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National Situation Update: Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

South Florida: Mostly cloudy with highs in the low 80’s. Chance of precipitation is 40 per cent in the west and south to 70 percent in the central area with isolated thunder showers before 11:00 AM.

West: The Pacific Northwest will experience a lull before strong storms return on Thursday. Locally heavy snow is possible in the higher mountains of central Idaho, southwest Montana and northwest Wyoming. Temperatures are expected to be near or above seasonal means.

Midwest, Northeast and South: Weather is expected to be dry and mild except for scattered showers possible in New England and upper New York State. (National Weather Service)

Hurricane Quick Facts

• Donald Powell, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, will replace Vice Admiral Thad Allen as overseer of the Federal government's disaster recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast. Admiral Allen is to depart by year’s end.
• Governor Blanco has called Louisiana lawmakers into a special 17-day session to consider recovery measures for hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• Governor Bush waived class size requirements for Hurricane Wilma-affected districts in Florida Tuesday, and granted schools waivers from the 180-day school year.
• State fatalities attributed to Katrina are: Louisiana, 1,067; Mississippi, 229; Florida, 14; and Alabama 2; for a total of 1,312.
• The Florida State Medical Examiner has confirmed 26 fatalities are attributed to Hurricane Wilma.
• The US Army Corps of Engineers Blue Roof Program has repaired 90,159 roofs for Hurricane Katrina, 27,595 for Hurricane Rita and 150 for Hurricane Wilma for a total of 117,904 repairs in four states.
• There are 96 Disaster Recovery Centers in operations; they recorded 12,323 visitors on October 31.
• As of October 31, the shelter population for Hurricanes Katrina/Rita is 3,256. The shelter population for Hurricane Wilma is 1,663.
• As of November 1, 38,674 transitional housing units (travel trailers, mobile homes, ship board cabins and FEMA alternative housing) have been made ready for occupancy and 34,938 are occupied. (FEMA HQ, media sources)

Wildfire Season 2005 Summary

More than 8.2 million acres of state and federal lands were scorched across the country during the 2005 wildfire season, the most since the record year of 2000 and nearly double an average fire year. The season-ending “National Wildland Fire Outlook” Report, issued Tuesday found the 56,850 fires reported in the 2005 season was 81 percent of average while the more than 12,700 square miles burned was 177 percent of average.

More than half the acreage burned this season was in Alaska, where 4.4 million acres had burned through Oct. 30, compared to an annual average of 1.4 million but short of the historical high of 6.6 million acres in 2002. The western Great Basin region of eastern Nevada, western Utah and southern Idaho accounted for more than 1 million acres burned this year, compared to the annual average of 379,000 acres.

Federal agencies are still calculating 2005 suppression costs, but the Department of Interior's running tally Tuesday was $258 million, not counting the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Figures from the Forest Service, part of the Department of Agriculture, were not immediately available. Officials anticipate that the final firefighting price tag for 2005 will be low in contrast to the acreage burned.

In the 2000 wildfire season, 8.4 million acres burned and federal agencies' share of the suppression cost was $1.3 billion. Last year, federal agencies spent $890 million to fight fires that burned a total of 4.8 million acres. (National Interagency Fire Center)

Tropical Activity

Cloudiness and showers continue in association with a tropical wave over portions of the eastern and central Caribbean Sea and the adjacent land areas but upper-level winds are not favorable for tropical cyclone formation.

The remnants of Atlantic Tropical Depression Beta are located about 150 miles south of El Salvador. There are no signs of redevelopment. (NHC/TPC, Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

No significant activity. (USDOI/USGS, National Earthquake Information Center)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity. (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

FEMA-1603-DR, Louisiana, has been amended effective November 1, 2005 to provide notice that the incident period for this disaster is closed effective November 1, 2005.

FEMA-1607-DR, Louisiana, has been amended effective November 1, 2005 to provide notice that the incident period for this disaster is closed effective November 1, 2005. (FEMA HQ)