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National Situation Update: Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather Forecast

Northeast
Snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches are forecast for the southern sections of New England this morning, especially over the south shore of Massachusetts and Cape Cod. The Northeast will then experience scattered snow showers the remainder of the day. A weak storm system over North Carolina may send some snow over the lower Chesapeake Bay and the southern Del-Mar-VA Peninsula.
Midwest
Scattered snow showers are expected from the Great Lakes southward into eastern Kentucky and the central Appalachians, accompanied by cold winds. Several more inches of lake-effect snow will are forecast for the morning across portions of northern Indiana just south of Lake Michigan. High temperatures will range from the single digits on parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula to the low 60s in far western Kansas.
South
An Arctic cold front will sweep down through Florida, leading to a very cold Wednesday night. A few inches of snow may fall across the Raleigh, N.C., to Norfolk, Va., corridor early this morning and continue across the southern Appalachians through the day. Red Flag Warnings are in effect from the afternoon into evening today for most of Georgia and Florida due to low humidity and strong gusty winds. The dry airmass over the region is expected to continue through Thursday.
West
Dry conditions are expected across the West until a new storm system arrives in California on Thursday, bringing rain through Saturday.  (National Weather Service and Media)

Winter Ice Storm – Update

Background:
A major winter storm knocked out power across the Midwestern United States from Arkansas to West Virginia last week. The powerful storm produced significant amounts of snow, sleet, and ice. Considerable icing of one-inch-or-greater was reported throughout impacted areas. Major damage reports include downed trees and power lines, causing mass power outages.
Current Situation:
Recovery efforts continue for impacted areas. Federal, State and local governments are coordinating commodities and distribution from the National Logistic Staging Areas. As of 6:00 p.m. EST Wednesday, February 3, approximately 299,808 customers were without power in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio. This is down from the 356,140 customers without power reported Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. EST.
Weather:
Snow and windy conditions are expected for eastern Kentucky through Wednesday. A low moving Southeast across the region tonight will bring snow and a return to very cold temperatures. As the storm system departs, northwest winds coming off of Lake Michigan will produce snow showers to most of Kentucky.(NWS, HPC)

Winter Ice Storm – Region IV

RRCC Status: activated at Level II, 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. EST
ESFs 1, 3, 6, 8, 12 and EMAC are activated.
Emergency Declaration FEMA-3302- for the Commonwealth of Kentucky was signed on January 28, 2009. This Emergency Declaration was amended on February 2 to include an additional 32 counties for Emergency Protective Measures (Category B), limited to direct Federal assistance, under the Public Assistance Program.
The Governor of Kentucky requested a Major Disaster Declaration as a result of ice, snow, and rain beginning on January 26 and continuing. The Governor is requesting Public Assistance for 93 counties and Hazard Mitigation for the entire Commonwealth as well as 100 percent Federal funding for public assistance (Categories A and B) including Federal assistance for the first seven days.
Region IV ERT-A; 20 FEMA LNOs, and the Regional Administrator are on-site at the KY EOC.
15 Public Assistance (PA) PDA teams and 6 Individual Assistance (IA) PDA teams are on stand-by in Kentucky; IA Management Team continues to prepare for PDAs.
Kentucky
The State EOC remains activated at Level III (Full Activation).
Fatalities: 25 confirmed fatalities. (RIV, 1100 VTC Feb 3)
Shelters: 138 / Occupants: 6,587. (RIV Status Brief Feb 3))
Power Outages: 157,878 (-59,767). (DOE 5:00 pm EST Feb 3)
Four hospitals and six nursing homes remain on generator power; one hospital is at capacity and six are near capacity.
FEMA Logistics Storm Support inbound to the Fort Campbell National Logistics Staging Area (NLSA):

  • 10 generators (FEMA) inbound; estimated time of arrival (ETA) was scheduled for late afternoon February 3, 2009.
  • 1 truckload of meals (21,312) inbound; ETA mid-afternoon Feb 4.
  • 11 truckloads of meals (234,432) will arrive mid-afternoon Feb 5 and another 11 truckloads of meals will arrive mid-afternoon Feb 6.
  • 27 truckloads of water (666,000 liters) inbound; ETA mid-afternoon Feb 4.
  • 21 truckloads of water (378,000 liters) will arrive mid-afternoon Feb 5 and another 21 truckloads of water will arrive mid-afternoon Feb 6.

ESF-2 reports all airport communication issues have been resolved.
The American Red Cross and the Southern Baptist Convention have served over 300,000 meals and snacks.

