UPDATE 1-East US port shut, evacuated in explosives alert

UPDATE 1-East US port shut, evacuated in explosives alert

www.reuters.com

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan 12 (Reuters) - North Carolina's Morehead City Port, a major import entry point for rubber and other commodities, was closed and evacuated on Tuesday after containers holding explosives were accidentally punctured, authorities said.

"As a precaution, they have evacuated the port area ... everything indicates this was by accident," a spokeswoman for the Morehead City Police Department told Reuters.

Morehead City Port is one of the deepest ports on the U.S. East Coast and its traffic includes imports of chemicals.

Morehead City Mayor Jerry Jones told CNN that emerg

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.cbsnews.com

EDIT: More Related News Links
BBC News Article
ABC News Article
CNN Article

[edit on 12-1-2010 by Studious]

It appears as if the port area of the city of Morehead N.C. is being evacuated due to punctured shipping containers holding "PETN".

"PETN" is the same explosive that was used in the Failed "Christmas Underwear Bombing" of Northwest Flight 253.


I have several questions...



1.) Are explosives regularly stored in this manner or did dockworkers initially believe the containers held something else?

EDIT:
I cannot confirm but it is probable that they knew what was in the containers when they were offloading them because the port does frequently handle hazardous material.

I also cannot confirm but it is probable that the people who transported the PETN notified authorities, which Mayor Jerry Jones says is required.

Jones said PETN is a crystal packaged in water for stability. He said the people who transport "any highly flammable explosive devices" have to and did notify the port and local emergency and police officials. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil said the substance has industrial and medical uses.

"Being an international port, we handle highly flammable explosive material all the time. Jet fuel comes through here all the time, gasoline, propane. So it's not unusual to have explosive material coming through Morehead City," he said.

(Emphasis Added)
CNN Article





2.) How were the containers punctured?

EDIT: Initial reports suggest the containers were punctured by a forklift.

The mayor of a coastal North Carolina town says a forklift operator accidentally punctured at least one container filled with a powerful explosive, forcing a port to shut down.

(Emphasis Added)
Source: news.yahoo.com...





3.) From the reports of the Christmas Bombing "PETN" is difficult to detonate. It does not explode if hit, burned etc...
Are they evacuating the town only as a precaution, or do they believe it could detonate?


EDIT: It sounds like they believe an explosion is (or was) at least possible.

"Right now our advice to everybody is if they're uncomfortable staying in downtown Morehead, to evacuate further west. And if they choose to stay home, stay away from windows and doors," Mayor Jerry Jones told CNN.

(Emphasis Added)
Source: CNN Article




4.) The article said military, police and fire officials were at the scene. So what is the military doing?

EDIT: Military Police fire and explosive ordnance crews were sent to the port.

Police, fire and explosive ordnance crews from nearby Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point arrived at the scene, and an incident command center was set up nearby.

(Emphasis Added)
Source: Same CNN Article




Despite all this the residents don't seem too concerned apparently...

Locals said there was no sense of panic. Drew Hall, who answered the phone at Crystal Coast Jamboree, a concert hall near the port, said she could see police lights.

"Everybody is going about their business," said Hall, 27 who has lived in Morehead City her whole life and does not remember a similar incident. "Why get nervous? Things happen. You can't freak out in times like this. If you freak out, you're going to go down."

(Emphasis Added)
Source: CBS News Article- Concern over PETN Closes N.C. Port



www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 12-1-2010 by Studious]

reply to post by Studious


Wow. This may be a present from someone who was looking to detonate the container. I haven't read the article yet, let me do that. Great find.

Edited to add. I just did a few searches and no one is saying why there are nine containers of the stuff in a North Carolina port. All they are saying is that it seems accidental. Right. S+F.

[edit on 12-1-2010 by jackflap]

Some more information on this. I am surprised no one else is following this.

“It’s pretty much a ghost town now,” said Liz Stewart, a bartender at Rap’s Grill and Bar, one block from the water. She had to park a half-mile from the bar, because the police had closed off the surrounding area. “We haven’t had a single person in all day, and we’re getting ready to close,” Ms. Stewart said, adding that the bar’s staff was informed that the spill may not be cleaned up until the late afternoon.

www.nytimes.com...


[edit on 12-1-2010 by jackflap]

i read this story on the o2 home page that comes up on the computer I'm at right now and they used the word voluntary evacuation. can anyone elaborate a bit more on what this means. i would appreciate it

I heard it was an involuntary evacuation....at least in the above video, he sounded like he said involuntary.

Couple in Obama's new martial law, and the fact that in the above video, he even mentioned, help from the marines.

They tried it, and sure enough no one shot the friendly faces when they came knocking, and kicking them out of there home. Giving virtually no news all day, where were these people moved to?!

I live in Morehead. Far as I know, it's all over. I've been at work all day, 20 miles away. I'll you know what i see when I go home.

www.witn.com...
Highway 70 Reopens After Explosive Spill At Port
Life is beginning to return to normal in Morehead City after a hazmat scare shut down the state port, closed a major highway and produced a voluntary evacuation of downtown.

Authorities say the PETN came from a foreign ship that was delivering the material. WITN News has learned the "Lehmann Forester" is a cargo ship out of Antigua and Barbuda. Officials say the ship originated in Spain.

The Port's reopening has been delayed as they continue to clean up the spill.

Officials said in a statement Wednesday that crews are maintaining the "utmost safety" in cleaning the spill. The port had been expected to reopen at 8 a.m. but officials did not set a new time after that target passed.

Source: ABC News Article





reply to post by ThirdJohnAdams

Originally posted by ThirdJohnAdams
I heard it was an involuntary evacuation....at least in the above video, he sounded like he said involuntary.

At 0:56-1:00 of the video jackflap posted the Mayor says "we will lift this voluntary evacuation out of downtown Morehead."

[edit on 13-1-2010 by Studious]