Federal Support As States Act In Advance Of Gustav
Release Date: August 29, 2008
Release Number: HQ-08-171b
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As states along the Gulf Coast begin voluntary evacuations and other activities in advance of Hurricane Gustav, which is expected to make landfall in the region over Labor Day Weekend, the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is coordinating the extensive support activities of numerous federal agencies in support of state actions. FEMA has also activated a planning team to monitor Tropical Storm Hanna and to initiate preliminary actions as it approaches the Southeastern coast.
FEMA encourages all residents in the region to make personal preparations. Residents are reminded to include text messaging in their communication plans in case cellular calls are limited. Information is available at www.Ready.gov on how families and individuals can best prepare before the storm.
With communities at risk from the Texas border to the Florida Keys, FEMA and its federal partners are in close communications with states along its potential path in order to pre-station assets and personnel as well as respond to any request for assistance. In one example of this teamwork approach: the State of Louisiana has provided a facility to be used as a shelter where the American Red Cross is providing the staff, FEMA is providing the supplies, and the Department of Health and Human Services is providing health care services.
Snapshot of Federal Activities:
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- FEMA's pre-positioned supplies available for distribution in Gulf Coast states include:
- More than 2.4 million liters of water (137 truckloads).
- More than 4 million meals (203 truckloads).
- 478 emergency generators.
- 141 truckloads of tarps.
- 267 truckloads of blankets and cots.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
- TSA has deployed 45 Transit Teams and 150 Transit Security Officers to facilitate the evacuation of critical transit need individuals.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - continued
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- CBP is providing 20 Law Enforcement Officers to help protect Search & Rescue efforts.
- CBP has deployed 100 law enforcement personnel to help with evacuation and contra-flow traffic issues.
- CBP will provide reconnaissance and imagery to improve situational awareness.
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
- DOT, through the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is working with states, airports, airlines and bus companies to facilitate evacuations.
- DOT is managing planned contra-flow traffic on major highways to allow for expanded evacuation efforts and is tracking fuel availability along evacuation routes.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- HHS has deployed nine Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, 11 Health Strike Teams, two Incident Command Teams and nine Federal Medical Stations, each with a 250-bed capacity, to the region.
- HHS has more than 1,000 public health support staff in the region assigned to support medical evacuations and to address health care needs.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- VA has evacuated at-risk patients from VA hospitals in the most exposed facilities.
- VA is providing emergency managers to federal and state operations centers and has 190 medical staff on-hand to staff additional Federal Medical Stations as needed.
U.S. Department of Defense, Northern Command (NORTHCOM)
- Activated four Defense Coordinating Officers to provide assessment and coordination.
- Designated three military installations as FEMA National Logistics Staging Areas to support forward distribution of supplies and equipment to affected areas (Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi; and Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi).
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
- USCG Cutter DECISIVE will be underway from Pascagoula, MS on Saturday, 30 August, to provide a Command and Control platform in the Gulf of Mexico if needed.
- Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River placed one Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) on standby and Sector Ohio Valley placed 3 additional DARTs on standby. DARTS have boats and personnel capable of conducting rescue in shallow water and urban environments.
- The Coast Guard currently has 19 Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters and 10 SAR fixed wing aircraft available at Mobile, New Orleans, Corpus Christi, and Houston.
- The Coast Guard will begin conducting pre-storm over flights of estimated land fall locations based on NOAA weather models to identify potential issues/threats this weekend.
National Guard Bureau (NGB)
- National Guard members in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are standing by with people and equipment. Personnel in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi have been activated to assist with evacuation and shelter operations.
- More than 65,000 National Guard personnel are currently available in the Gulf Coast region.
- Arkansas has entered into an Memorandum of Understanding with Louisiana to house up to 4,000 evacuees at Fort Chaffee, Ark., if Hurricane Gustav forces a mass evacuation
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
- USACE is managing levee protection and flood fighting activities and has deployed equipment and personnel to support these efforts.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- USDA provided information about how to keep food safe during power outages to the media in the Gulf Coast region.
- Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-674-6854 is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
- SBA has staff in Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi to coordinate activities with federal and state partners.
- Reservists have been activated to staff SBA's Disaster Customer Service Center (25 customer service reps), the Field Inspection Team (111 on stand-by), and the Processing and Disbursement center (59 loan offices; 10 attorneys).
- SBA's field offices are using marketing materials to get the word out about preparedness to residents and business owners in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
The American Red Cross (ARC)
- ARC has headquarters operational in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
- Pre-positioned 19 emergency response vehicles and has 196 additional vehicles on standby nationwide.
- Placed Disaster Field Supply Centers on standby and deployed shelter and kitchen trailers to Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.
- Working to identify additional shelter locations in adjacent states to support evacuation efforts.
Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)
- EMAC is coordinating requests from other, non-impacted states for support from Louisiana and Texas. Pennsylvania, Delaware and Ohio are among the states providing support for medical evacuations.
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: Friday, 29-Aug-2008 17:40:57