Federal Government Stands Ready to Support Missouri Flooding
Release Date: May 11, 2007
Release Number: HQ-07-101
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies are in close coordination with Missouri state emergency management officials and local officials as they respond to flooding resulting from severe storms on May 5 and continuing.
"Coordination with our federal, state and local partners is critical at all stages of a disaster, but especially during response, said FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison. "Our job as the New FEMA is to anticipate the tools and supplies the state and locals need to do their job so we are ready when the state asks for assistance."
Federal agencies are making the following resources available to the state:
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Federal Emergency Management Agency: FEMA activated its Regional Response Coordination Center in its Region VII office located in Kansas City, Missouri, to assist the state in response coordination. A FEMA liaison officer is positioned in the state emergency operations center to assist in response coordination. FEMA placed its Federal Incident Response Support Team, Emergency Response Team and preliminary damage assessment teams on stand-by to deploy at the state's request. FEMA's Mobile Emergency Response Support units are prepared to deploy communicational assets and operational support. The agency's primary logistical center in Fort Worth, Texas, has a catastrophic aid package ready and equipped to support up to 10,000 people for one day.
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Kansas City) assigned two liaisons to the state emergency operations center under their authority and in coordination with the state. They have provided over 500,000 sandbags throughout the state and will continue to monitor federal levees for breaches or overtopping.
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U.S. Coast Guard: The Coast Guard is providing a liaison officer and a Disaster Assistance Response Team, comprised of three boats and six personnel, which are pre-staged in Jefferson City under their authority and in coordination with the state.
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National Weather Service: The National Weather Service has a hydrologist and meteorologist providing detailed, direct support for weather forecasting and river crest predictions for areas of concern as prioritized by the state.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Saturday, 12-May-2007 11:32:30