RALEIGH, North Carolina, February 26, 2009 (ENS) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is awarding $5 million to the state of North Carolina for a statewide risk assessment and mitigation strategy demonstration of the potential impacts of sea level rise caused by climate change.

Announcing the award on Tuesday, FEMA Regional Administrator Phil May said the information and results from this study may help formulate strategies to deal with potential effects of sea level rise along all of the nation’s coastlines.

FEMA also will use the results of this study to assess the long-term fiscal implications of climate change as it affects the frequency and effects of natural disasters.

Information from the study will be shared with other states to inform their climate change mitigation efforts.

“North Carolina has been very proactive in implementing and improving upon coastal zone management activities and policies,” May said. “Although the study is focused on just the state of North Carolina, the results of the study should be applicable to other coastal states as well.

In addition, the study will complement an existing study currently being performed by FEMA which focuses on the effect of climate change on the National Flood Insurance Program.

FEMA’s Mitigation Directorate administers the National Flood Insurance Program. This insurance, mapping, and land use program provides the availability of federally backed flood insurance to home and business owners located in participating communities.

Managing the study will be the North Carolina’s Office of Geospatial and Technology Management, part of the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, the office that oversees the state’s floodplain mapping and management programs.

Hurricane Isabel washed away sections of North Carolina’s barrier islands. (Photo courtesy USGS)

Twenty North Carolina counties border the Atlantic Ocean, including 70 miles of low-lying barrier islands. While these counties hold just 10 percent of the state’s population, they host many thousands of tourists who support one of the state’s largest industries. In 2005, visitors spent more than $2 billion in coastal communities that are vulnerable to storms and hurricanes.

In September 2003, Hurricane Isabel breached one of the barrier islands in North Carolina. Damage in the state totaled $450 million, most of which was in Dare County where thousands of homes were washed away. The storm surge produced a 2,000-foot wide inlet on Hatteras Island, isolating Hatteras by road for two months.

Hurricane Floyd, in 1999, was a Category 2 hurricane when it hit Cape Fear, packing a 10-foot storm surge. Floyd claimed the lives of 56 people as it moved along the coast, and caused more than $6 billion in damage. Most of the deaths and damage were due to flooding rains that amounted to 19 inches in some parts of the state.

Recent studies show that hurricanes are becoming more powerful and more numerous, and this trend is expected to continue as the planetary temperature continues to increase. Coastal residents will experience sea level rise and higher storm surges that reach further inland.

The assessment North Carolina is conducting for FEMA will help to project how high the sea levels will rise and how much of the coastline will be inundated.

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DES MOINES, Iowa, February 20, 2009 (ENS) – Iowa Governor Chet Culver and Congressman Bruce Braley today announced that more than $5.1 million in federal and state funds has been identified and is in the final approval stage for two conservation related flood recovery projects in Iowa. These funds are part of the effort to help rebuild infrastructure following the historic floods of spring and summer 2008.

“Repairing our infrastructure after last years natural disasters means more than just roads and bridges. We must rebuild every facet of our state’s infrastructure, such as our conservation trails and bridges. These are essential to our state’s full recovery,” Governor Culver said. “I will continue to work with federal partners to ensure Iowans are aided in all aspects of the recovery effort.”

“I’m happy that northeast Iowa is receiving the resources needed to continue recovering from last year’s floods and tornados,” said Braley. “During these tough economic times, rebuilding Iowa’s infrastructure will save and create jobs right here in Iowa.”

One funding package would provide the Dubuque County Conservation Board with $2,957,400 to repair washouts to the Heritage trail surface between Cedar Ridge and Girl Scout Road.

Because of the governor’s actions to have FEMA fund 90 percent rather than the standard 75 percent of all recovery projects, the Board will save the 15 percent local match of $443,600. The remaining 10 percent of the project will come from state dollars.

The other funding package would provide the Black Hawk County Conservation Board with $2,230,000 to replace the Evansdale Bridge on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. The 90 percent arrangement will save the agency $334,500.

These projects are part of an expected 10,600 projects that will be identified under the State and Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance program designed to help public and some nonprofit agencies rebuild Iowa infrastructure and pay for response efforts.

Eligible entities in 84 counties qualify for public assistance under the state and FEMA program. To date, the state and FEMA have obligated more than $580 million in federal funds for public assistance for flood recovery projects in Iowa.

