Preparations Underway For Potential Flooding Along Misissippi River; Focus Turns To Recovery In Some Areas In The Midwest
Release Date: June 17, 2008
Release Number: HQ-08-109
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Preparedness activities by federal, state and local authorities are focusing on the areas between Quad Cities and St. Louis, Mo., with concerns high for Quincy, Ill., where flooding is expected to equal levels reached by the 1993 Midwest Flood. Planning is underway for potential major operations involving debris removal, hazardous materials cleanup, health and medical support, long-term transportation closures and housing.
FEMA's Disaster Assistance Directorate has deployed two Housing Mission Planning Teams in Iowa and Indiana, and a third is being assembled for deployment to Wisconsin. The teams work with the states to design and implement comprehensive housing plans. A Task Force, made of senior housing officials from federal and non-governmental agencies, has been activated to support the teams. FEMA's voluntary agency liaisons are working with FEMA Logistics to secure commodities for distribution in the affected communities.
Region V
Planning efforts are focusing on expected flooding along the Mississippi, while sandbagging operations continue in an effort to hold back flood waters and an additional 2.1 million sandbags are on the way and expected to be delivered by the end of the day. FEMA has prepositioned 10 truckloads of generators at Rock Island, Ill. As water levels continue to rise, potable water has become a concern for Galesburg, Ill. To alleviate this worry, FEMA will deploy 40,000 gallons of water.
Region VII
FEMA Logistics is pre-staging water, generators, sandbags and pumps in Missouri along the Mississippi, and sandbagging efforts continue along the Mississippi south of the Quad Cities. The JFO is working with the state to identify threatened population areas. The governor has requested an expedited major disaster declaration as a result of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding. Meanwhile in Iowa current efforts are focusing on recovery following record level flooding.
FEMA Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) are ongoing statewide across 84 counties with one additional PDA being requested later today. Ten mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) have been deployed to Iowa to facilitate assistance applications. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency have reported the presence of many unidentified or orphaned barrels, drums and tanks among the large amount of debris in the flood swollen rivers and streams and deposited in areas where flood waters have receded. To support the Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) cleanup, Emergency Support Function (ESF) 10 has been be activated to handle emergency response activities related to hazardous materials (hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, and oil) with the EPA as the lead. FEMA has deployed 286 disaster workers to Iowa, with more than 100 others scheduled to arrive today.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
In Iowa, SBA has already approved 29 loans totaling nearly $3 million dollars. SBA personnel from Disaster Field Operations Centers in Sacramento, Calif., and Atlanta, Ga., have been deployed and are in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin ready to respond to the ongoing disaster events. SBA Loss Verification staff is currently onsite participating in Preliminary Damage Assessments with federal, state and local partners throughout the flooded Midwest. For more information about SBA's Disaster Assistance program, visit www.sba.gov, or contact the Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955, or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
The USACE has more than 250 people on the ground supporting flood fighting efforts and has delivered 57 truckloads of water to logistical staging areas in Iowa and Illinois. USACE is supporting states by providing liaisons in state Emergency Operation Centers, community on-site support, and flood flight technical assistance. The USACE has deployed more than 12 million sandbags, 1,200 rolls of plastic and 88 water pumps to the region. USACE continues to provide technical assistance for debris and housing and has deployed the 249th Engineer Battalion to support critical facilities by conducting temporary emergency power assessments. Some 251 miles of the Mississippi River have been closed to barge traffic because of high water safety concerns.
Department of Energy (DOE)
DOE has sent personnel to the Regional Response Coordination Center in Chicago, Ill., to the Iowa State Emergency Operations Center in Des Moines, Iowa, and to the National Response Coordination Center in Washington, DC. The Department has been in close communication with utilities in affected states regarding power outages. DOE also is monitoring the Union Pacific Railroad embargo on railroad shipments that include bulk commodities such as ethanol and petroleum products, but not coal. In Iowa, the Department is working to determine the configuration of coal deliveries to coal-fired power plants on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River since the Mississippi has been closed to barge traffic along the border of Iowa.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
USGS scientists are flagging high water marks on several rivers to get a flood profile for FEMA and various state and local governments to use in rescue and recovery efforts. USGS scientists are also collecting additional water quality samples at selected locations in Wisconsin and Iowa to examine how the floods are impacting the environment. Specifically USGS scientists are collecting samples at 22 sites in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River Basin. Sites sampled in the most flood impacted areas include the Mississippi River at Clinton, Iowa, Grafton, Ill., and Thebes, Ill., and downstream locations on the Illinois River in Illinois, and the White and Wabash Rivers in Indiana.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC is assessing flood-affected areas that have a potential for chemical contamination and will provide information to state and local officials and advise the public on health implications and steps people need to take to protect themselves.
Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)
Through EMAC, the Kentucky National Guard provided communications support to Indiana during the flooding crisis. Minnesota will be sending a communications vehicle and about 160 law enforcement professionals to Iowa to assist with recovery efforts. EMAC is a congressionally ratified organization that provides form and structure to interstate mutual aid. Through EMAC, a disaster impacted state can request and receive assistance from other member states quickly and efficiently, resolving two key issues upfront: liability and reimbursement.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Cedar Rapids personnel have been staffing check points established to prevent looting in neighborhoods where inspections are pending and must be completed before homeowners will be able to return. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents, ATF agents, Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Lynn County personnel have been working in the DEA offices because of damage in their buildings. DEA personnel have assisted in evacuations and directed traffic at the request of the Des Moines Police Department.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA has been tasked by FEMA to provide expertise in potential hazardous materials/oil/chemical incidents related to the Iowa floods. EPA also may advise the state about drinking water systems and waste water systems that may have been affected by the flooding. The EPA is integrated into FEMA operations in Region V and Region VII. Other EPA resources are currently on stand-by ready to deploy in support of mission assignments.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 18-Jun-2008 08:30:36