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National Situation Update: Monday, February 16, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

California:
Wind, rain and mountain snow will continue to impact California through Monday as a low pressure area sits just offshore of northern California.

Winter storm warnings extend from the mountains of northern California southward through the Sierras to the mountains north and east of Los Angeles. Parts of the Sierras may receive 2 to 4 feet of snow.

A broad band of heavy precipitation currently extends from San Francisco and Monterey Bay into the Sierra around Lake Tahoe. Augmenting bands will likely rotate in off the Pacific, bringing rain and mountain snow back to northwest California.

Heavy rain and mountain snow will push southward into the Los Angeles area by Monday morning and San Diego by later this afternoon.  A flash flood watch is in effect for Southern California from Santa Barbara County to San Diego County.

South winds are increasing across Southern California. Wind gusts could reach as high as 75 mph in the mountains of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles, causing localized damage and blizzard conditions.  (NOAA, National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

U.S. Satellite Destroyed In Space Collision

Iridium Satellite LLC confirmed today that one of its satellites was destroyed Tuesday in an unprecedented collision with a spent Russian satellite over Siberia at an altitude of 490 miles.
The incident was observed by the U.S. Defense Department's Space Surveillance Network, which later was tracking two large clouds of debris.

This is the first time two intact spacecraft accidentally ran into each other, said a scientist of NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.  The collision appears to be the worst space debris event since China intentionally destroyed one of its aging weather satellites during a 2007 anti-satellite test.

The debris created in Tuesday's collision is being tracked to assess its risk of damaging other satellites and the International Space Station.  The U.S. Space Surveillance Network continuously tracks more than 18,000 separate man-made objects and debris at any given time, including more than 500 pieces of debris which pose an additional risk to satellites.

There are no reports of any significant satellite debris impacting the surface of the earth.   (NASA, Media Sources)

Winter Ice Storms - Update

Recovery efforts continue for impacted areas.  Federal, State and Local governments are coordinating these response and recovery operations.

Region IV

Kentucky   
Fatalities: 36 confirmed fatalities for FEMA 1818-DR-KY and FEMA 3302-EM-KY (JFO Sitrep #7)
Power Outages:
There are approximately 2,000 customers without power due to the February 11 high wind event. (ESF-12 Report, Feb 15)
There are approximately 6,000 customers without power due to the ice storm. (ESF-12 Report, Feb 15)
Power restoration should be completed by the end of February.(KY JFO Sitrep #8).

Region VI

Region VIII to assume operational control for OK response. (FEMA Region VI)
Joint PDAs continue in AR and OK.  (Region VI DSAR Feb 13)

Arkansas   
Power Outages: 13,494 customers from a peak outage of 315,324 (corrected number). (AR JFO Feb 14)
Shelters: 4 / Occupants: 28; All ARC shelters closed.(AR JFO Feb 14)
No unmet needs or limiting factors.

Region VII

Missouri
The MO EOC is activated at Level II, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. CST.
Fatalities: 8.
Power Outages: 6,800 customers; the majority of power outages remain isolated to the extreme southwest portion of the state. (Region VII DSAR Feb 13)
Shelters: 2 / Occupants: 21. (Region VII DSAR Feb 13)

Volcanic Activity – Redoubt Volcano, Alaska

As of 15 February, unrest at Mount Redoubt continues.

Elevated seismicity is continuing, dominated by ongoing volcanic tremor and occasional small earthquakes.

FAA continues to restrict air travel in a 10 mile radius around Redoubt to 60,000 MSL
The Aviation Color Code remains at ORANGE and the Volcano Alert Level remains at WATCH (Region X, AVO, USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program)

Volcanic Tremor Vs Earthquakes

Tremor is a seismic vibration, similar to a volcanic earthquake, but of longer duration and more continuous than earthquakes of the same amplitude.

Volcanic tremor can last from minutes to days. It may be caused by magma moving through narrow cracks, boiling and pulsation of pressurized fluids within the volcano, or escape of pressurized steam and gases from fumaroles.(USGS)

Puerto Rico Earthquake Activity

Activity continues with 11 reported earthquakes approximately 60 miles off the northern coast of Puerto Rico ranging between magnitude 3.0 and 3.3. There have been no tsunami warnings or watches generated and no reports of damage or injuries. (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

The President has signed a Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-1820-DR for Oklahoma for Severe Storm and Tornadoes for the incident period, February 10-11, 2009.

The declaration authorizes Individual Assistance for 3 counties and Hazard mitigation for all counties in the state.

The FCO is Douglas G. Mayne of the National FCO Program.

Additional designations may be made at a later date after further evaluation.  (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:27:26 EDT