 Cedar Rapids resident stands before his flooded home. June 13, 2008. (Photo courtesy American Red Cross)

The state has allocated $20 million for recovery and reinvestment in the city of Cedar Rapids, which was hard hit by the 2008 floods. On February 2, Governor Culver signed the $56 million Rebuild Iowa Bill that expands the Jumpstart Housing Program, provides individual disaster grants and creates a community disaster grant program.

The bill earmarks $9.5 million for the Jumpstart Housing Program and sets aside $10.5 million for the other Cedar Rapids programs. Community Disaster Grant Funds can be used for land acquisition, public infrastruction repair and replacement, replacement housing, and assistance to small businesses and nonprofits.

The state is currently creating an application process, and the funds will not be available until after April 2009.

A different kind of flood cleanup help also is coming to the city of Cedar Rapids. The University of Iowa is organizing an alternative spring break service project to do post-flood cleanup in Cedar Rapids, joining hundreds of volunteers from high schools, colleges and church groups across Iowa and the nation.

Hundreds of homes in Cedar Rapids remain in poor condition after the floods so the volunteers will clean and refurbish these structures over spring break next month.

Volunteers will be assigned to work in groups of up to 10 in flood-affected areas of Cedar Rapids, said Sue Driscoll of the United Way of Eastern Iowa, who is coordinating several of the flood clean-up projects.

Driscoll said she expects help from the UI College of Law, Iowa State University, and Grinnell High School in Iowa, as well as groups from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Stout, Wisconsin.

Among those planning to assist in the cleanup are University of Iowa President Sally Mason and her husband, Ken, as well as Tom Rocklin, interim vice president for student services and dean of students.

Mason said, “My husband Ken and I very much look forward to helping our neighbors in Cedar Rapids who were affected by last year’s flood. I encourage members of the UI community to spend a little or a lot of time over spring break helping people get back on their feet in this important way.”

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DES MOINES, Iowa, October 7, 2008 (ENS) – “My family and I are not flood victims but flood victors,” blogged one Cedar Rapids man. “We refuse to let this flood victimize us. As many who returned to their homes that were flooded, we found an awful mess and stench. Mixture of home furnishings, belongings, sewer backup and mud from the river water,” he wrote, thanking church and community friends for their help in cleaning and salvaging, and providing hot meals during the ordeal.

More than 4,000 homes in Cedar Rapids were evacuated when the Cedar River overflowed its banks in mid-June. At least that blogger had a home to return to, but others were not so fortunate. Many had to rely on housing provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

As of October 1, all Iowans affected by this year’s storms, tornadoes and floods had been placed in FEMA temporary housing, and now the focus is shifting to long-range recovery.

This week the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission resumed meetings to prepare for its second report to Governor Chet Culver that will outline the commission’s long-term vision for rebuilding a safer, stronger and better Iowa. It will be submitted to the governor no later than November 17.

The commission’s first report, issued September 2, identified the critical importance of unmet housing and business needs.

It was used to develop the two new Jumpstart Iowa housing and economic development programs providing $40 million to help address the state’s immediate needs until federal funds become available.

Applications for the small business program became available September 30. The program makes $20 million in forgivable loans available to small business owners, who must reopen within 12 months from the time their Jumpstart applications are approved. Funding for homeowners is now being distributed.

Governor Culver said, “Money is going out the door as we speak, and these dollars will play a vital role in helping Iowans get back on their feet.”

On Friday, the governor was in Washington, DC, meeting with Bush administration officials on the latest round of disaster aid, which was signed into law last week.

The $23 billion federal measure included $6.5 billion for Community Development Block Grants for states to recover from the natural resource disasters this year – hurricanes, floods and tornadoes.

Flood debris on the curb in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa (Photo courtesy Linn
County Democrats)

The governor pressed for more federal funding for Iowa’s unmet needs. “Because of the large number of Iowans impacted by our floods and tornadoes, government bureaucracy cannot stand in the way of needed help,” said Culver. “I asked our federal leaders to be flexible and responsive in order to put the needs of people who have suffered first and foremost.”

Culver welcomed the $700 billion federal economic rescue package enacted Friday. “It is important that credit continues to be available for small businesses to meet their payrolls, families to afford their homes, and students to pay for their college education,” he said. “The financial package approved by Congress is about Main Street, not just Wall Street, and that will make a difference for hard-working Iowans statewide.”

“I am also pleased the legislation included measures to extend the wind production tax credit, which is vital to continuing Iowa’s leadership in creating new jobs and economic opportunities through wind energy production,” the governor said.

