Newsroom
Crude Oil Derailments Continue – Are You Prepared?
Another train transporting crude oil derailed yesterday, this time in downtown Lynchburg, VA, resulting in a large fire and oil spill on the James River. CSX reported 15 tank cars derailed on a train traveling from Chicago to Virginia, four of which breached and caught fire. While there were no injuries reported, a half-mile evacuation […]
Protecting Our Armed Forces Critical Infrastructure: Prioritize Patriot
Just 50 years ago, theater missile defenses arrayed our nation’s capital. Since then, we were able to close down the homeland Nike Hercules sites. And for the past 13 years, we have dealt with specific 9-11 type threats by way of air and ground based alert interceptor aircraft and selected deployment of limited short-range air defense […]
Common Alerting Protocol Used in Response to October 2013 Fires in Australia
Research shows that in an emergency situation, the most effective warnings are those that are delivered consistently over multiple channels. When people hear the same message from different sources, they are convinced it is real and are motivated to take action. However, with so many diverse warning technologies available, it has been a challenge to […]
Another Oil Train Disaster: Are You Prepared if it Happens in Your Town?
Last week a 60-car crude oil train derailed and caught fire in Western Alabama. To many, the derailment and subsequent conflagration of a 60-car crude oil unit train in rural Alabama may be somewhat of a surprise. After all, Alabama is a long way from North Dakota, the origin of the crude oil transported by […]
Emergency Specialist Reflects On Life’s Work During Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (Podcast)
Host Frank Stasio talks with Beriwal about her life and research in emergency management. In 1985, Madhu Beriwal was conducting hurricane research for the state of Louisiana. She charted possible directions and outcomes that different storm conditions would bring to New Orleans. Looking at [a hurricane atlas she developed] in 2005, Beriwal said it almost […]
Quebec Oil Train Disaster – It Could Happen in Your Town
The train explosion involving a 73-car crude oil unit train in Lac-Megantic, Quebec on July 6 serves as a sobering example of what can happen in your town. The train’s oil was being transported from the Bakken Oil Region in North Dakota to New Brunswick to be refined. The incident occurred just 10 miles from […]
India Floods in Uttarakhand-Natural or Man-Made?
Many people are overwhelmed when such an extreme disaster like the June 2013 flooding in Uttarakhand, India happens. The scale of destruction is huge and thousands remain stranded in parts of northern India as they wait to be rescued from Uttarakhand where at least 5,000 people may have died due to the heavier than normal […]
Tornado Tracks from Moore & El Reno, Oklahoma Show an Eerie Correlation with Heavily Populated Areas
On May 31, the area around Oklahoma City, already battered by tornadoes a little over a week before, experienced several more tornadoes that caused damage including loss of life. A tornado reaching an EF-3 (Severe) wind speed and damage rating touched down just southwest of the city of El Reno, approximately 30 miles west of […]
Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Raises Questions About Planning and Zoning
The explosion at the West Fertilizer plant in West, Texas, this week serves as a sobering reminder of the role of planning and zoning for facilities near chemical plants. Why were a middle school and a nursing home located so close to a fertilizer plant that stores and uses dangerous chemicals, such as anhydrous ammonia? […]
NC Rail Hazmat Incident Could Have Been in Your Backyard
It is still not known why nine rail cars in a 109-car train derailed from the CSX tracks in downtown Bladensboro, NC on this past weekend. Four of the derailed cars were listed as containing hazardous materials, and one of them was full of anhydrous ammonia (NH3), a toxic inhalation hazard.[1] This dense gas, when […]