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National Situation Update: Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Flash Flooding in Arizona

Over the weekend heavy rain caused flash flooding conditions along Cataract Creek located in Coconino County and the Havasupai Indian Reservation in Arizona. 240 tourists and local residents were evacuated with 11 people still unaccounted for as of August 18, 2008. Six people remain in shelters. Reports that the Redlands Dam had failed has not been confirmed.  (FEMA Region IX)

Heavy Rain Floods Homes, Forces Rescues In Texas

Torrential rains flooded nearly 800 homes in southern Texas on Monday, forcing frantic rescues by boat and sending families scrambling for high ground before they returned to salvage belongings from swamped homes. More than 13 inches of rain fell in some parts of Starr County. The worst of the flooding was north of the Rio Grande Valley's main highway, where a "lake" 3 miles long and a mile wide ran through neighborhoods in Escobares and Los Saenz, small communities east of Roma.

Emergency workers were using any boat available to remove people from their homes. Two shelters were opened in the county at one point. About 60 people were rescued from flooded homes and taken to a local community center. Authorities said an estimated 750 homes were flooded.. U.S. Highway 83 was closed all afternoon after Arroyo Quiote topped its banks, running as much as a foot and a half above the guardrails. Motorists trying to reach Roma from the east were sent on a long traffic-clogged detour to the north.About 10,000 people live in Roma, about 210 miles south of San Antonio.
The impact of so much rain was compounded because the ground was still saturated from Hurricane Dolly in late July. (Media Sources)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

Nothing significant to report. (FEMA HQ)

Nevada Wildfire

A fast moving brush fire destroyed six homes in less than an hour before dozens of firefighters doused the flames. The fire reportedly started just before 3:00 p.m. in sage brush and dry grass on a hillside and quickly burned up to 2 acres as it made its way into homes on the city's north side just east of U.S. Highway 395 near Reno, Nevada. Officials ordered residents to evacuate the Ridgecrest neighborhood for several blocks around the fire before getting the fire under control. There were no serious injuries reported, although two firefighters were treated at the scene for heat exhaustion and a third suffering from smoke inhalation was taken to a Reno hospital as a precaution.

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
Tropical Storm Fay
At 05:00 a.m. EDT the center of Tropical Storm Fay was about 55 miles south of Fort Myers, Florida.  TS Fay is moving toward the north-northeast near 9 mph and this motion is expected to continue today taking the center of Fay across the Florida peninsula. A decrease in forward speed and a turn to the north is expected on Wednesday. Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph with higher gusts. Slow weakening is expected as Fay moves inland.  Tropical Storm force winds extend outward up to 125 miles from the center.  Estimated minimum central pressure is 989 mb (29.21 inches) All Hurricane Warnings have been discontinued. A tornado touched down in Wellington, Palm Beach County, Florida, at about 1:40 a.m. EDT earlier today, destroying one building. No injuries were reported.
Invest 94
An area of low pressure located 825 miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands is expected to become increasingly unfavorable for development over the next 48 hours as it moves westward or westnorthwestward near 15 mph.

Eastern Pacific:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.

Western Pacific:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours. (NOAA, 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)

Wildfire Update

National Fire Activity as of Monday, August 18, 2008:
National Wildfire Preparedness Level: 4
Initial attack activity: Light (155 new fires)
New large fires: 6
Uncontained large fires: 21
Large fires contained: 2
States with Large fires: CA, ID, MT, NM, OR, TX, WA and WY
Mixed wet and dry thunderstorms and gusty winds are expected over portions of northern  California, the Pacific Northwest and western Montana with more isolated storms in Nevada and Utah.  Cooler temperatures and high humidity will be spreading into the Northwest and northern California.  Dry weather is expected over southern California. (NIFC, CAL Fire)

Disaster Declaration Activity

FEMA-1768-DR-WI. Amendment #16 adds Walworth County for Public Assistance (already designated for Individual Assistance).
FEMA-1763-DR-IA  Amendment #17 closes the incident period for this disaster effective August 13, 2008.
FEMA-1763-DR-IA Amendment #18 adds Winnebago County for Public Assistance (already designated for Individual Assistance) in the State of Iowa (FEMA HQ)