Earthquake May Cause Anderson Dam To Collapse

A new study shows that Anderson Dam could collapse in a major earthquake. It is also the largest dam located Santa Clara County holding 90,000 acre-feet of water when full, which is more than the other nine reservoirs in the county combined.

The new study points to an area of the dam's foundation that contains sand and gravel, which could liquefy in a big quake. Most of the dams foundation was scraped down to bedrock when the dam was built in 1950.

Though the dam which sits on the Calaveras Fault was designed to with stand earthquakes when it was built it was not designed to withstand what is being called the maximum credible earthquake.

According to the study the dam would likely not collapse suddenly or completely but, if completely full, could slump and begin to erode away from the top, giving people a day or so to evacuate, according to Dave Hook, an engineering unit manager for dam safety with the water district.

In the worst case, a complete failure of Anderson Dam could send a wall of water 35 feet high into downtown Morgan Hill within 14 minutes, and eight feet deep into San Jose within three hours, under state emergency scenarios.

More studies are being conducted on the dam since the new findings have been discovered and are being watched carefully by local officials.

FEMA Announces: DHS to Hold Public Meeting on Title IX -- Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program

DHS to Hold Public Meeting Regarding the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is holding a public meeting on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 in Washington, D.C. to engage stakeholders in dialogue with DHS leadership and program managers regarding the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program, now called PS-Prep. For more information about the meeting, and to register, go to http://www.fema.gov/privatesectorpreparedness and click on January 13, 2009 Public Meeting.

PS-Prep is mandated by Title IX of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to establish a common set of criteria for private sector preparedness, including disaster management, emergency management, and business continuity programs. The goal of this voluntary program is to enhance nationwide resilience in an all hazards environment by improving private sector preparedness. 

Disaster Tip of The Week: Keep Cash On Hand

During disasters, power outages are almost guaranteed. In addition to causing the obvious problems at home, prolonged power outages present additional problems, such as ATM's not working, and some retailers may not be able to conduct business, except through cash only exchanges.

This leads us to our new and first: Disaster Tip of The Week: Keep Cash On Hand.

The saying, Cash Is King holds true especially after a disaster, and having the cash to buy items of immediate need may be your only way to purchase these items.

How much cash will you need? That all depends on several factors from the type of disaster that is taking place, how many family members or other people you will be with, if you have to travel and how prepared you were to ride out the disaster or evacuate to another area.

Some things you want to consider in helping you making the decision on how much cash you should keep on hand are:

• How much would it cost you to feed your family (or yourself if alone) for two weeks?
• How much would it cost you if you stayed at a motel or hotel for a few days up to two weeks?
• Will you have to pay for transportation? Buy Gas, or pay tolls? (power may not be out everywhere)
• Consider that during a disaster prices will go up
• Consider that whom ever you buy goods from may not have or provide change

These are just some of the many questions you will want to ask yourself to figure out how much cash you will need. You will also want to carry only paper money, no loose change (too heavy and no one will want to count it). Make sure you have plenty of small bills, try for a few hundred dollars or all of it in small one dollar denominations. You may want a few higher dominations if needed but do not expect change. Carry cash in more than one place or pocket if you can. Also hide some if you can.

There will not be time to bargain hunt, and first come first serve will apply, but you may be able to bargain, and do not tell anyone how much money you are carrying.

Aspen Businesses Lose Millions After New Years Eve Celebrations Stopped by Bomber

Aspen bomber Jim Blanning, upset that his home town had gone from a laid-back atmosphere where he was born to a more glamorous and popularized destination for the vacationing elite and wealthy decided to take action by planting four bombs in downtown Aspen.

He sent a letter to newspapers claiming a fifth bomb in a "high-end watering hole," but police only found four bombs, which still caused them to close streets, forcing the closing of Aspens New Years Eve celebrations.

Two of the explosive devices were found at banks and two others on a sled in an alley. Police also said Blanning left notes threatening that Aspen would "pay a horrible price in blood" unless each bank gave him $60,000 in used $100 bills.

The devices consisted of a box in wrapping paper balanced on pizza boxes. Inside were rubber bladders holding 5 gallons of gasoline, a device that appeared to be a cellphone trigger and a mousetrap-type device to stop the explosives from being disarmed.

Though police were uncertain if the devices would have worked, police spokesman Bill Linn said at a news conference, the bomb squad detonated one that "resulted in a pretty big fireball."

