The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Mission Focused
Hurricane Rita's Six-Month Anniversary - 'Doing a 180: From Disaster to Recovery' One in a Series
Release Date: March 23, 2006
Release Number: 1606-170
» More Information on Texas Hurricane Rita
AUSTIN, Texas -- The distinctive red knit shirts with the "castle" emblem were a welcome sight in communities throughout southeast Texas following Hurricane Rita's landfall Sept. 24, 2005. The shirts announced the presence of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, whose personnel performed an invaluable role during several aspects of the unprecedented recovery mission along the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Corps' Forth Worth District, under the command of Col. John Minhan, coordinated initial response to allow the Galveston District to focus on restoring navigation channels. After two weeks, Col. Steve Haustein, commander of the Galveston District and task force commander of the Recovery Field Office in Beaumont , assumed the effort, which included support from the U.S. Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Interior, Army Military Command and others representing a combined force of 1,100 personnel. Contractors represented an additional 1,500.
"I know I speak for all 700-plus Corps of Engineers employees who volunteered to be part of this mission when I say it has been an honor to assist in the recovery of Southeast Texas following this tragic disaster," said Haustein. "The recovery mission has been a total team effort. We have been blessed with tremendous efforts of our Corps employees, our contractors, local elected officials and their emergency management staff and, most importantly, the citizens themselves, who demonstrated patience, persistence and tenacity following the storm."
Under the National Response Plan, the Corps provides support to the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by executing assigned missions, such as providing water, power, debris removal, ice, temporary housing, temporary roofing and logistical support. Before Hurricane Rita's arrival, hundreds of active duty and retired Corps personnel were placed on alert, including dozens who would become storm victims themselves.
Teams comprised of various disciplines deployed to staging areas ready to respond to the most devastated communities. As first-responders, 12-hour days and seven-day workweeks would become the norm. The following is a review of the Corps' missions and accomplishments through the first six months of the Hurricane Rita recovery effort:
Water and Ice
Within 48 hours after Hurricane Rita came ashore, the Corps delivered 180 truckloads of water and 127 truckloads of ice to Reliant Stadium in Houston . When those missions were closed out in October, the Corps had dispatched 3 million pounds of ice (744 truckloads) and 4.5 million gallons of water (909 truckloads).
Dams
The day of Rita landfall, the Trinity River Authority called upon the Corps for advice when wind and wave action displaced rock from the Lake Livingston dam located 75 miles northeast of Houston . Emergency repairs averted serious problems. At other locations, the Corps closely monitored flood-control capacities throughout the region.
Waterways
The Corps conducted pre-storm surveys of 12 Texas channels. When conditions permitted following the storm, the Corps and the Geological Information Service conducted aerial surveys of the state's hardest hit areas and gathered statistical data. The Corps also launched boats, sometimes under arduous conditions, to assess the impact on critical shipping channels.
A preliminary analysis revealed that Rita had deposited more than 7.9 million cubic yards of material into waterways essential to commerce and industry along the Texas Gulf Coast . Corps engineers inspected dozens of channels before certifying them navigable. Eleven channels were open within 48 hours of Hurricane Rita's landfall. The Sabine-Neches Waterway was opened within six days. Based on damage assessment by the Corps, Congress approved emergency supplemental requests to help repair damage caused by the storms.
ncy Power Generation
The Hurricane Rita generator mission was the largest in FEMA history. By the end of its mission, the power team had completed 594 pre-installation inspections, installed a total of 289 generator sets and demobilized more than 280.
The Corps' Power Planning and Response Team provided four generators to the State of Texas and installed five, including one to power the city of Bridge City's lift stations, which the Corps monitored and serviced until power was restored.
A major power mission success was restoring a grid serving Jasper County and the area's critical needs facilities by restarting units at the Sam Rayburn Powerhouse, one of only three hydroelectric generating facilities operated by the Corps in Texas .
Temporary Roof Repairs
One of the Corps' most visible missions was Operation Blue Roof, a FEMA-sponsored program free to all qualified homeowners in the 22-county disaster area. The program provided temporary blue plastic sheeting installed over storm-damaged roofs until homeowners could make permanent repairs. The first blue roof was installed Oct. 5. The Corps and its contractors completed their mission Dec. 29 after installing nearly 21,000 blue roofs. Jefferson County homes received the most blue roofs with more than 12,000, followed by Orange County with some 4,500. The project required an estimated 2.5 square miles of sheeting.
Debris Removal
Debris removal by the Corps was a FEMA-assigned mission involving the removal of downed trees, wood debris and other materials from public property and streets in 13 counties. The Corps' mission has been a synchronized effort that included contractors as well as city and county authorities. The Corps' mission in Southeast Texas , which commenced Sept. 30, is 99 percent complete with the removal of more than 4.9 million cubic yards of debris as of March 22 . This includes 9,511 of the estimated 19,648 stumps. The debris removed to date could fill the Astrodome three-and-a-half times.
Other city and county debris-removal efforts accounted for an additional 3.8 million cubic yards, for a combined debris removal effort of 8.7 million cubic yards.
Direct Housing
Another Corps mission involved environmental assessment of travel trailer sites and commercial pad areas to ensure compliance with federal environmental laws. Corps personnel also cleared units for occupancy after delivery. The Corps reviewed some 3,881 applications and conducted another 3,642 pre-occupancy inspections. The Corps' responsibility was to serve as a liaison with families receiving the trailers and oversee signing of the lease agreements. On March 6, the housing mission was turned back over to FEMA.
Demolition
The Corps completed the demolition of 13 condemned homes in Sabine Pass and nine in the city of Port Arthur . Prior to demolition and disposal in a landfill, materials are tested to ensure compliance with environmental and safety regulations
B ACKGROUND
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is made up of approximately 34,600 civilian and 650 military members. Its military and civilian engineers, scientists and other specialists work hand in hand as leaders in engineering and environmental matters. The Corps' mission is to provide quality, responsive engineering services to the nation that meet national security, emergency and other requirements.
THE CORPS IN TEXAS
The Galveston District was established in 1880 to conduct river and harbor improvements along the Texas Gulf Coast , including construction of jetties to make the Galveston Channel navigable. Today, the district serves the vital Texas petrochemical refining industry, plus commercial and sports fishing.
The district is almost entirely coastal in nature, encompassing the entire Texas coast from Louisiana to Mexico 50,000 square miles. Its length, measured along the coast is about 400 miles and it extends inland about 100 miles, including the major metropolitan area of the fourth largest city in the U.S. , Houston. The Galveston District works to carry out its missions of navigation , flood control and hurricane-flood protection , while its regulatory office works to protect the nation's wetlands and navigation channels.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 31-May-2006 13:47:18