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National Situation Update: Saturday, September 1, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather Summary

South:
Weekend rainfall may total from four to six inches over parts of southern Georgia, South Carolina and northern Florida by Monday.

West:
High temperatures will be as much as 5 to 20 degrees above average from California to Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.  Tropical moisture from Tropical Storm Henrietta may impact parts of the Southwest next week.

Midwest:
Mainly dry conditions and moderating temperatures over the holiday weekend. 

Northeast:
A cold front will move into Upstate New York and northern New England Monday afternoon, triggering a few thunderstorms.

Midwest Flooding Update

Illinois:
FEMA-1722-DR-IL declared August 30, 2007 for Individual Assistance (IA) in Stephenson and Winnebago Counties and Hazard Mitigation (HM) statewide for the August 7, 2007 flooding incident.

IA Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) will begin on September 4, 2007.  Public Assistance (PA) PDAs will begin on September 10, 2007 in Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Lake, LaSalle, and McHenry Counties.

American Red Cross (ARC) reported 61 persons sheltered overnight on August 30, 2007.

Initial Operation Facility (IOF) for FEMA-1722 located at Marriott Residence Inn in Rockford, Illinois.

Indiana:
PDA for Lake County is scheduled to begin September 5, 2007.

Minnesota:
The Minnesota State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) returned to routine status at 4:00 p.m. CDT on August 31, 2007.

FEMA/State Joint Field Office operational in Rochester, Minnesota.

Joint Field Office (JFO) operational from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CDT daily.

Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (MDRCs) open in Fillmore, Houston and Winona Counties; 2,321
total registrations as of August 31, 2007 at 6:34 p.m. CDT.

Wisconsin:
FEMA-1719-DR-WI signed August 26, 2007 for IA in:  Crawford, La Crosse, Richland, Sauk and Vernon Counties.

Residents evacuated from Vernon County homes have been allowed to return.

JFO was scheduled to be operational as of close of business August 31, 2007 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.   Hours of operation:  7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. CDT daily, including Labor Day.

Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) Denver supporting JFO with 5 MERS personnel, 1 Mobile Emergency Operating Vehicle (MEOV), 1 Ku-band satellite system, 1 tanker, 1 Expedition, and 1 pickup.

3 Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) locations functioning in Crawford, La Crosse, and Richland; 1351 total registrations as of 6:00 p.m. CDT August 31, 2007.  (FEMA Region V)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No significant activity to report.  (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico:
Tropical Storm Felix (Upgraded from Tropical Depression Six)
As of 5:00 a.m. EDT on September 1, 2007, the center of Tropical Storm Felix was located about 30 miles northwest of Grenada.  Felix is moving toward the west near 18 mph; maximum sustained winds have increased and are near 40 mph, with higher gusts.  Strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours.  Felix is expected to move away from the southern Windward Islands later this morning and will be passing near the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

Eastern Pacific:
Tropical Storm Henriette
At 5:00 a.m. EDT on September 1, 2007, the center of Tropical Storm Henriette was located about 130 miles south-southeast of Manzanillo, Mexico and about 220 miles west of Acapulco, Mexico.  Henriette is moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph.  On this current track, Henriette is expected to move near or parallel to the southwest coast of Mexico.  Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph with higher gusts.  Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Depression Gil
As of 5:00 a.m. EDT on September 1, 2007, tropical depression center located about 760 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja, California.  Present movement is toward the west at about 10 mph.  Maximum sustained winds approximately 36 mph with gusts to 46 mph.

Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.

Central Pacific:
Tropical cyclone activity is not expected during the next 48 hours.

Western Pacific:
Tropical cyclone activity is not expected during the next 48 hours.  ( NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, FEMA Regions II, IV, VI, FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

PDAs for Public Assistance (PA) and Individual Assistance (IA) for Wisconsin are continuing.

PDAs for PA and IA for Oklahoma are continuing.

PDAs for PA and IA for Iowa were scheduled for completion Friday, August 31, 2007.

PDAs for PA and IA for Missouri were scheduled for completion Friday, August 31, 2007.  (FEMA Regions, FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level:  4

States Most Affected:  Montana, Idaho

National Fire Activity as of Friday, August 31, 2007:

Initial Attack Activity was Moderate with 206 new fires
New large fires:  3
Large fires contained:  4
Uncontained large fires:  32
2007 acres burned to date:  6,926,715

Weather Discussion:  Scattered thunderstorms are predicted over Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana today.  Gusty winds are also predicted from the northern Sierras to Idaho and Montana.  Hot weather will continue throughout all of the western states.

Disaster Declaration Activity

Oklahoma - The President signed, on August 31, 2007, Disaster Declaration FEMA-1723-DR for the State of Oklahoma for severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes that occurred May 24 to June 1, 2007.  The declaration provides for Public Assistance for the counties of Bryan, Comanche, Cotton, Logan, Pontotoc, Seminole, Stephens, and Tillman.  Additional designations may be made at a later date after further evaluation.  All counties in the State of Oklahoma are eligible to apply for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.  The FCO is Phillip E. Parr.

New York - The President signed, on August 31, 2007, Disaster Declaration FEMA-1724-DR, for the State of New York for severe storms, flooding, and tornado that occurred August 8, 2007.  The declaration provides for Individual Assistance for Queens County.  All counties in the State of New York are eligible to apply for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.  The FCO is Marianne C. Jackson.  (FEMA HQ)