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National Situation Update: Thursday, May 31, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Regional Incident Reports

Nebraska Severe Storms And Flooding:
Beginning on May 27, 2007 and continuing heavy rains occurred across the State of Nebraska producing flooding.  Initially seven inches of rain occurred with an additional seven inches two days later for a total of fourteen inches. 

On May 30, 2007 heavy rain continued with additional flooding reports.   Major road and bridge damage is reported due to the heavy flooding.

Five (5) counties have been impacted:

• Hayes County: Report of flooding damage to road and bridges. 
• Frontier County: Report of flooding damages to roads and bridges.
• Lincoln County : Officials in the village of Maxwell report flooding.
• Madison County: Battle Creek reports flooding on the west side of town.  Damage is reported to the sewer system and the water system is compromised.
• Platte County:  Lindsey officials report bridges out due to flooding.  Platte Center  is conducting local damage assessment on road damages from flooding.  

The Nebraska State EOC activated on May 30, 2007 to coordinate response activities.  Battle Creek (Madison County) requested state resources for sandbags. 

Region VII is in contact with NEMA for incident updates and briefings.   No request for federal assistance is anticipated at this time. (FEMA Region VII)

Oklahoma Severe Weather And Wind Storm:
Strong thunderstorms and heavy rain moved south out of Oklahoma May 30, 2007 into north Texas bringing additional heavy rains to already saturated ground. 

Flood and Flash flood warnings as well as Severe Thunderstorm Watches and Warning were posted for much of North Central Texas and into Southeast Texas.

Reports of street and small stream flooding have been received from Dallas and surrounding counties. 

One swift water rescue was completed successfully in Hill County South of the Dallas area. 

One unconfirmed report indicated a roof was blown of a tire shop in Plano, Northeast of Dallas.

Region VI will maintain contact with the State of Texas for further information.  There have been no request for Federal assistance at this time.  The Region will continueto monitor. (FEMA Region V)

National Weather Forecast

Midwest:  Showers and thunderstorms will be scattered over much of the Midwest and Great Plains May 31, 2007.  A handful of severe storms could occur over far western Iowa, southeastern Nebraska and western Kansas.

South:  Showers and thunderstorms May 31, 2007 in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas due to an influx of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
Scattered showers and storms may occur in parts of Texas and Oklahoma, with isolated storms in the Southeast, areas in and around the lower Mississippi River Valley will receive a majority of the rainfall Severe storms are possible in western Oklahoma and northwest Texas.

Northeast: Showers and thunderstorms in the Northeast May 31, 2007.  Most of the activity is expected to concentrate north of the warm front in eastern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and western Massachusetts.

West:  Isolated thunderstorms may are forecast far eastern Colorado (where one or two of the storms could turn severe), far eastern New Mexico and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  (NWS, Media Sources)

CDC Seeks Those Who Sat Near TB Patient

Health officials in North America and Europe sought passenger lists Wednesday for two trans-Atlantic airline flights in their effort to find about 80 people who sat near a honeymooner infected with a dangerous drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.
Authorities disclosed that the man was on several flights between various European locales over the course of two weeks earlier this month. Passengers lists for those flights were also being tracked down.

The man, who is under the first U.S. government-ordered quarantine since 1963, told a newspaper he flew from Atlanta to Greece for a wedding and then traveled to Italy for a honeymoon. Later he flew back to North America because he feared he might die without treatment in the United States.

CDC officials are concentrating on the trans-Atlantic flights, when the likelihood of spreading the disease was greatest because he was in a confined space with other people for hours. Officials were trying to contact 27 crew members and about 80 passengers who sat in the five rows surrounding the man for testing.  Other passengers on the flights are not considered at high risk of infection because tests indicated the amount of TB bacteria in the man was low, Cetron said.

Health officials in France have asked Air France-KLM for passenger lists, and the Italian Health Ministry also is tracing the man's movements. A spokeswoman for Czech airline CSA said medical checks showed no infections among its crew members who flew with the man, but the airline was contacting passengers.

The man told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that doctors did not order him not to fly and only suggested he put off his long-planned wedding. He knew he had a form of tuberculosis and that it was resistant to commonly used drugs, but he did not realize until he was already in Europe that it could be so dangerous, he said. The man's wife has tested negative.

He flew to Paris on May 12 aboard Air France Flight 385.  He and his bride then took four more flights within Europe.

The passengers on the shorter European hops are not considered to be at the same level of risk for infection as the passengers on the trans-Atlantic flights, which each lasted eight hours or more, CDC officials said.

While he was in Rome, health authorities reached him with the news that further tests had revealed his TB was a rare, "extensively drug-resistant" form, far more dangerous than he knew. They told him to turn himself over to Italian health officials and not to fly on any commercial airlines.

Instead, on May 24, the man flew from Rome to Prague on Czech Air Flight 0727. From Prague, the couple left for Montreal the same day, aboard Czech Air Flight 0104, according to CDC officials.

The man then drove into the United States at Champlain, N.Y. He told the newspaper he was afraid that if he did not get back to the U.S., he wouldn't get the treatment he needed to survive.

The man is now at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital under the first federal quarantine order since the government quarantined a patient with smallpox in 1963. A sheriff's deputy was assigned to guard him. He is not facing prosecution, health officials said.   (Media Sources)

Lake Okeechobee Drops To A Record Low

The retreating waters of drought-sapped Lake Okeechobee, a vital reservoir for millions of residents in dry times, sank toward a new low.

Signaling the intensity of this once-a-century drought, smoke clouds rose from exposed stretches of the 730-square-mile basin midway between the crowded coasts. The plumes came from wildfires sweeping a 12,000-acre stretch of lakebed exposed as the waters retreated and sank about half an inch a day, water officials said.  The flames fed on weeds and grasses that normally provide hiding places for bass, but are now baked by the sun and dehydrated by relentless winds.

Officials at the South Florida Water Management District said the average lake depth on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 matched the record low of 8.97 feet set in a long drought in 2001 and would certainly break the record overnight.  The easterly winds blowing over the eastern shore of the lake were accelerating the drop in water by speeding evaporation.

Thunderstorms predicted for this week, even a hurricane or two, are unlikely to end the water woes, said an official at the South Florida Water Management District.    (Media Sources)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean: No significant activity to report.

Eastern Pacific:
Tropical Storm Barbara was located near 13.2N  96.7W   (about 1862 miles SSE from San Diego, CA.) at 5:00 am EDT, May 31 2007.

The environmental conditions ahead of TS Barbara  appear favorable for continued strengthening. 

TS Barbara is currently moving toward the SE (130 degrees) at  about 2 mph.

Estimated minimum central pressure 1002 mb.

Max sustained winds 46 mph with gusts to 57 mph.

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

Earthquake Activity

No significant activity during the past 24 hours.  (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

National Fire Activity:

Initial attack activity 390 (Heavy)
New large fires:   2
Large fires contained:  2
Uncontained large fires:  13

Fire Weather Dixcussion:
Red Flag Warnings are posted for portions of southern Georgia and Florida for extended periods of low humidity, warm temperatures and high dispersion. Fire weather watches are posted for northern California and Oregon for scattered dry thunderstorms and lightning.

Dry thunderstorms will elevate fire potential in California, while the Southeast will remain dry. Dry thunderstorms will develop over the Sierra Mountains of California and spread over much of northern California, southwest Oregon and western Nevada through late in the week. Otherwise, warm and dry conditions will prevail across the West. The Southeast will continue to battle dry conditions through the week. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center )

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)