Wednesday, May 12, 2010

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather

Midwest
Thunderstorm activity from Oklahoma to Kansas and southwestern Missouri will diminish today. Rain and showers overnight will diminish over the Great Lakes, with some rain or snow showers lingering this morning over northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; no significant amount of snow is expected. A new round of severe weather will develop today between western Illinois, eastern Kansas, and northern Oklahoma; large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes are possible. The highest threat of severe weather will be in the late afternoon through the evening.
NortheastÂ*
Showers and storms are forecast across much of Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia; a few of these storms could become severe, especially in the afternoon. The main threats will be damaging wind gusts and hail. The higher elevations of upstate New York and portions of the Catskills that are above 2,000 feet could see a few inches of a slush mix of snow accumulation this morning.
WestÂ*
Rain and snow over eastern Wyoming and north-central Colorado is expected to continue this morning; heavy snow is forecast across the higher elevations. The snow is forecast to move into western South Dakota and to taper off in the afternoon. The strong winds across the Southwest will become slightly weaker today and will remain only in New Mexico.
South
Some storms could develop in Oklahoma and Texas during the late afternoon and evening; these storms could become severe producing large hail and damaging winds.Â* A few showers are possible across North Carolina but severe weather is not expected for the Carolinas.
Central Plains & Mississippi Valley Tornado Outbreak

On May 10, 2010, a strong storm system moved across northern Oklahoma, south-central Kansas, western Missouri and northwest Arkansas bringing long-track tornadoes, baseball sized hail and damaging winds. Thirteen tornado touchdowns were reported in Kansas. Fourteen counties reported tornado activity during the evening, May 10, in Oklahoma.
Federal Actions:
FEMA Region VII has returned to Watch/Steady State. Preliminary Damage Assessment teams are available as requested. There were no requests for Federal Assistance.
(FEMA RVII)

Severe Weather: Recovery- Mississippi Valley/Southeast Update:

Current Situation:
Rivers and streams in western Tennessee will remain near or above flood stage for the next few days. The Cumberland River in TN is now below flood stage. Moderate flooding continues on the Ohio and Green Rivers in Kentucky which will continue for the next few days.
Federal Actions:
FEMA NRCC is at Level III (Partial Activation).
Region IV:
The FEMA Region IV Regional Response Coordination Center is at Level III (Partial Activation) with Emergency Support Functions 1,3,6,7,10, and 15. FEMA Liaisons are deployed to the Tennessee and Kentucky State Emergency Operations Centers. Region X Incident Management Assistance Team personnel are deployed to the Joint Field Office in Kentucky. FEMA Personnel from Region IX are on standby to deploy to Kentucky to support Region IV if needed. States of Emergency were declared in Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Mississippi Canyon 252 Update:

Unified Command / USCG Response:
Current Situation and Operations
The well head continues to discharge approximately 210,000 gallons of oil a day. Over 4 million gallons of oil-water mixture have been recovered as of May 11. Resources have been shifted away from the cofferdam, which is currently on the sea floor, to a smaller device called a âtop hat.â âTop Hatâ is expected to arrive on-site May 13; it could be up to 2 weeks before the top hat is functional. Four major rams are closed in the Blow Out Preventer (BOP) as verified by gamma ray scan imaging. A sonic scan was performed to determine the integrity of the riser; results are pending. Drilling operations for the relief well remain delayed until further testing of the riser and blow out preventer is conducted. All shipping channels and ports remain open in the Gulf Coast Region. Cleaning stations were established offshore and in the Mississippi River to remove oil from ship hulls. British Petroleum (BP), Houston continues researching 4 different options (containment, Blowout Preventer, top kill, and relief wells) to contain the source leak. A total of 428,307 gallons of surface dispersants and 27, 899 gallons of subsea dispersant are applied to date. Air monitoring was conducted between Venice, LA and Panama City, FL to address public concerns for oil vapors; no oil vapors were detected. Drill Rig III has reached a depth of 3,537 feet below the sea floor. Booming operations continue with approximately 1.4 million feet of boom assigned thus far. Thirteen staging areas are in place to protect sensitive shorelines: 3 in Alabama, 2 in Florida, 5 in Louisiana and 3 in Mississippi. 934 National Guard personnel from LA, FL, AL and MS are supporting the response activities.
Environmental Impacts
Recreational and commercial fishing areas remain closed in impacted areas of the Gulf of Mexico. Oil has been confirmed on Chandeleur and Free Mason Islands in wetlands and beaches. Skimmers have been deployed to Chandeleur Islands and the Rigolets (an 8 mile long straight in Louisiana). Tar balls found along a 2 mile strip on Dauphin Island, Alabama have been cleaned. Protective snare booms remain deployed around the island.Â* Florida Department of Environmental Protection reports beaches are open; no oil landfall is expected in the next 48 hours. Twenty-five National Wildlife Refugees adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico have potential for impacts from the oil spill.
(DHS SITREP)
Federal Actions
The lead federal agencies responding to the incident are the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of Interior(DOI).

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity.(FEMA HQ) Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level 1
National Fire Activity as of Friday, May 10, 2010:Â*
There were 43 new light fires, one new large fire, one contained large fires and two uncontained large fires affecting the states of Arizona, and New JerseyÂ*(NIFC)
Disaster Declaration Activity

On May 11, 2010, the President declared a major disaster declaration for Kentucky (FEMA-1912-DR) as a result of severe storms, flooding, mudslides, and tornadoes from May 1, 2010 and continuing. The Declaration provides the Individual Assistance program for eight counties and the Public Assistance program for seven counties and Hazard Mitigation statewide. Douglas G. Mayne was appointed Federal Coordinating Officer for the recovery operation.


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