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

National Situation Update: Friday, July 7, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

South:  Northern portions of the South will have sunshine and pleasant humidity levels. Scattered thunderstorms are forecast from the coastal Carolinas down to the Florida Peninsula and westward along the Gulf Coast to Texas. Thunderstorms will be on the increase this weekend across parts of the southern Plains and Texas.

Northeast:  Most of the Northeast is in for mostly sunny skies, pleasant temperatures and low humidity levels on Friday. Sunday, some scattered afternoon thunderstorms are forecast from Pennsylvania down through the Virginia and West Virginia. 

West:  Thunderstorms across parts of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona are prone to cause localized flash flooding.

Midwest:  The northern and central plains will be very warm, with a few isolated afternoon thunderstorms. Saturday may feature a few strong to severe thunderstorms across the upper Great Lakes region. Increased chances of thunderstorms are forecast across parts of Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri on Sunday. Also on Sunday, isolated afternoon thunderstorms are possible over the western Great Lakes area. (NWS, Media Sources)

Tropical Activity

Atlantic: No tropical storm activity.
Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea: No new activity to report.
Eastern Pacific: No tropical storm activity.
Western Pacific: No tropical storm activity.(USDOC/NOAA/NWS, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake was reported in Northern Alaska, 450 miles northwest of Fairbanks. No reports of damage.

A strong 6.1 earthquake was reported early Friday morning in Tonga, 206 miles west southwest of Pago Pago, American Samoa. No tsunami bulletins generated. (United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program, NWS, West Coast-Alaska Tsunami Warning Center)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

Firefighters made headway against a 450-acre fire Thursday east of Los Angeles. Evacuation orders were lifted for residents of 200 mobile homes.  Another fire was contained in the hills north of Los Angeles, which had closed southbound Interstate Five for some time, threatening some homes and an elementary school.

Initial attack activity was heavy nationally with 412 new fires reported. Six new large fires  were reported, two in the Northern Rockies Area and one each in the Eastern Great Basin, Western Great Basin, Northwest and Southern Areas.

Seven large fires were contained, two each in the Eastern Great Basin and Northern California Areas and one each in the Western Great Basin, Southwest and Rocky Mountain Areas.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, California, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah.  (National Interagency Fire Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)