National Situation Update: Sunday, February 26, 2006
Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).
National Weather Forecast
Northeast: The majority of the Nation will be rain or snow free with an expansive high pressure system moving into the southern third of the country drying out the South and the Northeast. A fast moving clipper system is forecast to produce a general 3-6" of precipitation across much of southern New England with higher accumulations in the ski resorts of Northern New England and Upstate New York before moving off the coast later. Lake effect snow will remain in the forecast as cold northwesterly winds blow across the ice free Great Lakes. Wind chills are forecast to range in the single digits to the teens during the afternoon with gusty northwesterly winds.
South: The cold rainy weather in the Southeast will give way to mostly sunny and warmer weather. A storm system slowing working its way across I-20 brought much needed rain to the drought regions of Texas; nearly 3" of rain fell across the Dallas metroplex. The system and its rain shield will move off the Southeast coast by later today.
Midwest: Lake effect snow will continue across the favored sections of Michigan through tonight with moderate snow accumulations expected. Morning lows will range from below zero from North Dakota to northern Wisconsin, to teens from South Dakota to Ohio, with a few 20s from western Kansas to the Ohio River Valley. Afternoon highs will warm into the 60s from western Kansas and Nebraska, to the 30s in Ohio, with a few teens across Upper Michigan and North Dakota.
West: Much of the West will remain tranquil but by evening a group of Pacific storm systems will move onshore bringing heavy rain and very windy conditions from Seattle to Central California. By tomorrow the nasty weather will move into Southern California; forecast to be the first major rain event since January 2, 2006. Much of the West will remain under the influence of a high pressure system that will keep sky mostly sunny from the Great Basin to the high plains of Colorado and Wyoming. (NWS, Media Sources)
Six Months After Katrina, A Look At How Katrina Affected The Mississippi Gulf Coast
EMERGENCY SHELTERS: A week after the hurricane, more than 129 emergency shelters were housing around 15,000 people. Only one shelter remains open _ a cruise ship docked in Pascagoula housing 52 families.
TEMPORARY CLASSROOMS, OFFICES: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has installed 493 temporary classrooms for students and 233 temporary office buildings for local government officials.
FEMA TRAILERS: As of Feb. 15, nearly 99,000 people were housed in more than 36,600 FEMA travel trailers and mobile homes.
HOUSING INSPECTIONS: FEMA contractors have inspected around 407,550 homes for storm damage.
DEBRIS: Roughly 32.8 million cubic yards of debris has been removed from public and private property. One million cubic yards of debris would fill a football field to a height of 200 yards.
BUSINESS LOANS: The federal Small Business Administration has approved more than $1.4 billion in low-interest loans for homeowners, renters and business owners.
FLOOD INSURANCE: Nearly 14,000 policyholders in Mississippi have received more than $1.8 billion through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program. But thousands of homeowners whose policies didn't cover flood damage are fighting their insurance companies.
POWER OUTAGES: Total power outages in Mississippi due to Katrina were estimated at 989,600, including all customers of Gulfport-based Mississippi Power Co. Power has been restored to all homes and businesses capable of receiving electricity.
EDUCATION: A total of 266 schools damaged, 16 schools destroyed. Cost for repairing or reconstructing buildings and replacing school buses, textbooks, furniture, computers and other school-related items estimated at more than $1.2 billion. (FEMA, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, State Department of Education, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
FEMA: New Madrid Earthquake Preparedness Is Agency Priority
Preparing for a catastrophic earthquake along the New Madrid fault is a priority, a FEMA official said Friday before a congressional field hearing on government readiness to handle natural disasters.
FEMA officials are worried about how quickly they could enter the affected area because many roads, bridges, and approaches could not be expected to withstand a high-magnitude earthquake.
A strong earthquake could disrupt the flow of commodities by underground pipeline, rail, barge and highway; halt the flow of food exports, fuel oil and coal outside the region; cripple FedEx's hub in Memphis, Tenn.; and block routes for emergency services.
A House subcommittee chaired by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., and which oversees FEMA and emergency management, traveled to Los Angeles on Thursday and St. Louis on Friday to gauge how prepared local, state and federal governments would be in responding to a natural disaster, and avoid problems that emerged with Katrina.
Eugene Schweig of the U.S. Geological Survey testified Friday that the 1800s New Madrid earthquakes and its thousands of aftershocks upended land, made the river unnavigable, and created landslides in a multistate region. Such an event today would rupture underground pipelines, burst levees, and wreak havoc in the Midwest and East.
Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., have asked the federal government to conduct an emergency response exercise along the entire New Madrid fault zone to expose how response might be improved in the event of a devastating earthquake. (Media Sources)
Volcano Activity
Alaska's Augustine volcano remains at Color Code: ORANGE. Seismicity remains at low levels but is still above background. Small avalanches and rock falls continue to be recorded. (United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Volcano Observatory)
Tropical Activity
There are no active tropical disturbances in the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. (USDOC/NOAA/NWS, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)
Earthquake Activity
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Preliminary Damage Assessments
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Disaster Declaration Activity
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Last Modified: Wednesday, 29-Mar-2006 14:57:49 EST