overwhelmed with calls, prompting the Los Angeles Police Department to request that residents only call with genuine emergencies.  The earthquake is the largest to hit Southern California since the 7.1 magnitude Hector Mine quake in 1999, which caused little damage and only minor injuries, much like Thursday's tremor. The 1994 Northridge earthquake, which registered a 6.7 magnitude, was far more destructive, killing scores of people and causing billions of dollars in damage.  Located along a number of major fault lines, Southern California is historically prone to earthquakes.  to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won’t tell you.


sottnet--2019-03-17--Petrochemical fire rages outside of Houston shelter in place order given

Petrochemical fire rages outside of Houston, shelter in place order given

A petrochemical terminal is on fire at an oil storage facility in Deer Park, Texas just outside of Houston and has been raging throughout the day Sunday.As of 4:30pm central local reports said the fire remains "uncontrolled" and expanded the extent of the shelter in place order."City of Deer Park issuing SHELTER-IN-PLACE emergency in Deer Park," the city wrote in a tweet at Sunday morning. "Please take immediate action and seek shelter," multiple warnings directed In a follow-up warning issued in the afternoon the city said, "Residents are asked to remain sheltered and avoid going outdoors if at all possible. Community air monitoring is being conducted and additional updates will be provided as they become available."Nearby Pasadena also told residents that Harris County Pollution Control was conducing air quality monitoring tests of the area, and cautioned residents to stay indoors if at all possible.Firefighters and emergency response crews battled the fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Houston.According to the Associated Press It is the second such petrochemical facility to trigger an area emergency in as many days, per the AP Area traffic was gridlocked during the ongoing emergency as major State Highway 225 was closed throughout Sunday afternoon in both directions near the facility.According to local reports, the chemical tanks that caught fire contain, which is often used as a raw material for production and conversion to gasoline.Naphtha is classified as "Extremely flammable" and a dangerous irritant to humans if encountered in "high vapor concentration".As of late afternoon southeast Houston area residents were still being warned of the potential chemical hazard due to the petrochemical fire.


sottnet--2019-06-17--Rain-triggered flood leaves 5 dead in south Chinas Guangxi

Rain-triggered flood leaves 5 dead in south China's Guangxi

At least five people died as of 5 a.m. Monday after rain-triggered floods and landslides hit southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said Monday.Torrential rain swept Guangxi's Lingyun County late Sunday and triggered landslides that killed two people. Multiple vehicles were carried by flash floods at a road section from Lingyun to Baise. Rescuers have found four vehicles and three people were confirmed dead.Strong rain also disrupted traffic and trapped 60 households in Jiumin Village. All the affected villagers have been transferred to safety.An emergency response was activated on Sunday and police officers, firefighters and medical staff have been sent to the affected areas.


sottnet--2019-06-28--Papua New Guinea rocked with 2nd volcanic eruption within 2 days

Just two days after the sudden eruption of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) Mount Ulawun, a second volcano on the island of Manam also erupted on Friday, sending volcanic ash into the air and sparking concerns regarding already stretched emergency response efforts.The 10-km Manam Island in PNG's northern province of Madang began erupting at roughly 8:50 a.m. local time, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Darwin.Manam Island is one of PNG's most active volcanoes, as well as being home to roughly 9,000 people.which has since dissipated, with a subsequent ongoing eruption continuing to produce an ash plume to a height of roughly 4,572 meters.Wednesday's eruption of Ulawun has already prompted the evacuation of roughly 5,000 people from that area with local officials, declaring a state of emergency. However, according to the VAAC, Mount Ulawun is no longer erupting.The provincial government has allocated roughly 2.5 million kinas (738,000 US dollars) for the care of displaced people and is calling for further assistance from the federal government.National carrier Air Niugini suspended flights to the affected province of New Britain and the VAAC said that advisories remain in place.Source: Xinhua


sottnet--2019-08-08--Shallow magnitude 60 earthquake strikes northeastern Taiwan leaves one dead

Shallow magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes northeastern Taiwan, leaves one dead

