FEMA and Federal Partners Mobilizing Resources and Assets Closer to Impacted Areas
WASHINGTON - At the direction of President
Barack Obama, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to
coordinate the federal government's response and recovery efforts.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, FEMA Administrator Craig
Fugate and National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Rick Knabb briefed President
Obama this morning on Hurricane Isaac's landfall and the potential impacts to
coastal and inland states.
Earlier this week, the President authorized
emergency declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi making aid available for
federal support to save lives and to protect property and public health and
safety in designated areas.
"Residents are urged to continue to listen
to the instructions of your local officials,” said Craig Fugate, FEMA
Administrator.
"As the storm continues to move inland,
there are a number of areas both along the coast and inland that can be
affected by strong winds, storm surge and inland flooding and tornadoes.
Residents should monitor NOAA weather radio and local news reports for the
latest storm conditions, and, again, follow the direction of local
officials."
As Tropical Storm Isaac slowly moves inland,
power outages have been reported throughout Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and
Mississippi.
The Department of Energy (DOE) emergency
responders are working side by side with FEMA staff in Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Texas, as well as at the National Response Coordination Center
in Washington, DC.
Emergency responders facilitate clear and
consistent communication with other deployed responders, provide subject matter
expertise to help with restoration, and identify where the federal government
can possibly engage in restoration efforts.
Power restoration is already taking place in
many areas and the federal government remains ready to assist if
requested.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has
proactively deployed Emergency Power Teams to Alabama, Louisiana, and
Mississippi to supply the energy needs of critical infrastructure and
facilities necessary to continue with life-saving and life-sustaining efforts
as needed.
Also, USACE has deployed commodities, debris,
and temporary roofing teams to Louisiana. USACE teams also have been
closely working with the State of Louisiana and Plaquemines Parish to assist in
the flood fight of locally owned levees experiencing overtopping from
Isaac.
Teams on the ground are providing technical
assistance, such as hydraulic modeling and finding available portable pumps, to
reduce flooding.
According to NOAA National Weather Service,
Isaac made initial landfall as a Category 1 hurricane when it passed over the
Mississippi River Delta in Louisiana last night.
Isaac is beginning to move inland in southeast
Louisiana and a dangerous storm surge and flood threat from heavy rains is
likely to continue through today and tonight.
In advance of the storm, FEMA has placed four
Incident Management Assistance Teams and liaisons onsite at emergency
operations centers in Gulf states and has moved two Mobile Emergency
Response Support teams and additional commodities to pre-positioned locations
closer to the potential impact areas.
Texas Task Force-1, a federal urban search and
rescue team, was deployed to Louisiana. Other support teams have been
identified and are ready to deploy as needed and requested.
At all times, FEMA maintains commodities
including millions of liters of water, millions of meals and hundreds of
thousands of blankets, strategically located at distribution centers throughout
the United States and its territories, to support states if needed and
requested.
FEMA has distribution centers in Atlanta, Ga.
and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and in coordination with U.S. Northern Command,
has prepositioned supplies closer to potentially affected areas.
Incident support bases have been established in
Pineville, Louisiana, in Shelby, Mississippi and in Meridian, Mississippi,
allowing the federal government to quickly move supplies throughout nearby
affected states, should they be needed and requested.
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