Tag

West Africa

Browsing

Emergency and disaster management briefing for December 2, 2019: A small turbo-plane that crashed in South Dakota killed 9 and injured 3 others; a winter storm is wreaking havoc on the Northeast and delayed or cancelled hundreds of flights; 10 people were injured following a shooting near the French Quarter in New Orleans; the TPC chemical plant fire in Texas has prompted air quality monitoring for hazardous substances including asbestos and benzene; the defusing of an unexploded WWII bomb prompted the evacuation of more than 10,000 people in Italy; two people are dead after being stabbed by a knife wielding man in a terror-related attack in London; three people were killed when a small plane crashed while attempting to make an emergency landing at the San Antonio International Airport; and a brutal attack on a church in Burkina Faso has left 14 people dead and others injured.

Start an Emergency & Disaster Management degree at American Military University.

1) [link url=”https://www.10tv.com/article/authorities-9-killed-3-injured-south-dakota-plane-crash-2019-dec” title=”Nine people are dead and three others injured after a small turbo-engine plane crashed”] outside of Chamberlain, South Dakota on Saturday. The Pilatus PC-12, a single turbo-engine aircraft, had 12 passengers onboard, aged 7 to 81, and was bound for Idaho Falls when it crashed just after take off from Chamberlain. The [link url=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/02/south-dakota-plane-crash-kills-winter-storm-warning/4350086002/” title=”Chamberlain area, including central, south-central South Dakota were under a winter storm warning at the time accident”].

2) [link url=”https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Winter-Storm-Covers-New-Jersey-Roads-Delays-New-York-Flights-565665112.html” title=”Hundreds of flights have been delayed or cancelled”] in the Northeast and snow covered roads have made travel treacherous in New York after a winter storm moved into the region on Sunday and into Monday. The arrival of the winter storm disrupted holiday travelers attempting to return home after the Thanksgiving holiday, and prompted New York to issue a snow alert, urging residents to use public transportation. More than [link url=”https://www.newyorkupstate.com/weather/2019/12/winter-storm-drops-18-inches-of-snow-in-upstate-ny-more-to-come-today.html” title=”20 inches of snow fell on some locations in upstate New York”], with at least another five inches forecast for Monday and the [link url=”https://www.wfsb.com/news/emergency-management-staff-on-hand-at-state-armory/article_ee4c2300-14f6-11ea-8b42-a75722cc1b4b.html” title=”state emergency operations center was partially activated in Hartford, Connecticut”] to assist during Winter Storm Abel.

3) A shooting near the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana, early Sunday morning left [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-orleans-french-quarter-shooting-leaves-10-wounded” title=”10 people injured, including two in critical condition”]. Officers with the New Orleans Police Department heard gunfire at around 3:21 a.m. along a busy section of Canal Street with streetcar tracks and hotels. [link url=”https://apnews.com/81b9fc2db5bd48c18d4411e3e9bb8291″ title=”Patrols and police presence had been increased”] due to a popular rivalry football game that occurred over the holiday weekend, which ensured the rapid response by law enforcement.

4) A third distillation tower fell early Monday morning at the [link url=”https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/power-city/update-more-information-on-ruptured-tanks-materials-that-caused-tcp-explosion/502-f96757dc-135c-48cc-b416-c9cac29f6644″ title=”TPC chemical plant”] in Port Neches, Texas, and fires are still burning at the site after two separate explosions rocked the plant last Wednesday. [link url=”https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/port-neches-plant-explosion-insurance-adjusters-asbestos” title=”Damage assessment teams began inspecting buildings in the area”] after the explosions blew out windows and doors and caused damage to numerous homes and business nearby the plant. Clean up also began in the nearby community, although [link url=”https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/power-city/second-tower-falls-at-tpc-plant-overnight-sunday-no-injuries-reported/502-86df3d4b-7e8a-4235-876c-9cebc6f76ad1″ title=”concerns over air quality have prompted monitoring for hazardous materials, including asbestos and volatile organic compounds, along with butadiene and benzene”].

5) The discovery of a World War II bomb prompted the [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/world/wwii-bomb-forces-10-thousands-evacuate-italian-town” title=”evacuation of more than 10,000 people in Turin, Italy (Torino) ahead of the bomb being defused”]. The 500 pound bomb–which contained 140 pounds of dynamite–had been dropped on the area by British forces during WWII–70 years ago. [link url=”https://www.thelocal.it/20191201/unexploded-wwii-bomb-in-turin-prompts-evacuation-of-10000-people” title=”Bomb experts needed to deactivate a detonator at the tail of the bomb”], which was accomplished more quickly than anticipated, allowing residents to quickly return home.

6) A knife-wielding man killed two and injured three others in London on Friday in [link url=”https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-50608315″ title=”a terror-related attack that began in Fishmonger’s Hall and ended on the London Bridge”]. Several civilians jumped in to try to stop the attacker, Usman Khan, 28–a convicted terrorist–who [link url=”https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/01/second-london-bridge-victim-cambridge-university-student” title=”allegedly had the knives taped to his wrists and was wearing a fake suicide bomb vest”]. The incident ended with police shooting and killing the man on the London Bridge.

7) Three people were on board [link url=”https://www.kptv.com/small-plane-attempting-to-land-at-san-antonio-airport-crashes/article_6506479b-c039-58f6-85e4-35dc5d915a13.html” title=”a small plane that departed Sugar Land, Texas”] en route to Boerne, when it crashed, killing everyone on board. After take off, [link url=”https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N6678P” title=”the pilot of the Piper-PA-24 detected engine trouble”] and attempted an emergency landing at San Antonio International Airport, but never made it. The [link url=”https://www.wbrz.com/news/sunday-evening-plane-crash-kills-three-in-san-antonio” title=”plane crashed onto a street”], allegedly in a commercial district about one mile west of the airport, killing all three people on board.

8) An attack on [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/world/burkina-faso-church-attack-14-shot-dead-leader-says” title=”a protestant church in Burkina Faso has left 14 people dead”]. According to reports, the attack occurred in the town of Hantoukoura, and several people were also injured during the attack. The attack [link url=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/burkina-faso-leader-says-14-slain-attack-church-n1093831″ title=”follows a recent one that occurred in October in the same region that killed at least 37 people”], when gunmen, allegedly believed to be Islamist extremists, attacked a convoy carrying employees of a mining company in that region.

 

By William Tucker

The U.S. has been active in North Africa for quite some time – much of it related to the war on terror and the ensuing chaos in Libya – but the superpower has not yet managed to establish a significant, permanent presence. Currently, many U.S. operations are run from Djibouti and assorted forward operating bases scattered across the continent.