On Monday, Culver announced a new Green Iowa initiative that will be carried out in cooperation with the federally funded AmeriCorps.

The mission of this new program is to assess energy saving needs in communities and provide energy saving education and service through community outreach.

“AmeriCorps members are tackling our toughest problems, strengthening our communities, and improving the civic life of our state,” said the governor. “They have played an important role in helping Iowans recover from this year’s natural disasters, and their work continues through this innovative, new program.”

Described as a domestic Peace Corps, AmeriCorps is a federally funded program that enables Americans age 17 and over to commit time to service designed to meet community needs. In exchange for one year of service, AmeriCorps members receive a living allowance of at least $12,000 annually and an education award to help finance their college education, vocational training, or to pay back qualified student loans.

The Green Iowa Corps will be managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources through a combination of funding from AmeriCorps, the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and the Iowa Power Fund.

The DNR is seeking lead organizations for projects in two regions hit by flooding this spring and summer. One team will be located in Linn and Johnson counties in the eastern part of the state, where flooding devastated the communities of Cedar Rapids, Palo and Iowa City.

The other team will work in Black Hawk, Bremer and Butler counties, also affected by flooding.

The 56 Green Iowa Corps positions opening up to fill the new energy unit are in addition to the current 52 DNR AmeriCorps positions in conservation education, forestry, land management, and wildlife.

Project sponsor site organization and member application information is online at: www.iowadnr.gov.

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SEATTLE, Washington, September 29, 2008 (ENS) – The National Flood Insurance Program is pushing orcas and several runs of salmon towards extinction, in violation of the Endangered Species Act, according to a regulatory finding issued today by scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The National Flood Insurance Program is implemented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. Without making the changes called for by the Fisheries Service, cities and counties around the Puget Sound could lose their eligibility for federal flood insurance. A total of 252 Washington jurisdictions currently participate in the flood insurance program, including 39 counties, over 200 cities and towns, and two tribal reservations.

The federal fisheries agency issued the finding, known as a biological opinion, as required by a 2004 federal court decision.

In the case National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service, Judge Thomas Zilly of the federal district court in Seattle found that FEMA’s flood insurance program encouraged floodplain development and harmed salmon already listed as threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Act.

Puget Sound salmon (Photo courtesy
Puget Sound Partnership)

He ordered FEMA to consult with the Marine Fisheries Service to ensure compliance with the Act, and the document issued today is the result of that consultation.

“We have always known that building homes and businesses in the floodplain was dangerous and economically senseless,” said John Kostyack, excecutive director of wildlife conservation and global warming at the National Wildlife Federation.

“With global warming causing sea level rise and intensified storms, the risks of such development are now higher than ever. With this decision, we now have a tool for reducing risks to both wildlife and people,” said Kostyack.

The biological opinion documents the ways in which FEMA’s flood program encourages development within the floodplain area.

Because most private insurers refuse to insure floodplain homes, FEMA’s insurance program allows development to occur where it otherwise would not.

In addition, FEMA’s minimum development standards for floodplain construction currently fail to include environmental standards.

Floodwaters damaged farms, roads, businesses
and homes affecting thousands of residents
in Lewis County Washington. December
2007 (Photo by Leif Skoogfors
courtesy FEMA)

“Even where flood risk is well established (for example, in Lewis County on the Chehalis River), the National Flood Insurance Program’s current implementation does not significantly restrict floodplain development or encourage the preservation of floodplain natural and beneficial values,” the biological opinion states.

It points out that the City of Chehalis has nine percent of its Urban Growth Area in mapped floodplain, and Centralia has 21 percent of its Urban Growth Area in mapped floodplain.

“Development within the floodplain results in stream channelization, habitat instability, vegetation removal, and point and nonpoint source pollution (NMFS 1996) all of which contribute to degraded salmon habitat,” according to the biological opinion.

By insuring development in floodplain areas, the National Marine Fisheries Service determined that the program was jeopardizing the survival of Puget Sound chinook, Puget Sound steelhead, and Hood Canal summer-run chum salmon, and adversely modifying their designated critical habitat in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

It also found that by reducing the prey base for Southern Resident orcas, also called killer whales, it jeopardized them as well.

The biological openion warns that implementation of the FEMA program in Puget Sound could result in a 30 percent reduction of chinook salmon in Puget Sound – the orcas’ favored food source – in the years ahead.

