[W1SMH] Fwd: Situational Awareness Statement #9 - Winter Storm Aftermath and Utility Issues

Fri Jan 5 12:25:05 EST 2018

Ray Cord

On Friday, January 5, 2018, Packard, Christine (CDA) (CDA) (CDA) (CDA) (CDA) (CDA) (CDA) (CDA) <Christine.Packard at MassMail.State.MA.US> wrote:

MASSACHUSETTS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS STATEMENT #9

DATE: January 5, 2018
TIME: 11:00 AM
SUBJECT: Winter Storm Aftermath and Utility Issues

SITUATION
Snowfall has ended, but strong wind gusts today will result in blowing and drifting snow, reducing visibilities and accumulation on roads at times.
Wind Chill Warnings and Advisories are in effect for today through Sunday morning due to excessively cold, arctic air pushing across the region. A Wind Advisory has been issued for all of Southern New England for today, into this evening, with expected wind gusts between 40- 50 mph. Some downed tree limbs and isolated power outages may be experienced. The concern or any potential power outages is greater than normal given the bitterly cold air working into the region.
Extreme cold conditions are expected with temperatures in the single digits or lower; wind chills well below zero. Gale force winds and heavy freezing spray will result in a dangerous situation for Mariners.
Yesterday's coastal inundation will take hours, potentially days, to drain and the cold, arctic airmass may cause any lingering water to freeze. The National Weather Service has extended the Coastal Flood Statement along the east coast of MA for residual, lingering impacts.
Governor Baker and Lieutenant Governor Polito, together with local officials and members of the Legislature, will be surveying storm damage and ongoing recovery efforts today in Scituate and Winthrop, respectively.

NWS GRAPHICS:
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SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Flooding Impacts

MEMA will initiate an Initial Damage Assessment process in the coming days to estimate costs of emergency response and damage to public infrastructure. The Initial Damage Assessment process will enable MEMA to assess the likelihood of qualifying for federal disaster assistance under FEMA's Public Assistance Program.

The Office of Public Safety and Inspections has 3 teams currently visiting affected sites along the coast providing technical assistance to local building officials. The teams are assisting local Building Officials in evaluating the safety of any structures in their jurisdiction which may have been compromised by the storm and advising them how to rectify any issues that arise from storm damage.

Power Outages

As of 11:02 a.m., there are 495 power outages, primarily concentrated along the coastline. There is concern that if areas still impacted with coastal flood waters freeze, there may be impacts to underground electrical lines. This may result in a slight increase in outage numbers as cold temperatures persist.

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Travel Impacts

Some roadways remain closed due to tidal flooding. The MBTA has resumed a normal rapid transit schedule, with some commuter rail delays. MBTA ferry services have been suspended.

Additional details can be found below in the MA ESF Updates.

Reading Gas Outage

Approximately 70 homes in Reading (Charles Street and surrounding streets) were impacted by a loss of gas service overnight. National Grid is on scene trying to identify the blockage, but do not have an estimated restoration time at this time. Town Officials are standing up a local Warming Center for residents.

Nantucket Sewer Main Break

Yesterday, a 20" force main on Nantucket's sewer system failed in 3-4 places on South Beach Street, just off Broad Street on the north side of town. The gravity flow of the broken line has, at this point, released over 1,000,000 gallons of sewerage into Nantucket Harbor. There are no reported impacts to residents at this time. No sewerage backups are being reported.

The break also occurred near a number of food establishments. The local Board of Health has ordered these shops closed until further inspections can be performed. The roadway where this break occurred is also in danger of failing due to the undermining of the road from the sewerage and the street has been closed. The location of the break is also the location of all of the island's primary underground utilities (including the primary electric transmission line). As such, crews cannot break ground until Dig Safe marks the area in detail. Currently, no work is being performed, due to waiting for Dig Safe and on-going efforts to get work crews from Hyannis to the Island. MA National Guard will be supporting with a mission to fly nine workers from Barnstable Airport to Nantucket Airport. MEMA is coordinating an Emergency Dig Safe work ticket to have the site properly marked for excavation. The Dig Safe contractor is off island and will need to be transported to Nantucket as well. MEMA is attempting to coordinate with the MANG airlift.

