» Disasters In The News

Storms wreak havoc in Northeast US at least 9 dead

Debbie — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:13:34 +0000

Rain floods Northeast roadways, knocks out power

By Bruce Shipkowski, Associated Press

A tree that crashed through the side of a home in Wantagh, N.Y., lies across cars in a driveway Sunday, March 14, 2010. Strong winds and heavy rain downed trees and power lines throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut on Saturday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. (AP Photo/Chris Corradino)

EGG HARBOR CITY, N.J. – A torrential rainstorm that brought heavy winds to the Northeast, downing trees, flooding roadways and knocking out power, continued to pour rain on New England on Monday. (click HERE for video)

At least nine people died in storm-related accidents, and nearly half a million people were without electricity in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut at the peak of the storm.

The ferocious storm led to near-record numbers of 911 calls in New York. New York City experienced the second-highest volume of 911 calls ever. It got 65,000 calls between 11 p.m. Friday and 11 p.m. Saturday, second only to the 96,000 calls made during the 2003 blackout.

While the rain tapered off south of New York on Monday morning, wind-whipped precipitation continued to fall in New England.

In Boston, workers threw up sand bags around the entrance to a subway station near Fenway Park on Monday morning as the Muddy River rose and threatened the station. The Massachusetts Port Authority said the weather was causing some delays and cancellations at Logan International Airport and several low-lying roads and highway ramps in Massachusetts were closed.

There also were numerous road closures in southeastern New Hampshire due to flooding.

In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency, which would allow National Guard troops to be called up if needed. In signing the declaration Sunday night, Christie said he wants to ensure local and county resources are supplemented if needed.

Schools were closed in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York on Monday.

Utility crews were making headway in restoring power. In New Jersey, more than 100,000 customers were without service Monday, down from a peak of 235,000. In Connecticut, two major utility companies said more than 57,000 customers were still without power, down from a peak of about 80,000.

The storm, which carried wind gusts of up to 70 mph, came about two weeks after heavy snow and hurricane-force winds left more than 1 million customers in the Northeast in the dark.

“I spent most of the past few months clearing snow and ice out my driveway, sidewalks, front walks, and now we’re picking up all these branches,” Jack Alexander said Sunday as he and his family worked to clear debris from the front yard of their Egg Harbor City home. “It seems like we’ve had every type of weather event you could have this winter — I’m almost afraid to see what else can happen.”

In Atlantic City, N.J., residents in a condominium complex and two apartment buildings were ordered to leave their homes Saturday after a crane snapped and twisted at the Revel Entertainment casino construction site, sending debris crashing through a window of a police cruiser. No one was hurt. The residents may not be able to return until Tuesday.

Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in the northern New Jersey community of Bound Brook, where flooding is common.

Among those in a shelter were the Malik family, including eldest son Norbert, who celebrated his ninth birthday Sunday. His mom said he had cried Saturday night because he was worried the storm would ruin his celebration. Instead, he said it was the best birthday he ever had.

“I got to ride in a police boat, and then a truck and a small bus,” said Norbert.

Falling trees proved to be a deadly hazard.

A New Jersey woman was killed and three others were injured in Westport, Conn., after a tree fell on a car Saturday night during the storm, police said. Another woman died when a tree struck her as she was walking in Greenwich, Conn., they said.

In the suburb of Teaneck, N.J., two neighbors were killed by a falling tree as they headed home from a prayer service at a synagogue. In Hartsdale, N.Y., another suburb, a man was killed when a large tree crushed the roof of his car and entangled it in live wires.

A 73-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree while walking to her car in Bay Shore, N.Y. Three people tried to save the Brooklyn woman.

In New Hampshire, a large pine tree fell on a car traveling on Interstate 93 on Sunday afternoon, killing a man and injuring his wife and child, state police said.

In Lyme, Conn., a 75-year-old man drowned accidentally Sunday afternoon in a pond behind his home. And in Rhode Island, an off-duty state trooper died early Sunday after his car hydroplaned in standing water left from the storm, state police said. (click HERE for original article)

Ice Storm Leaves Over A Million People Without Power!

Debbie — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:23:11 +0000

DON’T GET CAUGHT UNPREPARED!!!!

Make sure you have what your need it your home and in your vehicle. Check the tabs above!

Panel Finds WMD Attack Likely by 2013

Debbie — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:37:42 +0000

Panel Finds WMD (Weapons Of Mass Destruction) Attack Likely by 2013

December 02, 2008
Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The United States can expect a terrorist attack using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, reports a bipartisan commission in a study being briefed Tuesday to Vice President-elect Joe Biden. It suggests the Obama administration bolster efforts to counter and prepare for germ warfare by terrorists.

“Our margin of safety is shrinking, not growing,” states the report, obtained by The Associated Press. It is scheduled to be publicly released Wednesday.

The commission is also encouraging the new White House to appoint one official on the National Security Council to exclusively coordinate U.S. intelligence and foreign policy on combating the spread of nuclear and biological weapons.

The report of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism, led by former Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and Jim Talent of Missouri, acknowledges that terrorist groups still lack the needed scientific and technical ability to make weapons out of pathogens or nuclear bombs. But it warns that gap can be easily overcome, if terrorists find scientists willing to share or sell their know-how.