Puget Sound was once inhabited by at least 37 populations of Chinook salmon, but today only 22 remain. The remaining Chinook salmon are at only 10 percent of their historic numbers, with some down lower than one percent of their historic numbers, according to the Puget Sound Partnership, a coalition of citizens, governments, tribes, scientists and businesses working together to restore and protect the sound.

As required by the Endangered Species Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service set forth an alternative approach for FEMA that would not result in jeopardy to salmon and orcas.

FEMA and Washington State workers check
the bank erosion from flooding that is
endangering this house. January 2008.
(Photo by Marvin Nauman courtesy
FEMA)

The alternative includes new requirements that development within the floodplain and riparian buffer area be either prohibited or that its impacts to the stream be completely mitigated.

Any development in these sensitive areas should be required to use “low impact development.” This type of development specifies protection of native vegetation, pervious concretes that allow rain to flow through to the ground, narrow footprints, and rain gardens to absorb stormwater runoff.

Last month, the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board declared that low impact development was both more effective than traditional stormwater controls like detention ponds, and cheaper to implement.

“Americans are getting tired of paying to rebuild flooded homes in places that should be left alone,” said Jan Hasselman, an attorney with the public interest law firm Earthjustice who argued the 2004 lawsuit against FEMA.

“The good news today is the federal agency scientists have stepped in on behalf of both American taxpayers and its wildlife and said no to building in flood-prone areas,” Hasselman said. “We think this is just plain old common sense.”

Click here [www.earthjustice.org] to read the biological opinion, formally known as the “Endangered Species Act – Section 7 Consultation Final Biological Opinion And Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Essential Fish Habitat Consultation Implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program in the State of Washington Phase One Document – Puget Sound Region.”

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DENVER, Colorado, August 26, 2008 (ENS) – Three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and flooded 80 percent of New Orleans a new report from international relief organization Oxfam America launched at the Democratic National Convention reveals the slow pace of recovery in the region and urges the next administration to make recovery a national priority.

Oxfam’s report, “Mirror on America: How the state of Gulf Coast recovery reflects on us all,” comes three days before the August 29 anniversary of one of the worst natural disasters in American history.

“The uneven and inequitable state of recovery of the Gulf Coast is a national embarrassment,” said Oxfam America President Raymond Offenheiser. “Although the force of the storm was an act of nature, the failures of the recovery are an act of our government. If we refuse to address this as a nation, it will go down in history not only as a failure of leadership, but also as a failure to hold our government accountable.”

A welcome home sign in New Orleans’
hurricane-struck Lower Ninth Ward
encourages neighbors to come back
the their homes and rebuild. (Photo
by Jacinta Quesada courtesy FEMA)

Less than a month after Category 5 Katrina, Hurricane Rita struck some of the same Gulf Coast areas, the third Category 5 hurricane of the harsh 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.

Three years later, the barriers to a complete recovery are highest in the housing and jobs sectors. Almost 37,000 people on the Gulf Coast are still living in trailers supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Oxfam’s report.

In Mississippi, federal money that was mandated for use in rebuilding low-income housing was diverted to improving the shipyards in Biloxi, the report shows.

Only 12 percent of African-American evacuees who returned to New Orleans after the hurricanes have been able to find work, compared with 45 percent of white evacuees, according to the report.

“Compliance with federal labor laws has been ignored with frequent occurrences of safety and health violations, wage theft and exploitative treatment of immigrant workers,” Oxfam states.

“It was the perfect storm of worker exploitation and wage suppression,” said Tracie Washington, president and CEO of the Louisiana Justice Institute in the report.

Derrick Evans arrived in Denver from Gulfport, Mississippi, hauling a FEMA trailer emlazoned with a message designed to make Democratic delegates think: “Where did $129 billion for Gulf Coast hurricane recovery go?”

Evans said that he brought his “KatrinaRitaville Express” to Denver because neither presidential candidate has paid attention to the struggles on the Gulf Coast. He will haul the trailer into Minneapolis-St. Paul next week for the Republican national convention.

Other serious problems still plague New Orleans as it attempts to recover and prepare for future storms.

Special Counsel Scott Bloch, of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, this month sent a letter to President George W. Bush detailing that the investigation conducted by the Department of Defense into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ pumping installation in New Orleans and its contract with Moving Water Industries was “superficial and dismissive.”

The investigation was a response to a whistleblower’s accusations that the Corps installed defective pumping equipment and conducted improper contracting procedures with MWI, but the Defense Department cleared the Corps of these allegations.

