Category Archives: Disaster Preparedness

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U.S. Dept. of Interior Celebrates National Puppy Day

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Today, March 23 is National Puppy Day, celebrated by organizations everywhere that benefit from the smarts and loyalty of our canine friends. Dogs assist humans in a number of situations including bomb-sniffing dogs on the battlefield, TSA dogs used in airports to locate contraband and as reported in Risk Management, arson dogs are employed to determine the cause of mysterious fires for both fire and police departments. Seeing eye dogs and service dogs for veterans have important jobs as well.

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It turns out that the Dept. of the Interior also has good reason to celebrate our four-legged companions. Dogs do a number of jobs to help the Dept. of the Interior achieve its goals and accomplish its mission of “keeping Indian country, public lands, visitors and wildlife safe.”

Detector dogs work in airports, seaports, mail centers and other critical transportation points. According to the Department: “When people try to smuggle animals or illegal products (such as snakes, sea turtles or rhino horn), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife Detector dogs sniff out this hidden contraband. The agency’s seven detector dogs work in entry ports at Anchorage, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Puerto Rico, increasing the Service’s inspection capabilities and helping surpass what a human team could do by themselves.”

Dogs also pull sleds in Denali National Park and are trained to stop the spread of invasive species and diseases in many areas. Avian botulism, often deadly to birds has become a treat in the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge in Hawaii, the Department reports.

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Because the disease is easily spread, the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are training dogs to track down dead birds infected by avian botulism. These dead birds are then removed before the disease can infect other birds and waterfowl.

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According to the Department of the Interior:

At national wildlife refuges, K-9 units ensure the safety of people and other animals. USFWS K-9s have tracked down Alzheimer patients who have gotten lost, sniffed out a hidden rifle used to illegally shoot animals and worked with local law enforcement to track down an armed robbery suspect hiding in water. With a sense of smell and hearing far superior to a human’s, these dogs have proven to be a vital part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s mission.

Dogs are welcome in many national parks, but their owners are asked to follow the BARK rules:

B – Bag your waste
A – Always be on a leash
R – Respect Wildlife
K – Know where you can go

FIU Bridge Collapse Brings Up Design, Safety Concerns

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Munilla Construction Management rendering of the completed FIU pedestrian bridge.

The 950-ton section of a pedestrian bridge’s collapse at Florida International University (FIU) that claimed six lives on March 15 has put stakeholders, design and installation firms under intense scrutiny. After months of preparation, the 174-foot span had been installed on March 10, and investigators and authorities are trying to establish if negligence played a part in the tragedy on SW 8th Street on FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus.

The bridge was constructed off-site and relocated using Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC), a popular (and usually successful) industry method that aims to reduce potential risks to workers, commuters and pedestrians and minimize traffic interruptions. According to FIU, the bridge should have been a record-setter; on March 10, the University claimed it was “the largest pedestrian bridge moved via Self-Propelled Modular Transportation in U.S. history.” It was also poised to be the first in the world to be constructed entirely of self-cleaning concrete, which would have ultimately reduced maintenance costs.

Munilla Construction Management (MCM) was the Miami-based construction firm hired by FIU to manage and construct the FIU-Sweetwater UniversityCity Bridge, which jointly worked with design firm FIGG Engineering-Bridge Group. Barnhart Crane and Rigging operated the Self-Propelled Modular Transporters that placed the bridge on its permanent supports, and engineering firm BDI was subcontracted to conduct monitoring while the bridge was moved into place.

It was expected that the footbridge would be completed and operational in early 2019 and would also have served as a study and gathering space for students. The $14.2 million project was funded by Florida Department of Transportation, FIU and the City of Sweetwater, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) TIGER Grant, but the blame shifting has already begun. The Miami Herald reported:

…the project required “an independent, secondary design check,” and the design team, FIGG Bridge Engineers, hired another engineering firm, Louis Berger. That firm “was not FDOT pre-qualified for this service, which is required under FIU’s agreement with the state. FIU’s design build team is responsible for selecting a pre-qualified firm and ensuring this process is followed.”

The main span of the FIU-Sweetwater UniversityCity Bridge was installed in a few hours with limited disruption to traffic over the preceding weekend. FIU stated that on the morning of the collapse that MCM and FIGG met to discuss a crack on the on the structure, but ultimately concluded that “there were no safety concerns and the crack did not compromise the structural integrity of the bridge. This meeting lasted approximately two hours and included FIU and FDOT representatives.”

FIU added an FAQ page to its website in the aftermath of the collapse. It clarifies that FIU did not yet own the bridge “because it was still under construction” and names the key stakeholders, but does not yet reveal what was happening at the time of the collapse “because it still does not yet have the information.” The DOT stated that Secretary Elaine L. Chao dispatched Federal Highway Administration professional staff to the site to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation.

An insightful article published by Wired explains the ABC process and looks at other incidents, noting that in this case the collapse could stem from design flaws and possibly loose cables burdened by the weight of the bridge.

Q&A: Cape Town’s ‘Day Zero’

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On March 22, annual World Water Day will be especially relevant, as the United Nations and its co-sponsors hope to raise global awareness of water risks—particularly in Cape Town, South Africa. As we previously reported, a diminishing water supply is that city’s top priority, as it is counting down to a possible “Day Zero” (which had been set for July 9, but the City has stopped providing a date), when it could effectively become the first major city to run dry.

One of World Water Day’s partners is World Wide Fund For Nature South Africa (WWF-SA), an arm of what was formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund. Christine Colvin, senior manager of Freshwater for WWF-SA, recently discussed Cape Town’s struggles and how other major cities and businesses can learn from the preparedness plan and efforts to avoid a total drought.