An elderly woman in New Taipei apparently died after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan at 5:28 a.m. Thursday, according to the city's fire department.The earthquake, with its epicenter at sea about 36.5 kilometers southeast of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 22.5 km, also caused delays to five south-bound trains operated by Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp., affecting 2,500 passengers.Shortly after the temblor, President Tsai Ing-wen activated the emergency response mechanism set up after she took office in 2016.After receiving briefings from the National Security Council, Tsai posted a message on her Facebook and other social media platforms reassuring the public that no major damage or casualties had been reported as a result of the earthquake.However, a 60 year-old-woman in New Taipei was apparently crushed by a closet that toppled over during the quake and later declared dead by hospital authorities, the fire department reported later in the day.Due to the earthquake, the departure of the first Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT train to Taipei was delayed from 5:57 a.m. until 6:20 a.m.Meanwhile, Taipei City Fire Department reported several cases of people trapped in elevators and damage to buildings, while Taichung City reported leaks of ruptured water and natural gas pipelines.In addition, thousands of households suffered power outages in the wake of the earthquake, with power restored to most affected households as of 10 a.m.Experts said Yilan, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes, is likely to suffer from more powerful earthquakes in the future.


sottnet--2019-12-15--Two dead, 50 houses covered in mud as flash flood hits Sigi, Indonesia

Two died and 50 houses were left covered in mud after a flash flood hit several villages in Kulawi subdistrict in Sigi regency, Central Sulawesi, on Thursday evening.The disaster occurred at 7 p.m. when most residents were at home and while others were holding a Christmas prayer at a church in the area.The flood was as a result of a landslide from a mountain located in Bolapapu, a village in Kulawi located next to forests.which directly hit the village.The disaster killed a father and his daughter who were stuck in their house when the flood hit. The mother of the family was able to survive as she was not in the house.Sigi Regent Mohammad Irwan Lapata said the regency administration had delivered food supplies and basic needs to the affected residents as part of its emergency response.The administration also deployed a team from the Sigi Disaster Mitigation Agency along with personnel from the National Police and the Indonesian Military to remove mud from houses in the village.He further added that the regency administration had also provided excavators in the area to help in the clean-up process.Volunteers and NGOs visited the village to help remove any mud, trees and stones from residents' houses."We have to be aware [of disasters] so that we can save ourselves from events that could potentially risk our lives," Irwan said.


sputnik--2019-08-27--Passenger Plane Catches Fire at Beijing Airport - Video

"At about 4 p.m. local time (08:00 GMT), smoke emerged from the cargo compartment of a plane waiting for departure at the Capital Airport. The staff working on the scene confirmed that there was no visible fire on the plane", the statement said.  The airport added that there were no passengers inside the plane when the fire broke out and that it initiated emergency response procedures to deal with the fire.  Videos circulated on Weibo showed the plane’s roof being burned through and was heavily damaged by the fire.  A verified aviation blogger, known as FATIII, on Weibo wrote in a post that the plane involved in the fire was suspected to be for the flight CA976 to Singapore and several fire trucks were deployed to put out the fire.  Air China issued a statement shortly after to address the incident through its official Weibo account on Tuesday.  "On August 27 Beijing time, smoke emerged from the cargo compartment when passengers were boarding the flight CA183 from Beijing to Tokyo", the carrier said.  According to the carrier, the crew took measures to fight the fire and evacuated passengers safely. The cause of the incident is being investigated, the statement added.


sputnik--2019-11-01--Photo: Keystone Pipeline Shut Down After Leaking 383,000 Gallons of Crude Oil Into US

An emergency response crew was dispatched by TC Energy on October 29 after the Canada-based energy company detected a drop in pipeline pressure around 9:20 p.m. local time and shut down its portion of the Keystone pipeline system in Edinburg, North Dakota, (not to be confused with the proposed Keystone XL system).  The impacted wetlands are located less than 50 miles from the Canadian border and are not a source of residents’ drinking water, according to Karl Rockeman of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality’s water division.  According to TC Energy, the response crew’s containment efforts prevented the spill from spreading, and cleanup workers with “vac trucks” have begun recovering oil. “Backhoes and other specialized equipment” are also being utilized to assist in collecting crude oil below the surface.  While the most recent spill is not associated with the Keystone XL pipeline yet, the Sierra Club noted in a Wednesday statement that its section - “Keystone 1” - and its repeated spills are a clear reason why the pipeline’s expansion via the Keystone XL project should not take place.  “This is not the first spill from Keystone 1; the pipeline had a dozen spills in its first year of operation alone,” the environmental organization noted.  “Our crews will remain focused on oil recovery and then prepare to make repairs to the pipeline. We will provide updates as they become available,” the company claimed in its October 31 update at 12 p.m. local time.


