Emergency and disaster management briefing for December 13, 2021: Severe weather spawned multiple deadly tornadoes across several Midwest and Southern states and rescuers are still searching for victims; the Log4Shell vulnerability hack may be the worst ever in history; strong winds may have caused the power outage that shut down the Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels on I-70 in Colorado; the NWS confirmed at least seven tornadoes touched down in middle Tennessee on Friday night; Coca-Cola recalled three of its Minute Maid beverages for possible foreign matter contamination; the earthquake swarm continues off the coast of Oregon; according to IAFC, suicide is the number one cause of death among firefighters; and a new disaster medicine online training module is now available that addresses the identification and treatment of sepsis in patients.
1. Severe weather spawned deadly tornadoes across multiple Midwest and Southern states late Friday night. One tornado traveled more than 230 miles, passed through four states, and caused widespread damage in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Kentucky is still searching for tornado victims who may have survived. As many as 100 people may have perished, with at least 14 deaths in four other states from the deadly tornadoes.
Aerial footage show aftermath of deadly Kentucky tornadoes https://t.co/SMb1iWOXNv pic.twitter.com/4A4AHogEc4
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 12, 2021
2. Hackers have exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Log4Shell in the Apache Log4j Java-based logging platform. The vulnerability exploits servers because hackers are able to execute a command that changes a user agent to a special string. IT departments are also seeing the installation or attempted installation of malware, the downloads and installations of cryptominers, the use of botnets, and other malicious attacks to scan and exfiltrate information from servers.
Video Experts say possibly biggest #hack in computing history could be underway – #log4shell https://t.co/EJAx5NJ5vh
— Michael Warren (@michael_warren) December 13, 2021
3. The Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels on I-70 in Colorado lost power on Sunday afternoon. Officials believe strong winds may have played a part in the power outage, which closed both east and westbound lanes. The outage occurred just before 1 p.m., and power was restored around 3 p.m.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Interstate 70 is closed at the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels due to a power failure inside the tunnels, CDOT reported Sunday afternoon https://t.co/hb44cB1niV
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) December 12, 2021
4. The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed that at least seven tornadoes touched down in middle Tennessee on Friday night. The tornadoes were spawned by severe weather moving through the region and were rated anywhere from an EF-0 to EF-2 with wind speeds of up to 135 mph. Surveys of the damage will continue on Monday by the NWS in both Tennessee and Kentucky.
7 confirmed tornadoes in Middle TN Fri into Sat. The majority happened after 2am CT Sat. More surveys are ongoing today.
— Alison Pryor (@AlisonPryorWRCB) December 13, 2021
1. DICKSON – EF2
2. STEWART – EF2
3. KINGSTON SPRINGS – EF2
4. BURNS – EF1
5. PERCY PRIEST/MT JULIET – EF1
6. HUMPHREYS – EF1
7. HICKMAN – EF0 pic.twitter.com/KYciZNzy47
5. The Coca-Cola Company issued a voluntary recall of several of its Minute Maid drinks due to alleged foreign matter contamination. The company issued the recall for Berry Punch, Fruit Punch, and Strawberry Lemonade, which were sold in eight states: Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. An estimated 7,000 cases of the drinks may have been sold and may be contaminated with metal pieces according to the recall notice.
If you have a Coca-Cola, Minute Maid, or Sprite product in your fridge, you should take a look at two recent recalls by Coca-Cola.
— WEAR ABC 3 (@weartv) December 13, 2021
https://t.co/K8cj7PnM7N
6. The earthquake swarm off the coast of Oregon continues with a magnitude 4.4 quake that occurred on Sunday. The quake was centered about 260 miles from Newport at a shallow depth of about 6.2 miles, although there was no danger of a tsunami. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake took place along the Blanco Fracture Zone, where the current earthquake swarm has been ongoing.
Earthquake swarm continues with magnitude 4.4 temblor off Oregon coast https://t.co/Aj5xiSe4W3 pic.twitter.com/p0i9nl1yF1
— The Oregonian (@Oregonian) December 13, 2021
7. According to a report by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), more firefighters die from suicide each year than in the line of duty. The report, “The 2021 Yellow Ribbon Report Update: Best Practices in Behavioral Wellness for Emergency Responders,” was originally published in 2017, but its need prompted the comprehensive update. Behavioral wellness is reportedly an overwhelming concern for most fire departments, and the report offers recommendations and solutions that can help first responders and firefighters.
EMR-ISAC InfoGram Dec. 8 – IAFC releases update to Yellow Ribbon Report; NFPA releases consolidated hazmat standard, NFPA 470 https://t.co/QManfXPb49
— Gate 15 (@Gate_15_Analyst) December 9, 2021
8. An agency partnership created a new virtual training that addresses the identification and treatment of sepsis. Meant for disaster situations, the new virtual training, “Disaster Medicine: Sepsis,” is a 70-minute module that addresses a gap in training that exists in traditional disaster medicine, including recognition and management of patients who are at risk of sepsis, screening, stabilization, and the evacuation of those developing or who already have sepsis. The course is free; however, registration is required through the Sepsis Alliance Institute, where additional information can be found on sepsis.
There a gap in disaster medicine, identification and evacuation of sepsis patients. https://t.co/Iq59zVDar9
— JEMS – EMS (@jemsconnect) December 9, 2021
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