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National Situation Update: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

South
Tropical Storm Hanna produced 4 to 8 inches of rain across parts of the eastern Carolinas Saturday; however most of the South will be warm and dry today. The Gulf Coast and Florida continue to track Hurricane Ike as it moves west- southwest toward the Bahamas and Cuba.
Northeast
Hanna made landfall Saturday morning near the South Carolina/North Carolina border producing tropical storm-force winds and locally heavy rains along the east coast from South Carolina to Maine.

Hanna has spread heavy rain and windy conditions throughout portions of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast with heavy rain reported in the major metropolitan areas of Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York and Boston with most areas receiving generally 2-4 inches of rain with some locations receiving up to 6-7 inches of rain.

There have been numerous unconfirmed media reports of local street/highway, urban and residential flooding in many areas along the East Coast but no significant damage has been reported. Communities will be conducting local damages assessments on Sunday.

Weather conditions will be improved in the New England area this morning; however, some rain and strong winds may continue across northern Maine. Flood warnings continue for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, caused by remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna.

Midwest
A series of fronts will cause rain through the northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Additionally, another front will produce showers and scattered thunderstorms from the northern and central Plains to the Great Lakes today. More showers will extend from the central Plains to the Great Lakes by Monday.
West
It will be dry across the West, with the exception of a few showers across Montana and Wyoming. Highs will range from the 50s and 60s in Montana to between 100 and 120 in the Desert Southwest and in the upper 90s to triple digits in the Central Valley of California.  (NOAA, National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Ike and Hanna Federal / State Preparation and Response

FEMA East Coast Regional Response Coordination Center
Activated to Level I. Regions I, II, and III have a combined staff dedicated to Hanna and Ike, referred to as the "East Coast RRCC" to coordinate preparation and response operations along the East Coast.

FEMA Region I:
Activated at Level III.

FEMA Region II:
RRCC activated at Level III (normal operations).
New York
The EOC will be operational Saturday and Sunday. The NYC Flash Flood Emergency Plan has been activated. NYC OEM is reporting Amtrak disruptions on the Northeast Corridor. No rail service in both directions from NY to Boston; this interruption is expected to last until Sunday morning.

FEMA Region III:
RRCC activated at Level I, 24/7 operations. Maintaining Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) support. ERT-A is deployed to Raleigh, NC EOC. Region III has no unmet needs and State EOCs are demobilizing.
Virginia (Hanna)
No significant flooding occurred east of I-95, and no significant river flooding is anticipated. Three confirmed storm-related fatalities (motor vehicle collisions). Power outages reported - 7,000 as of 9:00 p.m. EDT Saturday. Port of Hampton Roads reopened at 6:00 p.m. EDT Saturday; Port of Richmond remains closed. (VA DEM spot report #3, 2100 Sept 6)

Maryland (Hanna)
The State EOC decreased staffing to Level I at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday. Staffing will increase to Level II at 9:00 a.m. Sunday to support needs of local jurisdictions and to begin plans for preliminary damage assessments, should local jurisdictions or State agencies begin to report sufficient damage. Power Outages: As of 9:00 p.m. Saturday, 19,524 customers remain without power. Dorchester County reports damage to roads from waves and flooding in lower Cambridge. Crisfield is reporting the town is flooded; however, the water is receding. 

FEMA Region IV:
RRCC Level I, 24/7. Region IV IMAT deployed to Tallahassee, FL. ERT-A deployed to Tallahassee, FL.
Florida
Activated at Level II; (Partial Activation). In preparation for Hurricane Ike the State issued a mandatory evacuation of all visitors and non-residents, RV's travel & boat trailers for Sunday, September 7. EMAC management staff and Logistics specialists have been deployed to Florida. Mandatory visitor evacuations began in Monroe County on Saturday, September 6. Special needs evacuations will be executed by Monroe County beginning today, September 7. Mandatory resident evacuations will be ordered to begin today, Sunday, September 7. Key West Transit will drop residents at the shelter at Florida International University (FIU).Two Search and Rescue Teams are staged in Jacksonville, FL. American Red Cross (ARC) moving assets to Orlando, and will relocate them to the Gulf States if needed. Florida is conducting daily conference calls to plan for Hurricane Ike. Sheltering and feeding operations will commence to support evacuations from Monroe County. The Salvation Army (TSA), American Red Cross (ARC) and South Baptist Convention (SBC) all have feeding units on stand-by to provide assistance as required.
South Carolina
Activation Level: Normal Operations - monitoring. South Carolina sustained very little energy system damage due to Hanna.
North Carolina:
Activation Level III: Partial Activation. The Governor declared a State of Emergency for the pending impacts of Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike. North Carolina VOAD conducted a conference call Saturday, September 6 to assess damage and make plans to respond to any damage that may have occurred from Tropical Storm Hanna. Current North Carolina Power Outages are reported at 75,806. All roads and bridges are open, including the Outer Banks, however standing water remains on many roadways. All National Park areas were assessed for damage in the Outer Banks and will reopen at various times throughout today. Coastal county officials met Saturday to determine what areas they would need to evacuate for Hurricane Ike. (FEMA Regions I, II, II, IV, and State EOC Reports)

