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National Situation Update: Thursday, July 5, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather

South
Showers and thunderstorms continue in the forecast for Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas Thursday. Most of the rain will be centered in Texas, especially southern and eastern portions of the state. Parts of Louisiana and Florida may also see few heavy downpours.

West
High heat, recording-breaking heat, will sear much of the West for yet another day tomorrow. Over 120 degrees is possible in the lower Colorado Valley (124F) and Death Valley (129F). Triple-digit heat is forecast to blanket the Great Basin and Columbia Basin, reaching northward into southern British Columbia.

Northeast
Scattered showers and storms will dampen the Northeast Thursday. A few storms from southern New England and the southern tier of New York state southward could turn severe.

Midwest
Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are forecast for Wisconsin and Michigan. Storms in southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky could become severe. Some late-day showers and storms are possible in Nebraska.(NWS, Media Sources)

Flood Cleanup Efforts Underway in Coffeyville, Kansas

In Coffeyville, Kansas, the water is dropping, leaving oil and mud behind. The cleanup in Coffeyville has only begun for the people who had the least damage to their homes. The rest of the people are not being allowed back to their homes until the water drops and environmental testing can be done.

In one neighborhood, the water level has dropped at least six feet, but there is still substantial flooding in hundreds of homes. At the water's edge, there is a band of crude oil left behind and it stains the sides of the houses. There are air quality monitoring crews driving around, and they have also begun checking homes to make sure they're safe.

Now that the water level has dropped, the extent of the damage in the flood areas is becoming clearer. Not many have even attempted to start cleaning up, but they've got a lot of work ahead of them.

Damage to the Coffeyville, KS water treatment plant has shut it down.  Company officials stated that overflow of crude oil from the refinery's main storage tank has stopped.  The company is working closely with the city, state and federal agencies engaged in mitigating the environmental impact of the loss, and are actively reaching out to those people affected.

FEMA Logistics has been tasked to support approximately 20,000 people with water daily. 
4 trucks of water that was en-route to Wichita, KS have been re-routed to 200 West Main Street Dearing, KS to be unloaded and then transported to other locations by local authorities.

LC-Fort Worth has been reactivated to load 18 trucks of water to be shipped to Kansas Wednesday night for staging in Dearing, KS and Wichita, KS. (Region VII, FEMA Logistics,  Media sources) 

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No new significant activity (FEMA HQ) 

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico:
A well-defined low pressure area over the central Atlantic Ocean is located about 1,050 miles east of the southern Windward Islands moving westward at 10 to 15 mph.  While associated shower and thunderstorm activity remains limited, this system still has some potential for tropical cyclone formation during the next day or so before upper-level winds become less favorable for development.

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

Western Pacific:
No significant activity. (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

A moderate 4.6 magnitude earthquake was reported July 3, at 8:13 pm EDT in the vicinity of Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands.  No reports of damage or tsunami bulletins. (NOAA, USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

Individual Assistance PDAs for Comanche County, Oklahoma began on July 3, 2007.

Individual Assistance PDAs began in the following Texas counties July 3, 2007:  Burnet, Eastland, Parker, Stephens, and Wichita. Public Assistance PDAs will begin in those areas July 5, 2007.  (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level:  2
States Most Affected: Alaska, Idaho, New Mexico
National Fire Activity as of Wednesday, July 4, 2007:

• Initial attack activity: Moderate (203 new fires)
• New large fires: 4
• Large fires contained: 5
• Uncontained large fires: 11

Neola North Fire, located three miles north of Neola, Utah, has consumed 42,184 acres and is 50% contained.  175 structures, including the Ulintah County Power Station and a water treatment plant are threatened, 12 residences and 24 outbuildings have been destroyed. Estimated containment date is unknown

Weather Discussion: Very hot and dry weather will continue over the West. Dry thunderstorms are expected across eastern Arizona, western New Mexico and western Colorado Thursday.

On Thursday, a few dry thunderstorms are also expected over portions of northern California and Oregon. The Alaska interior will see warm weather with some thunderstorms over the next couple of days. The Southeast will have scattered thundershowers through Thursday. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center, InciWeb, FEMA Region X, NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)