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National Situation Update: Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather



West:
A strong cold front will spread precipitation from coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest south to central California and east to central Montana. Sustained winds of 15 to 30 mph with gusts over 50 mph are likely from Wyoming southwest to eastern California. Tomorrow this system will bring snow to the northern and central Rockies which will be the first significant snow of the season.
Midwest:
The low that produced wet and windy conditions in the region yesterday is moving into eastern Canada but windy conditions and frequent showers will continue for the Great Lakes today. Sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts 35 to 40 mph are likely around the Great Lakes with lighter winds expected over the Ohio Valley. Showers will be winding down from northwest to southeast during the day with partial clearing expected at night. A tightening pressure gradient will produce 15 to 30 mph southeasterly winds with gusts approaching 50 mph across the western Dakotas and western Nebraska.
South:
The region will be cool and dry in the air mass behind the cold front. Low temperatures will dip to the 40s and 50s over much of the Southeast over the next few mornings. The only significant weather will be in south Florida and southern Texas where the stalled front will produce scattered thunderstorms.
Northeast:
Low pressure over eastern Canada will bring cool moist air to the region.  Precipitation is forecast for most of the region except for coastal areas. Areas just east of the Great Lakes may see some lake enhancement of the rainfall. A few thundershowers are also possible. Sustained winds of 10 to 20 mph are expected across most of the region. Gusts to 35 mph are possible from the Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic. (NOAA's National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Southeast Flooding



Recovery efforts in the Atlanta metro area continue.
Federal Response:
HQ FEMA:

  • NRCC remains at a Watch/Steady State Status, 24/7 Watch
  • The NRCC continues to monitor the situation.

FEMA Region IV:
RRCC Status:  Level III from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Watch Unit is at 24/7 

  • Future Operations Synopsis - Region IV will focus on continued support to the GEMA EOC via liaison officers, continued PDA assessments, DRC operations, community relations outreach to impacted communities, and public information on assistance and the clean-up process.
  • 7 FEMA LNOs are deployed to the Georgia EOC: FCO, Deputy FCO, Operations Chief, Individual Assistance, IA PDA coordinator,  Public Assistance, and Small Business Administration
  • 9 DRCs (mobile and fixed) are operational in GA
  • Joint FEMA, GEMA and local government officials continue conducting preliminary damage assessments.
  • PA PDAs have been completed in Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Crawford, Dawson, Dekalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Newton, Paulding, Stephens, Taylor and Walker Counties.
  • PA PDA Teams will assess Butts, Coweta, Dooly, Heard, Houston and Peach Counties today.
  • Partial PA PDAs have occurred in Forsyth and Peach Counties
  • All requests for IA PDAs have been completed.

Georgia Declaration Status
As of 9-28-09, 17 counties have been declared for IA and 13 counties for both IA and PA and 1 county for PA only

Critical Infrastructure (CI) Key Resources (KR)
Georgia

  • Road/Bridge Closures:
    • 6 roads remain closed
    • 1 bridge in Douglas county remains closed
  • Water Treatment Facilities
    • Boil water advisory remains in effect for the Town of Trion (Chattooga County). Water distribution continues in Chattooga County using 3,500 gallon tanker
    • Water distribution continues in Chattooga County using a 3,500 gallon tanker. Estimate this requirement to remain for at least the next 48 hours.
    • Class 1 Dams in the impacted areas are currently under inspection by GA Safe Dams. A total of 110 dams require inspection.
  • Wastewater:
    • The influent pump stations for Heard County and the two Douglasville-Douglas County Wastewater Systems were damaged by the flood and the plants are out of service.
    • Trion's wastewater treatment plant's sludge handling facilities were damaged. The plant is still in operation.
    • Heard County Wastewater plant came online last night and is now operational

State and Local Agencies
Georgia:

  • The State Emergency Operations Center is activated to Level II
  • Fatalities Reported To Date: 9 Fatalities in total
    • 6 in Douglas County
    • 1 in Carroll County
    • 1 in Chattooga County
    • 1 in Gwinnett County
  • Injuries Reported To Date: None Reported
  • Shelters: 190 Total Residents Remain in Shelters (ARC )
    • Cobb County - one shelter with 185 residents
    • Cherokee County - one shelter with five residents
  • Disaster Recovery Centers:
    • As of Sunday, September 27, 2009, nine DRCs have opened with additional openings scheduled for the coming week.
    • Transitioning the Georgia Disaster Housing Task Force into long-term recovery operations

Tropical Weather Outlook



Atlantic
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.

Eastern Pacific
A broad area of low pressure located a few hundred miles south-southwest of Manzanillo Mexico is producing a large area of cloudiness and disorganized showers. Conditions appear favorable for gradual development of this system during the next couple of days as it moves west-northwestward around 10 mph.  There is a medium chance (30 to 50 percent) of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.

Central Pacific
A trough of low pressure was located about 570 miles south southwest of Hilo, Hawaii. This feature moved west at 10 to 15 miles an hour. This system has only a low chance of developing into a tropical cyclone, but will be monitored.

Western Pacific
Tropical Storm 18W
At 5:00 a.m. EDT the center of Tropical Storm 18W was about 420 miles east-southeast of Guam.
TS 18W is moving west-northwest at 17 mph. a slight decrease in forward speed is expected during the next 12 to 24 hours. Maximum sustained winds are 40 mph.
Based on the current forecast track TS 18W would make landfall on Guam early Wednesday morning (EDT) September 30, 2009.
Guam and CNMI are at COR 3. Region IX has three personnel in place with Guam Office of Civil Defense with MERS Communication Specialist and IT support en route.

Tropical Depression 20W
Tropical Depression 20W has formed approximately 990 miles east-southeast of Saipan and has tracked west-northwestward at 23 mph over the past six hours. Winds are 29 mph gusting to 40. Over the next 12 to 24 hours the depression is expected to slow and further consolidate under favorable conditions aloft and warm sea surface temperatures.

Typhoon 17W (Ketsana) and Tropical Storm 19W (Parma)
Typhoon 17W (Ketsana) and Tropical Storm 19W (Parma) are not expected to affect U.S. Territories. (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)

Wildfire Update



National Preparedness Level:  2
National Fire Activity as of Monday, September 28, 2009:

  • Initial attack activity:  Light (59 new fires)
  • New large fires:  8
  • Large fires contained:  3
  • Uncontained large fires:  9
  • States affected:  CA, OR, WA, MT, WY, SD, ID and NV  (NIFC)

Disaster Declaration Activity



On September 28, 2009, Amendment No. 5 to FEMA-1858-DR-GA was issued adding Cherokee, DeKalb, Fulton, and Newton Counties for Public Assistance to include direct Federal assistance (already designated for Individual Assistance). This Amendment also added Crawford County for Public Assistance only to include direct Federal assistance (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Tuesday, 29-Sep-2009 08:14:57 EDT