Wednesday, February 2, 2011

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather

Midwest
Bitterly cold conditions will persist over much of the northern and western United States today. Northerly winds in these cold air temperatures will result in very low wind chills including -30 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas.
South
Arctic air will move from the Southern Plains down into the Tennessee Valley and along the Gulf Coast and will produce a line of severe thunderstorms with high wind and moderate to heavy precipitation. Southern Georgia and the Florida Panhandle will see showers and isolated severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts possible.
Northeast
Freezing rain is expected across northern Connecticut, northern Rhode Island, and portions of eastern Massachusetts. Heavy snow, strong winds, and sleet are likely through New York State and into central New England and will result in frozen precipitation totals around 4 to 6 inches in some areas. Rain is forecast across southeast Massachusetts and southern Rhode Island which will limit any ice accumulations. Air temperature highs are forecast to be in the mid 20s.
West
Periods of light rain are expected in the Northern Intermountain range. High pressure building into the Central Great Basin will bring strong and gusty offshore winds to the area through Thursday. High temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees below average.
(NOAA and various media sources)
Major Winter Storm

The major winter storm and the dangerous wind chill temperatures behind it, continue to impact most of the United States. FEMAâs National Watch Center continues to monitor activities nationwide. See the National Weather Service website for the latest winter weather Watches, Warnings, and Advisories, http://www.weather.gov/largemap.php.
In anticipation of the severe winter weather the Governors of Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma declared States of Emergency on January 31, 2011. The Governors of Arkansas, Kansas, and Wisconsin declared States of Emergency on February 1, 2011.
In response to the storm, the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) is operating at Level II (Partial Activation with 24/7 operations) with Emergency Support Functions 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 15 activated. In addition, liaisons from the Department of Defense, NORTHCOM, U.S. Coast Guard, DHS Infrastructure Protection, DHS Office of Health Affairs, NOAAâs National Weather Service, Private Sector Liaison and the Remote Sensing Coordinator are activated in the NRCC.
FEMA Logistics pre-positioned water, generators, meals, cots and blankets at Fort Campbell, Ky. and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. These supplies are also pre-staged in Kansas City, Mo., Oklahoma City, Okla., Tulsa, Okla., and McAlester, Okla.
The FEMA Regional Response Coordination Centers in Regions I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII are operating at the Partial Activation level. FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMATs) were activated from Regions I, III, V, and VI, and are deployed to State Emergency Operations Centers within their regions. IMATs from FEMA Regions IV and VII are on alert. The National IMAT-East and the IMATs from Regions IX and X are on alert to provide back up support as needed.
FEMA Liaison Officers (LNOs), some of whom are Federal Coordinating Officers, are supporting from inside State Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs). FEMA LNOs are in EOCs in Ark., Conn., Ind., Ill., Kan., Ky., Mass., Mo., N.J., Ohio, Okla., Penn., and R.I. Other FEMA Liaisons are on standby as requested.
(FEMA HQ, FEMA Regions I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII)
Earthquake Activity

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurred on February 1, 2010 at 8:38 p.m. EST, 25 miles south of Sand Point, Alaska and 40 miles west northwest of Chernabura Island, Alaska, at a reported depth of 21.7 miles. There are no reports of damage.
(USGS)
Preliminary Damage Assessments

Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments are underway in New York, Oregon, and Washington State.
(FEMA HQ, FEMA Region II, FEMA Region X)
Disaster Declaration Activity

On Feb. 1, 2011, the President signed a Major Disaster Declaration (FEMA-DR-1953) to provide federal disaster aid for Maine to supplement local recovery efforts resulting from damages resulting from severe storms and flooding during Dec. 12-19, 2010. The declaration makes three counties and the Tribal lands of the Passamaquoddy Tribe eligible for the Public Assistance Program and all Maine counties eligible to apply for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The Federal Coordinating Officer for this disaster is James N. Russo.
(FEMA HQ)
Stay informed of FEMA's activities online: videos and podcasts available atÂ*www.fema.gov/medialibrary andÂ*www.youtube.com/fema; follow us on Twitter atÂ*www.twitter.com/fema and on Facebook atÂ*www.facebook.com/fema.


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