Skip to content

National Situation Update: Friday, June 20, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West:
The Southwest will remain hot June 20 - 22, 2008.  Inland from the beaches, highs in the Los Angeles Basin will be in the 90s and low 100s June 20 - 21, 2008.  Phoenix will peak at 110 or above right June 20 - 22, 2008, and the Excessive Heat Warning continues through June 21, 2008.
Thunderstorms, occasionally severe, will take place up-and-down the high Plains and eastern Rockies June 20 - 22, 2008.
Midwest:
Showers and thunderstorms, some severe, will precede and accompany a cold front across the Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley June 20 - 22, 2008.
A separate disturbance moving out of the Rockies will cause more thunderstorms from the central Plains to Missouri into June 20, 2008 before exiting southeastward across the Southern states.
Thunderstorms over the Plains will be much less June 20 - 22, 2008, especially by June 22.  By June 23, 2008, thunderstorms will quickly be on the increase over the Plains and Kansas could again see a heavy-rain-producing thunderstorm complex.
South:
Dry weather, with increasing humidity will stay in the Southeast June 20, 2008, while clusters of thunderstorms move from the southern Plains into the lower Mississippi River Valley.  Some of the AR/LA/TX storms will contain damaging winds and hail, with more thunderstorms occurring over the Florida Peninsula.
High temperatures will range from near 90 in the Carolinas to the low 80s in Arkansas to over 100 along the Texas Rio Grande.
Thunderstorms will shift into the Southeast June 21, 2008, where June rainfall total have been low so far.
Thunderstorms are forecast to be mostly confined to the Southeast Coast, Florida and the northern Gulf Coast by June 22 - 23, 2008, although a few isolated thunderstorms could occur in the southern Plains.
Northeast:
Showers will continue from Pennsylvania and New York to New England June 20, 2008.
June 20 - 22, 2008, showers and thunderstorms will return to the entire region as a new disturbance and cold front move from the Upper Midwest into the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
By June 23, 2008, that next cold front will be moving to the East Coast with the heaviest showers and thunderstorms occurring through the Hudson Valley and New England.  (NWS, Media Sources)

Midwest Severe Weather and Flooding

During the past two weeks over ten (10) inches of rain, about eight (8) inches more than normal, have fallen in the vicinity of Des Moines, IA and over large areas of northeastern IA, southern WI and west-central Lower MI.  Major flooding is occurring or forecast over most of Iowa.  Significant flooding is also occurring or forecast across southern WI and northern IL.  Moderate-to-major flooding is forecast along the Mississippi River from IA downstream to IL.

FEMA Region V RRCC:

  • Activated at Level II 24/7 with Planning, Watch, DCE, USCG and ESFs 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 15; ESF 12 deactivated.
  • Region V LNOs deployed to IN, WI, MI and IL EOCs.
  • Activated Mississippi River Planning Cell to prepare for impacts of record flooding.
  • FEMA Region I ERT-A on site at Rock Island, IL.
  • FEMA Region V IMAT conducting operations in IL.

Illinois:

  • IL EOC activated, 24/7 operations with ESF support
  • Unified Area Commands (UACs) established in Alton and Quincy
  • 5 shelters; population: 18
  • 2,626 residents evacuated; unknown number returned
  • 645 (electric) and 800 (gas) customers without power
  • Destroyed:  unknown; Damaged:  1,150
  • FEMA delivered 10 truckloads of water to Rock Island Arsenal at approximately 10:00 a.m. CDT, June 18, 2008.
  • Addition 1 million (1,000,000) sandbags provided
  • Joint IA and PA PDAs ongoing
  • Flooding continues on the Rock and Mississippi Rivers
  • Department of Health is stockpiling 100,000 gallons of water for Adams County (stockpile currently at 60,000).
  • Water and Generators being staged at National Logistics Staging Area (NLSA), Rock Island; 40,000 gallons of water moved to Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Facility, Quincy, for possible loss of Quincy water plant
  • Seven (7) of eight (8) trucks of plastic rolls for sandbagging operations arrived in Quincy, IL; eighth truck arrived 12:01 a.m. CDT, June 18, 2008.
  • Denver-MERS team on site at IL EOC.
  • Four (4) US Highways closed
  • Amtrak plans to restore rail service on the Los Angeles-Chicago and Seattle/Portland-Chicago routes; Southwest Chief 3 and four trains (Kansas City and Chicago) expected to resume June 20, 2008
  • FCC verbally authorized Special Temporary Authority (STA) to provide cellular service in support of National Guard in Alton
  • 6 levees overtopped, 15 levees threatened and 97 levees predicted not to overtop
  • Sny Levee #1, protecting I-72, damaged extensively, USACE tactical response team deploying
  • 27 counties affected; 17 under emergency declarations
  • Boil water order issued by City of Galesburg at 4:30 p.m. EDT, June 17, 2008, affecting Galesburg, East Galesburg, Abingdon and Knoxville, as emergency backup wells that don't have an IL EPA approved chlorination system are used due to floodwaters threatening the pumping station at Oquawka.
  • USACE reports current Upper Mississippi River closure is from Lock/Dam #15 in Rock Island to Lock/Dam #25 near Winfield, MO

