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☆ Why some Florida residents aren’t evacuating ahead of Hurricane Milton
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Paul P. Murphy | Michelle Krupa | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Traffic flows east Tuesday along Interstate 4 as residents continue to follow evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Milton. A motorist drives past broken utility poles downed by strong wind gusts as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida, on Wednesday, October 9. Chris O'Meara/AP David Jalving throws outdoor furniture into his father's pool in Fort Myers to prepare for Hurricane Milton. Julio Cortez/AP A man clears debris left by Hurricane Helene from his home in Treasure Island, Florida, on Monday. Marta Lavandier/AP A man in Progreso boards up an apartment building to protect it from Hurricane Milton on Monday.

Persons: Vivienne Marran, ”, Hurricane Milton, Marran, Helene, they’ve, we’ve, “ I’ve, ” Marran, Helene –, “, Holly Speckhart, Julio Cortez, ‘, Jane Castor, you’re, ” Speckhart, Ian – Bridgit, Budd, Milton, Fort, Ricardo Arduengo, Connor Ferran, Fort Myers, Joe Raedle, Paul Hennessy, Saul Martinez, Stephen Lundgren, Doug Engle, Payton Wyse, Andrew Goncharsky, Lee, Nicolette Mariano, Kaila Jones, Yamil Lage, Damon Higgins, Ted Carlson, McKenzie, Evan Purcell, Purcell's, Anna Maria Island, Carlson, Rebecca Blackwell, Hurricane Helene, Bryan R, Smith, Matthew Dominick, NASA Aurelio Ortiz, Lorenzo Hernandez, Mike Carlson, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Reuters John Fedor, Chris O'Meara, David Jalving, Marta Lavandier, Pete, Octavio Jones, Tristan Wheelock, Gerald, Martin Zetina, Gregg Newton, ” Anna Maria Island, William Tokajer, ” Tokajer, “ We’ve, we’ll, “ we’ve, I’ve, We’ve, who’d, –, “ you’ve, ” CNN’s Mary Gilbert, Rebekah Riess, Andy Rose, John Berman Organizations: Sol , Florida CNN, CNN, Hurricane, Tampa Bay, ” Tampa Fire Rescue’s, Milton, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Mayor, Orlando International Airport, Anadolu, Getty, Disney, Vanguard, School, Ocala, USA, Fort, Palm Beach Daily, Florida Army National Guard, Bradenton, Tampa General Hospital, NASA, International, Reuters, AP, Tampa International Airport, Bloomberg, AP Contractors, New Port Richey, AP Tropicana, Holmes Beach Police, Social, Isla del, Sunshine Skyway Locations: Sol , Florida, St . Petersburg, Gulf, Mexico, Tampa, Milton, ” Tampa, Hurricane, Ohio, Cincinnati, Sanibel, Fort Myers , Florida, Orlando, Ocala , Florida, Lee County, Fort Myers, Sebastian , Florida, Havana, Cuba, AFP, Palm Beach, Bradenton Beach, Tampa , Florida, Celestún, Port Richey , Florida, Tampa Bay, Treasure Island , Florida, St, Pete Beach , Florida, Fort Myers Beach, Progreso, New Port, St . Petersburg , Florida, Kissimmee , Florida, Florida, Isla, Isla del Sol, Holmes Beach

The Shore Acres neighborhood begins to flood from high tide in the Tampa Bay while Tropical Storm Debby approaches the gulf coast, in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S., on August 4. Octavio Jones/ReutersHigh-water rescues were underway Sunday night in Pinellas County, Florida, as incoming Hurricane Debby whipped up heavy rains, storm surge and dangerous flooding, emergency officials said. Emergency crews in the county, which includes the cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, were fielding very high volumes of 911 calls Sunday night. Between 5 to 10 inches of rain have fallen in the area and as many as four more inches are possible. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge — a key transportation artery in Lower Tampa Bay — has been closed “due to high winds and inclement weather,” the Florida Highway Patrol announced.

Persons: Octavio Jones, Debby Organizations: Tropical, Reuters, Emergency, National Weather Service, Sunshine Skyway, Patrol, The Clearwater Police Department Locations: Tampa, St . Petersburg , Florida, U.S, Pinellas County , Florida, Clearwater, St, Petersburg, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lower Tampa, Florida

(AP) — Rebuilding Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge could take anywhere from 18 months to several years, experts say, while the cost could be at least $400 million — or more than twice that. Realistically, the project could take five to seven years, according to Ben Schafer, an engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University. “The lead time on air conditioning equipment right now for a home renovation is like 16 months, right?" But experts say it's better to look to more recent bridge disasters for a sense of how quickly reconstruction may happen. Hota GangaRao, a West Virginia University engineering professor, said the project could cost as little as $400 million.

