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

National Situation Update: Monday, April 2, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Typhoon Kong-Rey Threatening the Northern Mariana Islands

The current warning from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has Typhoon 01W (Kong-Rey) 287 miles east of Guam in the Western Pacific. 

The JTWC forecast indicates Kong-Rey will continue to track to the northwest and pass approximately 50 miles northeast of  Saipan  at 4:00 pm EDT today (and 160 miles northeast of Guam at 1:00 pm EDT today) with sustained winds of 103 mph and gusts to 126 mph. A typhoon warning remains in effect for Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan.

Saipan is at Typhoon Readiness Level-2 and will upgrade to Level-1 when the Typhoon is 12 hours away. 

Guam is currently at Readiness Condition Level-2 (damaging winds may arrive within 24 hours).  The Guam Office of Civil Defense is monitoring the storm and is alerting residents.

A Region IX three man advance team is in Hawaii and will be leaving for Guam this morning.  They will be meeting with representatives from CNMI and Guam. 

FEMA Region IX and the Bothell MERS Operations Center will continue to monitor. (Joint Typhoon Warning Center, FEMA Region IX)

National Weather Update

West:  Under high pressure Washington and Oregon will have only scattered light showers.  A low pressure system over the Northern Rockies will produce rain showers and snow from Idaho eastward into Montana and Wyoming. Significant accumulations of wet snow are expected in the mountains of northwest Wyoming and in Montana east of the Continental Divide. Gusty winds are forecast for the northern Great Basin and Wyoming as cold air moves into the region. High temperatures are expected to range from the 20s in parts of the northern Rockies to the 90s in Arizona.

Midwest:  As the low pressure system moves East rain and snow will spread into the Dakotas. Tonight, heavy snow should continue to spread eastward through North Dakota into northern Minnesota. Flood Warnings and Watches continue for many rivers in the region. High temperatures will range from the 30s along the border to the 80s in Kansas, Missouri and western Kentucky.

South:  Precipitation will be limited to showers or thundershowers along the Gulf Coast. Most of the South will enjoy temperatures substantially above average with highs in the 80s.

Northeast:  With a low pressure center north of the Great Lakes the associated frontal system is moving northward producing rain and rain showers from New York to New England. In Maine, snow may mix with the rain.  High temperatures are forecast to range from the 30s in Maine to the 80s in eastern Virginia.   (NWS, Media Sources)

Severe Weather Illinois and Wisconsin

Severe weather moved through northern Illinois and Wisconsin March 31, 2007 causing minor damage and injuries.

The Wisconsin EOC reports: Severe weather moved into Wisconsin last evening producing thunderstorms, tornado watches and warnings, and hail.  As of 10:00 am EDT on April 1, 2007, there were no reports of major damage or request for assistance by county emergency management offices.

Grant County - Grant County Emergency Management reported minor damage in the Potosi area which included downed trees and sheds with roofs blown off.  Officials say a house fire in Platteville was caused by lightening and the Fair Play 9-1-1 Exchange near Cuba City was down.  The rest of the 9-1-1 system was operational.
 
State of Wisconsin - The State of Wisconsin Emergency Operations Center was partially activated last night in response to the severe weather.  No injuries reported. There has been no request for state assistance.  Wisconsin Emergency Management contacted all counties under the tornado watches and warnings.  Crawford, Iowa, Sauk, Dane Richland, Vernon and Columbia Counties were contacted and there were no reports of storm damage.

The Illinois EOC reports: The weather system caused damage to 9 structures in Dupage County, IL. One apartment building was damaged beyond repair when the roof was blown off and the exterior walls appear to be structurally damaged. Fifty residents are displaced due to this event. The American Red Cross reports that most individuals did not need sheltering.  The State reports 11 injuries and no fatalities. Six of the injured were transported to the hospital via ambulance. The remaining injured transported themselves to the hospital. The State EOC reports that all county and local EOC's are closed at this time. There is no request for State assistance. The NWS is en route to the affected area to confirm if this event was caused by a microburst or an F0 tornado.   (FEMA Region V)

Earthquake and Tsunami in the South Pacific

On April 1, 2007, at 4:39 pm (EDT) there was a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in the  Solomon Islands (1330 miles NNE of Brisbane, Queensland , Australia) at a depth of 6.2 miles. There are continuing aftershocks. 

Tsunamis were observed  at Honiara, Solomon Islands (0.5 ft) and Port Vila, Vanuatu (0.4 ft).  A The Tsunami Warning and Watch for other areas has been canceled.  Some coastal areas in Hawaii could still get small non-destructive sea level changes and strong or unusual currents lasting up to several hours beginning 12:35 am EDT today. 

Several people were killed in the Solomon Islands, dozens of buildings collapsed and at least one coastal village was destroyed, according to news reports from the area. A hotel worker in Gizo told New Zealand Television that a torrent of water 10 feet high poured through the town, smashing buildings along the waterfront.

The earthquake was caused by a sudden slippage where the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates meet together near the Solomon islands, the National Earthquake information Center of United States Geological Survey reported.  It's not surprising for it to generate a tsunami, said a geologist at the center.  The center said on its Web site that the original earthquake was followed by severe aftershocks with magnitudes of 6.7 and 6.4 within an hour and a half.

Mid-ocean earthquakes of a magnitude 8.0 can generate tsunamis that cause catastrophic damage close to the epicenter, and the shallow depth made it more likely that the quake lifted the ocean floor to create the wave.  But generally a tsunami from an earthquake of that magnitude is not powerful enough to inflict damage thousands of miles away.

Our simulation model indicates to us the beam of energy of the tsunami was going to be directed to the south, said a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. That spared the islands to the north and the waves' energy had largely dissipated before reaching Australia and New Zealand.   ((USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)
Media Sources)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean/Eastern Pacific: No significant activity to report.

Western Pacific: No activity threatening United States territories except Typhoon 01W (Kong-Rey) discussed above.  (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

There were no significant earthquakes in the United States during the last 24 hours. (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)