• Emergency Managers and Personnel
• Situation Reports
• National Incident Management System
• Grants & Assistance Programs
• Training
• Contacts
• Planning
• Best Practices

National Situation Update: Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Cold Night In South

South:  High pressure dominates much of the region with clear skies and light winds. That should allow temperatures to drop off very quickly. Freeze warnings have been posted from western North and South Carolina west to western Tennessee. A few showers will develop over southern and West Texas as the Gulf of Mexico begins to vector moisture in the direction of the Lone Star State.

Midwest:  Except for a few snow flurries in the Great Lakes today, the Midwest and Great Plains will enjoy a dry day.

Northeast:  Chilly, blustery conditions will grip the Northeast and over interior locations, rain and snow showers will continue. Light snow accumulations are possible in the mountains of northern New England, New York state, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

West:  Two separate systems will hurl showers into the West today; one into the Pacific Northwest, the other into the Southwest. In the Northwest, a Gulf of Alaska cold front racing through the region will deliver the showers, mainly to areas west of the Cascades. In the Cascades in Washington and northern Oregon snow showers will be the norm as snow levels drop to around 4000 feet. East of the Cascades, windy conditions will develop in the wake of the front. In the Southwest, showers and thunderstorms will develop over much of New Mexico and Arizona and immediately adjacent portions of California as moisture streams northeastward from the subtropical Pacific.  (NWS. Media Sources)

FEMA Regional Preparedness Actions for Hurricane Paul

Region VI will continue to monitor Hurricane Paul, and it's potential impacts to Region VI states.  The RRCC will continue at Normal Level Operations for the next 24 hrs. After Normal Duty hours the Denton MERS MOC will continue to watch the situation.

Region VIII RRCC is active in a Modified Level 3 status to monitor the storm as it progresses.

Region IX will continue to monitor through our Duty Office during work hours and Bothell MOC after-hours.  Key staff have returned from Hawaii response and have rostered an ERT-A for deployment if required.  (FEMA Region VI, Region VIII, Region IX)

Southeast Texas Flooding

UPDATE: Vidor, TX - On Monday, nine southeast Texas counties were declared disaster areas by the Governor as a result of recent flooding. The governor is seeking federal assistance for Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto and Tyler counties. 

Dozens of people were reportedly forced from their homes, including some Hurricane Rita survivors, who have been living in temporary FEMA trailers. The Orange County emergency management coordinator reported about 40 homes in the region were thought to have been destroyed as of Sunday due to rising water in the Neches River. Local officials are expected to continue to assess the damage.

Officials also report the river is expected to stay at flood-stage levels through Thursday. Forecasters are calling for more rain in the coming days due to remnants of Hurricane Paul possibly hitting the area, causing the governor to order the appropriate state agencies to be on standby for search, rescue and recovery efforts for the already-drenched area.  (NICC)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea:
Tropical storm formation is not expected through Tuesday.

Central and Eastern Pacific:
At 5:00 am EDT October 24, Hurricane Paul, with maximum sustained wind speeds near 80 mph, was located about 315 miles south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. There is no threat to the U.S. or any U.S. territories.
Elsewhere, tropical storm formation is not expected through Wednesday.

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

Earthquake Activity

There was a light (4.0) aftershock on the Island of Hawaii (Big Island) at 8:03am this morning.   The quake was centered 3 mi NNE of Kalaoa and was 9 miles deep in the crust.  No reports of injuries or damage have been received..  (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, FEMA Region IX)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level 1 on a scale of 1 (low) - 5 (high)
National Fire Activity
Wildfire activity:  Light (27 new fires)
New large fires:  0
Large fires contained:  0
Uncontained large fires:  0   (National Interagency Fire Center, National Interagency Coordination Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

FEMA-1664-DR-HI was amended effective October 23, 2006 adding Individual Assistance for Hawaii County.  (FEMA HQ )