Part of the New Orleans flood control
system (Photo by Jacinta Quesada
courtesy FEMA)

U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, said, “It is very troubling that two years after these pumps were installed we are still uncertain if these pumps will keep our city safe from rising water.”

Landrieu last week pressed for a congressional investigation into the pumping equipment installed in New Orleans by the Corps and the contract for the pumps.

“The possibility of a dysfunctional flood protection system threatens the entire recovery of South Louisiana,” Landrieu wrote to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat.

“The possibility that New Orleans faces a risk of failure of the flood protection system because of inappropriate government contracting is unacceptable,” wrote the Lousiana senator.

Landrieu today commented on a Government Accountability Office report tracking the progress of debris removal in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“Home demolition in hurricane-ravaged areas of New Orleans is moving forward, albeit slowly,” said Laudrieu, “and I am glad that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has diligently issued 120 enforcement actions as of May 15, 2008 against businesses or individuals who improperly disposed of debris at unauthorized sites.”

Landrieu says she supports the work of state and federal agencies to prevent illegal dumping in New Orleans East and called for the closure of one controversial landfill.

“We are still awaiting the final closure of the Chef Menteur landfill, which has generated controversy because of its close proximity to a national wildlife refuge and a residential neighborhood,” the senator said.

“The closure is currently caught in a bureaucratic tangle, awaiting a 404 permit from the Corps of Engineers, among other things, before final closure can commence,” she said.

Whoever takes up the reins of power next January will have much to do to help the Gulf Coast recover.

Oxfam is urging the next administration to create an Office for Gulf Coast Recovery headed by a federal coordinator; to make sure all federally subsidized housing destroyed in the storms is reopened or replaced; to require states Gulf Coast states that receive federal recovery dollars to provide regular reports on the use of those funds; and to ensure compliance with labor laws.

“The transition to a new administration is a critical opportunity to rebuild the Gulf Coast better and stronger,” said Offenheiser. “Not only can we help the Gulf Coast recover, we can take the opportunity of the rebuilding effort to address the long-standing root causes of poverty and vulnerability that existed in these two states long before the storms of 2005.”

Sharon Hanshaw, executive director of Coastal Women for Change in Biloxi, Mississippi, said, “This is our community, we want it back the way it was – or better.”

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DES MOINES, Iowa, July 10, 2008 (ENS) – As he does his job of helping Iowans clean up and recover from the disastrous June floods, Governor Chet Culver is already thinking ahead to preventing the next flood emergency.

In a webcast interview with the Editorial Board of the “Des Moines Register” newspaper today, the governor said, “We’re going to have limited resources and every penny is going to be precious.”

“Let’s take steps right now to prevent devastation and destruction when the next floods hit the state,” Culver said.

Iowa Governor Chet Culver, left, and
Lt. Governor Patty Judge on their
webcast from the Des Moines Register.

Iowa rivers, swollen with rain, overflowed from June 8 to July 1, washing out everything in their path – roads, railroad bridges, power lines, crops, businesses, thousands of homes, and many public buildings.

In Cedar Rapids, damage estimates now stand at over $1 billion. About 1,300 blocks, including most of downtown, were flooded, with 3,900 homes affected.

Cedar Rapids City Manager Jim Prosser told the City Council Wednesday that the city will seek federal funds immediately to help cover the estimated $500 million recovery costs and $810 million costs to erect levees and floodwalls and possibly buy out properties in an attempt at prevention of future damages.

When the Iowa River topped its banks and inundated the University of Iowa’s campus, it caused damages worth at least $232 million, the university said Tuesday in a report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

To lead disaster recovery efforts, in June Governor Culver established by executive order the 15 member Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission, which is a joint effort between the Iowa Legislature and executive branch.

Major General Ron Dardis of the Iowa National Guard heads the commission, which is now out learning about the needs of the flooded communities first-hand. Its initial report is expected in mid-August.

On the webcast this morning the governor thanked Iowans who have helped financially, including the Des Moines Register and said he has seen “an amazing outpouring of generosity from businesses” locally, across the country and around the world.

Culver says his office will be contacting people across the country who may be able to help raise funds for recovery. “We will engage foundations, Gates, Rockefeller,” he said.

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa said today that he will seek to pass two more disaster assistance bills to help Iowa recover. Harkin is seeking more precise assessments of damage from state and local officials so that he will have a bottom line to propose.

Meanwhile, the ING Foundation today announced it is contributing $1 million to the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation for Embrace Iowa – the 2008 Iowa Disaster Fund to support flood relief efforts.