Jim Blanning was found dead in his Jeep east of town of an apparent self inflicted gun shot wound.

On Thursday night, the town tried to recapture the magic, and some of the lost dollars, by rescheduling its many parties and shooting off fireworks. However, the police are stating that losses totaled into the millions of dollars.

At the Caribou Club, a swank below-ground restaurant and nightclub a party was planned for 180 guests with a special tasting menu with a price of $750 per plate.

Alex Noronha, manager of the popular bar and restaurant Cantina, said her restaurant and many others will have to refund the hundreds of party tickets they sold -- losing money they were counting on to make up for a lackluster season.

All over town, unused New Year’s Eve decorations still adorned restaurants as managers hoped people would come out for the celebrations they were not able to have the night before, many in Aspen’s service industry are feeling the sting.

UPDATE: Varanus Island Gas Explosion and Fire

“A State of Dependencies” resulted especially for Western Australia (WA), the largest Australian state by land mass.

What happened? On 3 June 2008 at 1340 hours (local time), an explosion occurred. There were no injuries and all personnel were accounted for. 153 employees were evacuated safely by helicopter and boat, although 14 remained to fight the resulting fire and monitor the situation.

The explosion and fire affected gas export pipelines that deliver gas for domestic and industrial use. Initially, it was thought gas supply would be affected for a number of days. When the damage was fully assessed and repairs began, reduced gas supplies continued for a number of months.

Source http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Apache_pipeline_fire_-_Varanus_Island,_Western_Australia

Progress on repairs - Partial gas supplies were restored in August 2008 with full production anticipated this month.

Impacts - WA’s gas supplies were initially reduced by 30%, which impacted on power generation with 2 power stations were recommissioned; mining; tourism and hospitality; alumina refining; ammonia and asphalt (bitumen or tar for road surfacing) production; logging; pork; and many other industries as well as reduced export earnings.

The Australian Treasurer, Wayne Swann reported as part of the National Accounts, a 0.25% reduction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the September 2008 quarter.

The WA State Government at the time of the explosion was voted out of government at an election called after the Varanus Island explosion, fire and the subsequent reductions in gas supplies.

Inquiries and reports – On 19 June 2008, Crikey, an online independent media source and popular in Australia provided photos and what it claimed was an anonymous WA gas worker’s account. This is available at http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20080619-WA-gas-worker-tells.html

There are three inquiries have been completed or underway.

1. The WA Department of Industry and Resources engaged National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) to investigate the cause of the pipeline rupture on Varanus Island. NOPSA reported to DOIR and their Minister released the report. It is available in hard copy on a request basis from Ryan Emergy (08) 9222 3333 or +61 8 9222 3333.
2. The Australian Senate Economics Committee reported on the impacts of the Varanus Island on 3 December 2008. This report is available online at http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/economics_ctte/wa_gas_08/report/report.pdf
3. Apache contracted Alert for an internal inquiry (NOPSA, VI report, p 11). It is uncertain whether this report will be made public.
4. The new WA Government is confirmed a further inquiry (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/21/2396850.htm?site=perth), but waited until the Senate inquiry reported and its findings were considered (http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/web/newwebparl.nsf/iframewebpages/Hansard+-+Advanced+Search).

In its Media Statement of 18 October 2008, Apache Northwest Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Apache Energy claimed the NOPSA report “premature and based on an incomplete investigation”. Managing Director, Tim Wall, Apache Energy, the Australian subsidiary of Apache Corporation, Houston, Texas, continued: “Apache disagrees with any conclusions drawn at this time about this unforeseeable event because they are premature and misleading.” NOPSA found “possible breaches of legislation” under the Petroleum Pipeline Act 1969 (WA).

Background - Apache Energy runs the Varanus Island gas processing facility http://www.apachecorp.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Corporation

Apache’s Australian operations in brief Exploration in Australia is focused in the offshore Carnarvon, Gippsland and Perth basins, where Apache holds 5.3 million net acres in 29 exploration permits, 10 production licenses, and five retention leases. Production operations are concentrated in the Carnarvon Basin with 10 production licenses, nine of which Apache operates. The Varanus Island processing and transportation hub is an important infrastructure asset [bolding added].

Thanks and cheers,

Chris Miller

Notes: See the previous post by Chirs Miller by going to the reference below.

Chirs Miller will be presenting a paper on Varanus Island at the 2009 Business Continuity Summit, Brisbane, Queensland, 25-26 March.