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May 2009 Archived Listing of Evacuations in the News
An archived weekly listing of Evacuations in the News.
May 4-10, 2009
Floods
- Cassville, Missouri (flash floods)
- Akiak, Stevens Village & Eagle, Alaska
- Dawson City, Yukon, Canada
Structural or Chemical Fires
- Salt Lake City, Utah (apartment fire)
- Auckland, New Zealand (apartment fire)
Wild or Brush Fires
- Ft. Meyers, Florida
- Volusia County, Florida
- Wesley Chapel, Florida
- Timberon, southern New Mexico
- Santa Barbara County, California
- Edmonton, Alberta Province, Canada
- 70 Mile House, British Columbia Province, Canada
Hazardous Materials
- Medford, Wisconsin (ammonia leak)
- Naborton, Louisiana (natural gas leak)
- Pepin County, Wisconsin (natural gas line rupture)
- San Antonio, Texas (natural gas line rupture)
- Bakersfield, California (natural gas line rupture)
Malevolent Acts
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (bomb scare)
- Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (high school & middle school; explosion at middle school, blasting cap found)
- Swat Valley, Mingora, Northwest Pakistan (residents urged to evacuate Taliban-held areas)
- Sri Lanka (civil war [government vs. Tamil Tiger separatists] refugees being evacuated by ICRC)
Planning
- University of New Orleans study, that polled Orleans and Jefferson parishes, finds that willingness to evacuate varies by income and education. The study also found that "majority of residents, 54 percent, would definitely evacuate and 27 percent would probably evacuate if advised to do so by public officials." The study also indicated that "Nearly half, 46 percent, of residents who indicated they would not likely follow the recommendations of public officials regarding evacuation indicated that they do not trust official recommendations and/or they are more comfortable making evacuation decisions for themselves."
- Louisiana Emergency Plans show gaps, particularly in the area of evacuating at-risk populations (e.g., elderly, disabled, etc.) according to the Disaster Accountability Project, a Connecticut-based student-led watchdog group.
- Evacuation plans in place for Department of Energy facilities.
- Texas Legislature considers law to enforce evacuation orders.
- Bluffton County, South Carolina, Chamber of Commerce encourages residents not to cut back on insurance in these tough fiscal times with hurricane season around the corner.
May 11-17, 2009
Floods
- Pittman Center, Cobbly Knob, Sevier County, Tennessee
- Eagle and Kwethluk, Alaska
Structural or Chemical Fires
- Columbus, Wisconsin (fire and explosion at chemical plant)
- Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Wild or Brush Fires
- Santa Barbara, California (Jesusita Fire) - Mandatory evacuation orders lifted Wednesday, May 13
- Homer, Alaska
- Volusia County, Florida (evacuations taken off table)
- West El Paso, Texas
- Martin, Lake and East Orange counties, central Florida
Hazardous Materials
- Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania and New Castle County, Delaware (Pennsylvania-Delaware State line) (Sunoco refinery ethylene oxide explosion)
- Kalihi, Hawaii (nuisance odor, chemical scare)
- Fairfield, California (overheated chemicals at a polymer plant)
- Belleville, Ontario Province, Canada (gas leak)
- Omaha, Nebraska (gas leak)
- Haynesville, Louisiana (blow-out at gas well)
- Southfield, Michigan (gas main break)
Malevolent Acts
- San Diego, California (suspicious briefcase under historic bridge)
- East Bethel, Minnesota (police stand-off)
- Mingora, Pakistan (civil strife)
- Western Sri Lanka (civil strife-ICRC suspends evacuations)
Planning
- Mobile and Baldwin counties, Alabama, will conduct telephonic surveys to determine which coastal residents need support evacuating during this hurricane season.
- Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, lacks sufficient bus drivers to evacuate most vulnerable populations.
- Mendocino Fire Safe Council sponsored Wild Fire Expo where evacuation operations were discussed.
- Victoria, Australia: The Royal Commission report on Victoria's Bushfires indicated concerns over the "stay or go" policy, with research showing many bush fire victims prior to Black Saturday evacuated too late. They also noted that the roads are not suitable for large-scale evacuations.
- NYC MTA officials plan to increase trains without conductors, but Union argues that it is dangerous in emergency situations, including those that require train evacuations.
- Impact of Jesusita Fire, Santa Barbara, California, on local sales.