The ING Foundation is the charitable arm of the financial services company ING, a global financial institution of Dutch origin.

“The flooding has been devastating to the people in the Midwest,” said Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation. “ING has strong ties to the Des Moines community, and we have a responsibility to help empower the communities in which we have business operations and our employees live. This contribution will benefit Iowans who have experienced significant hardship and help them to recover, rebuild and strengthen the area.”

Governor Chet Culver meets with
Iowans affected by the floods.
June 16, 2008 (Photo
courtesy FEMA)

Embrace Iowa [www.desmoinesfoundation.org] was launched with close to $2 million in contributions from Des Moines individuals and business organizations. Governor Culver today said that the Embrace Iowa website can help with unmet needs after federal, state programs are exhausted.

The Best Buy retail store chain is offering to collect and recycle thousands of consumer electronic goods, or e-goods, that were ruined by the Iowa floods.

An official partner of the U.S. EPA’s Plug-In To eCycling program since 2006, Best Buy has contracted with the Materials Processing Corp., which will recycle 100 percent of all e-goods collected from Iowa’s flooded areas.

The EPA says 5,544 pieces of electronic equipment will be put on 250 pallets for transportation to processing facilities in Egan, Minnesota. Six semi-trucks will be used to transport the damaged materials collected from several Iowa cities.

Since June 22, EPA Region 7 on-scene coordinators have been collecting household hazardous wastes, orphan containers, white goods and e-goods. They have collected some 107,200 pieces of household hazardous waste.

Best Buy’s activities in support of the flood cleanup are at no cost to the federal government. They also reduce costs for disposal because the collected e-goods will not be taken to landfills.

On the webcast, Lt. Governor Patty Judge paid tribute to the Iowa spirit, saying, “Iowans are extremely resilient people. But it’s now up to us to figure out what we can contribute, what the federal government can do and go to local people to find out what they need.”

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MAMARONECK, New York, July 6, 2008 (ENS) – A new federal, state and local initiative is underway to develop a plan of action to reduce the storm damage on the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers, especially in the Village of Mamaroneck, Westchester County.

The floods of April 2007 were devastating in Mamaroneck, a suburb that fronts onto Long Island Sound.

Westchester County as a whole has experienced a greater number of storms and many of these with greater overall intensity in the recent past. There has been an approximate 10 percent rise in flows over the past 20 years, state and local officials report.

The increased number and intensity of storms, combined with historic patterns of development that have encroached natural floodways, with more flooding and damage throughout Westchester County.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey of New York; Commissioner Pete Grannis of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Westchester County Executive Andy Spano; State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer; and Assemblyman George Latimer gathered on June 20 to announce that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct an evaluation of the hydrologic, environmental, and economic factors present in the area.

The report will examine flood damage reduction opportunities including channel modification, levees, floodwalls, detention, diversion, as well as non-structural measures such as flood-proofing, floodplain connection and stream restoration.

“Since the floods of 2007, we have made steady progress in developing federal, state, and local cooperation to determine the causes of regional flooding and implement solutions,” Congresswoman Lowey said.

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Administrator David Paulison at
microphones, U.S. Senator Hillary
Rodham Clinton at Paulison’s right,
Representative Nita Lowey at
Paulison’s left, and local leaders at
a press conference after
Mamaroneck flooding. April 2008.
(Photo by Kim Anderson
courtesy FEMA)

“I am pleased that this study will commence and that we are a step closer to mitigation projects that will prevent damage in the future. I will continue to work with all stakeholders to protect Westchester County residents and business-owners,” she said.

“The floods of 2007 were just the most recent of the flooding that seems to continue to grow in severity, causing substantial environmental and economic impacts,” Commissioner Grannis said.

“Congresswoman Lowey approached DEC to get support for this important evaluation and we agreed that it is a high priority,” Grannis said.

“She is to be commended for her efforts to assure funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct this study and for the continued partnership of the Army Corps, New York State and Westchester County as this project moves forward,” he said.

The Army Corps of Engineers estimates that the study to identify a recommended plan will take approximately 30 months after it signs the partnership agreement with DEC.

Col. Nello Tortora, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers’ New York District said, “We look forward to a cooperative partnership with the DEC and Westchester County. This is a significant step towards bringing solutions to the water resources problems within the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake Rivers Basin, specifically in the Village of Mamaroneck.”

“The communities in the Long Island Sound area were among the most devastated in the storms of April 2007,” said Spano.

