Hatrack River Writers Workshop: emergencies can happen anywhere

This is topic emergencies can happen anywhere in forum Grist for the Mill at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

We don't usually worry about hurricanes in the Rocky Mountains, though earthquakes are a concern along the "Wasatch Front," and we have had a tornado that I can remember.

But something happened near here yesterday that made me think that you never know what could happen in your own little corner of the world.

Shortly after noon, a propane tanker westbound on I-80 out of Parley's Canyon (into Salt Lake City) overran the turn onto southbound I-215 and crashed into a sound wall, overturning in someone's backyard, and began leaking propane.

They evacuated several thousand people to a high school further south (Red Cross had set things up for people, and the principal invited them to attend the school musical production that evening) and only allowed them back home after midnight.

I wonder how many people in that evacuation area were ready to just pick up and leave their homes like that, and what they were able to take with them. (I also wonder if their pets were included--probably not.)

[This message has been edited by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (edited November 22, 2008).]

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

Dunno if it would be necessary...those sound walls are sometimes on the massive side. Still, I haven't seen pictures and I don't know the location, and propane can be pretty dangerous even in a barbecue grill tank.

Once upon a time, on a family vacation, we drove by a burning gas tanker. (Somewhere along I-95 in southern Virginia, sometime in the seventies.) We were, oh, a good quarter mile from the tanker itself, but the heat off it, through rolled-up windows, was like putting your face right next to a space heater---and we had to pass by very slowly. It must have been awful outside...

Posted by Monk (Member # 8295) on :

It is funny you mention this and that it happens to involve propane. This is a link to a propane explosion that happened up here in Toronto. It occurred during the night and since the weather was rain and thunder I slept right through it. I found out by people calling to see if we were OK, or being evacuated, since it happened close to my house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbw_K8pfNfo

Frightening.

-W.

Posted by tempest (Member # 8242) on :

good point about being prepared.
a couple of years back we had a really bad ice storm that knocked out power over our whole area for about three days. we had food (cold and yucky!) but no heat source, we (our whole family, including small children and me pregnant) had to move in with my parents for a couple of days. if it wasnt for them we would have been in sad shape. we have since worked on food and water supply and are compiling 72 hr bags for each member of the family. still working on getting a small generator.
you just never know.
tempest-

Posted by BoredCrow (Member # 5675) on :

You'd better believe my cat is going with me at the first hint of an emergency. But then, I don't have any kids or anyone else living with me to worry about...

This is a good reminder to put some cans of food in my car. Not that we have earthquakes in Wyoming, but growing up in California, I should know that a supply of food and water is never a bad idea.

Speaking of random disasters, I'm terrified of tornadoes. When I moved to Laramie a year and a half ago, everyone assured me that there were never tornadoes. So when the tornado sirens went off during a bad storm last May, I kind of flipped out. Everyone laughed at me... until they heard that a tornado had touched down in the eastern part of town.

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

That reminds me of something I've noticed...

(1) Nearly all emergency shelters have a strict rule: "No Pets Allowed." But also (2) people won't leave their homes and go to the shelters unless they can take their pets with them.

That leads to the conclusion: People's lives are put at risk because of the "No Pets Allowed" rule.

If the Powers That Be were serious about saving lives, they would work with this facet of human psychology and allow pets, rather than working against it.