Gustav Federal / State Recovery

FEMA Region IV:
RRCC is activated at Level I, 24/7 with all ESFs. Region IV ERT-A deployed to Tallahassee, FL. Region IV IMAT deployed to Tallahassee, FL. Florida, Alabama and Texas staff coordinating EMAC activities in Region IV. Region IV has no unmet needs.
Tennessee
Activated at Level III (Partial Activation)
Mississippi
Activated at Level I (Full Activation). PDAs will be completed by Monday, September 8. The ARC, the TSA and SBC are providing feeding operations in the coastal areas. The Mississippi National Guard has established six distribution sites for water, food, ice and personal hygiene items, four in Harrison County and two are in Hancock County.
Alabama
EOC activated at Level III (Partial Activation). Joint PDAs for Baldwin and Mobile in Alabama are complete. FCO and Region VIII ERT-A remain operational at the Alabama EOC. All power has been restored, including rural areas. The JFO for EM-3292 is activated in Montgomery, AL. All Louisiana residents have been returned with the exception of two hospitalized patients.

FEMA Region VI:
RRCC is activated Level III. National IMAT EAST is redeploying to Jackson, MS today. IMAT is operational at Texas SOC in Austin.
Louisiana:
Activated at Level I (Full Activation). The last train from Memphis arrived in New Orleans Saturday, returning approximately 950 evacuees. All bus operations have been completed. Restoration and re-entry operations are underway throughout Louisiana.  Utility companies are working to restore electric service throughout Louisiana. All Hurricane Gustav Louisiana evacuees have returned from OK, TX, and AR, except medical patients in hospitals, whose return arrangements are being made by HHS. Numerous Flood Warnings in effect for rivers in the state.
Texas:
The Texas SEOC is at Level 3. Texas anticipates activating to Level I on Monday to prepare for Hurricane Ike. The State is demobilizing all but essential Coordination and Control assets to insure rapid activation in anticipation of Hurricane Ike. The JFO EM-3290 will open today, September 7.
Arkansas:
Arkansas DEM is activated at Level IV (Full Activation). The state has requested PA PDA teams for Tuesday, September 9.

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
Hurricane Ike - At 5:00 a.m., the center of Hurricane Ike was located about 65 miles east of Great Inagua Island. Ike is moving on a motion just south of due west near 15 mph. A west to west-southwest motion is expected to continue today with a turn toward the west-northwest expected on Monday. On this track, the core of the hurricane will move through the southeastern Bahamas this morning and move near or over eastern Cuba tonight, and near or over central Cuba late Monday. Maximum sustained winds are near 135 mph, with higher gusts. Ike is an extremely Category Four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Some strengthening is possible before Ike moves over eastern Cuba. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 145 miles.

Tropical Storm Hanna - At 5:00 a.m. EDT, the center of Tropical Storm Hanna was located west or about 60 miles north of Chatham Massachusetts and about 350 miles west-southwest of Halifax Nova Scotia. Hanna is moving toward the northeast near 36 mph, .and this motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph, with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 24 hours. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 200 miles, mainly over water to the east and south of the center. Hanna is expected to produce additional rainfall accumulations of 1 to 2 inches across central to southern Maine early Sunday morning, with the rainfall ending across Maine by around sunrise today.

Eastern Pacific:
Tropical Storm Lowell - At 2:00 a.m. PDT, the center of Tropical Storm Lowell was located near west or about 255 miles, southwest of Manzanillo Mexico and about 470 miles south-southeast of the southern tip of Baja California. Lowell is moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue for the next day or two.  Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph with higher
gusts. Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Lowell has the potential to be at or near hurricane strength by Tuesday. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center.
Western Pacific:
No tropical cyclone activity. (NOAA, HPC,  National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

The National Wildfire Preparedness Level is 2. National Fire Activity as of Saturday, September 5 was light, with 82 fires and no new large fires reported. There are four uncontained large fires in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. Fire Weather: Northern California and southwest Oregon will see locally gusty winds along with very warm temperatures and low humidity. Elsewhere, most of the area west of the Rockies will be warm and dry. (National Interagency Coordination Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

FEMA-1786-DR-Louisiana, Amendment # 2:  Effective September 6, 2008, this disaster declaration was amended to include 34 counties for emergency protective measures (Category B), including direct Federal assistance under the Public Assistance program (already designated for Individual Assistance and debris removal [Category A] under the Public Assistance program.) and 2 counties for emergency protective measures (Category B), including direct Federal assistance under the Public Assistance program (already designated for Individual Assistance). 28 counties are also approved for emergency protective measures (Category B), including direct Federal assistance under the Public Assistance program.  (FEMA HQ)