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National Situation Update: Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

Midwest
An approaching front will cause scattered thunderstorms across the lower Midwest and Ohio Valley areas today. A few storms may be severe with hail and strong winds, and some locally heavy rain.
High temperatures will range from the mid-70s around the northern Great Lakes to the upper 90s on the western High Plains; most of the region will be in the 80s. Over the weekend a hot flow of air will bring temperatures well into the triple digits over much of the Central Plains.

Northeast
There will be a few thunderstorms across parts of southern Pennsylvania, Maryland, northern Virginia and West Virginia.  Temperatures will have highs ranging from the upper 70s in far northern New England to the mid-90s in Virginia.  A heat advisory has been posted for the Philadelphia metro area.

South
There will be scattered thunderstorms, especially from Mississippi to the Carolinas and across the Florida Peninsula. High temperatures could range from the mid-80s in the southern Appalachians and along portions of the eastern Gulf Coast to 100 degrees or more in parts of Texas; most of the Deep South will be humid with temperatures in the 90s.

West
Numerous Red Flag Warnings exist for parts of Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and Oregon through the evening. There will be isolated thunderstorms across the Rockies. High temperatures will range from the cool 50s in the Washington Cascades to near 110 degrees in the lower Colorado River Valley.  (National Weather Service, Media Sources)

Midwest Flooding Update

Several rivers in Iowa, Illinois and  Missouri are above Flood Stage and Flood Warnings continue as a result of excessive runoff after multiple rounds of extremely heavy rainfall that began last week and continued last night. In north central Missouri, local law enforcement and Missouri Transportation Department officials continue to report state and county road closures due to flooding from area creeks, rivers and streams.

Mark Twain Lake, in northeast Missouri, is currently experiencing record high water due to ongoing heavy rainfall and river flooding in northeast Missouri. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is releasing 42,000 cubic feet per second of water out of Mark Twain Lake, resulting in flooding of low lying areas within the Salt River Basin.

Additional heavy rains could cause the Mississippi River to rise higher than expected. Due to runoff from rains that fell last week, area waterways in Missouri and Illinois will continue to run high. The Chariton River at Prairie Hill is experiencing record levels; however, the river is now receding and forecast to fall below flood stage on Friday, Aug 1. A second storm later in the week will increase the threat of flooding in the heartland. (NWS, Region VII)

New Mexico Flooding Update

Summary
Remnants from Hurricane Dolly dropped more than six inches of rain in south-central New Mexico July 27-28, causing flash flooding; the Ruidoso River rose several feet above flood stage.
One confirmed fatality is attributed to the flooding. One shelter is open with no residents. Of the 300-500 evacuees, most were vacationers. (NSS as of 4:45 p.m. EDT July 29)
Twelve to thirteen bridges, sixty percent of the secondary roads, and a sewer plant sustained damage from the flooding. Four dams are being inspected by the State Engineer's Office.
Two hundred to five hundred structures were damaged to include businesses along the Ruidoso River.

State and Federal Actions
Public Assistance is preparing a staffing plan for New Mexico with the potential of doing PDAs; two teams are on standby and ready to deploy.  FEMA Region VI is monitoring the situation and is in communication with New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. However, Region VI has not received a request for federal assistance.  (NMDHSEM)

Louisiana Oil Spill Update

Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) activated at Normal Operations, 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. CDT (M-F).
All channels are open and operating at normal pace; however, a safety zone remains in effect in order to control vessel wakes. All water intakes are confirmed open with water quality testing being conducted on both the intake and outtake points. Water is determined as being acceptable. No requests for Federal assistance received nor are any requests anticipated.

Clean-up and salvage operations are continuing and visible floating oil has decreased significantly. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) discontinued dredging operations in the "Head of Passes" area due to picking up oil into their hopper barge; the USACE will not resume operations until they can ensure oil will not be picked up. A total of 72,000 gallons of water/oil mixture has been recovered (an estimated 54,600 gallons evaporated from the water). (USCG Command Center HQs)

Telegraph Fire Update

Firefighters are continuing their efforts to contain a wildfire burning near a main entrance to Yosemite National Park since the weekend. The fire has burned 29,600 acres and is 15 percent contained; no acres have burned on the Yosemite National Park and the park remains open.

Twelve minor injuries and no fatalities have been reported. There are currently 71 crews, 408 fire engines, 59 dozers, 30 water tenders, and 3,458 total personnel assigned to this fire. The number of destroyed structures increased to 25 residences and 27 outbuildings.

