10 November
Flooding remains serious in both Washington and Oregon and the situation could worsen, with heavy rain forecast to hit the area again today.

FEMA’s latest sitrep reads as follows (verbatim):

"There were 15 river warnings still in effect in Western Washington as of 8:00 pm EST November 8. Of these rivers with warnings still in effect, nine rivers have crested, three are flowing steady at or near flood stage, and three rivers are still rising, although impacts on rising waters are minimal.

The flooding remains serious in both Washington and Oregon, but the State and local jurisdictions have full control of the response requirements. Flood waters are receding and the upcoming weather forecast is for improving conditions. The National Weather Service has stated that additional rainfall in the coming days will be normal for this time of year and will not impact the current situation.
The majority of communities have completed rescue and flood fight activities and are now controlling receding flood waters and are starting their cleanup activities.

As of 10 pm EST November 8, Region X downsized its Pacific NW RRCC staffing to a “Watch” operation and deactivated ESFs 1 and 3. The Region X RRCC will be staffed over the holidays and weekend by a Watch Officer and a Planning Specialist.

The ERT- A stood down as of 10 pm EST November 8, but will remain on alert through the weekend.

The focus of the operation has shifted from response to recovery and incident monitoring.

Impact on Infrastructure:
* Water/Sewage - City of Vader (Lewis County, WA) water treatment plant contaminated. No other reports of significant impacts.
* Electric power - Scattered power outages in WA and OR, but no significant or sustained power losses reported.
* Communications - No significant impacts reported.
* Road/Transportation Status:
* Railways – Empire Builder passenger train is not running from Seattle to Portland. No Amtrak Cascade operating north of Seattle; all Amtrak Cascade Seattle to Portland trains are operating normally.
* A significant number of State and county highways remain closed or damaged in Washington and Oregon due to flooding, and/or mud/rock slides.

Other Critical Facilities:
* Levees – Damage assessments being conducted for levees in the affected areas.
* Official Casualties/Relief Effort: 2 fatalities, 1 person reported missing.
* Shelters: 17 shelters (364 population) reported in WA, none reported in OR."

9 November

FEMA has released the following update about the flooding disaster in western Washington (published verbatim):

A major storm system has resulted in all major rivers in western Washington near, at, or above flood stage. This event has caused numerous jurisdictions to activate local emergency operations centers, establishing the need for extended operations and possible evacuations of impacted areas. It is anticipated that the event has and will cause widespread flooding, extensive closures to transportation systems, and the potential exists for dam / levee failures and landslides throughout the area.

The Governor of Washington has issued a proclamation of emergency for 18 counties (Clallam, Jefferson, Mason, Kitsap, Grays Harbor, Thurston, Okanogan, Pierce, King, Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, Lewis, Pacific, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Clark, and Chelan). National Guard, USACE, and U.S. Coast Guard are on hand assisting State where needed.

The Governor of Oregon has issued a state of emergency in Tillamook County. Clatsop, Washington and Lincoln counties are affected but not declared. State has not activated EOC.

Flood warnings, advisories or watches are now in effect for portions of western and central Washington, western Oregon, northern Idaho, and far western Montana.

The Army Corps of Engineers is assessing levees to determine condition and necessary repairs.

Amtrak is not running trains north of Seattle due to a washout and mudslides. Trains running along the I-5 corridor between Portland and Seattle are operating under speed restrictions. Trains traveling along the Columbia Gorge are not running due to water over the tracks and a large rockslide at mp 110.

A significant number of state and county highways are also closed or damaged in Washington and Oregon due to flooding, and/or mud rockslides. Washington is reporting 1 bridge destroyed.

The American Red Cross has opened 11 shelters servicing 313 people in Washington and 1 shelter in Oregon serving approximately 13 people.
Status of command and control:
* ERT-A on standby with MERS EOV assets.
* The FEMA Region X RRCC is activated to level 3, 0700 - 1900for incident monitoring and planning. FEMA Region X activated ESF-1 (transportation), ESF-3 (USACE - engineers), and ESF-5 (emergency management).
Federal support:
* FEMA Region X is developing contingency staffing for, (1) 24x7 state liaison operations at the state EOC, (2) RRCC level 2 activation, (3) ERT-A activation, (4) forward-deployable command and control resources
* FEMA Region X has rostered an ERT-A team, coordinated with the MERS detachment, and rostered personnel in the event of activation to Level 2.
* Federal assets currently being utilized are aviation (helicopter) through the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, with additional support from the Washington and Oregon National Guard.
* FEMA Region X has pre-positioned assets and manpower to support any Federal assistance requested.
* Requested equipment to support PDA teams (IA, PA, Mitigation). Forecast ERT-A staffing for logistics.
* Made initial contact with GSA to identify JFO space in Lacey, Tumwater, Olympia area.
* Requested MEOV, EOV support from MERS. (FEMA HQ, Region X, NICC)

•Date: 9th Nov 2006• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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