Indiana:

  • State EOC at watch level and staffed by public safety, law enforcement and homeland security representatives
  • IA PDAs conducted in 27 counties
  • 3 fatalities; 5 injuries
  • 4 shelters; population: 45
  • 3 levees overtopped, 0 threatened
  • 3,034 residents evacuated; at least 700 residents returned
  • 318 customers without power
  • Destroyed:  281; Damaged:  4,895
  • A Mission Planning Team€ has been deployed to JFO to scope housing issues with the State as part of a Joint Housing Task Force
  • 50 counties affected; 30 counties declared States of Emergency
  • Joint IA/PA PDAs ongoing

Wisconsin:

  • EOC activated at Level I, 24/7, with ESFs 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8.
  • FEMA Region II ERT-A on site in Madison
  • Joint PA PDAs ongoing
  • Flooding continues on the Crawfish, Rock and Fox Rivers
  • 1 fatality; 0 injuries
  • 4 shelters; population: 47
  • 2,554 residents evacuated; unknown number returned
  • 257 customers without power
  • Destroyed:  42; Damaged:  Major (460), Minor (474); Affected (584); Total:  1,535
  • WI Department of Natural Resources monitoring dams in southern WI.
  • JFO in Madison opened June 17, 2008
  • FEMA Disaster Centers opened in Reedsburg, Vemon and Crawford
  • Joint Housing Solutions Task Force (JHSTF) meeting during the week of June 22, 2008
  • US 50 in Kenosha opened
  • 30 counties affected; all are under State Emergency Declaration.

FEMA Region VII RRCC:

  • Level II, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. CDT (Mon - Fri)
  • Region IV IMAT deployed to Cedar Rapids, IA.
  • Delivered 2.6 million liters of water, approximately 170,000 MREs and 47,000 sandbags as of June 19, 2008

Iowa:

  • State EOC partially activated at Level 5, 24/7.
  • 17 fatalities; 106 injuries
  • Public Health Emergency declared due to non-potable water
  • 9 shelters; population: 352
  • 5,900 (electric) and 13,000 (gas) customers without power
  • Destroyed:  405; Damaged:  24,970
  • 4 levees overtopped, 5 levees threatened, 3 levees breached and 73 levees predicted not to overtop
  • Crest has passed Des Moines and Quad Cities areas
  • Alliant Energy's Prairie Creek (224 mW Cap) and Sixth Street (75 mW Cap) flood damaged and out-of-service for the next six (6) months
  • MidAmerican Energy waiting to perform PDA on Coralville GT (72 mW Cap) plant due to flood damage and inaccessibility
  • Iowa Renewable Fuels Association report approximately 400 million gallons a year of ethanol production capacity in IA could be offline; 95% of all US production unaffected by flooding
  • PDA request for IA and PA received Monday for four (4) counties. Expect completion by end of week
  • IA PDAs conducted in 27 counties; PA PDAs ongoing
  • Flooding continues on the Mississippi River
  • 2 USCG DART Teams in Iowa City
  • Total National Guard response:  3,703
  • Mobile 911 unit online in Cedar Rapids
  • 2 emergency provision Telecommunications Service Priorities (TSPs) for 2 frame relay circuits for the US Senators from IA whose offices were flooded and have been moved to the Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids
  • 83 counties affected; all under Emergency Declaration
  • 17 National Highway System routes closed; section of I-80 and I-380 previously closed beginning to reopen

Kansas:

