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National Situation Update: Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Response to Kansas Tornadoes

The President will go to Greensburg, KS today and review disaster response and recovery operations. Agencies are continuing to coordinate the response and recovery effort.

Limited access remains for the city of Greensburg. A curfew has been set which begins at dusk.

The state reports fatalities are now at 11 with approximately 100 injured.

Most citizens in the city of Greensburg lost their homes. The exact number of businesses damaged in the city of Greensburg is not known at this time. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is participating on the Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) that began on May 6, it is anticipated that all businesses received damages or destroyed due to the severity of the tornado.

Two American Red Cross (ARC) shelters are in operation. On the morning of May 5 the reported population was 78.                          Jaime Oppenheimer/The Wichita Eagle

The entire water and electrical power system for Greensburg is shut down. Emergency generators are providing power for incident command, emergency communications, and lighting. The hospital was severely damaged. All three schools (elementary, middle, and high-school) were severely damaged or destroyed. The school year has been terminated. A fuel terminal in Great Bend (Barton County) was destroyed.

The Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) and incident support team arrived at Greensburg on the evening of May 7, 2007. Force protection and security support is being provided at staging areas and during tactical search and rescue operations. The US&R logistics support push package being deployed from Logistics Center (LC)-Ft Worth. Water and MRE's are already on site. FIRST satellite and cellular phones are activated. The base of operations is set up for the task force and incident support team.

Land lines are down in Greensburg with limited cell phone availability. 911 communications are being provided by a Kansas Department of Transportation vehicle. A mobile low frequency transmitter has been sited near the 911 temporary communications center. The Kansas National Guard Mobile Incident Command Vehicle is on site, as well as the Kansas department of transportation Communications-On-Wheels (COW) to assist in restoration of communications systems.

Sprint has established a portable cell phone tower and unit in Greensburg.

At 1000 CDT May 9, the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) at Barclay college in Havilland will open. This will be a full-service DRC with SBA, Red Cross, crisis counselors, State's Dept of Revenue and Vital Statistics to assist with driver's license, identification documentation replacement and other support.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deployed two responders with an emergency response vehicle to Greensburg, Kansas under EPA's own authorities on May 5.

Travel and double-wide trailers are staged at an alternate site awaiting requests from counties and municipalities. A staging area in Amaretto, Texas with trailers is on standby. FEMA RRCC has staged three trailers of water in Pratt, Kansas. (Region VII)

National Weather Forecast

West

Most of the region will be warm and dry under a ridge of high pressure. A cold front will produce rain over parts of Idaho and Montana and northern Wyoming.  There will be some isolated thunderstorms over the central Rockies and New Mexico.  Highs are expected to range from the 50s in Washington to over 100 in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.

Midwest

A frontal system extending from the Great Lakes southwest to Texas will produce showers and thunderstorms.  Flooding continues over much of the region as discussed in the article below.

South

For a second day a stationary front over Texas and Oklahoma will produce thunderstorms, some severe. Localized flooding is likely.  The subtropical low will move toward the Southeast coast producing gusty winds and high surf along coastal areas from the Carolinas to Florida. Bands of showers will come onshore from the Carolinas to northern Florida.

Northeast

Much of the Northeast will be warm and dry. The Mid Atlantic region will see some clouds and a few showers from the low off shore. (NWS, Media Sources)

Flooding in the Central Plains

A broad area of low pressure over the western U.S. remained nearly stationary throughout the weekend of May 5th to 7th.  Record rainfalls in excess of 10 inches were reported in several locations.

Widespread moderate flooding on main-stem rivers is ongoing, with moderate to major flooding forecast to occur in the next few days.  Major flooding is forecast at several points along the Missouri River, Platte River (in Missouri), and James Rivers. The crest on the Missouri River is near Kansas City at 36 feet on Wednesday May 9. Current impacts are mostly road closures and inundation of agricultural land.  Some businesses along the river in Parkville, Missouri, have shut down.  The crest is expected to reach Jefferson City, Missouri Friday night with major flooding beginning there Wednesday including inundation of the airport, and state highways. National Weather Service (NWS) Automated Surface Observing Systems along the Missouri River are being monitored. It is not believed they will need to be moved at this time.

Reports from many of the affected Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs):

•         WFO Sioux Falls, South Dakota – The James River at Mitchell, South Dakota is forecast to reach record stage of 25.7 feet on Thursday May 10.  The main impacts due to this flooding will be to a state highway. The WFO Service Hydrologist has been staffing the South Dakota Emergency Operations Center in Pierre since Monday May 7.

•         WFO Des Moines, Iowa – Several counties suffered extensive damage to secondary and gravel roads as well as road shoulders washed out, and some bridge damage, which is still being evaluated.  In a large number of the counties, farm families were stranded due to high water.  In Clarke County, damage exceeded five million dollars.  In other counties the dollar amount are still being evaluated.

•         WFO Wichita, Kansas - Several evacuations have occurred over the past two days.  Flash flooding has subsided; however, significant river flooding is in progress. Record flooding is being reported at Haven on the Arkansas River.  Near record flooding has been reported at New Cambria on the Saline River.  Several other rivers across Central Kansas were flooding as well.

•         WFO Topeka, Kansas - Flash Flood Warnings were first issued at 1:09 am Sunday May 6. Widespread flooding of rivers was occurring by Sunday afternoon and evening, with the most river flooding since the summer of 1993.  Forty (40) River Forecast Points were in flood at the same time on Monday May 7. Burlingame in Osage County was surrounded by flood waters with roads cut off in three directions.  Many homes were damaged in Topeka along Shunganunga Creek. Sandbagging was occurring along the Smoky Hill River in Dickinson County.

•         WFO St. Louis, Missouri - A flood wave is expected to move down the Missouri River causing significant rises with all points from Jefferson City to St. Charles rising above flood stage with moderate to major flooding forecast along portions of the river as soon as Wednesday evening May 9. The Mississippi River at St. Louis is expected to reach flood stage for the first time in five years, although only minor flooding is expected.  Moderate flooding is forecast further downstream at Chester, Missouri where businesses along the river may be impacted.

•          WFO Pleasant Hill, Missouri - The Platte River at Agency, Missouri was cresting today with major flooding on-going. Numerous roads were closed, including Interstate 29 in Holt County.

For six-hourly Storm Summaries from the NWS Hydrometeorological Prediction Center in Camp Springs Maryland (at 5 and 11 am/pm EDT), go to  http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/nfdscc3.html. For further information on the river flooding at specific gauges, go to the NWS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service website, at  http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ahps/. (NWS Central Region Headquarters in Kansas City Missouri)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean: A non-tropical low pressure system centered about 200 miles southeast of the Georgia and South Carolina coasts has been moving slowly westward at 5 to 10 mph. The low is producing gale-force winds near the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. This system has changed little since yesterday morning and no significant strengthening is expected. The low is being monitored for signs of tropical or subtropical cyclone development and an Air force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft will be available to investigate the system this morning if necessary.

Eastern Pacific: No significant activity to report.

Western Pacific: No significant activity to report. (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

• An earthquake occurred at 3:50 AM EDT on Wednesday, May 9, 2007. The magnitude 5.2 event occurred 53 miles west southwest of Eureka, northern California, at a depth of 5.6 miles. No reports of any injuries or damages. . No tsunami has been generated. (NOAA, USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level 2  (On a scale from 1 to 5)

Light fire activity persisted throughout the states with 171 new fires reported. One new large fire was reported in Florida. No large fires reached containment. (NIFC)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)