Replies

Texas City to get trucks for first responders

07:22 AM CDT on Friday, April 30, 2004

TEXAS CITY -- Law enforcement agencies and other first responders are getting new trucks and other equipment for homeland security in one of the coastal cities where petrochemical plants and refineries have been on heightened alert for possible terrorism.

Texas City officials are soon to receive delivery of a $500,000 hazardous materials response unit that will be used to help in dealing with chemical incidents locally and in the region. City employees took delivery of four dual cab four-wheel drive trucks Wednesday that will be used as part of the municipal homeland security plan.

The vehicles will be used for transportation of the city's first responder teams during possible terrorist attacks or other security matters. Two of the vehicles will go to the police and the fire department will get the other pair.

"This brings to total $1.2 million the city will have received in grants and equipment to improve our homeland security efforts," Mayor Carlos Garza told the Texas City Sun in Friday's online edition.

Fire Chief Gerald Grimm said the new trucks will be outfitted within two weeks with a series of communication equipment, laptop computers and personal protection suits.

The laptops will help provide links to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other emergency response agencies.

Last month, the Texas Coastal Regional Advisory System, a shared information and communication system that is part of the Houston Joint Terrorism Task Force, was notified of nonspecific threats gathered from overseas sources against refineries and petrochemical industries along the Texas Gulf coast.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou043004_jt_tctrucks.176716da8.html

For anyone thinking of watching the Sunday movie 10.5 here are some facts from the USGS. (Also keep in mind that earthquakes sometimes occur following a lunar eclipse, so we should be vigilant when this next eclipse occurs.)

The idea of a “Mega-Quake” – an earthquake of magnitude 10 or larger – while theoretically possible—is very highly unlikely. Earthquake magnitude is based in part on the length of faults -- the longer the fault, the larger the earthquake. The simple truth is that there are no known faults capable of generating a magnitude 10 or larger “mega-quake.”

Then there’s this business of California falling off into the ocean. NOT TRUE! The ocean is not a great hole into which California can fall, but it is itself land at a somewhat lower elevation with water above it. It’s absolutely impossible that California will be swept out to sea. Instead, southwestern California is moving ever so slowly (2 inches per year) towards Alaska as it slides past central and eastern California. 15 million years (and many earthquakes) from now, Los Angeles and San Francisco will be next-door neighbors.

Another popular cinematic and literary device is a fault that opens during an earthquake to swallow up an inconvenient character. But unfortunately for principled writers, gaping faults exist only in movies and novels. The ground moves parallel to a fault during an earthquake, not away from it. If the fault could open, there would be no friction. Without friction, there would be no earthquake. Shallow crevasses can form during earthquake induced landslides, lateral spreads, or other types of ground failures. Faults, however, do not gape open during an earthquake.

So when you see the next big disaster film, rest assured that movies are just entertainment. Enjoy them! And then go learn about the real-world science behind disasters and if you live in an area where hazards exist, take the suggested steps to protect you and your family.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/bytopic/megaquakes.html

Goodnight All