National Situation Update: Thursday, September 11, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West:
A ridge of high pressure will produce mostly clear skies over the Pacific Northwest and much of California. An upper-level trough will produce isolated showers and thunderstorms over the higher elevations of the Four Corners states and Wyoming. High temperatures will range from the 40s in Wyoming to just over 100 in the northern end of the Sacramento Valley.
Midwest:
A surface low and associated frontal system moving across the region will bring showers and thunderstorms to the Upper Midwest, Missouri and Kansas northward. High temperatures are expected to range from the upper 50s in Minnesota to the mid-80s in the Ohio Valley.
South:
A stationary front will produce showers and thunderstorms across the southeast. A southwesterly flow will produce a swath of precipitation across western Texas, Oklahoma and the Midwest. The area between Lubbock, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma could receive two inches of rain. High temperatures are forecast to range from the low 70s in the southern Appalachians, to the mid-90s in southern Texas. Hurricane Ike continues to move across the Gulf of Mexico toward Texas. See www.nhc.noaa.gov for the latest information.
Northeast:
High pressure will produce mostly clear skies and seasonable temperatures in the region, except for a few stray showers in parts of Virginia and West Virginia. Highs will range from the mid-60s in northern Maine to the mid-80s in West Virginia. (NOAA, National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Federal / State Response for Ike

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Federal priorities include restoration of power, recovery operations to include preliminary damage assessments, total asset visibility for all PODS, potable water assessments, medical support to affected population and establishing contingency plans for subsequent events.

FEMA National Response Coordination Center (NRCC):

The NRCC will be activated to Level I with 24/7 operations effective 7:00 am EDT, Thursday, September 11, all ESFâ€™s and liaisons.

FEMA Region III:

The DCE is supporting the JFHQ-NCR during a September 11 event held at Ft. McNair.

FEMA Region VI:

RRCC operating at Level I, providing 24/7 coverage with all ESFs in place except 10 and 14.
9 FCOs are being pre-positioned for Ike.
FEMA supporting State Points of Distribution (PODs) from NLSAs Camp Beauregard and Carville
FEMA Region VI has assumed the lead for overall Federal coordination of evacuation operations between Texas, host states, FEMA Regional offices, and other agency partners.Â (SLB)
9 FEMA US&R teams available in Houston, Texas.

Louisiana:

GOSHEP activated at Level I (Full Activation).
The Governor issued a declaration of State of Emergency in preparation for Hurricane Ike.
Mandatory Evacuations for Cameron Parish and voluntary evacuation for Calcasieu Parish are effective today.

Texas:

The Texas SEOC is at Level I 24 hrs.
On Sep 10, 2008, an Emergency Declaration (FEMA-3294-EM) was approved for the State of Texas for 25 counties.
Texas Military Forces are on standby for deployment as needed.
Texas Task Forces 1 and 2 are on standby if search and rescue capabilities are needed.
Special needs evacuations began Sep 10 and continue for the cities of Beaumont and Galveston.
Aransas, Brazoria and Matagorda counties have put in place mandatory evacuations.
Calhoun, Jackson and Victoria counties have put in place voluntary evacuations.
University of Galveston Medical Center will begin evacuating today.
Due to the northwestward movement of Hurricane Ike, the Rio Grande Valley area in southern Texas, including the air-evacuation of medical/critical care patients are cancelled.Â The focus shifted towards Corpus Christi, Texas. (SLB)
Texas is prepared to open 1,600 shelters. (SLB)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

Nothing significant to report.(FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
Hurricane Ike
At 5:00 am EDT, the center of Hurricane Ike was located 620 miles east of Brownsville, Texas, and 285 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Hurricane Ike is moving toward the west-northwest at 9 mph and is expected to continue this general motion for the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds are 100 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane Ike is a Category Two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Additional strengthening is expected and could become a major hurricane. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 255 miles. Coastal storm surge flooding along Cuba and the Florida Keys should subside today. Above normal tides of 3 to 5 feet are already occurring along much of the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Eastern Pacific:
Tropical Depression Lowell
As of 2:00 am PDT, Tropical Depression Lowell was located 30 miles west of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico, and 65 miles southwest of La Paz, Mexico. TD Lowell is moving toward the northeast at 8 mph. Maximum sustained winds are 30 mph with higher gusts. Weakening is expected as TD Lowell interacts with Baja California, Mexico. No threat to CONUS anticipated at this time.

Western Pacific:
No tropical cyclone activity affecting United States Territories. (NOAA, HPC, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

The USGS reports a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 8:20 pm EDT 80 miles south-southwest of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan, at a depth of 21.7 miles. There were no reports of damage or injury and no tsunami was generated. (USGS/NEIC, Pacific, West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

On September 10, 2008, FEMA-3294-EM-TX was declared for emergency protective measures (Cat B); including Direct Federal assistance under the Public Assistance program at 75% Federal funding (25 counties) in anticipation of Ike. (HQ)
On September 10, 2008, FEMA-1789-DR-AL was declared for Public Assistance for two counties with Direct Federal assistance authorized and assistance for all counties in the state under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
On September 10, 2008, FEMA-1786-DR-LA Amendment # 3 was approved to include six parishes for Individual Assistance (already designated for emergency protective measures Cat B), including Direct Federal assistance under the Public Assistance program.
On September 10, 2008, FEMA-3292-EM-AL Amendment #1 closes the incident period for this emergency effective September 3, 2008.

Last Modified: Thursday, 11-Sep-2008 08:09:28 EDT