Thursday, May 13, 2010

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather

Midwest
Showers and thunderstorms, some severe, will continue from Oklahoma to the Ohio Valley as the storms move eastward today. The areas that may see the heaviest rain are from northern Missouri to southern Michigan; rainfall amounts of 2-3 inches are possible with localized flooding likely. Central Illinois through Ohio will see the highest threat for severe thunderstorms; these severe thunderstorms are likely to have heavy rain, damaging wind, and large hail with a few tornadoes likely. Lingering rain and snow showers are likely in western sections of Nebraska and South Dakota while the northern Plains and upper Midwest will see lighter showers.
NortheastÂ*
Afternoon showers are likely over sections of upstate New York, western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
WestÂ*
The heavy snow over parts of Wyoming and northern Colorado will decrease but snow showers will continue to linger. Later today a few showers and thunderstorms may develop over Utah.
SouthÂ*
Scattered strong, to possibly severe, thunderstorms will develop from northern Arkansas to central Texas; a few scattered thunderstorms are also possible over the higher elevations of Virginia and North Carolina.
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. As of May 12, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma have assumed normal operations.
(FEMA RVI)
Federal Actions:
FEMA Region VII has reactivated to Level III (Monitoring). Preliminary Damage Assessment teams are staged to deploy as needed. There were no requests for federal assistance.
Severe Weather: Recovery- Mississippi Valley/Southeast Update:

Current Situation:
The majority of rivers and streams that were impacted by the storms occurring May 1-2, 2010, are below flood stage.
Federal Actions:
FEMA National Response Coordination Center is at Level III (Partial Activation).
FEMA Region IV Regional Response Coordination Center is at Level III (Partial Activation) with ESFs 1,3,6,7,10, and 15. FEMA Liaisons are deployed to the Tennessee and Kentucky Emergency Operations Centers. Region X IMAT personnel are deployed to the Joint Field Office in Kentucky and personnel from Region IX are on standby to deploy to Kentucky to support Region IV as needed. Joint Individual Assistance and Public Assistance Preliminary Damage Assessments are ongoing in the region. FEMA Logistics transported 5.8 million liters of water and 1.1 million meals to Tennessee. There are 20 Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers currently operating in Tennessee. A Joint Field Office and Area Field Offices are being established.
(FEMA RIV)Â*
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 to date. Resources have been shifted away from the cofferdam, which is currently on the sea floor, to a smaller device called a âtop hat.â It could be up to 2 weeks before the top hat is functional. A pressure gauge was successfully installed on the Blowout Preventer. Readings from the pressure gauge on the Blowout Preventer indicate a restriction in oil flow. 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. A total of 436,246 gallons of surface dispersants and 27, 899 gallons of subsea dispersants have been applied to date. All dispersants operations suspended pending an operational audit and all in Situ Burn/skimming operations have been suspended due to weather conditions. Booming operations continue with more than 1.5 million feet of boom deployed. Thirteen staging areas are in place to protect sensitive shorelines: 3 in Alabama, 2 in Florida, 5 in Louisiana and 3 in Mississippi. Air monitoring was conducted between Venice, LA and Panama City, FL to address public concerns for oil vapors; no oil vapors were detected.
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 were cleaned. Protective snare booms remain deployed around the island. 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.
(DHS National Operations Center)
Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity.Â*(FEMA HQ) Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Earthquake Activity

On May 13, 2010, at 1:35 a.m. EDT, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake occurred 106 miles west from Gold Beach, Ore. and 120 miles west-northwest of Crescent City, Calif. at a depth of 6 miles. There were no reports of damage or injury or of a tsunami being generated.Â*(USGS)Â*
Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level 1
National Fire Activity as of Wednesday, May 12, 2010:Â*

• Initial attack activity: Light (185 new fires),
• New large fires: 2, Large fires contained: 2, Uncontained large fires: 4
• States affected: FL, AL and AZ (NIFC)

Disaster Declaration Activity

On May 12, 2010, the President declared a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of New Hampshire (FEMA-1913-DR) as a result of severe storms and flooding occurring March 14-31, 2010. The Declaration provides Public Assistance for one county and Hazard Mitigation statewide. James N. Russo was appointed Federal Coordinating Officer for the recovery effort.


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