tass--2019-07-19--Eight injured while evacuating from plane at Moscow airport

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Eight passengers were injured during evacuation, ordered when smoke filled the cabin of a plane at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, a spokesperson for the Moscow Region’s emergencies service told TASS.  "Eight people were injured while evacuating with the help of inflatable slides," the source said, adding that two of them were hospitalized.  Another emergencies source told TASS that none of the injured was diagnosed with serious wounds.  "There are no children among the injured. The majority of them received scratches and bruises. One person was hospitalized with a dislocated ankle, the other - with a hypertensive emergency," he said.  "While the Boeing-747 en route to Yerevan was taxiing to the runway, the crew signaled about smoke in the cabin," the Moscow region emergencies service said.  Pilots cancelled the takeoff, passengers were evacuated and taken to the airport.  According to rescuers, there were 187 people on board the Nordwind Airlines flight. However, the Sheremetyevo Airport’s press service said the plane had 173 passengers and 6 crew members. All of them were taken to the airport’s Terminal F, where they received hot meals and necessary assistance.  The emergency response efforts are now over, the Sheremetyevo Airport’s press service said.  Rescuers found no signs of fire or smoke in the cabin. Another plane is being prepared for the flight and is expected to take off at 04:40 Moscow time.  Russia’s civil aviation watchdog, Rosaviatsiya, said the captain’s decision to abort the takeoff was justified.  "The pilot-in-command made a grounded decision to abort the takeoff, leaving the runway vacant," the watchdog said in a statement.  "In order to investigate the causes and circumstances of this air incident, a special Rosaviatsiya commission has been created. The commission has begun its work," the federal agency said.  A civil aviation source told TASS that the plane underwent all the required pre-flight checks and was deemed ready for the flight.  "The plane underwent all pre-flight procedures. There were no concerns about its technical condition," the source said. "It is now being established where the smoke in the cabin came from.".


tass--2019-08-08--Missile engine blast at testing site in northern Russia kills two

MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/.  Two people were killed and four others were injured due to a liquid propellant jet engine blast at a military test site.  Over 16,500 people leave their homes following ammo depot blasts in Krasnoyarsk Region  "At the Russian Defense Ministry’s test site in the Arkhangelsk Region there was an explosion and fire during a test of a liquid propellant jet engine," the Defense Ministry issued a statement.  "Six representatives of the Defense Ministry and of the manufacturer have sustained injuries of varying severity at the scene. Two specialists died of sustained wounds. All victims were rushed to hospital and provided medical assistance," the ministry said.  A brief rise of the radiation level above the natural background was registered in Severodinvsk following the explosion, the city authorities’ spokeswoman Kseniya Yudina told TASS.  "The brief rise of the radiation level was registered in Severodvinsk at about noon," she said.  In his comment to TASS on the emergency response measures, Arkhangelsk Region’s governor, Igor Orlov claimed there is no need for evacuation following fire that broke out on the site.  "No, there is nothing of the sort, we have no such information," Orlov replied, when asked if there were any plans for evacuating civilians.  Earlier, a source told TASS that the explosion and fire occurred during works on a ship in Severodvinsk.  "The causes are being investigated. At this point it is known that the incident occurred during works by civilian specialists, not the military," the source said.


tass--2019-08-13--State of emergency to remain in effect in Russian settlement affected by ammo depot blasts

"The regional emergency response team dealing with the aftermath of the ammo depot explosions decided to allow the settlement’s residents and construction workers to enter Kamenka. However, the state of emergency will remain in effect until reconstruction activities are over," the statement reads.  KRASNOYARSK, August 13. /TASS/. A state of emergency in the Kamenka settlement, Krasnoyarsk region, which was affected by explosions at a military storage facility, will remain until reconstruction activities are over, the regional government said in a statement on Tuesday.  According to earlier reports, regional Governor Alexander Uss chaired a meeting of the emergency response team on Monday. The team decided to extend the state of emergency in Kamenka until the morning of August 13.  The regional governor said earlier that a school, a kindergarten and a health post needed to be reconstructed in Kamenka by August 25. The regional government and the Russian Defense Ministry will cooperate in reconstructing apartment buildings and private residential houses.  A fire at the ammo depot, which caused numerous explosions, broke out on August 5 and was extinguished on August 6. As many as 16,000 people were evacuated from communities located within a 20-km radius of the facility. A state of emergency was declared in the Achinsk district. New explosions rocked through the ammo depot late on August 9. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the blasts were caused by a lightning.


tass--2019-08-21--Russians kidnapped off Cameroons coast are in satisfactory condition embassy