  • State EOC activated Level 3, 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. CDT.
  • Additional IA and PA PDAs began June 16, 2008; anticipated to be completed by the end of the week.
  • 2 fatalities; numerous injuries (number unknown)
  • 409 customers without power
  • Destroyed:  69; Damaged:  Major (63); Minor (152); Total:  215
  • 71 counties affected

Missouri:

  • The Governor's request for an expedited major disaster declaration for Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, direct Federal assistance, and Hazard Mitigation for all 115 counties and the independent City of St. Louis is being processed.
  • State EOC activated at Level II, Partially Activated (7:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. CDT, Su - Sa), with ESF support (ESFs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 15 and 16).
  • 5 shelters; population: 58
  • 180 (gas) customers without power
  • Destroyed:  154; Damaged:  694
  • USCG Liaison at State EOC
  • USCG DART Team from Ohio River Valley deployed east of Hannibal, with one (1) team enroute from New Orleans, LA.
  • Total National Guard response:  691 personnel
  • 14 counties affected
  • 20 levees overtopped, 15 levees threatened, 1 levee breached and 116 levees predicted not to overtop
  • Flooding continues on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers
  • NLSA established at Lambert Field, St. Louis
  • Hazard Mitigation beginning collection of perishable€ data (i.e.: high water marks) to assist in safe rebuilding
  • Upper Missouri River crested, continues to recede; moderate and minor flooding continues
  • Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) reports 35 roads closed
  • 3 Mississippi River Bridges closed:  US 54 (Pike County), US 61 (Alexandria) and eastbound US 24 (West Quincy); no further closures anticipated at this time
  • Lincoln County:  Water is over the Pillsbury Levee, ½ mile south of Lock and Dam #25; Foley may be impacted by the rising water and Sandy Creek is a concern at this time.
  • Marion County:  19 homes affected and evacuations are completed in Mark Bottoms.
  • St. Charles County:  In St. Peters, water will soon overflow the levee on State Highway C.
  • City of St. Louis:  City has installed 23 floodgates; President Casino closed; no requests at this time.
  • Several counties have begun voluntary evacuations in anticipation of Mississippi River flooding.
  • St. Louis Harbor closed June 19 - 23, 2008 as the Mississippi River crests, cutting off barge traffic from the Illinois and Missouri Rivers.

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No new activity to report.  (FEMA HQ)   

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Eastern Pacific:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Western Pacific:
No threat to US territories. (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

A 4.0 magnitude earthquake occurred at 4:57 p.m. PDT (7:57 EDT), June 19, 2008, 8 miles south of Tres Pinos, CA at a depth of approximately 3.7 miles.  No reports of tsunami activity, damage or injuries occurred as a result of this event.  (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)

Wildfire Update

National Fire Activity as of Thursday, June 19, 2008:
National Wildfire Preparedness Level: 2
Initial attack activity: Moderate (202 new fires)
New large fires: 5
Large fires contained: 0
Uncontained large fires: 14
Predictive Services Discussion: Hot and dry weather will over the southwest quarter of the country.  Isolated dry thunderstorms are possible today in New Mexico and portions of Colorado.  Gusty winds will develop across much of the West.  Southern Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia will see another day of low relative humidity. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

The President signed Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-1769-DR for the State of West Virginia as a result of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Mudslides and Landslides that occurred June 3 - 7, 2008.  The Declaration provides for Individual Assistance for nine (9) counties (Barbour, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Marion, Taylor, and Tyler); Public Assistance for seven (7) counties (Barbour, Clay, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Marion, and Taylor); and Hazard Mitigation statewide.

Amendment #s 3 and 4 for FEMA-1768-DR-WI, approved June 19, 2008, adds seven (7) counties in Wisconsin (Fond du Lac, Iowa, Marquette, Grant, Kenosha, Rock and Sheboygan) for Individual Assistance.

Amendment #7 for FEMA-1763-DR-IA, approved June 18, 2008, adds one (1) county in Iowa (Lee) for Individual Assistance.

Amendment #8 for FEMA-1766-DR-IN, approved June 19, 2008, adds four (4) counties in Indiana (Grant, Huntington, Pike and Washington) for Individual Assistance and three (3) counties already designated for Emergency Protective Measures/Category B (Jefferson, Lawrence and Ripley) for Individual Assistance.  (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:35:22 EDT