Global Disasters/ Significant Events – December 27, 2015

Powerful storm system brings tornadoes and flooding, killing at least 8 in Dallas, Texas

Death toll from a week of severe weather in the southern United States has now climbed to at least 26, with hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged by tornadoes, and flooding.

At least 6 tornadoes touched down in Dallas, Ellis and McClain counties on Saturday, according to the reports received by the storm prediction Center.

Meanwhile, forecasters have warned a “historic blizzard” could hit Texas and Oklahoma with up to 41cm of snow.

Dangerous Weather Continues Through Sunday Across the Middle of the Country

A variety of dangerous weather conditions will continue across the middle of the country through Sunday. Blizzard conditions will stretch from the High Plains of west Texas into northwest Oklahoma and Kansas. Hazardous ice accumulations will occur in Oklahoma. Dangerous flooding will extend from north Texas to central Illinois. Thunderstorms and a few tornadoes are possible in Texas. [NWS]

UK homes evacuated after ‘unprecedented’ flooding

Police have advised hundreds of people to evacuate near the River Ouse and River Foss in York, as floods threaten thousands of properties, said a report.

Hundreds of flood alerts and warnings are in place for England, Wales and Scotland, including more than 20 severe warnings—indicating danger to life.

UK PM David Cameron has called the flooding “unprecedented” and the situation for many as “incredibly serious” in an emergency conference call, promising more troops.

Super gonorrhea ‘could become untreatable’

“Gonorrhea is at risk of becoming an untreatable disease due to the continuing emergence of antimicrobial resistance,” the UK Chief Medical Officer has warned.

The warning follows the detection of a highly drug-resistant strain of the infection in the north of England in March.

The strain can resist the antibiotic azithromycin, which is normally used alongside another drug, ceftriaxone.

The bacteria that cause gonorrhea can mutate and develop new resistance, so we cannot afford to be complacent, said a UK health official.

North of England ‘super gonorrhea’ outbreak triggers nationwide alert

‘Highly resistant’

“This azithromycin highly resistant outbreak is the first one that has triggered a national alert,”  a consultant in sexual health based in Bristol, told the BBC News website.

“If this becomes the predominant strain in the UK we’re in big trouble, so we have to be really meticulous in making sure each of these individuals has all their contacts traced and treated.”

In 2011, Japan reported a case of complete resistance to cephalosporin-class antibiotics, which included the main treatment ceftriaxone.

About 35,000 cases of gonorrhea were reported in England in 2014, an increase of almost 20% compared with the previous year. It is the second most common sexually transmitted disease in the UK after chlamydia.

Emergency declared as train carrying sulfuric acid derails in NW QLD

A freight train carrying 200,000 liters of sulfuric acid has derailed east of Julia Creek in NW Queensland, Australia.

The locomotive and all 26 carriages derailed at 10:20am about 20km east of the outback town, prompting authorities to declare an emergency and impose a two-kilometer exclusion zone around the crash site.

Thousands Evacuated in Tennessee after Train Crash Releases Toxic Fumes

Train derailment, toxic fire prompts mass evacuation in Tennessee

More than 5,000 people near Knoxville, Tennessee, have been evacuated after a freight train carrying extremely “flammable and toxic gas” derailed and caught fire early Thursday.

A section of a 60-car CSX train derailed near Maryville in Blount County, and at least one derailed car then caught fire, releasing plumes of toxic fumes.

The train was carrying liquefied petroleum gas and acrylonitrile,  a substance used in the manufacture of plastics, said the train operator.

At least seven deputies were exposed to the fumes and had to be hospitalized, said the Blount County sheriff’s spokeswoman.

An evacuation zone is in place within a two-mile radius of the derailment, which could last up to 48 hours, according to Blount County sheriff.

Massive Fire as Train Carrying Crude Oil Derails in Canada

Derailed Crude Oil Train Explodes in Canada

A train carrying crude oil exploded after it derailed near Gogama, NE Ontario, closing Highway 144, according to reports.

The authorities were forced to close a section of the highway for up to two days, with no detour available.

The incident, the fourth derailment in Northern Ontario since January this year, follows another derailment in the same area in February.

Freight Train Carrying Crude Oil Derails Near Illinois City

On March 5, a freight train loaded with crude oil derailed in northern Illinois, exploding into a ball of fire and prompting officials to suggest that everyone with 1 mile radius of explosion evacuate, authorities said, AP reported.

“Since 2008, derailments of oil trains in the U.S. and Canada have seen 70,000-gallon tank cars break open and ignite on multiple occasions, resulting in huge fires. A train carrying Bakken crude crashed in a Quebec town in 2013, killing 47 people. Last month, a train carrying 3 million gallons of North Dakota crude derailed in a West Virginia snowstorm, shooting fireballs into the sky, leaking oil into a river tributary and forcing hundreds of families to evacuate.”

Recent Train Explosions

• Canadian Town Evacuated after Train Explosion July 7, 2013
• Hundreds of Homes Evacuated after Ohio Railcar Leak November 28, 2013
• Two W Virginia Towns Evacuated after Derailed Train Explodes February 17, 2015

Two W Virginia Towns Evacuated after Derailed Train Explodes

State of emergency declared in West Virginia after derailed train explodes

A freight train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded forcing the residents in two West Virginia towns to evacuate, 

At least 1,000 people were evacuated, said a state official.

The incident occurred in Fayette County in southern W Virginia at about 18:30UTC on Monday, as the two-locomotive, 109-car CSX-owned train carrying Bakken crude was traveling from North Dakota to Yorktown, Virginia.

As many as 15 tanker cars were involved in the derailment and fiery explosion, and some of the oil leaking into the Kanawha River had also caught fire after the incident, said officials.