Risk Management Monitor: Cape Town, which has 4 million residents, has a preparedness plan in effect that includes rationing among 200 water distribution points for 25 liters per person. Do you feel this plan is sustainable?

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Christine Colvin: At this stage, the general consensus is that Day Zero is not as imminent a threat as it was earlier in the year, and in all likelihood, there will be some rain and augmentation schemes will start to come online before dams drop to the critical 13.5% (which would activate the disaster plan).

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Consequently, the major

push is to encourage citizens to stay within their current daily limit of 50 liters of water per person, per day to see us through to the rainy season and beyond. If we are able to achieve this objective, the hope is that we should push out Day Zero as far as possible, thus buying the city time to bring on augmentation schemes.

RMM: How could Cape Town officials explore nature-based solutions (this year’s World Water Day campaign) to its water challenges?

Colvin: Ecological infrastructure is the foundation of water security and the first link in the water value chain. If our catchments are healthy and functional they deliver better quality, more reliable yields of water into our dams and aquifers. If they are invaded with alien vegetation or degraded by over-grazing or over-burning then they yield less water and more silt that will eventually destroy any downstream infrastructure we build to deliver water to our homes and farms. WWF-SA actively advocates the protection of water source areas through, among other things, water stewardship and catchment clearance of alien vegetation and has actively communicated this approach to the City of Cape Town during this drought period.

In our communications to the general public, we also encourage better stewardship of existing natural water sources such as groundwater and rivers, and promoting a water-wise culture. Our stewardship work in the Western Cape, the province in which Cape Town is located, focuses strongly on the agricultural sector which is a key industry for the region.

RMM: What steps can a major city take to prepare for a drought?

Colvin: Our Wednesday Water File on international case studies highlights many pertinent actions, perhaps best summarized in the Australian example:

  • Invest in fixing leaking infrastructure—one of the most cost-effective measures to improve water supplies
  • Introduce a demand management program which includes strict new legal requirements on business and domestic water use, coupled with a major education campaign
  • Diversify water supplies so if one source fails others can be drawn on, among them: dams, desalination, recycled water, rainwater tanks, groundwater, and storm water harvesting
  • Create a water grid which links major regional water supplies so water can be moved to where it is needed 

RMM: How is World Water Day raising awareness to the situation in Cape Town?

Colvin: While water is top of mind in Cape Town, the intention is to remind all South Africans that we live in a water-stressed country and the protection of strategic Water Source Areas and their natural capital is a national project. Water source areas are particularly important—making up 8% of South Africa’s land area but delivering 50% of our river flow to the rest of the country. Good management of these high rainfall mountainous headwater areas delivers a high return on investment downstream.

World Water Day is an important time to reflect on the relationship between water and nature.

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Many, but not all, residents of Cape Town are now aware of the “new normal” in which we are likely to experience much drier periods and have to conserve water but it remains vital to reinforce the message that water does not come from a tap—it comes from nature.

Cape Town’s Water Shortage Approaching ‘Day Zero’

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Risk Management magazine recently covered the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2018 Global Risks Report, in which environmental and technological risks dominate the worldwide threat landscape. The WEF ranked water crises as the fifth-highest risk based on impact, downgraded from the number one spot in 2015. But a diminishing water supply is certainly the top priority in Cape Town, South Africa, which is counting down to an increasingly imminent “Day Zero,” when it will effectively become the first major city to run dry.

In preparation for “Day Zero,” which is predicted to occur on July 9 (although it has been rescheduled several times), officials advised Cape Town’s 4 million residents to limit water use to 50 liters (13.

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2 gallons) per person per day, hoping to stretch the supply as far possible. Here’s how the Day Zero date has been calculated:

While assessing its own water supply risks, the Philly Voice equated that amount of water to “…a 90-second shower, two brushings of the teeth, one toilet flush, one cooked meal, a sink-full to wash dishes and a half-gallon of drinking water.”

Cape Town also has tariffs to help finance water and sanitation services and drive down demand of this basic human need. Nevertheless, the dams that supply most of the city’s water are only at 25% capacity as water usage reportedly remains well above targets. Once the dams reach 13.5% capacity, Cape Town intends to shut off the municipal water supply to all but essential services (like hospitals). Residents will then be allowed a daily 25-liter (6.6 gallon) water ration that they must collect from one of 200 water stations, which will be overseen by armed guards.

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Researchers from Stellenbosch University, located in the Western Cape province of South Africa provided a thorough evaluation of the preparedness plan’s feasibility, particularly during the post-Day Zero period. Taking a risk management approach of assuming no additional supply until the next rainy season, they called for strategies that either double the number of distribution points or increase the number of taps and water pressure at each of the 200 points:

“But even these strategies won’t help if Cape Town doesn’t address the reality of conflict and related delays. These are unpredictable and incalculable. They are also the greatest indication for why Day Zero should be avoided at all costs.”

As Risk Management Monitor reported in 2016, “the world’s largest underground water reserves in Africa, Eurasia and the Americas are under stress, with many of them being drawn down at unsustainable rates. Nearly two billion people rely on groundwater that is considered under threat.”

Water Foundry Founder and CEO Will Sarni recently offered a six-step strategy that other cities can take to avoid future Day Zeroes; the plan calls for the combined efforts of private sector leaders and public sector authorities:

“In building a solution, we call for a greater role for market forces balanced with regulatory oversight. In particular, the private sector has an essential role to play in devising technology and infrastructure solutions.

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But we have to incentivize companies to develop these solutions and then reward those that succeed. We applaud the initiatives of companies such as Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages, ABInBev and others, but we need much more.”

The BBC has listed 11 other major international cities that may be faced with a similar water supply crisis.