Winter Ice Storm – Region V

RRCC Status: RRCC remains at a Watch/Steady State status, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. CST (12/7).
The Region V Liaison (LNO) is deployed to the Indiana EOC.
Indiana
The SEOC was deactivated on February 1, and returned to normal operations.
Fatalities: 3 / Injuries: 12.
Sixteen counties declared local emergencies; however, the State has not issued any disaster or emergency declarations. (Region V DSAR)
Power Outages: 6,000 (-7,070) customers are without power (DOE 5:00 pm EST Feb 3); restoration is expected by Friday, February 6; the majority of power outages are located in southwestern IN.
Shelters: 7 / Occupants: 70. (ESF 6 as of 2:50 pm Feb 3)
The Indiana DHS deployed a five person EOC Management Team and 100 National Guard vehicles to Kentucky in response to an Emergency Management Assistance Compact request.
No unmet needs or shortfalls identified; no requests for Federal assistance.
Ohio
The State EOC is not activated.
Twelve counties have declared local emergencies; however, the State has not issued any disaster or emergency declarations.
Power Outages: 3,584 (-7,388) customers are without power (DOE 5:00 pm EST Feb 3); restoration is expected in the next 24 to 48 hours.
No unmet needs or shortfalls; no requests for Federal assistance.
Illinois
The Governor issued a State of Disaster declaration for 7 counties.
Power Outages: 480 (-1,620) customers are without power; complete power restoration expected Friday, February 6. (Region V / DOE)
No unmet needs or shortfalls; no requests for Federal assistance.

Winter Ice Storm – Region VI

RRCC Status: activated at Level III; 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST. The RRCC transitioned operations to the IOF yesterday, February 3. Arkansas IOF is located in North Little Rock; currently operational with limited communication capabilities.
On January 28, the President signed Emergency Declaration FEMA-3301-EM for the State of Arkansas for a Severe Winter Storm that occurred January 26 and continuing.
Arkansas
State EOC activated at Level IV (Full Activation) 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. EST.
Fatalities: 11 confirmed fatalities. (AR DEM SITREP 2200 Feb 2)
Shelters: 42/Occupants: 773. (AR DEM SITREP Feb 3)
Power Outages: 97,996 customers are without power (AR DEM SITREP Feb 3); complete restoration is expected to take at least one week, possibly more in some areas.
FEMA Logistics Storm Support for Fayetteville and Jonesboro NLSAs:

  • 10 truckloads of water inbound to the Fayetteville NLSA; ETA Feb 4 - early evening.
  • 4 truckloads of water will arrive each day to the Fayetteville NLSA beginning Feb 5 - early afternoon and will end Feb 7 - early afternoon.
  • 24 generators are inbound to Jonesboro NLSA; ETA Feb 4 - early morning.
  • 10 truckloads of water inbound to Jonesboro NLSA; ETA Feb 4 - early morning.
  • 4 truckloads of water will arrive each day to Jonesboro NLSA beginning Feb 5 - early afternoon and will end Feb 7 - early afternoon.

Five PA PDA teams are in the field continuing assessments; Four IA PDA teams are on stand-by. A total of 31 counties are requesting PDAs; 25 have been completed.
Boil water orders are issued for 23 counties, down 6 counties since Feb 3.
No unmet needs and no issues.

Winter Ice Storm – Region VII

RRCC Status: activated at Level III, 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. CST the need for continued activation will be evaluated on an on-going basis. The RRCC transitioned operations to the JFO at Jefferson City, MO as of Feb. 3. ESF 12 is activated; ESFs 3, 6 and 8 are on standby; ESF 12 continues to provide support from a remote location; and FEMA Region VII LNO is deployed to the MO State EOC.
PA PDAs began in 20 counties in Missouri Feb 3; the State continues to evaluate the need for IA PDAs. (Region VII Daily Ops Report)
On January 30, 2009, the President signed Emergency Declaration FEMA-3303-EM for all 114 counties in Missouri to include the Independent City of St. Louis.
Missouri
State EOC activated at Level II (7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. CST)
Fatalities: 6 confirmed.
Shelters: 25 / Occupants: 636. (MO EMA SITREP Feb 3)
Power outages: 25,800 customers (MO EMA SITREP Feb 3); the majority of outages are located in south and southeast Missouri.
All Interstate and state roads are operational.
No unmet needs or issues.

Volcanic Activity – Mount Redoubt, Alaska Update

Unrest at Redoubt Volcano continues. Seismic activity remains elevated above background and has been fairly stable all day. AVO staff successfully installed two new seismic stations at Redoubt Tuesday, February 3. Weather may close in and obscure web cam views for a few days. The FAA has banned air travel in a 10 mile radius around Redoubt Volcano up to an elevation of 60,000 feet as a precaution. The Aviation Color Code remains at ORANGE and the Volcano Alert Level remains at WATCH.  (Region X, AVO, USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program)

Fire Management Assistance Grant

No activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Western Pacific:
There are no current tropical cyclone warnings. (NOAA, HPC, 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)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:27:42 EDT