Russians kidnapped off Cameroon’s coast are in satisfactory condition — embassy

RABAT, August 21. /TASS/. Three Russian nationals kidnapped from the MarMalaita cargo vessel off Cameroon’s coast last week along with five other crew members are in satisfactory condition, an official at the Russian embassy in Yaounde told TASS on Wednesday.  "According to available information, the Russians are in satisfactory condition. An agreement has been reached that antimalarial medicines will be delivered to them," he said.  The diplomat specified that the three Russians were the vessel’s captain, first mate and chief mechanic.  Unknown perpetrators, believed to be Nigerian pirates, attacked the MarMalaita vessel flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda while it was anchored off Douala, Cameroon, on August 14. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the attackers had kidnapped eight crew members, including three Russian nationals. On Tuesday, the Russian embassy in Cameroon assumed that the Russians could have been taken to Nigeria. There has been no new information on their whereabouts so far.  Cameroon’s Navy and the Interregional Coordination Center for Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea are conducting a search to find the kidnapped sailors. An emergency response team has been created, which is negotiating a ransom.


tass--2019-09-10--Two people injured in fire at fuel depot in Central Russia says regional ministry

Two people injured in fire at fuel depot in Central Russia, says regional ministry

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. Two people have been injured in the fire at a fuel depot in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Region on Tuesday, the press service of the regional Ministry of Health informed TASS.  "So far, [we have information] on two people injured," the press service informed.  An oil spill took place at the depot that has caught fire in the Bogorodsky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, deputy head of the regional Emergencies Ministry Vladimir Biryuchkov told reporters earlier on Tuesday. "Currently, fire is raging on an area of 5,000 square meters. There has been a spill of petroleum products," he informed.  Firefighters and rescue workers have been dispatched to the site. There are no residential houses near the depot, the local emergency response service informed.


tass--2019-09-18--One killed three injured after grenade-like device detonates in dorm near Chelyabinsk

One killed, three injured after grenade-like device detonates in dorm near Chelyabinsk

CHELYABINSK, September 18. /TASS/. One person was killed and three more injured when a grenade-like device detonated in a dormitory in the town of Zlatoust in the Russian Urals region of Chelyabinsk, the Zlatoust emergency response call center told TASS on Wednesday.  "Yes, it did happen. Three were injured and one person killed. The call was made at 18.37 local time (16.37 Moscow time)," the emergency response call center said when asked about the explosion at the dormitory.  The press service of the Interior Ministry’s Main Department for the Chelyabinsk Region told TASS that an object resembling a grenade went off.  "A grenade-like object banged in a dormitory. Police officers are working on the scene," the regional police told TASS.  Zlatoust’s Hospital 3 said that one of the victims had been admitted to the hospital.  "The person was examined by doctors and discharged. His injuries are minor," the hospital told TASS.  Zlatoust is the third largest city in the Chelyabinsk Region, and the highest city in the Ural Mountains.


tass--2019-10-18--One-year-old baby travelling from Phuket to Moscow dies

KAZAN, October 18. /TASS/. A one-year-old baby, Israeli citizen born in 2018, died after respiratory failure in Kazan, the press service for Russia’s Emergency Ministry branch in the Tatarstan Region told reporters on Friday.  The baby was aboard a plane travelling from Thailand’s Phuket to Moscow when breathing difficulties forced the jet crew to emergency land in Russia’s Kazan. Doctors could not save the child and verified her death.  "On Friday, at 16:00 (Moscow time) an Airbus 330 travelling from Phuket to Moscow made an emergency landing at Kazan’s International Airport due to health complications of a passenger [respiratory failure — TASS]. Emergency response services, including an ambulance, arrived at the plane parking spot in advance to provide medical help. In spite of doctors’ best efforts, death of the Israeli citizen born in 2018 was verified," the statement reads.  The press service specified that 274 passengers were aboard the plane, including 42 children and 12 crew.


tass--2019-11-06--Owner of Russian tanker that exploded in Far East vows to continue search for lost sailor

VLADIVOSTOK, November 6. /TASS/. An emergency response group from the Nakhodka port in the Primorsky Region has ended a search operation for a lost sailor following an explosion onboard the Zaliv Amerika tanker, but the vessel’s owner, Nayada, will continue the search, a company representative told TASS on Wednesday.  "Nakhodka’s rescuers terminated the search operation, but the company will carry on the effort, at least until November 12. Work resumed this morning, and there are plans to use surface equipment. The examination of the coastline is continuing," the official said. The port’s emergency response group confirmed to TASS that the search operation was over.  According to the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport, the seabed under the explosion site remained unexplored until Tuesday morning due to violent, powerful winds and two-meter-high waves. On Tuesday, a group of divers searched the area with the use of a deep submergence vehicle. Almost 9,000 square meters of the water area, 1.5 km of coastline, and 22,500 square meters under the water were examined.  On the morning of November 2, the maritime rescue and coordination center in Vladivostok received a report about a blast onboard a tanker that was located in Nakhodka Bay near the Astafyev Cape. According to investigators, a gas-air mixture exploded. Two of the vessel’s 12 crewmembers were killed. They were identified as the first mate and a sailor.  The vessel’s owner, Nayada, promised to pay 1 million rubles ($15,617) to each bereaved family and cover the expenses for the funerals.  As a result of the explosion on the Russian tanker, a criminal case was launched under Part 3 Section 263 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Violation of rules for the safe operation and movement of sea transport which caused the death of two or more people out of negligence").


