National Situation Update: Saturday, October 3, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather

Northeast:
A cold front moving slowly through the region will produce heavy rain from eastern New York to New England. Accumulations of one inch or more are possible. Severe thunderstorms are possible from southeast Virginia to the lower Hudson Valley and southern New England
South:
Scattered thunderstorms are possible along both the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and south Texas. A few severe thunderstorms are possible in eastern North Carolina.
West:
A storm accompanied by strong winds and a cold front will move through the West, producing rain and mountain snow from the Pacific Northwest into the Rockies. Winter Storm Watches have been issued for the higher elevations of Idaho, Oregon and Washington through this evening. Red Flag Warnings are in effect issued for portions of California, Nevada and Utah until 8:00 p.m. P.D.T. tonight.
Midwest:
Showers are forecast for the Great Lakes and northern Mississippi River as the slow moving low-pressure system weakens and moves northward out of the area. Freeze Warnings have been issued for portions of North and South Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado until 8:00 a.m. CDT today. (NOAA's National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Tsunami Recovery American Samoa

On September 29, 2009, at 1:48 p.m. EDT, an 8.0 magnitude undersea earthquake occurred 140 miles southwest of American Samoa generating a tsunami. At approximately 2:25 p.m. EDT a 5.1 ft tsunami wave struck American Samoa causing significant loss of life and injuries, and damage to the coastal area of American Samoa.

Federal Response
Region IX:

Region IX Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) in Oakland, CA is activated at Level I (Full Activation) with all ESFs active
Region IX Incident IMAT is deployed to American Samoa with DCO, DCE, and MERS support
National IMAT-West will provide back-up to Region IX response operations. Region VIII IMAT is currently on a 2-hour recall for possible deployment. Region IX will maintain operational control.
FEMA 1859-DR-American Samoa approved on September 29

FEMA Headquarters:

FEMA NRCC is at Level I; 24 hour operations, with selected ESFs

Current Situation / Status of Response:

Region IX's priorities include install generators for power restoration, search and rescue and establish commodity distribution.
FEMA Logistics, General Services Administration, DoD, ESF 12, and ESF 3 are coordinating generator and other related power restoration support requirements for American Samoa.
32 confirmed fatalities on American Samoa
Shelters: 11; Occupants: 1,424
Most major roads are open and passable. Bridge to Leone is open to one way traffic.
Approx 6,000 people remain without power in the eastern district. Estimate 14 days for temporary power restoration; one of two power plants is operational.
Water systems across the island are almost fully restored
Structural assessments are ongoing
LBJ Medical Center is currently open and operational
FAA reports that Pago Pago Airport has reopened with operational limitations
Seaport is operational with no restrictions
Limited cellular phone service is available.

Guam Preparations for Typhoon Melor

Current Situation / Territory preparations

CNMI EOC is at 24hr operations with all Territory ESFs activated and present
Evacuation status:
- Saipan: 10 shelters with a population of 614
- Rota: 2 shelters; unknown population
Saipan Seaport and Airport are closed
Hospital prepared with generator support and water; has 2 weeks of fuel and can extend that capability by local shedding
Saipan fuel farms at 2 weeks supply for diesel and gasoline
Federal Response
Region IX Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) in Oakland, CA has been activated at Level I (Full Activation) with all Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) active
Region IX has an advance IMAT and a power subject matter expert (SME) staged in Guam. The IMAT from Region IX has already arrived.
Region V IMAT support also in Guam
USACE Power SME in Saipan supporting FEMA IMAT
Commodities are being moved and staging is being managed from Anderson AFB for the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
2 DMATS staged in Hawaii for deployment to Guam
The Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) Bothell communications specialist has arrived in Guam
Fourteen additional MERS personnel are scheduled to arrive on Saipan Sunday, 4 Oct
Planning is underway to support up to 5,000 people on Saipan for up to seven days
USCG Guam to send 3 person port coordination team to Saipan on 04 Oct via HSC-25 (Navy) helicopter
Post landfall helicopter fly-over for a joint CNMI / FEMA senior contingent on Sunday, 4 Oct, 2009

Southeast Flooding Recovery

Current Situation

Recovery efforts in the Atlanta metro area continue
Georgia EOC has returned to normal monitoring operations
Fatalities: 10 confirmed by the state medical examiner
Shelters: 3 Occupants: 176 (ARC )
State disaster housing task force activated
Two (2) wastewater plants in Douglas County are not fully operational. Remediation efforts are underway

Federal Response
HQ FEMA:

The NRCC continues to monitor the situation
FEMA NRCC is at Level 1 (24/7) with selected Emergency Support Functions due to the tsunami in American Samoa
FEMA Region IV:
RRCC Status: Level IV with the Watch Unit at 24/7
JFO operational on Oct 1 for FEMA-1858-DR
PDAs have been completed in all counties
14 fully staffed DRCs are open in 13 designated counties

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic
No tropical cyclones are expected during the next 48 hours.

Eastern Pacific
Tropical Depression Olaf
Tropical Depression Olaf is located about 310 miles west of Cabo San Lazaro, Mexico. Olaf is moving toward the north near 3 mph. A turn to the northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected today. Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph. Weakening is forecast and Olaf should become a remnant low within 36 hours.

Central Pacific
No tropical cyclones are expected through Sunday afternoon.

Western Pacific
Super Typhoon 19W (Parma)
Super Typhoon 19W (Parma) is not expected to affect U.S. Territories.

Typhoon 20W (Melor)
The Tropical Storm Warning for Guam has been cancelled; EOC will close today at noon Guam time. A Typhoon Warning remains in effect for Saipan and Tinian. At 5:00 am EDT the center of Typhoon 20W (Melor) was located about 92 miles northeast of Saipan and 208 miles northeast of Guam moving westward at 14 mph. Maximum sustained winds are 132 mph with higher gusts. This system is expected to continue to intensify over the next 24 hours, and then begin to slowly weaken and re-curve to the north. (NOAA, HPC, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

The USGS reports that a 4.7 magnitude earthquake occurred at 9:09 p.m. EDT in a sparsely populated area of Central California near the Death Valley National Park 7 miles south of Keeler, CA and 148 miles west of Las Vegas, NV. This earthquake was followed by a series of seven earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 3.3 to 5.2. These earthquakes are a continuation of the swarm of more than 100 aftershocks that have followed the 5.0 M earthquake that occurred on October 1, 2009 in the same location. There have been no reports of damage or injury (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level: 2
National Fire Activity as of Friday, October 2, 2009:
Initial attack activity: Light (94 new fires)
New large fires: 1
Large fires contained: 1
Uncontained large fires: 5
States affected: OR, WY, MT, ID, CA(NIFC)

Disaster Declaration Activity