History of Natural and Man-Made Disaster within the Region

Aircraft Accidents

There have been twoaircraft accident resulting in casualties within the past 50 years.

Date / Number of Passengers / Number of Casualties
4/4/1962 / 51 / 17
11/4/88 / 4 / 4

The 1962 crash occurred at the airport while the other crash was a small plane that was forced to make an emergency landing in local a field but struck a tree and burst into flames killing everyone on-board.

Hail

The worst hail in the region occurred in 1998 when a thunderstorm produced 2.1 inch hail stones.

Date / Magnitude / Property Damage / Crop Damage
11/2/1992 / 0.75 Inch / $4,000 / $0
2/22/1998 / 2.10 Inch / $350,000 / $0
3/7/1998 / 1.75 Inch / $75,000 / $4,000
7/20/2000 / 0.75 Inch / $5,500 / $24,000
5/5/2005 / 0.90 Inch / $5,000 / $15,000
5/9/2006 / 0.88 Inch / $3,000 / $14,000
7/29/2006 / 0.75 Inch / $7,000 / $9,0000

Drought

During late spring and mid-summer drought presents its greatest risk to residents of the region.Droughts have occurred as recently as 2007. During this drought the region experienced three months of very dry weather. 47 private water wells dried up during this drought.

Flooding

During the winter months the region experiences it rainy season where as much as two to three inches of rain an hour can fall as cold fronts move through the area.

Date / Property Damage / Crop Damage
4/3/1989 / $200,000 / $100,000
1/4/1991 / $750,000 / $0
2/4/1997 / $3,300,000 / $0
1/14/2001 / $600,000 / $0
3/17/2004 / $550,000 / $47,000

During the 1998 flood 47 homes sustained major damage.

Hazardous Material Incidents

The latest Hazardous Material Commodity FlowStudy for the region indicates that a large number of tanker trucks traverse the region via two interstate highways transporting a number of toxic chemicals and petroleum products.

There is also a CSX Railroad line several miles west of Northtown and the same study indicates that very large quantities of hazardous materials are transported via rail car through the region on a daily basis.

Hurricane

Hurricanes have affected the region numerous times during the past 20 years.

Date / Type / Category / Deaths / Injuries / Property Damage
6/5/95 / Hurricane Allison / One / 0 / 0 / 0.9M
10/4/95 / Hurricane Opal / Two / 0 / 0 / 1.0B
10/7/96 / Tropical Storm Bill / Tropical Storm / 0 / 0 / 0
9/2/98 / Hurricane Earl / One / 2 / 2 / 2.7M
9/28/98 / Hurricane Georges / One / 0 / 1 / 3.4M
9/21/00 / Tropical Storm Helene / Tropical Storm / 0 / 0 / 0
8/12/04 / Tropical Storm Bonnie / Tropical Storm / 0 / 0 / 155K
9/5/04 / Hurricane Ivan / Three / 0 / 0 / 1.7M
9/15/04 / Hurricane Jeannie / One / 6 / 16 / 1.4M
6/10/05 / Tropical Strom Dennis / Tropical Storm / 0 / 0 / 270K
7/5/05 / Tropical Storm Bertha / Tropical Storm / 0 / 0 / 150K
7/9/05 / Hurricane Dave / One / 0 / 0 / 62.0M
6/12/06 / Tropical Storm Harvey / Tropical Storm / 0 / 0 / 250K
9/11/08 / Hurricane Gustav / Two / 0 / 0 / 25K

Severe Thunderstorms

Sustained winds of 89 mph have been recorded in the region due to thunderstorms. They have caused widespread power line damage and power outages due to toppled trees and broken limbs.

Date / Property Damage / Crop Damage
8/10/92 / $0 / $0
9/12/92 / $0 / $0
11/4/92 / $0 / $10,000
12/9/92 / $0 / $0
12/9/92 / $0 / $2,000
8/15/94 / $500,000 / $25,000
7/18/95 / $0 / $0
2/22/98 / $0 / $0
2/28/99 / $200,000 / $45,000
5/7/99 / $2,200,000 / $95,000
5/7/99 / $50,000 / $0
8/14/99 / $10,000 / $5,000
3/29/00 / $15,000 / $0
7/20/00 / $300,000 / $25,000
7/24/00 / $25,000 / $0
8/9/00 / $2,000 / $15,000
9/6/00 / $50,000 / $0
3/20/01 / $0 / $10,000
3/12/02 / $50,000 / $0
3/7/05 / $10,000 / $0
5/10/06 / $1,000 / $0
7/19/06 / $3,000 / $0

Terrorism

Northtown serves as both a bedroom community and a weekend getaway location for a major metropolitan area 10 miles to the west. Due Northtown’s proximity the major metropolitan area there is an increased threat of terrorism.

Tornadoes

During the past 40 years there have been 12 tornados strike the region.

Date / Magnitude / Deaths / Injuries / Property Damage
5/11/1972 / F-1 / 0 / 0 / $3,000
1/12/1975 / F-2 / 0 / 15 / $373,000
9/13/1979 / F-1 / 0 / 0 / $93,000
10/13/1986 / F-0 / 0 / 1 / $46,000
5/14/1988 / F-1 / 0 / 0 / $2,000
4/13/1988 / F-2 / 2 / 0 / $2,343,000
10/7/1989 / F-1 / 0 / 1 / $643,000
1/3/1993 / F-0 / 0 / 0 / $2,000
10/26/1997 / F-1 / 0 / 0 / $153,000
6/5/1998 / F-0 / 0 / 0 / $7,000
3/15/2002 / F-2 / 0 / 0 / $537,000
3/27/2009 / F-0 / 0 / 0 / $78,000

Wildfires

High values of the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) are an indication that conditions are favorable for the occurrence and spread of wildfires, but drought is not by itself a prerequisite for wildfires. Other weather factors, such as wind, temperature, relative humidity and atmospheric stability, play a major role in determining the actual fire danger.

Found below is a listing of wildfires by cause that have occurred in the region between 1/1/2006 and 1/1/2011.

Cause / Fires / Acres
Campfire / 12 / 86.7
Children / 47 / 595
Debris Burn – Broadcast / Acreage (Authorized) / 35 / 1,327.8
Debris Burn – Piles (Authorized) / 26 / 62.4
Debris Burn – Yard Trash (Authorized) / 84 / 211.7
Debris Burn – Broadcast /Acreage (Non-Authorized) / 33 / 206.7
Debris Burn – Piles (Non-Authorized) / 43 / 659.7
Debris Burn – Yard Trash (Non-Authorized) / 112 / 450.8
Equipment – Agriculture / 18 / 124,8
Equipment – Logging / 10 / 15.1
Equipment – Recreation / 11 / 73.3
Equipment – Transportation / 39 / 45.3
Incendiary / 97 / 1,667.8
Lightning / 180 / 4,446.7
Miscellaneous – Breakout / 5 / 44.5
Miscellaneous – Electric Fence / 4 / 16
Miscellaneous – Fireworks / 8 / 2.7
Miscellaneous – Power Lines / 24 / 142.3
Miscellaneous – Structure / 18 / 90.2
Miscellaneous – Other / 29 / 83.7
Railroad / 9 / 60.4
Smoking / 47 / 283.2
Unknown / 96 / 742.9
Total / 987 / 11,446.9

Formidable Footprint National Neighborhood Exercise Series