Today’s brief leads with the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur, which have stalled over the Deep South and triggered a rare Level 4 High Risk for excessive rainfall from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. Louisiana has declared a statewide emergency with flood rescues underway in Avoyelles Parish, Mississippi faced a dam scare near Carriere that emergency officials later resolved, and dangerous heat grips south-central Texas. We also cover the latest NIFC wildfire situation report and a new FEMA major disaster declaration for Delaware. EM Morning Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news. Produced by Sitch Radio, an EOC Voices podcast.
Key Takeaways
• Tropical Storm Arthur remnants: A rare Level 4 of 4 High Risk for excessive rainfall covers Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, with five flash flood emergencies declared across southern Louisiana and Mississippi and at least three storm-related deaths.
• Louisiana state of emergency: Governor Landry declared a statewide emergency; flood rescues are underway in Avoyelles Parish, where parts recorded 12 to 26 inches of rain and at least 200 homes flooded, with a Red Cross shelter open in Mansura.
• Mississippi dam scare: Early reports of an Anchor Lake Dam failure near Carriere prompted a precautionary evacuation; the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency later confirmed the dam was not breached and lifted the order. A clean-up worker was killed.
• Texas heat and flooding: Arthur made landfall June 17, two people died in central Texas flash flooding, and Extreme Heat Warnings along and east of I-35 pushed temperatures to 105 to 115 degrees.
• Wildfire posture: NIFC holds the National Preparedness Level at 2, with 27 large fires being suppressed and about 4,988 personnel assigned nationally.
• FEMA Delaware declaration: A Presidential major disaster declaration (FEMA-4916-DR) for a February severe winter storm, Public Assistance only, was published in the Federal Register on June 18.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur dominate the national picture this morning.
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the first named storm of the:
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The Weather Prediction center maintains a rare level 4 of 4 high risk for excessive rainfall and more than 17 million people across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and western Georgia sit under flood watches.
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Five Flash flood emergencies the highest flood alert the National Weather Service issues were declared across southern Louisiana and Mississippi on Thursday, with rainfall totals reaching 12 to 26 inches in parts of central Louisiana.
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At least three deaths are tied to the system, two in central Texas, flash flooding before landfall and a road crew member killed during cleanup in Mississippi.
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A tornado threat accompanies the heavy rain across the Southeast.
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Heat is the second national lifeline concern.
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South Central Texas saw 105 to 115 degree heat on Thursday, with extreme heat warnings along the I35 corridor eastward and heat advisories across the Hill country on the Wildfire side.
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The National Interagency Fire Center's June 18 Incident Management Situation Report holds the national preparedness level at 2 on a 1 to 5 scale, with 27 large fires being suppressed, eight new large fires reported and roughly 4,988 personnel assigned nationally.
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ion For Delaware Federal FEMA:
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Covering public assistance for a February severe winter storm was published in the Federal Register on June 18th.
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Official update there is no new National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin and no new CISA Known Exploited vulnerabilities entry within the last 24 hours.
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Let's run through the states.
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Alabama Arthur's remnants drenched the state Thursday with heavy rain, downed trees and power disruptions.
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The Alabama and Mississippi coasts were placed under the rare level 4 of 4 high risk for excessive rainfall and flash flood and tornado threats continued into Thursday night as tropical moisture collided with a front.
Official Update Florida the Florida Panhandle is inside the primary flood threat zone with flood watches in effect as Arthur's remnants push rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches locally higher through Friday.
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Separately, the city of Pinellas park and Pinellas county utilities issued a precautionary boil water notice for Pinellas park residents after an extended water outage on June 17.
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Service has since been restored and the notice remains in effect as a precaution.
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GEORGIA Western Georgia is under flood watches as the threat zone extends eastward from the Gulf.
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States forecasters warn that stalled bands of heavy rain could produce rapid flooding through Friday with a residual severe thunderstorm and tornado risk.
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Louisiana governor Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency, citing widespread rainfall, severe storms and flooding.
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A large scale flood rescue effort was launched in Avoyelles Parish, where southern areas near Cottonport recorded 12 to 26 inches of rain and at least 200 homes were inundated.
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Firefighters and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents rescued residents trapped by rising water and the Red Cross opened a shelter at the Cauchon delay Center in Mansoura.
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The declaration specifically covers Avoyelles, La.
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Forche, Pointe Coupe, St. Landry, St. Tammany and Terrebonne parishes.
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Mississippi Stone county and south central Pearl river county recorded more than 10 inches of rain and a flash flood emergency was issued for Poplarville and Picayune.
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Early reports indicated the Anchor Lake Dam near Carrier had failed, prompting a precautionary evacuation of about 30 downstream homes.
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The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency later stated the dam was not breached and was working as designed, expressed high confidence in its structural integrity and the evacuation order was lifted.
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A road crew member was killed during storm cleanup in the state.
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Texas Arthur made landfall on the Texas coast on June 17 and at least two people died in flash flooding in Central Texas as the disturbance moved through before landfall.
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South Central Texas also faced dangerous heat on Thursday with extreme heat warnings along and east of I35 and heat advisories in the Hill country as temperatures reached 105 to 115 degrees.
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All other states and territories have no significant updates in the last 24 hours that wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
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New episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5am hour PT, so the day starts with clarity instead of catch up.
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