September 2005
History Points to Possible Disasters in Cincinnati
A picture of why Cincinnati is at odds with it's less fortunate
By D. S. Meyers
Queen City Forum Magazine staff
The devastation in New Orleans has brought out the armchair quarterback in all of us. In expressing our individually glorified views, it’s easy to quantify our own “safe” existences by judging the devastating events down south.
“The government should have done more.” Or, “The people should have gotten out like they were supposed to.” Or, “Didn’t they realize they were living below sea level?” Or, “There should be a commission on this matter.” We’ve all heard these statements.
All the while, we sit back critiquing the situation because these are the types of disasters that happen in other places. An earthquake in Turkey, wildfires in California and Arizona, a tsunami in Indonesia, etc. Disasters couldn’t possibly strike here in our modest city of Cincinnati. No way.
Darin Overholser / QCF cover art September 2005
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Mark Twain is often credited with saying (though it is yet unconfirmed) that if the world came to an end, he would want to be in Cincinnati because it’s twenty years behind the rest of the world. But could it happen here? Could a disaster destroy or, at the very least, paralyze this city? Below are four scenarios that are strongly possible. And that is because history has already shown they happen here.
Hazardous Material Spill. While it only made a few seconds of news nationally, anyone who lives in or near the East End can tell you about styrene. The spill occurred synchronously with Katrina last week.
Hundreds of people who live near the spill were evacuated from their homes. The spill was caused because the rail car containing the chemical had been sitting on the tracks for several months. The chemical that kept the styrene stable broke down. It was supposed to keep the styrene stable for a couple of months. But, somehow, the rail car was forgotten. It is not currently known if other chemical rail cars are parked anywhere else. |
Keep in mind that I-75 connects Detroit with Florida. Transient materials pass by the city every day. Another factor that adds to the danger is the bend in I-71 at the Lytle Tunnel. Tractor trailers have overturned more than 22 times since the redesign of Ft. Washington Way in 2001, according to an article in the Cincinnati Post.
Snow Emergencies. Agricultural wisdom states that blizzards only happen around here every ten to fifteen years. There was the blizzard of 1978; then there was a major accumulation in 1995-96. And, last winter, the city was paralyzed for a few days when the blizzard of Christmas Eve rolled in. The airport was shut down. The roads were closed with a Level 3 emergency, and the highway to Indianapolis was choked with jack-knifed tractor trailers. Salt was in short supply. The most relied upon functions were suspended. Mail stopped being delivered. It took the city days to dig out.
Social Unrest. The riots of 2001 serve as a stark reminder of how humans can create their own storm. Many of the rioters were from other towns and cities and came to this area for the sole purpose of destruction.
But it is important to point out that racial issues are not the only reason that social unrest can occur. In the hours following the September 11 attacks in 2001, many gas stations were inundated with customers who had heard that a major gas shortage was to follow. There were reports of gas stations practicing price gauging. A shortage of any major resource could cause a panic. This includes gas, food and water shortages. In other words, anything vital to survival in short supply could cause a public panic.
If you throw in an overzealous use of force by officials, much like what happened at Kent State University in May of 1970 – when four, unarmed student protestors were shot and killed – a worst-case scenario begins to form.
Flooding. This is the most worrisome scenario for Cincinnati. Much of Cincinnati and the surrounding area is situated on flood plains that were carved out by glaciers millions of years ago. What is left are low-lying areas around the East End where the Ohio River overflows during floods. There are plenty of historic accounts of such flooding.
The Flood of March 1997 peaked at 65 feet. At least 20,000 people were evacuated. It was serious enough that Riverfront Stadium was flooded as well as the buildings in that area. The flooding made it to Third street and halfway to Fourth Street.
The worst flood was that of January 1937, which exceeded 1997’s by another 15 feet. This time, 50,000 people were evacuated. The Ohio River has reached a flood stage of 60 feet eight times since 1937.
To say that there is a possibility of a flood worse than that of 1937 is a matter of speculation. Luckily, the warning signs for such an event lay up-river.
There is one common thread to all disasters in all parts of the world. From the tsunami in the Pacific to landslides in South America to starvation in Somalia, all disasters require human victims. While this may sound like a doom and gloom observation, it is important to keep the big picture in mind. Spelled out, victims of the tragedies we see on television and read about in the papers are people just like us. They are people who go to work, worry about bills, care for their families and stress about silly, everyday problems.
The silver lining to this report is that we are not likely to see the kind of devastation that happened in New Orleans. There are only a couple forces known to man that can equal that kind of devastation. But it does not exempt our community from the vicious turn the environment can take on us. Any loss of life that can be prevented should be prevented. The best prevention is to understand that, beyond our everyday worries, there is an environment outside our windows and windshields.
The next part of this series will deal with tips on getting through potential disasters.
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