Response To Ike: Federal Agencies Support Search & Rescue, Safety Missions
Release Date: September 13, 2008
Release Number: HQ-08-212
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is working with its federal, tribal, state and local partners to keep people safe and coordinate rescue missions as Hurricane Ike moves across Texas and Louisiana. Ike remains a powerful storm as it moves inland. Residents should remain under shelter and wait for the storm to pass. It is extremely important for citizens to continue to listen to guidance and direction from state and local authorities. Safety should be everyone's first priority.
Local, state and federal emergency responders are engaged in search and rescue and life-saving efforts and are providing those in need with water, food, and medical care, while also taking appropriate actions to prevent crime and restore essential services.
Residents in the affected areas are reminded that power, water, sewage and medical assistance may be limited in the aftermath of a storm; evacuees should wait to return until essential services are restored. Immediately following the storm, local, state and federal officials will begin conducting damage and needs assessments.
The federal government is working with public and private sector partners throughout the Gulf region to protect and restore critical infrastructure and key resources including electrical power and telecommunications, water and wastewater facilities, and fuel availability. Federal entities will conduct assessment operations and will reopen airports and seaports as soon as possible with minimum effect on commerce and travel.
People outside the storm's path can help, too. Make a donation to a charity supporting our effort, such as the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org. FEMA has also partnered with the Aidmatrix Foundation to help companies and individuals offer their support online. This portal is designed to make it as easy to offer financial support, product donations, or to donate skills and time to nonprofit organizations active in disaster relief. To make a contribution or to volunteer, visit www.aidmatrixnetwork.org.
Overview of Federal Assets and Activities:
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- FEMA's pre-positioned staff and assets across the Gulf Coast region are supporting search and rescue operations and other life-saving and life-preserving activities. 527 Search and Rescue personnel and 120 vehicles are operating in Texas and 860 personnel and 80 vehicles in Louisiana (these numbers represent combined federal and state assets.)
- FEMA has commodities and emergency resources across Texas and Louisiana including millions of meals and bottles of water, tens of thousands of blankets and cots, and dozens of generators. Contracts have been activated to supplement existing resources without shifting resources from other disaster operations. FEMA is also working with the private sector and voluntary agencies to enhance their abilities to provide resources and support to communities before and after a storm.
- FEMA has personnel prepared to support operations in Oklahoma, Arkansas and other states as the storm continues to move north.
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
- USCG's top priorities are search and rescue operations and the protection and safety of life at sea, both for mariners and residents of the Texas coast. USCG has put additional ships, fixed and rotary wing aircraft, medical teams, disaster assistance response teams and other personnel on call to ensure a rapid response to Ike. 24 rotary wing aircraft and 9 fixed wing aircraft are available for these operations.
- USCG is also working with other local, state and federal agencies to plan for coordinated severe weather response operations, including search and rescue support, waterway and facility assessments, restoration of aids to navigation, responding to hazardous materials spills, transport of victims and providing airborne logistics support.
- USCG will conduct port assessment operations post storm. USCG forces will be deployed to conduct response, recovery and clean up operations immediately upon the storm passing. USCG's mission is to open the ports as soon as possible with minimum effect on commerce.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
- TSA has deployed more than 370 Transportation Security Officers to Houston-area airports who are prepared to re-establish airport operations once the hurricane passes
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- All residents should respond to local and state evacuation orders. ICE will not conduct immigration enforcement operations associated with evacuations.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- CBP has 300 personnel in Texas and 140 in Louisiana to support law enforcement missions.
- CBP has 18 aircraft prepositioned to conduct post storm assessment when the storm clears.
National Protection and Programs Directorate
National Communications System (NCS)
- NCS coordinates national security and emergency preparedness communications response and recovery efforts for federal, state and local leaders, emergency responders and leaders of critical infrastructure during emergencies.
- The NCS activated the Disaster Information Reporting System which collects communications data on wire line and wireless communications networks, broadcast transmitter systems, cable systems and public safety answering points during emergencies which provide NCS with a sense of the impact to the communications infrastructure.
