Emergency and disaster management briefing for November 15, 2019: A student opened fire at a high school in California, killing two and injuring six others; schools are closed for the third day as Venice again grapples with flooding during high tide; Dollar Tree received a warning letter from the FDA for selling potentially adulterated drugs; a new CDC report increases the number of drug-resistant superbugs to five; China has two confirmed cases of the deadly pneumonic plague; Illinois has declared an emergency over its propane shortage; Hastings, Nebraska held a city-wide simulated active shooter drill with multiple participating agencies and volunteers; and the WHO says violent fighting between militia groups is impeding the eradication of the current outbreak of Ebola.
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1) Two students are dead and six others were injured, some critically, after another student opened fire around 7:40 a.m. at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. The suspect was a 16-year-old male student who then shot himself in the head and was listed in grave condition at a local hospital. A 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy died from their injuries, and a female and two male students were listed in critical condition at Henry Mayo Hospital.
Officials say there is no known connection, motive between the shooting suspect and the victims, other than they were all students at the same school. https://t.co/EwguIctlSt
— LAist (@LAist) November 15, 2019
2) Schools are closed for a third day, along with the tourist magnet St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy, as high tide once again flooded the city. Sirens signaled the rising water with the high tide early Friday morning, and the vaporetti, the famous waterbuses, stopped operating as most of the historic city center was again flooded. The city declared an emergency on Wednesday after its second-highest tidal flooding event damaged homes and businesses in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Waters are rising in Venice where the tide is reaching exceptional levels just three days after the Italian lagoon city experienced its worst flooding in more than 50 years. https://t.co/W7QBjAHG01
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 15, 2019
3) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to Dollar Tree for receiving over-the-counter drugs from foreign manufacturers with multiple violations for alleged adulterated drugs. According to the letter, the suspect drugs included Dollar Tree’s Assured Brand, along with other drug products the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores sell. The foreign manufacturers were already placed on an “import alert” last year after the FDA found multiple violations of manufacturing practices.
Dollar Tree is under fire for stocking “potentially unsafe drugs” and cosmetics. https://t.co/xsE4peU3bD
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) November 15, 2019
4) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning that antibiotic resistant superbugs are killing one American every 15 minutes. The new report from the CDC now lists five drug-resistant superbugs — two more than were previously listed in the 2013 report by the CDC — with a total of 18 pathogens that require immediate attention. According to the report, genetic research findings also show that the germs are adept at teaching each other how to grow resistant to antibiotics.
CDC Superbug Report: Pushing Back on a Losing Battle https://t.co/tNNRTCq19Q pic.twitter.com/YFlJEzOdP6
— BioCalifornia (@BioCalifornia) November 14, 2019
5) According to reports, two people in China have been infected with the most deadly form of the plague. The pneumonic plague — sometimes developed by untreated bubonic plague — is the more deadly form of the disease. It is transmitted from person to person through the inhalation of respiratory droplets. Little information is available regarding the two confirmed cases, but the individuals were reportedly from China’s Inner Mongolian region and were first diagnosed in early November.
Two people in China have been diagnosed with pneumonic plague – a deadlier form of Yersinia Pestis, which caused catastrophic outbreaks of bubonic plague in earlier centuries. More below: https://t.co/mbsIph4pY4
— Lindsey Fitzharris (@DrLindseyFitz) November 13, 2019
6) Delivery issues due to weather have prompted an emergency declaration for at least eight states for low propane supplies. In Illinois, the impact was most felt by farmers — who use the propane to dry wet grain — and those individuals and families whose homes are heated by propane. Illinois joins Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin in the emergency declaration.
Illinois is now one of seven states under a disaster declaration due to a shortage of propane, used for heating homes and businesses and drying wet grain. #WCIA https://t.co/92LzmPUXuO pic.twitter.com/J7ozbE3u7V
— WCIA.com (@WCIA3) November 14, 2019
7) A city-wide disaster drill was conducted in Hastings, Nebraska, on Thursday. This year, the simulated disaster drill was an active shooter situation, with at least two dozen actors playing victims, and was meant to help first responders determine which victims needed to be treated and transported immediately. The drill was designed with the purpose of ensuring that the multiple and various participating agencies knew their roles and responsibilities should a mass casualty situation occur.
It's hard to imagine an active shooter situation happening where you live, but it's something all emergency responders have to be prepared for. Multiple Hastings emergency agencies did just that Thursday with a city-wide disaster drill. @KSNBLocal4 https://t.co/WKIQkjj9qC
— Kelsey Dickeson (@KelseyDickeson) November 15, 2019
8) The World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that the number of Ebola cases has decreased and stabilized. However, according to reports, armed groups are threatening danger and instability in the eradication of the current outbreak — most recently due to the fighting between two militia groups earlier this week. According to WHO, a total of 300 attacks on healthcare workers and facilities have occurred from January to October, causing five deaths and 70 injuries and impeding the progress in stopping the outbreak.
WHO prequalifies #Ebola vaccine, paving the way for its use in high-risk countries. #VaccinesWork pic.twitter.com/FI8BZDtvCS
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 12, 2019