The California OES, Inland REOC and State SOC are activated at the duty officer level. Mariposa County has activated their EOC and an OES representative is on scene. There are currently 3 shelters open in two counties with a population of 26 people. (NSS as of 4:45 p.m. EDT July 29)

Approximately 4,000 homes are threatened with current evacuation orders in place for Jenkins' Hill to Big Grizzly. (Cal Fire)

PG&E shut down power lines into Yosemite Saturday because of the potential risk to firefighters working beneath the wires. The fire brought down a transmission line that carries electricity to the park. Media sources report that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) restored power this Tuesday afternoon to many of homes and businesses that lost electricity because of the Telegraph fire. A PG&E spokesperson reported that PG&E is moving another generator into Mariposa County and hopes to restore some power on Wednesday to Yosemite National Park. (Media Sources)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

Nothing significant to report. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
A tropical wave just offshore of the west coast of Africa is accompanied by a broad area of low pressure located about 300 miles east-southeast of the Cape Verde Islands.  This system has become better organized over the past several hours, and additional development is possible as it moves slowly west-northwestward.  Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.

Eastern Pacific:
A broad area of disturbed weather is located about 900 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Development, if any, of this system is expected to be slow to occur as it moves generally westward at 10 to 15 mph. Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.

Western Pacific:
There is no tropical storm activity for this region.  (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, NHS HPC)

Earthquake Activity

California Earthquake
A 5.4 earthquake occurred at 11:42 a.m. PDT Tuesday, 2 miles SW of Chino Hills, CA (29 miles ESE of Los Angeles Civic Center). The depth was 7.6 miles. There have been more than 70 aftershocks reported by USGS in the general vicinity as of 9:00 p.m. PDT Tuesday. The largest aftershock was a magnitude 3.8.

FEMA Liaison arrived at the Office of Emergency Services, State Operations Center Tuesday afternoon, July 28. The counties affected are San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, and Los Angeles. The City of Pomona in Los Angeles County declared a local emergency.

State Operations Center Director advises that, unless significant events dictate otherwise, the SOC will stand down July 30. The SOC is on Duty Officer status. Southern Regional Emergency Operations Center, Los Angeles County and local EOCs, Orange County, and San Bernardino County EOC are all deactivated by 6:00 p.m. PDT July 29.

California Highway Patrol reports no damage to roadways or overpasses. There were no road closures.
All Nuclear Generating Stations report no damage and no negative impact from the earthquake.
Department of Water Resources reports no damage to State Water Project. Operational Regions 1 & 4 Disaster Medical Health Specialists report that hospitals in the affected operational regions have been polled and there are no reports of significant damage.  (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Fire Activity as of Tuesday, July 29, 2008:
National Wildfire Preparedness Level: 4
Initial attack activity: Light (190 new fires)
New large fires: 3 (Flag Knoll, ID: Ravia, OK; Rock Creek, TX)
Uncontained large fires: 38
Large fires contained: 3
States with Large fires: CA, FL, ID, MT, NC, ND, OK, TX, VA, WA and WY

Predictive Services Discussion: Windy conditions are expected from the northern Sierras to the Rockies. Mixed wet and dry thunderstorms are forecast over portions of the northern Great Basin, Northern Rockies and eastern Oregon. Dry weather will persist over California as well as central and northern Texas. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

New Hampshire: On Tuesday, July 29, the Governor requested an expedited major disaster declaration for Individual Assistance and Public Assistance for five counties and Hazard Mitigation statewide as a result of severe storms and tornadoes that occurred July 24. Direct Federal assistance was also requested.

Indiana: Amendment #15 to Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-1766-DR for the State of Indiana, dated June 8, 2008, amends the cost sharing arrangements concerning Federal funds by establishing June 23, 2008 as the date that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NWS River Forecast Center reported that the rivers in the State of Indiana fell below flood stage.

Missouri: Amendment #8 to Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-1773-DR for the State of Missouri, dated June 25, 2008, amends the cost sharing arrangements concerning Federal funds by establishing July 18, 2008 as the date that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NWS River Forecast Center reported that the rivers in the State of Missouri fell below flood stage.

Nebraska: Amendment #3 to FEMA-1770-DR, approved July 29, adds Holt County for Individual Assistance (already designated for Public Assistance) and Wheeler County for Public Assistance as a result of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred May 22 thru June 24, 2008.  (FEMA HQ)