Emergency and disaster management briefing for March 27, 2017: Deadly avalanche in Japan; major building fire in Oakland; Cyclone Debbie heads for Australia’s coastline; armed guards at Palace of Westminster; suspects sought in Cincinnati nightclub shooting; TSA reports increase of guns in carry-on luggage.
- Eight people were killed in Japan Monday when an avalanche hit a ski resort. Tatsufumi Sekine, a local disaster management official, [link url=”http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/eight-feared-dead-japan-avalanche-near-student-mountain-safety-training-n738811″ title=”told NBC News that the victims were on a high school trip”] to the resort for a climbing safety training exercise near Nasu – around 120 miles norht of Tokyo. According to officials, [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-japan-avalanche-20170327-story.html” title=”40 students and eight instructors were on the slope”] when the avalanche occurred.
- A building fire in Oakland, California, raged Monday morning as firefighters from various agencies battled the flames that lit up the dawn skyline. Officials from the [link url=”http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Fire-burning-out-of-control-at-West-Oakland-11030109.php” title=”Oakland Fire Department stated that the blaze erupted at around 6.00 am”] on the third floor of the residential building. There are no reports yet of serious injuries, but firefighters have performed several rescues.
#Oakland #San Pablo #fire pic.twitter.com/CyCqkCzJkl
— Oakland Firefighters (@OaklandFireLive) March 27, 2017
- Close to 25,000 residents of Queensland, Australia, were told to evacuate as Cyclone Debbie moved toward the area’s coast. The cyclone has [link url=”http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-39402106″ title=”registered winds of 170 mph, is now a Category 4 storm”] and is due to make landfall early on Tuesday, local time. Even amid the warnings, some Queensland residents are refusing to leave. Officials stated Monday that Cyclone Debbie would rival the devastating Cyclone Yasi – which struck Australia in 2011.[relink url=”edmdigest.com/news/aid-slow-to-arrive-in-haiti-after-hurricane-matthew/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/at-least-17-dams-fail-in-north-carolina-following-hurricane-matthew/”]
- The Palace of Westminster gates reopened today – with heavily armed police in place – for the first time since the [link url=”http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/heavily-armed-police-on-guard-as-carriage-gates-reopen-after-london-terror-attack-a3499971.html” title=”deadly London terror attack of March 22″]. However, five apparently unarmed officers stood guard outside the famous Carriage Gates – which were stormed by Khalid Masood after he’d plowed down scores in his SUV on Westminster Bridge. Masood killed three people on the bridge before fatally stabbing PC Keith Palmer near the Carriage Gates in New Palace Yard. A large wall of flowers has built up in the area since the attack, along with many tributes to PC Palmer.
https://twitter.com/lesleyashmall/status/844937497910108160
- Cincinnati police continue to search for suspects in the March 26 [link url=”http://nbc4i.com/2017/03/27/police-search-for-suspects-in-deadly-nightclub-shooting/” title=”nightclub shooting that left one person dead and another 15 injured”]. Patrons of the nightclub reported scenes of terror as people dived to the floor to dodge the hail of bullets. Witnesses described an argument that quickly erupted into a gunfight inside the Cameo Club – located near the Ohio River, east of downtown Cincinnati. According to police, the nightclub has a history of gun violence. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/business-active-shooter/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/orlando-cop-ptsd/”]
- The TSA is reporting a troubling nationwide increase in the number of passengers bringing guns in their carry-on luggage. Additionally, the agency reports that [link url=”http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/03/26/tsa-reports-an-increase-of-guns-at-airport-security-checkpoints/” title=”eight percent of the guns discovered were loaded and ready to fire”]. In 2016, approximately 3,400 guns were found at security checkpoints at the nation’s airports.