About Caroline McDonald

Caroline McDonald is a writer and former senior editor of the Risk Management Monitor and Risk Management magazine.
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Latest Amtrak Derailment Could Have Been Prevented

An Amtrak train derailment near Tacoma, Washington on Dec. 18 that killed three passengers and injured about 100 was the result of excessive speed in a steep curve, and could have been prevented with automatic braking technology, according to experts.

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Amtrak Train No. 501, on its inaugural run, was traveling 80 miles per hour in an area limited to 30 miles per hour when it derailed on an overpass, sending the train’s 12 coaches and one of its two engines careening onto the highway below.

As previously reported in Risk Management, a similar derailment in Philadelphia on May 12, 2015 that killed eight, was also blamed on excessive speed and could have been avoided if a technology, called “positive train control” (PTC), had been in place.

PTC is designed to eliminate human error by using four components: GPS satellite data, onboard locomotive equipment, the dispatching office and wayside interface units. The system communicates with the train’s onboard computer, allowing it to audibly warn the engineer and display the train’s safe braking distance based on its speed, length, width and weight, as well as the grade and curvature of the track, according to railroad operator Metrolink. If the engineer does not respond to the warning, the onboard computer will activate the brakes and safely stop the train.

In the aftermath of a 2008 collision in Chatsworth, California, when 25 passengers were killed, Congress enacted the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

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It required each Class 1 rail carrier and each provider of regularly-scheduled intercity or commuter rail passenger service to implement a PTC system by Dec. 31, 2015. Because of the high costs—implementation is estimated to cost million for commuter trains—and complexity of the system, however, the requirement was extended three years.

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Railroads are now mandated by federal law to have a system in place by the end of 2018.

Casualties Mount as Calif. Fire Continues to Burn

The massive Thomas Fire in Ventura County has claimed another victim. CalFire Engineer Cory Iverson was killed while battling the blaze, which has so far burned 252,500 acres and destroyed about 1,000 homes and businesses, according to the federal InciWeb fire information website. One other death connected to the fire was a woman killed in a car crash while evacuating.

Iverson had been with the agency since 2009 and was assigned to the Thomas Fire as part of a fire-engine strike team from CalFire’s San Diego unit.

“I know I speak for us all in saying our hearts go out to our CalFire colleagues during this difficult time.

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This is a tragic reminder of the dangerous work that our firefighters do every day,” Teresa Benson forest supervisor, Los Padres National Forest said in a statement. “The Thomas Fire has many unprecedented conditions and complexities that challenge the already demanding job of fire suppression.”

The Thomas fire broke out Dec. 4 in Ojai, northwest of Los Angeles. Strong Santa Ana winds helped it to quickly spread to the city of Ventura, according to InciWeb.

Up to 85,000 people were impacted by power outages and surges in the Santa Barbara area, according to the Southern California Edison utility company. Santa Ana winds are expected to continue on Friday and through the weekend, and could reach up to 30 miles per hour in some areas. Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, has ordered mandatory evacuation of a portion of the county.

The Thomas fire has also taken a toll on agriculture, which is a billion industry in California employing more than 400,000 people in the state.

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The wildfire struck the largest avocado- and lemon-producing region in the United States. A 200-acre farm lost 80% of its avocado crop, according to the New York Times. Avocado orchards are more vulnerable because of their location near hillsides in the path of the fire.

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Consumers are unlikely to see a surge in the price of avocados from the fire because most avocados bought in the United States are grown in Mexico. A spike in lemon prices is unlikely to occur even though Ventura County produces more than 40% of the national output, because any lost crop can be made up by increasing imports, John Krist, chief executive of the Ventura County Farm Bureau told the Times.

Oroville Dam Repairs Concern Calif. Residents

Construction of a new spillway at the Oroville Dam in northern California—the largest dam in the U.S.—is underway and is expected to be completed sometime in 2018, according to the California Department of Water Resources. The dam replaces the previous spillway, which was damaged by heavy flooding in February.

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Problems at the Oroville Dam began, when the dam’s main sluice was damaged after a winter season of record rain and snowfall, following five years of drought. Torrential rainfall caused water levels to rise so quickly that large amounts needed to be released to prevent the dam from rupturing and sending a wall of water to the communities below.

The force of the cascading water was so strong that it created a large hole in the main sluice, requiring the use of an emergency spillway. This safety backup, however, also nearly failed because the dirt spillway, which had never been fortified by concrete, began to erode, increasing the risk of damage to the dam. In anticipation of a possible disaster, almost 200,000 residents living below the dam were temporarily evacuated.

The dam’s new construction has proved to be contentious at times, with residents expressing concern about small cracks that have appeared in the freshly laid concrete.

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Rainy season is just ahead and residents are anxious about the possibility of another flood.

State officials said cracking is normal, however, and federal regulators agreed that no immediate repairs are necessary, but not everyone is convinced.

“We heard that in 2009 when we saw DWR fixing cracks on the spillway, that it was completely normal, that it was no concern,” Oroville resident Genoa Widener told the Associated Press. “And then we were told to run for our lives. So you telling us that it’s normal is not enough.”

So far, about a third of the spillway has been fully rebuilt, while the rest has been fortified for the winter with plans to finish it next year. The project is expected to cost about  $500 million.

In preparation for the upcoming winter, Lake Oroville was drained about 80 feet below its normal level, providing extra reservoir storage for incoming water from winter rain and spring snowmelt.

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On Wednesday, the lake was 200 feet (61 meters) below its maximum capacity, the AP said.

Residents are also upset because state officials have closed a scenic road spanning the top of the dam during the construction. They have deferred a decision about whether it will ever be re-opened due to safety concerns. Several residents said the road closure has cut off their access to recreational areas, the AP reported.

2017 Storms Break Records

The 2017 hurricane season is finally behind us, but it left its mark with two Category 5 hurricanes and one Category 4 striking within weeks of each other, causing an estimated $300 billion in damage. In fact, 2017 broke records, including the strongest storm—Irma—and the longest-lasting storm, which was Hurricane Harvey.

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Other natural disasters in 2017 also did their share of damage, including hailstorms and 1,496 tornadoes compared to an average of 1,202.
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Then there were the wildfires, which burned more than 9 million acres of land.

Highlights of 2017 are summarized below by Interstate: