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EDM Monday Briefing: Crew Members Missing after Cargo Ship Overturns Off Georgia Coast

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Emergency and disaster management briefing for September 9, 2019: Four crew members are still missing after a cargo ship capsized in St. Simons Sound off the coast of Georgia; Dorian slammed Canada’s Atlantic coast over the weekend, causing widespread power outages amid toppled power lines and trees; a disabled subway train was evacuated in Brooklyn after smoke was sighted in a tunnel; train tunnel construction in Kolkata caused building collapses and cracks in homes and prompted an emergency evacuation; an active shooter drill at Fairview Hospital in Massachusetts highlighted recent changes to response efforts; North Carolina emergency responders worked to get supplies to Ocracoke Island residents who ignored mandatory evacuation orders; Typhoon Lingling is being blamed for eight deaths and the injuries of nearly three dozen people as it moved across the Korean Peninsula; and health officials in France say 1,500 people died as a result of the heat wave the country experienced in June/July.

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1) Contact has been made with the four missing crew members of an overturned cargo ship that caught fire in St. Simons Sound off the coast of Georgia on Sunday. The Golden Ray, was departing Brunswick, Georgia, with a load of automobiles bound for Baltimore, 23 crew members and a pilot on board when it began listing heavily to its port side. The Coast Guard quickly responded and was able to rescue 20 people before fire and smoke, along with the unstable cargo, made additional rescue attempts unsafe for rescuers.

2) After brushing the East Coast of the United States and making landfall at Cape Lookout, North Carolina, Dorian continued its northeastward trek, impacting Canada’s Atlantic coast with heavy rains and powerful winds. Dorian made landfall Saturday evening in Sambro Creek, about 15 miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The storm ripped roofs off buildings, toppled a crane, and downed trees and power lines. The storm packed winds of 100 mph, with higher gusts, knocking out power to more than 300,000 residents in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

3) Hundreds of passengers were evacuated off a subway train in Brooklyn on Sunday morning. The incident occurred when the emergency brake was activated and smoke was seen in a tunnel along the subway line. Crews and first responders safely evacuated the disabled subway train, carrying about 600 passengers, onto another train and took them to a station platform to disembark.

4) Tunneling work for the under-construction East-West Metro Railway project — akin to the Eurostar — in Kolkata, India, has resulted in the emergency evacuations of hundreds of residents and businesses in the town. Crews were using a tunnel-boring machine to complete the tunnel between Esplanade and Sealdah when they hit an aquifer that triggered serious ground loss in the area. Several buildings have collapsed, and at least 52 others have developed major cracks, making them unsafe for dwelling. The collapse prompted the emergency evacuation of more than 400 residents late last week.

5) An active shooter drill at a hospital in Massachusetts on Sunday, involved a disgruntled ex-employee that was fired. The drill was held at Fairview Hospital, Great Barrington, near Pittsfield. It began when the ex-employee entered the hospital with a gun looking for the person that fired him, shooting and killing or injuring any others he encountered. Multiple South County emergency responders and other disaster agencies participated in the drill. It highlighted changes to responses, such as EMS gaining access to victims more quickly, and the need for flexibility and fluidity during responses.

6) Hurricane Dorian lashed the Outer Banks of North Carolina last week, washing out roads and causing widespread flooding on Hatteras and Ocracoke Island. Ocracoke Island appears the worst hit, and emergency personnel used ferries to deliver generators, fuel, food, and water to residents who ignored mandatory evacuation orders. The hurricane also destroyed several sections of N.C. Highway 12, making it difficult to restore ferry service from Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke.

7) Typhoon Lingling, the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane prior to landfall, swept through South Korea and into North Korea on Saturday, killing a total of eight people and injuring at least 30 others across the two countries. According to reports, the powerful storm moved across North Korea and destroyed crops, vital to this nation that is vulnerable to natural disasters and suffers from deforestation and poor infrastructure. Power was also cut to at least 160,000 homes in South Korea, and the storm grounded hundreds of flights.

8) A heat wave that hit France in June and July with 18 days of temperatures soaring past 100 degrees Fahrenheit killed nearly 1,500 people. In July, Paris hit a record high of 108 degrees Fahrenheit one day. The hottest temperature in the country was recorded on June 28 in Gallargues-le-Montueux, in the south of France — a whopping 114 degrees Fahrenheit. Health officials in France stated that half of the deaths occurred in people over the age of 75, and they credited awareness campaigns as the key to the reduction in heat-related deaths after the tragic 2003 heat wave that killed almost 15,000 people.

 

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