“The United States should be less concerned that terrorists will become biologists and far more concerned that biologists will become terrorists,” the report states.

The commission believes biological weapons are more likely to be obtained and used before nuclear or radioactive weapons because nuclear facilities are more carefully guarded. Civilian laboratories with potentially dangerous pathogens abound, however, and could easily be compromised.

“The biological threat is greater than the nuclear; the acquisition of deadly pathogens, and their weaponization and dissemination in aerosol form, would entail fewer technical hurdles than the theft or production of weapons-grade uranium or plutonium and its assembly into an improvised nuclear device,” states the report.

It notes that the U.S. government’s counterproliferation activities have been geared toward preventing nuclear terrorism. The commission recommends the prevention of biological terrorism be made a higher priority.

Study chairman Graham said anthrax remains the most likely biological weapon. However, he told the AP that contagious diseases – like the flu strain that killed 40 million at the beginning of the 20th century – are looming threats. That virus has been recreated in scientific labs, and there remains no inoculation to protect against it if is stolen and released.

Graham said the threat of a terrorist attack using nuclear or biological weapons is growing “not because we have not done positive things but because adversaries are moving at an even faster pace to increase their access” to those materials.

He noted last week’s rampage by a small group of gunmen in Mumbai.

“If those people had had access to a biological or nuclear weapon they would have multiplied by orders of magnitude the deaths they could have inflicted,” he said.

Al-Qaida remains the only terrorist group judged to be actively intent on conducting a nuclear attack against the United States, the report notes. It is not yet capable of building such a weapon and has yet to obtain one. But that could change if a nuclear weapons engineer or scientist were recruited to al-Qaida’s cause, the report warns.

The report says the potential nexus of terrorism, nuclear and biological weapons is especially acute in Pakistan.

“Were one to map terrorism and weapons of mass destruction today, all roads would intersect in Pakistan,” the report states.

In fact, commission members were forced to cancel their trip to Pakistan this fall. The Islamabad Marriott Hotel that commission members were to stay in was blown up by terrorist bombs just hours before they were to check in.

“We think time is not our ally. The (United States) needs to move with a sense of urgency,” Graham said.

Don’t Be Scared……Be Prepared!!!!

Debbie — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:21:30 +0000

(This post was originally posted on Ms Sparky on May 23, 2008. I moved it to Your Emergency Plan when I separated my personal blog from my political blog.)

A recent AP article came out discussing the 2008 hurricane predictions from NOAA, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. READ IT!

“US GOVERNMENT: UP TO 9 ATLANTIC HURRICANES IN 2008″ published by the Associated Press on May 22, 2008.

Wildfires, floods, and weird weather has been occurring all over. Hurricanes predicted in the East, earthquakes predicted in the Midwest and California, tsunamis predicted on the west coast, tornadoes happening everywhere. These are all being “scientifically” predicted. If they are going to happen there is nothing anyone can do to stop them. Hoping these things never happen to you is normal. Not planning for them is naive.

A little pre-planning doesn’t make you a “doomsday-ist”. Being just a little bit prepared could alleviate a whole lot of stress and aggravation and could possibly save your life or the lives of your family members. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to use your 72-Hour Kits, then they will be available. If you find you never have t use them, better yet! It’s kind of like the seat belts in your car. You put them on just in case. Putting them on after an accident is too late.

I have several pages (tabs at top) designed to help you get your 72-hour kits ready. It’s free. I’m not trying to sell anything. It’s information that I have gathered from the internet, Red Cross and my own personal experiences. I truly believe in this. I give you information to put them together yourself a little at a time or you can buy them already put together from hundreds of suppliers and be done with it.

Every time there is a disaster, people are unprepared and “can’t believe this happened to them”. They have to wait for State, Federal and charitable organizations to bring them supplies. Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to wait for food and water to arrive to feed your hungry children?

Anything can happen anytime, anywhere. Please take the time to inform and prepare yourself and your family.

Ms Sparky

California Fire Forces Evacuations Near Santa Barbara

Debbie — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:31:23 +0000

Nov. 14 – About 4,500 residents of the celebrity enclave of Montecito, California, are fleeing a fire whipped by high winds that has burned more than 1,500 acres and destroyed or damaged at least 60 homes.

The blaze began at 5:50 p.m. Los Angeles time yesterday in the Los Padres National Forest, and more than 1,100 firefighters have been deployed, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire. About 1,500 homes are threatened.

“This continues to be a dangerous fire and residents should remain aware of local conditions and be prepared to respond to any warnings,” the Santa Barbara County Fire Department said in a statement.

Montecito is southeast of Santa Barbara and about 73 miles (118 kilometers) up the coast from Los Angeles. Actors including Michael Douglas own property there. In addition to those who fled the area, officials have urged another 4,500 to consider leaving, Cal Fire said in a statement.

The area is under a red-flag warning until tomorrow from the National Weather Service in Oxnard, meaning conditions exist that will create explosive fire-weather conditions. (Read More Here)

This is just tragic. These people weren’t expecting this or anything like this. I have to ask…..”How many were prepared?” Did they have their Grab & Go kits packed and ready to go. Did they know where all their important documents were? Did they have a rendezvous plan?

I hope so. Check out my Grab & Go page and get prepared.