Archive for August, 2017
Post-Harvey: Five public health crises
Thursday, August 31st, 2017Houston floods: a toxic stew of chemicals, sewage, debris and waste that still floods much of the city.
Thursday, August 31st, 2017- “….Runoff from the city’s sprawling petroleum and chemicals complex contains any number of hazardous compounds. Lead, arsenic and other toxic and carcinogenic elements….”
- “….hundreds of thousands of people across the 38 Texas counties affected by Hurricane Harvey use private wells….”
- “….Harris County, home to Houston, hosts more than two dozen current and former toxic waste sites designated under the federal Superfund program. The sites contain what the Environmental Protection Agency calls legacy contamination: lead, arsenic, polychlorinated biphenyls, benzene and other toxic and carcinogenic compounds from industrial activities many years ago…..”
- “….Damaged refineries and other oil facilities have already released more than two million pounds of hazardous substances into the air this week, including benzene, nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds….”
8/31/1886: The largest earthquake in the history of SE USA erupted near Charleston, South Carolina, leaving more than 100 people dead and hundreds of buildings destroyed.
Thursday, August 31st, 2017
wo explosions and plumes of black smoke were reported at a flooded chemical plant in Crosby, Texas .
Thursday, August 31st, 2017Two US Navy warships, the USS Kearsarge and the USS Oak Hill, are being deployed to Texas
Wednesday, August 30th, 2017- “….Air Force and Navy helicopters began flying rescue missions in Texas on Monday night, according to a US defense official, marking the first use of active duty military assets in the hurricane rescue efforts….”
- Entire Texas National Guard now activated (12 000)
- “…Military helicopters are being used alongside Coast Guard helicopters, but the Coast Guard has taken the lead on coordinating air operations…”
- More than 8,500 have been rescued so far in Houston alone
- What we know about the death toll
As rescuers work night and day the number of victims of the storm’s wrath is coming into focus. Here’s what we know about the 28 dead confirmed so far:
- Harris County: 13
- Galveston County: 4
- Montgomery County: 3
- Fort Bend County: 2
- Jasper County: 2
- Jefferson County: 2
- Aransas County: 1
- Nueces County: 1
More than 1,000 people have died in floods across South Asia this summer
Wednesday, August 30th, 2017- At least 41 million people in Bangladesh, India and Nepal have been directly affected by flooding and landslides resulting from the monsoon rains, which usually begin in June and last until September.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YEt_nMaa5s