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

National Situation Update: Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather Forecast

Northeast
Heavy rain will continue for New England today and moving off the Maine coast by evening.

Light showers will continue today from Virginia to New York.

South
A cold front over southern Florida will trigger showers and thunderstorms.  (NWS, Media Sources)

Mississippi Valley Flooding

Severe Weather/Midwest Flooding
Regional Offices and NRCC are monitoring current river levels in the Mississippi Valley.

Flood Warnings and Watches continue in the Mississippi River Valley from Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri to Arkansas and Louisiana.

The Regions and States have reported no issues. (Region IV RRCC, Region VI RRCC, National Weather Service)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No significant activity to report. (FEMA HQ)

Severe Storm Activity, Suffolk County, VA

On April 28, 2008 the National Weather Service received reports of multiple tornadoes in the Suffolk, Virginia area.

The Governor of Virginia has declared a State of Emergency.

One shelter is open, with an unknown number of occupants.

Damage has been reported in four areas:  Suffolk, Colonial Heights, Brunswick County and Halifax County.  There have been zero (0) confirmed fatalities, 200+ non-life-threatening injuries, 30 homes damaged, an unknown number of damaged businesses and 10,000 residents without power (and declining).

The Virginia EOC is activated in "Response Operations," and a FEMA LNO is deployed to the Virginia EOC.

Additional Region III staff will deploy on April 29, 2008.  Additional staff will include a Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO), Public Assistance (PA) and Individual Assistance (IA) staff from the Region III Disaster Assistance Division, and the FEMA-MOC-Thomasville has deployed MERS assets to support response operations.

There has been no request for Federal Assistance.

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

In the past 24 hours, a swarm of 54 earthquakes continued for the Reno/Verdi-Mogul, Nevada area, ranging from 1.0 - 4.2 Mb.  There were no reports of damage or injuries.

The FEMA N-IMAT and Region IX are sending a planning assessment team, to include an NG DCO, to Carson City, Nevada to conduct gap analysis and develop contingency plans, and are scheduled to arrive today, April 29, 2008.  (USGS, FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level:  1
National Fire Activity as of Monday, April 28, 2008:
Initial attack activity: Light (128 new fires)
New large fires: 1
Large fires contained: 0
Uncontained large fires: 11
Weather Discussion:  Gusty winds, low humidity and warm temperatures may lead to critical fire weather conditions across the Northern and Central Plains, as well as much of the Southwest. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center, InciWeb, NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)