Persons: Baltimore’s, Francis Scott Key, Ben Schafer, “, Schafer, they’re, Dali, Jim Tymon, ” Tymon, Tymon, Joe Biden, Minnesota Sen, Amy Klobuchar, ” Klobuchar, ” Badie, Badie, Hota, That’s, ” GangaRao, ” Norma Jean Mattei, ” Organizations: Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, Sunshine, American Association of State, Transportation, West Virginia University, The University of New Locations: ANNAPOLIS, Md, Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Mississippi, Maryland, The University of New Orleans

“The tankers and cargo ships of 1950 aren’t the tankers and cargo ships of today,” said James Salmon, a spokesman for the Delaware River and Bay Authority. “It’s going to do a number on them,” he said of a modern ship and the hazard it poses to a bridge like the one in Baltimore. Image The new bridge ship collision protection system project on the Delaware Memorial Bridge will install eight stone-filled “dolphin” cylinders, each measuring 80 feet in diameter. Credit... Delaware River and Bay AuthorityThe situation with the Key Bridge is “unique,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which represents state transportation departments. A protection system was subsequently built around the new pier.

Persons: ”, James Salmon, Francis Scott Key, Michael Rubino, don’t, Joseph Ahlstrom, It’s, “ It’s, Dali, hurtled, Jim Tymon, ” John Snyder, Pete Buttigieg, “, Paul, Gerald Desmond Bridge, Matt Gresham, Joong Kim, Michael Forsythe Organizations: Bay Authority, Port, SUNY Maritime College, New York State, American Association of State, Transportation, National Transportation Safety, Sunshine Skyway, Administration, Baltimore Sun, Union, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Liberty University Locations: Delaware, Bay, Baltimore, Port of Los Angeles, . Delaware, Maryland, Tampa Bay, Tampa, U.S, Minnesota, Union Pacific, St, New York, Bayonne, New Jersey, Staten Island, Long Beach, Calif, New Orleans, Mississippi, Port of New Orleans

☆ Force of Ship Collision Was on the Scale of a Rocket Launch
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Aatish Bhatia | Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

Erin Schaff/The New York TimesForce of Ship Collision Was on the Scale of a Rocket LaunchThe container ship Dali appeared to move sluggishly before striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday. Experts disagreed on whether it was reasonable for any bridge pier to withstand a direct collision with a massive container ship. F = ma force mass acceleration F = ma force mass accelerationOur first task, and a major source of uncertainty, was finding those numbers. F= (100,000 to 195,000 metric tons) × (7.8 mph - 2.5 mph) / 38 seconds mass acceleration F= (100,000 to 195,000 metric tons) × (7.8 mph - 2.5 mph) / 38 seconds mass acceleration For the actual calculation, we used metric units. We tried one more method: using a formula to calculate the ship collision force published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the industry organization that publishes bridge safety standards.

Persons: Erin Schaff, Dali, Francis Scott Key, “, ”, Ben Schafer, Nii, Sherif El, Themistoklis Sapsis, Tawil Organizations: The New York Times Force, Empire, Saturn, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, M.I.T, American Association of State, Transportation, U.S . Army Corps, Engineers, Reuters, Sunshine Skyway Locations: Baltimore, Dali, Tampa Bay, Florida

Rock wall No obvious fender system Island Barrier Fender No obvious fender system Rock wall Island Barrier FenderHow Fenders Might Have Protected Against Bridge CollapseThe Francis Scott Key Bridge did not have an obvious fender system, or protective barriers, to redirect or prevent a ship from crashing into the bridge piers. Francis Scott Key Bridge Patapsco River Pier No obvious fender system Francis Scott Key Bridge Patapsco River Pier No obvious fender system The New York Times; aerial image via NearmapEngineers point out that some other bridges have more robust barriers. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City has rock walls surrounding its piers. Verrazano-Narrows Bridge New York Harbor Pier Rock wall STATEN ISLAND Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Pier New York Harbor STATEN ISLAND Rock wall The New York Times; aerial image via Vexcel ImagingIsland barriers were installed around the Sunshine Skyway Bridge piers in Tampa Bay, Fla., after a ship crash caused the span’s collapse in 1980. Sunshine Skyway Bridge Tampa Bay Pier Island barrier Sunshine Skyway Bridge Tampa Bay Pier Island barrier The New York Times; aerial image via Vexcel ImagingEven smaller bridges like this one near Cape May, N.J., have fenders.