tass--2019-12-09--Bomb scare descends on schools in Far East, turning out to be false alarm

MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Law enforcement officers have concluded security sweeps at schools in Vladivostok, Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk, and Komsomolsk-on-Amur after reports came in that bombs had been planted at the educational facilities. In the end, the reports turned out to be false alarms, the city authorities and the press services of the regional Interior Ministry’s directorates told journalists on Monday.  On Monday morning, educational facilities and police in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Blagoveshchensk, Ussuriisk and Birobidzhan received bomb threats, disrupting the functioning of the educational institutions.  "Emergency response teams have wrapped up an examination of the Vladivostok schools following the bomb reports. The Civil Defense and Emergency Management Directorate reported that the information about the explosive devices there turned out to be negative in all cases, and schools went back to work at all locations," the Vladivostok administration stated.  According to the Blagoveshchensk administration, the emergency response services have wrapped up work at the city’s educational institutions. "Canine units inspected all the rooms and no dangerous objects were found," the administration reported on its website. The schools’ administrations worked under set instructions, and children were evacuated from schools immediately. Pupils were sent to entrances in neighboring houses, shops and pre-school facilities located nearby. In addition, buses were gotten ready. The schools’ evening shift will be carried out according to schedule.  The Russian Interior Ministry’s Directorate for the Khabarovsk Region told TASS that the inspection of the facilities was completed, and that the bomb threat report turned out to be a false alarm. In Khabarovsk, not only did public schools receive bomb threats, so did universities. Hundreds of students were evacuated. The Khabarovsk administration reported that lessons were cancelled in most schools where evacuations had been conducted.


tass--2019-12-17--Three Moscow airports being searched following more bomb scare calls

MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Sniffer dog handlers are currently searching three airports situated in Moscow - Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky - for explosive devices after receiving an anonymous tip-off about planted bombs, a source in emergency response services told TASS.  "The police received an anonymous call about explosion threats in Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports. The airport premises are currently being searched by detector dog handlers," the source said.  The airports are operating as usual, services decided not to evacuate the facilities.  The bomb scare call wave rocked Moscow on November 28. Anonymous calls prompted emergency services to investigate more than 3,000 facilities and premises in two weeks and evacuate almost 300,000 people. On Monday alone, December 16, emergency response services searched around 70 buildings in Moscow, including ten courts, more than ten schools and a children’s hospital after receiving anonymous warnings indicating that there were bombs planted in these facilities. Bomb threat calls were also made about explosive devices in four major airports in Moscow as well as five biggest railway stations. All bomb threats turned out to be false.


theconservativetreehouse--2019-08-14--Six Police Officers Shot in Philadelphia Standoff With Suspects Ongoing

Six Police Officers Shot in Philadelphia – Standoff With Suspects Ongoing..

Troubling. Pray for the police.  ♦Over 100 gunshots were reported heard by witnesses as Philadelphia police responded to an initial drug related incident.  ♦According to authorities six police officers were shot; non life-threatening. ♦One suspect is in custody; ♦however, apparently another suspect is firing on officers who are pinned down inside a building as the shooter fires through walls and ceiling.  ( Via Fox News ) At least six Philadelphia police officers were wounded, at least one reportedly grazed in the head, in an ongoing shootout in the city’s Nicetown neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon that has been unfolding for almost two hours.  Three other officers were taken to Einstein Hospital, at least one of them was shot in the arm. All six officers are in stable condition and are being treated for non-life threatening injuries.  Two other officers, including a police sergeant, were injured in an accident related to the emergency response and are being treated for non-life threatening injuries.  High-ranking police officials said that two officers with the Narcotics Strike Force were serving a warrant at a multifamily home when a shooter opened fire at the home. The two officers are barricaded in separate rooms with as many as four suspects in what may be a drug-related offense. At least one suspect is actively shooting, firing up a stairwell from a lower level in the building or potentially moving up and down the stairwell while doing so. One officer is barricaded in a bedroom with two suspects while another is in a bathroom with another suspect. (read more)