“The increased number and intensity of storms we have all been experiencing is a wake-up call for every level of government to work together to minimize the impacts of such storms on all our residents,” the Westchester County executive said.

“This project dovetails perfectly with the types of projects we are attempting to undertake with municipalities throughout Westchester County using the $10 million a year that we put into the county’s capital budget for flood mitigation,” said Spano, praising the congresswoman as “a true ally in working to address this problem and in finding funds, not just for more study, but for real solutions.”

A preliminary study conducted by the Corps over 30 years ago sought to determine the potential for flood damage in the Mamaroneck/Sheldrake Basin and how to prevent it. The recommendations were never implemented.

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SACRAMENTO, California, July 2, 2008 (ENS) – A new mandatory evacuation order has been issued for the entire scenic town of Big Sur on the central California coast as wildfire jumped a fire line today and now advances toward the town.

The evacuation order applies to about 850 residents who live in a 10 mile area from Andrew Molera State Park to Lime Kiln State Park, both the west and east sides of Highway 1, the road that hugs the cliff-lined coast.

The new order brings the total length of the evacuated area to about 25 miles of the coast, emergency officials said. The road is closed for public safety as fire crews on the ground battle what they are calling the Basin Complex of fires and tankers drone overhead, dropping water and fire retardant chemicals.

The fires are spreading due to dry conditions and high winds. Fire officials say the communities of Palo Colorado Canyon and Big Sur are areas of special concern because of numerous structures and fuels affected by sudden oak death and drought.

From midnight tonight until further notice, all national forest lands on the Monterey Ranger District will be closed to public access.

Fire consumes forestland in the hills
behind Big Sur, California. (Photo
courtesy Monterey County)

Since it was sparked by lightning on June 21, this complex of fires has destroyed 16 homes and burned 52,000 acres in the Los Padres National Forest. It is considered three percent contained and full containment is expected to take the entire month of July, fire officials estimate.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today joined Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Paulison at the Basin Complex Fires Incident Command Post in Big Sur.

“We still have many fires to fight, but we are already working to help the victims,” the governor said. “Putting out the fires is only part of the battle – helping people put their lives back together is just as important. The cooperation has been fantastic and I am glad to see federal support because we are likely to face many more challenges in the months ahead.”

Paulison emphasized the teamwork taking place between federal and state authorities, saying, “So far we’ve provided over $50 million to bring in extra firefighters, air tankers, fire trucks, set up base camps. All the things the state needs to help financing we’re able to do, so the local communities don’t have to worry about that. So it is a team effort. Nobody can do it alone.”

“It takes not only federal assets but it takes state, local assets, all working together as a team,” said the FEMA chief. “We saw this really gel last year with the fires in San Diego and now they’re reduplicated here.”

State, local and federal firefighters continue to battle more than 1,100 wildfires throughout California. scorched 680 square miles and destroyed 60 homes and other buildings across Northern California since June 20, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CAL FIRE.

The number of fires was higher several days ago, but at least 300 fires have been contained by the work of firefighters from California and firefighters that have come from throughout the nation to help battle the blazes.

In addition to military support from the National Guard and Department of Defense, 40 states and the District of Columbia are providing personnel and equipment to help California.

The area in green is the Los
Padres National Forest in
California. Two large fires
are burning, the Basin
Complex to the northwest
and the Indians Fire to the
south and east. (Map
courtesy U.S. Forest Service)

On Tuesday, Governor Schwarzenegger ordered the California National Guard soldiers to provide direct ground support to help CAL FIRE battle the blazes and as a result, they are mobilizing at least 200 soldiers to fulfill this mission. Last week, the governor ordered National Guard air assets mobilized to support firefighting efforts.

The Gap Fire in Santa Barbara County, which began yesterday evening, has resulted in a partial evacuation of the city of Goleta.

State highways and local roads are closed throughout California due to the wildfires.

Areas of Monterey, Santa Barbara and Shasta counties are under mandatory evacuation orders at this time.

Precautionary evacuation orders are in place for areas in Butte, Kern, Mariposa, Mendocino, Monterey and Shasta counties. Residents are advised to monitor the fire situation in their areas, check with local law enforcement agencies for information, and be prepared to evacuate when necessary.

Statewide the fires have burned more than 440,144 acres, 31 homes have been destroyed and 7,798 other residences are threatened along with 165 commercial buildings.

Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in 10 counties – Butte, Kern, Mariposa, Mendocino, Monterey, Plumas, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta and Trinity.

The governor today signed an Executive Order which will waive replacement fees for birth certificates, drivers’ licenses and other critical documents.

