Flow Of Federal Resources To Midwest Continues; FEMA Expands Iowa And Indiana Disaster Declarations
Washington, D.C. -- The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal departments
and agencies continue to support the states affected by floods and tornadoes in the Midwest, as FEMA Logistics continues
to coordinate with the agency's Region V and Region VII to maintain the flow of resources to Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin
and Kansas.
Meanwhile, FEMA is moving ahead with contingency plans for the provision of resources and assistance that it anticipates
may be needed next week, amid concerns about potential flooding along the Lower Mississippi River as flood waters flow
south from up river.
The president has approved a major disaster declaration for the State of Wisconsin for weather events that began June 5,
2008. The declaration provides for Individual Assistance for Crawford, Columbia, Sauk, Milwaukee and Vernon counties;
and for Hazard Mitigation statewide. The existing federal disaster declaration for Iowa has been expanded to include an
additional 15 counties for Individual Assistance and 10 counties for Public Assistance; 14 counties were added in
Indiana for Individual Assistance.
FEMA Region V
The Region has deployed liaison officers to Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) in Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) for Public Assistance begin in Indiana and Wisconsin next week. Two members of the
Region V Defense Coordinating Element (DCE) are at the Rock Island Arsenal; the Region has dispatched an Emergency
Response Team Advance (from Region I) to the Rock Island Arsenal, arriving tomorrow. At the Region V Regional Response
Coordination Center (RRCC), a planning cell of Emergency Support Functions, including Department of Health and Human
Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), American Red Cross (ARC), DCE and
the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), has been established to address future response to needs such as water purity, families
separated because of the disaster and pet shelters.
FEMA Region VII
A major levee in Cedar Rapids and one in Des Moines have been over-topped and breached, with the Des Moines levee breach
flooding the Birdland Park Area of the city. Mississippi River navigation is being affected by the closure of locks and
dams along the Upper Mississippi, and that the State of Missouri has activated its Emergency Operations Center for
24-hour-per-day operations. River flooding continues on the Missouri River from near Plattsmouth to Nebraska City,
Brownville and Rulo.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Beginning Sunday, most deliveries of water to Iowa will be handled by the USACE, which has activated its
Massachusetts-based National Water Team. The mission began Friday, June 13, with the delivery of 220,000 bottles of
water; an additional 270,000 are scheduled for delivery by late evening Saturday, June 14. The Corps will begin the
delivery of 1.5 million bottles over the next week.
FEMA Logistics
Resources dispatched by FEMA Logistic to assist flood victims in Iowa include 558,000 bottles of water, 470,000
sandbags, 30 leased trailer trucks, 1-50 pack generator, 63,699 packages of Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) and five Mobile
Disaster Recovery Centers. Deliveries of water to Kansas also are pending.
U.S. Coast Guard
The USCG has deployed two Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART) to Cedar Rapids and two teams to St. Louis, Mo. DART
teams are mobile teams that consist of three flat bottom boats and personnel for operations in flooded areas. The USCG
has been conducting overview flights to assist in the assessment of flooding in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids; meanwhile
the Regions are reporting that the State of Indiana is requesting two hoist-capable helicopters. Coast Guard liaison
officers are stationed in the RRCCs at FEMA Region V and Region VII in Chicago and Kansas City. The Coast Guard also has
a liaison officer at the Iowa EOC and one at the Cedar Rapids County EOC.
American Red Cross
The ARC is active in all the affected states, with an estimated 2,100 people committed to the relief effort. Currently,
ARC, in coordination with the Southern Baptists relief organization, is moving additional kitchens and supplies to the
State of Iowa in order to begin providing 100,000 hot meals per day beginning Tuesday, June 17.
U.S. Department of Transportation
The Department of Transportation is reporting scores of road closures across the Midwest states and the loss of rail
bridges in Dunlap, Waterloo and Cedar Rapids.
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
ENDS