- NCS activated the Shared Resources High Frequency Radio Network which augments FEMA's National Emergency Communications Network and the National Public Health Radio Network maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Infrastructure Protection (IP)
- IP and the Sector Specific Agencies have been working with the private Sector Coordinating Council to identify all impacted nationally significant infrastructure--currently focusing on electric power grids; oil, gas, and petrochemical facilities; pipelines and rail transportation; HAZMAT releases; and water and wastewater plants.
- 14 IP Protective Security Advisors have deployed to Texas (10) and Louisiana (4) to support the assessment of impacts to critical infrastructure, and to coordinate the prioritization of restoration efforts.
- IP is continuing to generate up-to-the-minute critical infrastructure impact assessments and computer modeling data. Products include water treatment facilities advisory, petroleum pipeline impacts and interdependencies; asset prioritization lists; affected hospitals, nursing homes, fire and police stations list. These assessments are being provided to private sector owners and operators, state and local response officials, and other relevant federal departments and agencies.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- NOAA's National Hurricane Center is monitoring Hurricane Ike as it continues inland. Weather forecast offices in the affected areas are monitoring Ike's impact and issuing watches and warnings as needed.
- NOAA aircraft are staged in Mobile, Ala. and San Antonio, Texas for damage assessment flights.
- NOAA navigation response crews will be conducting surveys in Sabine Pass, Galveston Harbor, and Houston as well as Pascagoula, Miss.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
- DOE is coordinating with electric utilities and cooperatives who are staging thousands of workers to assist in restoration. Assessments are expected to begin this afternoon. Restoration likely will be impacted by flooding from storm surge.
- The South Texas and Comanche Peak nuclear power plants in Texas did not shut down and are not expected to be affected by the storm.
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
- DOJ and its federal law enforcement components have prepositioned personnel to assist with any law enforcement matters that may arise from Hurricane Ike's landfall and stands ready to assist as needed.
U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
U.S. National Guard Bureau (NGB)
- NGB has sent a large multi-agency convoy that includes hundreds of people and vehicles to reinforce the hurricane relief efforts in southeast Texas.
- More than 3,000 National Guard Citizen-Soldiers and -Airman from 20 states are conducting search and rescue missions, damage assessments, and setting up points of distribution in support of Hurricane Ike response efforts.
- Nine National Guard C-130 cargo aircraft from three states evacuated almost 500 special-needs patients from Corpus Christi and Galveston, Texas.
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)
- Military search and rescue personnel and equipment are prepared to assist civil authorities in saving lives and preventing human suffering. Search and rescue is conducted as a fully integrated, interagency operation that includes federal, state, tribal and local governments, private sector, non-governmental organizations, and international partners.
- In total, the combined (DOD, USCG, National Guard) SAR efforts has nearly 100 helicopter search and rescue assets and four C-130s standing by to assist.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
- More than 800 USACE personnel are engaged currently in hurricane emergency response.
- USACE is poised to work with local, state and federal agencies to assess impacts to infrastructure from Hurricane Ike and begin restoring essential public services and facilities.
- USACE has pre-positioned key personnel and equipment so that it can perform debris removal, commodities procurement and delivery, temporary emergency power, temporary housing, temporary roofing, infrastructure assessment, and support to urban search and rescue missions.
- USACE is working with FEMA to conduct power assessments and pre-position generators for critical public facilities, such as hospitals, shelters, and water treatment facilities.
