Date: 2008-03-24
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FEMA continues to support Missouri and other Midwest states impacted by floods following heavy rains earlier this week. To date, federal representatives and its non-profit partners from the affected regions and across the nation have responded to deliver immediate aid and coordination efforts under the combined federal response led by FEMA.
(Media-Newswire.com) - FEMA continues to support Missouri and other Midwest states impacted by floods following heavy rains earlier this week. To date, federal representatives and its non-profit partners from the affected regions and across the nation have responded to deliver immediate aid and coordination efforts under the combined federal response led by FEMA. Efforts undertaken in Missouri include:
Acting in response to the President’s disaster declaration, liaisons for the Department of Defense, American Red Cross and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are assisting in the RRCC.
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) continues its assistance to the State of Missouri. As of 7 a.m. March 21, the USCG from St. Louis, New Orleans and Paducah, Ky., have rescued fifty-two persons and fifteen pets from the flood waters. Currently the USCG has Disaster Assistance Response Team’s in Eureka, Popular Bluff and Cape Girardeau. Coast Guard helicopters have been diverted to Eureka to area assist local and state responders.
The USACE has deployed three flood fighting teams who are providing engineering and technical expertise to levee districts and communities impacted by rising river levels. The USACE have provided 300,000 sandbags and 150 rolls of plastic sheeting to state and local governmental entities. And, the USACE EOC stood up on March 18 and will continue to operate until flood waters recede.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has been working closely with FEMA, reporting transportation status and impacts from the flooding. DOT continues to monitor the situation and the federal response and is standing by to support as required.
American Red Cross chapters in Missouri have opened shelters and have initiated feeding operations across the state. Mobile feeding trucks have been deployed statewide and a Southern Baptist kitchen is supplying the Red Cross feeding operation in southern Missouri. The American Red Cross also is deploying disaster assessment teams to flooded areas.