Aircraft Accidents Hail History of Natural and Man-Made Disaster within the Region There have been two aircraft 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. 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 Flow Study 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 Bill 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 Helene 8/12/04 Bonnie 0 0 0 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 Strom Dennis 7/5/05 Bertha 0 0 270K 0 0 150K 7/9/05 Hurricane Dave One 0 0 62.0M 6/12/06 Harvey 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. Wildfires 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 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