May 18-24, 2009
Floods
- Brisbane, New South Wales, Australia (over 16,000 involved in mandatory evacuation)
Earthquakes
- Long Beach, California
- Al-Ais, Saudi Arabia
Structural or Chemical Fires
- Goleta, Santa Barbara County, California
- Midlothian, UK
- Bolton Landing, New York
- South Charleston, Ohio (grain silo fire)
Wild or Brush Fires
- Three Points, Arizona
- El Cajon, Palo Casino and Jamul, east San Diego County, California
- L'Anse, Upper Peninsula, Michigan
- Clearwater, Alberta, Canada
- Mule Pass, Bisbee, Arizona
Hazardous Materials
- Kalaeloa, Hawaii (chlorine tank leak)
- Austin Bluffs, Colorado Springs, Colorado (gas main break)
- Oak Park, Illinois (gas main break)
- Pendleton, Indiana (acid leak)
- Tulsa, OK (gas line break)
- Erwin, New York (gas leak)
- Holly Springs, Cherokee County, Georgia (gas leak)
Malevolent Acts
- Point Township, Pennsylvania (man threatening harm to self, others)
- West Bank, Israel (dismantling 22 illegal outposts; civil strife)
- Chesterfield County, Virginia (suspicious powder cleared Chesterfield County Complex)
- Live Oak, Santa Cruz, California (explosives & chemicals in home fireworks production effort found)
- Henderson, Kentucky (Anhydrous leak)
Structural Damage
- Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand (slip damage and cliff instability after weather events in area)
Planning
- The Louisiana Senate voted to protect health-care providers and their employees from certain civil lawsuits related to their work in hurricane or other emergency evacuations.
- A soon-to-be-released policy memo from the Secretary of State will note that gay U.S. diplomats and their families will receive equal benefits, such as emergency evacuations.
- A U.S. Marine admitted starting the Juliet 2 wildfire that burned parts of Camp Pendleton last October.
- Victoria, Australia's, Emergency Services Commissioner reported to the Royal Commission looking into the Black Saturday bushfires that he does not support a policy of mandatory evacuations of towns ahead of such fires, but that the government should educate communities to make their own decisions about when to leave.
- Con Edison announced that it has enhanced its emergency response and evacuation protocols for outside gas leaks after working with the Fire Department and the New York state Public Service Commission, and began implementing these changes last week. A press release issued last week states, "The changes involve mobilizing more emergency responders to the scene of serious gas leaks sooner so that appropriate evacuations, venting of manholes and tracing the source of a gas leak can be conducted simultaneously. For serious outside gas leaks, our gas control room dispatchers will now alert the Fire Department and dispatch additional company crews to the scene. Any high gas readings in the street will initiate a door-to-door check by responders and, if gas readings are detected within buildings, evacuation of those buildings by fire and company personnel."
May 25-31, 2009
Floods
- Moravian Falls, Wilkes County, North Carolina (flash floods)
Structural or Chemical Fires
- Watertown, New York (fire at bus repair center)
Wild or Brush Fires
- Andover, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota (grass fire)
- 100 Mile House, Ontario Province, Canada
- Laurel Canyon (above Hollywood), Los Angeles, California
Hazardous Materials
- San Ramon and Dublin, San Francisco, California (car and gas tanker collision leads to gasoline leak)
- Tulsa, Oklahoma (gas leak at Oklahoma State University)
- Hawkins, Texas (tire fire at tire recycling facility)
- Port Richey, Pasco County, Florida (gas leak)
Malevolent Acts
- Covington, King County, Washington (bomb threat)
- Sherman Oaks, California (bank robbery)
- Nicholasville, Kentucky (police stand-off)
- West Bank, Israel (dismantling 22 illegal outposts; civil strife)
Planning
- Hidalgo County, Texas, worries that the number of residents needing help evacuating is unknown.
- Charleston, South Carolina, discusses the difficulty in calling for evacuations.
- Galveston, Texas to hold Hurricane Town Hall meeting on June 3.
- Mobile, Alabama, advises residents to think ahead about hotel reservations in the event of an evacuation.
- Myrtle Beach, North Carolina, plans and prepares for 2009 hurricane season, with an eye on past events such as Hugo and Floyd.
- Beaumont, Texas, residents fear another Rita or Ike-like storm this year, especially those still in FEMA trailers.
- Beaufort County, South Carolina, residents told that new evacuation procedures will smooth, but not speed up evacuations.
- Thibodaux, Louisiana, residents warned to take heed to evacuation notices.
- Wilmington, North Carolina, publishes evacuation routes.
- Sunrise, Florida, transportation article on new ITS and how it will help hurricane season on the Sawgrass Expressway.
- GEICO notice on the ending of National Hurricane Preparedness week and ways to prepare for this season's storms.
- Victoria, Texas, and Lee County, Florida, publicizes evacuation and sheltering guidance as the 2009 hurricane season is set to begin on Monday.
- Scott Air Force Base and its aeromedical evacuation capabilities are ready to aid during 2009 hurricane season.
- Louisiana and Mississippi announce that contraflow plans extend 31 miles northward on I-59 based on past evacuation operations.
- Louisiana reviews lessons learned from past hurricane seasons.
- New Orleans, Louisiana, looks to improve shelter conditions.
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