It requests that Franchise Tax Board and the state Board of Equalization to assist fire victims with filing tax extensions and provide relief from late penalties and assessments.

The order will cut red tape to speed cleanup and debris removal and to repair environmental damage from the fires.

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DES MOINES, Iowa, June 17, 2008 (ENS) – Raw sewage is flowing into rivers and streams across central and eastern Iowa as one after another wastewater facilities are inundated by the record floods that have swept the state during the past two weeks.

Livestock manure is also part of the nasty mix, along with spilled fuel and chemicals, all heading to the flooding Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is warning people to avoid contact with floodwater that may be contaminated with sewage or hazardous substances because exposure to the waste could transmit intestinal illnesses and skin infections.

Do not wade, swim, or enter floodwaters and immediately wash hands and bare skin that comes in contact with floodwater with soap and hot water, health officials warn.

It could be weeks before hundreds of damaged sewage treatment plants are operating again, say officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Flooded road north of Vinton, Iowa
(Photo courtesy Iowa DOT)

In southeast Iowa, sewage plants at Keosauqua and Bonaparte are flooded, and Ottumwa is allowing some wastes to flow into streams, DNR officials said. Officials in Burlington shut down the city’s sewage treatment plant and all Burlington sewage is now entering the Mississippi River.

The rising Mississippi burst its banks Tuesday morning, breaking a levee near the village of Gulfport and forcing the closure of the Great River Bridge that connects Gulfport to Burlington, Iowa via U.S. Highway 34.

Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, is planning for expected flooding in Illinois and Missouri later this week, with water and generators being pre-positioned as flood waters flow down the Mississippi River. Peak cresting along the Mississippi is expected on Thursday.

Right now, major flooding is occurring or forecast over most of Iowa, closing highways, washing out road and rail bridges, and snarling rail traffic across much of the Midwest.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been asked by FEMA to coordinate hazardous material and oil-related response in flooded areas throughout Iowa.

The EPA will retrieve orphaned hazardous containers and drums, such as fuel and propane tanks, respond to chemical and oil releases, collect and dispose of flood-damaged household hazardous waste, and conduct monitoring and sampling of air and water. To report orphaned hazardous containers or chemical/oil releases, citizens should call the EPA Region 7 24-hour Response Line at (913) 281-0991.

President George W. Bush is scheduled to tour the flooded areas on Thursday. Speaking to reporters today, the president said he wants to ensure that Congress appropriates enough money to cover this emergency and any others that might arise before the end of the year. The Atlantic hurricane season is just two weeks old, and will not end until November 30.

Floodwaters overtake the Iowa town of Columbus
Junction (Photo courtesy Iowa DOT)

For all the thousands of people who have lost their homes to the flooding, the president said he asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to set up a housing task force to assist them.

“I fully understand people are upset when they lose their home,” said President Bush. “A person’s home is their most valued possession. And we want to work with state and local folks to have a clear strategy to help people find – get back into a place that – where they can live.”

“I, unfortunately, have been to too many disasters as President. But one thing I’ve always learned is that the American citizen can overcome these disasters,” said Bush. “And life, while it may seem dim at this point in time, can always be better because of the resiliency and care of our citizens.”

Speaking to reporters on his plane today, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Illinois Senator Barack Obama said, “Thank goodness that we didn’t see significant casualties, but in terms of the economic losses in that state and the prospects of rebuilding, it is mind boggling. You’ve got the second largest city in Iowa that is gonna be under water for at least another four, five days. You have three million acres of corn that are effectively destroyed, losses are going to be in the tens of billions of dollars potentially and, we’re not done.”

“We’re gonna be seeing problems spill over as the Mississippi rises, it’s about to crest,” Obama said. “I was in Quincy, I think you joined me this weekend, to fill some sand bags and get an assessment of what’s going on there. Burlington along the Mississippi River, some of the river towns in Missouri are all gonna be impacted by this, and so I just wanted to assure [Iowa] Governor [Chet] Culver that we’re gonna do everything we can to get aid there rapidly.”

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Arizona Senator John McCain said only, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by the flooding throughout the Midwest. Cindy and I would like to extend our sympathies to all those who have lost loved ones, and stand ready to help those in the Midwest to recover and rebuild.”

During the past two weeks over 10 inches of rain have fallen in the vicinity of Des Moines, Iowa, and over large areas of northeastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin and west central Lower Michigan, eight inches more than normal, according to the National Weather Service.

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