Topic: Wolf Creek Dam

I. Are you ready for disaster? Assess your risk

August 4, 2008 |

Editors Note: We are offering a reprint of this five-part article, published on Daily Kos and originally published online by AlphaGeek {9.9.05}. From the diaries — Plutonium Page. The series offers a practical way to assess risk and prepare a variety of disaster scenarios. The series will appear chapter by chapter at 3 p.m. today through Friday.

Something bad is going to happen, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

Preparing to deal with a disaster is like going off of a ski jump. If you put off your planning until things start happening, it’s far too late to make much of a difference. Once you’re headed down that ski jump, the time for planning and preparation is over.

On the other hand, being prepared for disaster does not have to be time-consuming or expensive. In this multi-part series of DailyKos Diaries, I will share with you, dear reader, many of the lessons I’ve learned regarding the most effective ways to prepare for an emergency.

This is the first installment in a multi-part series on personal disaster preparedness. Your humble correspondent is a Silicon Valley technical executive with both professional and personal experience in risk assessment and disaster-readiness planning. Links to reference materials, including planning guides and reference information, will be found at the end of the final Diaries in this series. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Education, Issues, News, Opinion | No Comments

Emergency Response teams ready for Wolf Creek Dam disaster

By Christine Anne Piesyk | August 17, 2007 |

Wolf Creek Dam. It’s a peaceful place in Kentucky, northeast of Nashville and the Clarksville area, and it’s a potential crisis in the making that emergency management officials are keeping their eye on. A wary eye. On the seepage, the erosion of its limestone base, and its sinkholes.

These and other factors that make Wolf Creek one of the five worst dams in the country, one with a high risk of failure. If Wolf Creek fails, parts of Clarksville will be underwater in about 33 hours.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Major Rehabilitation Report issued in 2006 recommended a $306 million fix for the Wolf Creek Dam, a project that began over a year ago and is expected to take four years to complete. (At right, workers inside the dam effecting repairs)

Failure of the Wolf Creek dam is scenario on the top of the list for Emergency Management officials at the federal, state and local levels; they meet weekly to address a multitude of issues that could affect our community at large, coordinating services and support systems for a safe and fast response if the worst should happen. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: News | 2 Comments

City Council plans town hall meeting to review final strategic plan

By David W. Shelton | July 28, 2007 |

Ward 2 City Councilwoman Deanna McLaughlin has released the final version of the Strategic Plan which was discussed at the summit during the weekend of June 10. Immediately after the summit, officials released a 21-point strategy. The document Councilwoman McLaughlin released is a much more detailed version of the initial report.

Areas of major focus were identified as Economic development and job creation, Infrastructure planning and development, Operations and communications, Public safety, Recreation and parks, and Standards and beautification. Each of the 21 points of the strategy touches at least one of these areas. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Politics | 2 Comments

Wolf Creek Dam failure scenario now available

By David W. Shelton | July 23, 2007 |

The City of Clarksville’s website now has a link on its front page to a website provided by Austin Peay State University which provides a model of the failure of Wolf Creek Dam. Wolf Creek Dam was finished in 1950 and was one of the first dams built under the flood control act of 1938. The map shows a potential rise of about 15 feet over its normal level.

The map outlines specific areas that would be affected should the dam fail. Nearly the entire area around the Two Rivers Center would be flooded, as would the Clarksville Fairgrounds, Jostens Printing and Publishing, and the new sports center for Clarksville Academy. Land near Big West Fork Creek, the Smith Station area, and several neighborhoods near the Red River would also be affected. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: News | 3 Comments