October 13, 2020
FEMA reports that recovery efforts are underway in parts of the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricane Delta, which made landfall near Creole, Louisiana on Friday evening. According to FEMA, a total of 71 water systems serving a population of approximately 32,000 people are non-operational in the area, while 74 systems serving about 227,000 people are under boil water advisories. In Louisiana, which was hardest hit by Delta, the Department of Health reported yesterday afternoon that 47 public water systems are experiencing water outages due to Delta, adding that 34 of these systems were also affected by Hurricane Laura. The Department of Health also reported that 104 public water systems are under boil water advisories related to Delta, noting that 69 of these systems were also impacted by Laura.
FEMA also notes that state and local partners have no unreported needs or shortfalls and are effectively managing their recovery efforts. It has suspended the Business and Infrastructure Calls that it held prior to and following Delta’s landfall.
WaterISAC has posted below FEMA’s Daily Operations Briefing for today and yesterday. These documents contain additional information on the impacts from Delta. FEMA remarked that today's Briefing is the last one that will present information on the impacts from Delta.
October 10, 2020
Hurricane Delta made landfall yesterday near Creole, Lousiana at approximately 7:00 pm ET as a Category 2 hurricane. It weakened after making landfall and has been downgraded to a tropical depression.
Damage assessments are underway in the affected states, some of which are reported in the FEMA Daily Operations Briefing and ESF-14 call notes posted below. During the ESF-14 call today, the information that was reported painted a better picture than what was presented in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura. For example, for the communications sector, it was reported that the numbers of outages are much better than they were following Laura. And for the supply chain, it was noted that flooding has interrupted some demand nodes, but there are less disruptions at the distribution nodes. For this and other reasons, long-term disruptions of private sector supply chains are not anticipated.
At the conclusion of today's ESF-14 call, the moderators announced the call will not be held tomorrow, resuming on Monday, October 12. The call-in information is located below.
In its last public advisory on Delta, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that for eastern Arkansas and northern Mississippi, Delta is expected to produce an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain, with isolated storm totals of 10 inches. The NHC added that these rainfall amounts will lead to flash, urban, small stream, and minor river flooding. Additionally, as the remnants of Delta move further inland, 1 to 3 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts, are expected in northern Alabama and the Tennessee Valley into the Mid-Atlantic through the weekend. There is a potential for 3 to 6 inches in the Southern to Central Appalachians, which could lead to flash, urban, small stream, along with isolated minor river flooding.
WaterISAC will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as necessary. It stands ready to assist members with any unmet needs and can be contacted at [email protected] and at (866)H2O-ISAC.
October 9, 2020
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Delta is expected to make landfall somewhere along the coast of southwestern Louisiana this afternoon or evening, bringing heavy rainfall for areas along the coast and inland that will lead to significant flash, urban, and small stream flooding, as well as minor to major river flooding. As of 11:00 am ET, Delta was located about 130 miles south, southwest of Cameron, Louisiana and moving north at 13 mph. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, making it a category 3 hurricane. The NHC forecasts Delta will weaken slowly before landfall, with rapid weakening after the center moves inland.
The NHC forecasts the following rainfall for areas in Delta’s anticipated path:
- From Friday through Saturday, 5 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated maximum totals of 15 inches, for southwest into central Louisiana.
- For extreme east Texas into northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas and western Mississippi, 3 to 6 inches of rain, with isolated maximum totals of 10 inches.
- As Delta moves farther inland, 1 to 3 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts, are expected in the Tennessee Valley and Mid Atlantic this weekend.
The NHC also forecasts other hazards from Delta, including:
- Storm Surge: The NHC reports the combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline.
- High Winds: hurricane conditions are expected within the hurricane warning area by Friday afternoon or evening, with tropical storm conditions expected within this area by early Friday.
- Tornadoes: A few tornadoes are possible today and tonight over southern parts of Louisiana and Mississippi.
For the latest updates on Delta, visit the NHC.
WaterISAC has also posted below today's FEMA Daily Operations Briefing. This document contains additional information and graphics pertaining to the hazards posed by Delta
Until further notice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and FEMA will convene Business and Infrastructure Calls for Hurricane Delta at 3:00 pm ET. These calls will include an overview of the storm, discussions on community lifelines, updates from CISA and FEMA personnel, and an open forum for questions and information sharing.
- Date: Daily, starting Thursday, 08 October until further notice
- Time: 3:00 pm ET
- Dial-in: 1-800-779-9071
- Passcode/PIN: 2245932
Business and infrastructure partners are also invited to access FEMA’s National Business Emergency Operations Center (NBEOC) dashboard via the following link: https://fema.connectsolutions.com/nbeoc.