Persons: Francis Scott Key Organizations: New York Times, Nearmap Engineers, Sunshine, Sunshine Skyway, Creative Composites, Times Locations: New York City, York, Pier, STATEN, Tampa Bay, Fla, Tampa, Cape May, N.J, county

☆ Bridge accidents: Three ships have hit bridges in Argentina, China and Baltimore in just three months
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

These events all happened within the first three months of this year – and all after collisions with large commercial ships. And a month earlier, a large cargo ship collided with the Zárate–Brazo Largo Bridges crossing the Prana River in Argentina, according to now-shuttered government-run news agency Télam – severely damaging the ship, though the bridge remained intact. By contrast, in the Baltimore example, the water channel and bridge are wide and tall enough to accommodate large vessels – and the cargo ship hit the bridge pier, not the bridge itself, Andrawes said. But even these measures can only do so much in the event of a large cargo ship collision, Mercogliano said, pointing to the Baltimore collapse. “And even when the ship hit those dolphins, the ship was so large it towered over them and actually struck the bridge itself.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, DALI, ”, Sal Mercogliano, Télam, Bassem, Andrawes, it’s, Mercogliano, Baltimore Steve Helber, there’s, Jerome Hajjar Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, University of Illinois, Sunshine Skyway, Coast Guard, Structural Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers Locations: Hong Kong, Baltimore, China, Argentina, Patapsco, Guangzhou, –, Largo Bridges, Urbana, Champaign, Florida

☆ The Baltimore bridge collapse raised questions about key safety features — experts say better ones may not have helped
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Francis Key Bridge collapse has ignited debates about the safety of America's infrastructure. AdvertisementThe 984-foot container ship that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse has raised questions about whether the structure could have been saved. AdvertisementAs the city grapples with the fallout, discussions have started to grow around the bridge collapse. A bridge engineering expert also pointed them out to the Sydney Morning Herald in an article discussing whether a similar bridge collapse could happen in Australia. Gao said that more robust protections "could have potentially prevented the bridge collapse."

Persons: Francis Key, —, Francis Scott Key, Dali, Donna Deegan, Colin Caprani, Mimi Gao, Donald O, Francis Scott Bridge, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, Wes Moore, Pete Buttigieg, Gao, Tim Broyd, Broyd Organizations: Service, Dolphins, Jacksonville, Dame, Sydney Morning Herald, Sunshine, Singapore Chamber of, Ships, New York Times, Getty, Maritime, Port Authority, Maryland Gov, University College London, UK's, of Civil Engineers, Engineers Locations: Singapore, Port, Baltimore, Florida, Australia, Port of Baltimore, AFP

The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of the container ship Dali after the bridge collapsed on Tuesday. After the 1980 collision, he argued, more substantial dolphins or a fendering system should have been added to the Key Bridge. “You knock out one of the support posts, the entire bridge collapses.”The Key Bridge is hardly unique among large bridges in its age. Some other bridges that cross major shipping routes are designed with more extensive protections than the Key Bridge’s. In the wake of the Key Bridge collapse and with the rise of larger container ships, some experts said that engineers should reassess necessary bridge safety features.

Persons: Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key, It’s, Dali, Francis Scott Key, Jim Watson, ”, Rick Geddes, Wes Moore, That’s, Jean, Paul Rodrigue, Martin Bernetti, “, Mark Wilson, Hussam Mahmoud, Rod Sullivan, Arthur Ravenel Jr, Savannah’s Talmadge, Los Angeles ’ Vincent Thomas Bridge, ” Geddes, Barzin Mobasher, Mobasher, ” CNN’s Daniel Medina, Majlie, Puy, Yahya Abou, Ghazala Organizations: CNN, Getty, Cornell University’s Program, National Research, Evening Sun, Coast Guard, Sun, Maryland Gov, Texas, M University, Galveston, National Research Council, Maryland Transportation Authority, Francis Scott Key Bridge, Colorado State University, Sunshine Skyway, Tampa Tribune, New, Bridge, Arizona State University Locations: Bridges, Baltimore, AFP, Nagoya, Dali, Panama, United States, Panama City, Baltimore , Maryland, Tampa, Florida, Charleston , South Carolina, Los Angeles

☆ U.S. Suicides Reached a Record High Last Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Julie Wernau | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A suicide-prevention barrier along the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg, Fla. Nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. lost their lives to suicide in 2022, according to a provisional tally. Photo: Douglas R. Clifford/Associated PressAmerica’s mental-health crisis drove suicides to a record-high number last year. Nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. lost their lives to suicide in 2022, according to a provisional tally from the National Center for Health Statistics. The agency said the final count would likely be higher. The suicide rate of 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people reached its highest level since 1941.

Persons: Douglas R, Clifford Organizations: Sunshine Skyway, Associated Press, National Center for Health Statistics Locations: St . Petersburg, Fla, U.S

TAMPA, Fla. — More than 2 million people in Florida were under orders to pack up and head east to safer ground Tuesday as Hurricane Ian barreled north from Cuba on a path toward Tampa. But Burks, who moved to Tampa in 2005 and has weathered several hurricanes since then, said he's not going far. Many Floridians in more rural areas like Polk County live in trailers that are especially vulnerable to high winds. “Just go straight across the state to Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach.”And "do not go north," because that's where Hurricane Ian is going, he said. Three bridges span Old Tampa Bay, two of which connect Tampa to St. Petersburg and the third of which links to northern Pinellas County.

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