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National Situation Update: Monday, May 15, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

New England Hit by Heaviest Rains in a Decade – States of Emergency Declared in MA and NH and Southern ME

The heaviest rains in a decade pounded Massachusetts and New Hampshire on Sunday, forcing hundreds of people from their homes and prompting governors to declare states of emergency and call up National Guard troops. Maine's governor also declared a state of emergency for York County and surrounding communities, in southern Maine.

No injuries or power outages were reported as of early Sunday evening, but officials in both states cautioned that the situation could worsen overnight as the continued heavy rains threatened to overwhelm rivers and dams.

Some 8 to 10 inches of rain had fallen in the hardest-hit parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and 5 more inches could hit those areas over the next day or so, the National Weather Service said.

The storm is the biggest downpour to hit the region since October 1996.  In Maine, flooding was reported on 60 roads in the southern part of the state.

Most of the evacuees were from the Massachusetts towns of Melrose and Peabody, suburbs north of Boston where flooding caused sewage to back up into cellars and sinks, sending some 450 people to shelters.

Officials in the fishing community of Gloucester Massachusetts, on the North Shore also evacuated about 70 residents from Poplar Park senior home.

Personnel from Coast Guard Station Gloucester helped Gloucester firefighters fill 1,000 sandbags to help control flooding at the Fuller Elementary School, which was being used as a shelter.

Authorities were checking about a dozen dams at risk of failing if conditions worsened, said a spokesman for the New Hampshire Bureau of Emergency Management. 

The State Emergency Operations Center said about 100 people were evacuated from their homes in Wakefield, New Hampshire because of concern over the Union Village and Semens dams. Shelters were open near the Massachusetts border, through central New Hampshire and near the Connecticut River Valley, including in Salem, Derry, Goffstown, Bedford, Pittsfield, Epsom and Canaan.

A dam in Milton, New Hampshire was in danger of failing, which could send a 10-foot wall of water downstream, the National Weather Service said in a bulletin. But a Milton official said Sunday night he felt comfortable that the dam was safe and was controlling the water flow.

The New Hampshire governor stated that 20,000 sandbags had been sent to various communities by Sunday afternoon and was gathering 30,000 more to be distributed when requested.

The National Weather Service forecasted record flooding conditions for rivers throughout Massachusetts, including the Spicket River in Methuen, which is expected to rise 2 feet above the flood level by Tuesday afternoon. The Merrimack River was expected to crest nearly 10 feet over flood stage by Monday afternoon.

Due to widespread flooding over the next few days, the Massachusetts State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) was activated on Saturday, May 13th and will remain activated until further notice.  The following agencies are present at the SEOC: MEMA, Executive Office of Public Safety, American Red Cross, Coastal Zone Management, Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, Dept. of Environmental Protection, Dept. of Public Health, Environmental Law Enforcement, MBTA, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, FEMA, Mass Highway, MATF-1 Urban Search and Rescue, MA Water Resources Authority, National Guard, RACES, Secretary of State's Citizens' Information Service, Army Corps of Engineers and State Police, and volunteers from the Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs).

The MEMA Region 1 and 2 offices are activated.  Staffs from the Region 3 and 4 offices are monitoring the situation from the SEOC.   MEMA Regional Offices continue to do statewide call-arounds to local officials to ensure local preparedness.

The New Hampshire Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated, and staffed by the New Hampshire Bureau of Emergency Management, State Police, DOT, and DES.  The EOC staff is monitoring flooding conditions statewide, and reviewing potential resource needs, (i.e. generators and sandbags). (NWS, MEMA, Region I, Media sources)

Weather Hazards for This Week

• Heavy rain is forecast over the northeastern states from Northeastern West Virginia to Eastern New England on May 15-17.
• A general wildfire risk is indicated for parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and peninsular Florida.
• Severe drought exists across the Southwest, parts of the Southern Plains, the western Gulf Coast region, and a small part of South Carolina; some relief is anticipated.
• Local snow melt generated river and small stream flooding will continue for Southern Idaho. (NWS Climate Prediction Center)

More Rain for Flooded New England Monday

Northeast:  Rain and showers will continue in water-logged New England tomorrow, except northern Maine, although rainfall totals should be somewhat less than today's. Still, major or record flooding is forecast for a number of rivers in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire over the next several days due to the inundating rainfall this weekend. Elsewhere in the Northeast Monday, scattered showers and thundershowers will prevail.

Midwest:  Heavy showers and maybe a few thundershowers are likely in Indiana and Ohio. The Great Plains are expected to be generally mild and dry.

South:  Scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast along the Carolina coasts, southern Georgia and Florida, and a scattering of showers and thundershowers as far south as northern Arkansas, the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians. To the west, scattered showers and storms may dampen southern and West Texas.

West:  Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible in New Mexico tomorrow with isolated showers or storms moving into southwest Colorado, eastern Arizona and southeast Utah. Isolated storms may also erupt over the Sierras and southern Cascades. Most of the West, however, will be dry and warm.  (NWS, Media sources)

Volcano Activity

Mount Merapi, Indonesia - volcanic activity intensified Monday to its highest level yet, with one blast sending debris more than two miles down the slope.

Tropical Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

The National Preparedness Level remains at Level 2

Initial attack activity was light nationally with 17 new fires reported. Two new large fires were reported, one each in the Southern California and Eastern Great Basin Areas. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. (NWS, NIFC)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)