- USACE is monitoring all USACE-operated reservoirs, dams and facilities along the projected storm path of Hurricane Ike to respond to potential high water events resulting from Ike's rainfall, and is prepared to operate those assets as needed to provide regional flood damage reduction.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Veterans with urgent care needs who were evacuated from the path of the storm may contact any VA facility by dialing 1-800-507-4571. This phone number may also be used by families and friends looking for information about loved ones who were patients at effected VA facilities.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- HUD has public and multifamily housing assessment teams in position and ready to deploy once Hurricane Ike passes. The teams are responsible for determining long-term housing needs
- HUD is using the National Housing Locator (NHLS) to heavily target support for those in the Houston area as well as the rest of Texas. The NHLS is a searchable, web-based clearinghouse of available rental housing nation-wide. It allows HUD and its business partners, in particular state and public housing authorities, to deliver housing assistance by rapidly locating rental housing and available government-owned single family homes for sale during an emergency.
- HUD has identified more than 250,000 units in the region available through the NHLS.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- HHS declared Public Health Emergencies in Texas and Louisiana to ensure that individuals, including those enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) continue to receive their health care items and services. The action gives HHS' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs for its Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP beneficiaries.
- HHS is beginning its post storm medical and health care facility assessment and is prepared to support medical evacuation of health care facilities as needed and support medical assistance to the Urban Search and Rescue teams.
- HHS has a total of 18 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams already in Texas and Louisiana and is managing 4 Federal Medical Stations (FMS) in Texas with a 1,182 bed capacity.
- HHS will support the re-entry of evacuated patients back to their communities when it is safe to re-locate them. HHS has a 20-person patient advocacy team on the ground to support and coordinate the services for re-entry.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- CDC has deployed 16 staff members to Texas to assist state and local health departments in preparation for the landfall of Hurricane Ike. Among those personnel are teams with supplies and equipment to support FMS operations.
U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
- USPS is advising customers that as roads become impassable or unsafe for travel, mail delivery services will be curtailed, and mail collection schedules from mail collection boxes will be suspended.
- USPS liaisons are visiting shelters across the region to help residents who need to reroute their mail to a temporary address. Postal customers can also visit www.usps.com to check on their post office's status or to make a change of address request.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- EPA issued fuel waivers for gasoline sold or distributed in Ohio and Virginia, who join Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas in their ability to us winter fuel.
- EPA reconnaissance teams are pre-staged across Texas including EPA's specialty ASPECT aircraft, helicopter reconnaissance team, a Texas Strike Team, and a communication/satellite team.
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
- DOT has plans and pre-positioned equipment in place to accelerate thee ability to reopen roads, airports, rail lines and public transit systems following the storm.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
- SBA put on stand-by 3,500 Disaster Reservists to prepare to staff up SBA's Disaster Customer Service Center, the Disaster Loan Processing and Disbursement Center, and the Field Inspection Teams.
The American Red Cross (ARC)
- ARC is supporting federal search and rescue efforts by maintaining shelters in safe locations. ARC tends to the emergency needs of people once they've been rescued through the thousands of relief workers on the ground with food, shelter, counseling and other critical services.
- ARC has 155 shelters open with a population of more than 20,000 individuals. ARC has more than one million ready-to-eat meals; and once the storm passes, kitchens will be activated to serve up to 500,000 meals per day.
- More than 120 ARC Emergency Response Vehicles are on the ground and will begin delivering food, water and bulk supplies when it is safe to do so.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- USDA is providing 3,500 cases of infant formula and baby food to shelters in Texas.
- USDA is using public service announcements and working with local governments to educate residents about how to keep food safe during power outages and how to prevent food borne illness once families return to their homes.
- Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.
U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
- GSA's Office of Emergency Response and Recovery is coordinating escort for any trucks with critical shipments.
- Contracting and Acquisitions Officers are standing by to facilitate and expedite any required acquisitions.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
- OPM is activating its toll-free assistance hotline number (1-800-307-8298) for Federal employees and retirees residing in areas including the southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana coasts expected to be impacted by Hurricane Ike.
- Federal employees with access to the internet can receive updated and important information on benefits, flexibilities and payroll at www.opm.gov/hurricane/index.asp.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror. For more information on FEMA activities visit www.FEMA.gov and for more information on personal preparedness see www.Ready.gov.
Last Modified: Saturday, 13-Sep-2008 17:29:19