Water Main Break

At 6:30 am, Barnstable County reported that there was a major water main break in Harwich at Rt 28 and Donne Rd. Harwich Water Department and Harwich Police Department are on scene

WATCHES, WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES
Wind Advisory
Issued: January 05 at 8:22AM EST
Expiring: January 05 at 10:00PM EST<https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=MA125A8BFF78A8.WindAdvisory.125A8C0D2BB0MA.BOXNPWBOX.d3636dab037896500615213b9d9e90a1>

Urgency: Expected
Status: Actual

Areas affected:Barnstable; Central Middlesex County; Dukes; Eastern Essex; Eastern Franklin; Eastern Hampden; Eastern Hampshire; Eastern Norfolk; Eastern Plymouth; Nantucket; Northern Bristol; Northern Worcester; Northwest Middlesex County; Southeast Middlesex; Southern Bristol; Southern Plymouth; Southern Worcester; Suffolk; Western Essex; Western Franklin; Western Hampden; Western Hampshire; Western Norfolk; Western Plymouth

Coastal Flood Statement
Issued: January 05 at 4:07AM EST
Expiring: January 05 at 4:00PM EST<https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=MA125A8BFED68C.CoastalFloodStatement.125A8C00A890MA.BOXCFWBOX.91022cfe18c65487e37b781270075ee7>

Urgency: Unknown
Status: Actual

Areas affected:Barnstable; Dukes; Eastern Essex; Eastern Norfolk; Eastern Plymouth; Nantucket; Suffolk

Wind Chill Advisory
Issued: January 05 at 4:02AM EST
Expiring: January 07 at 10:00AM EST<https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=MA125A8BFED498.WindChillAdvisory.125A8C1E42B0MA.BOXWSWBOX.05952736110e2ac79a2afc6c07c8942c>

Urgency: Expected
Status: Actual

Areas affected:Barnstable; Central Middlesex County; Eastern Essex; Eastern Norfolk; Eastern Plymouth; Northern Bristol; Southeast Middlesex; Southern Bristol; Southern Plymouth; Suffolk; Western Essex; Western Norfolk; Western Plymouth

Wind Chill Warning
Issued: January 05 at 4:02AM EST
Expiring: January 07 at 10:00AM EST<https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=MA125A8BFED498.WindChillWarning.125A8C1E42B0MA.BOXWSWBOX.3e641e6af436e6273e9b8026dfccda46>

Urgency: Expected
Status: Actual

Areas affected:Western Franklin; Western Hampden; Western Hampshire

Wind Chill Warning
Issued: January 05 at 4:02AM EST
Expiring: January 07 at 10:00AM EST<https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=MA125A8BFED498.WindChillWarning.125A8C1E42B0MA.BOXWSWBOX.fca8eb0f607ef7e4e9c3490e049a8474>

Urgency: Expected
Status: Actual

Areas affected:Eastern Franklin; Northern Worcester

Wind Chill Warning
Issued: January 05 at 4:02AM EST
Expiring: January 07 at 10:00AM EST<https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=MA125A8BFED498.WindChillWarning.125A8C1E42B0MA.BOXWSWBOX.7a0e6fc40299b5b773311e20d7fbbb3a>

Urgency: Expected
Status: Actual

Areas affected:Eastern Hampden; Eastern Hampshire; Northwest Middlesex County; Southern Worcester

Winter Weather Advisory
Issued: January 05 at 3:34AM EST
Expiring: January 06 at 6:00PM EST<https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=MA125A8BFEBA08.WinterWeatherAdvisory.125A8C1038F0MA.ALYWSWALY.a53407fa893c34e60bcb7daf38892a1e>

Urgency: Expected
Status: Actual

Areas affected:Northern Berkshire; Southern Berkshire

Wind Chill Warning
Issued: January 05 at 3:34AM EST
Expiring: January 07 at 7:00AM EST<https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=MA125A8BFEBA08.WindChillWarning.125A8C1DCD80MA.ALYWSWALY.96de6958b3ee15ce1eeb4761fcc431ce>

Urgency: Expected
Status: Actual

Areas affected:Northern Berkshire; Southern Berkshire

COMMUNITY STATUS

* As of 9:00AM, there are 19 activated local EOCs.

* 5 local States of Emergency

* Total open local/regional shelters: 6

* Total open warming centers: 9
SEOC OPERATIONS
The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) is currently at Level 2 (Partial Activation). The MEMA Region 1 office (Tewksbury, MA), and MEMA Region 2 office (Bridgewater) are activated. In addition to MEMA staff, representatives of the following agencies/organizations are present in the SEOC:

* ESF-1 (Transportation): MassDOT

* ESF-2 (Communications): MEMA

* ESF-4 (Firefighting): DFS

* ESF-6 (Mass Care): ARC

* ESF-8 (Health and Medical): MDPH

* ESF-10 (Environmental Protection): DEP, CZM (monitoring remotely)

* ESF-12 (Energy): DPU, Eversource

* ESF-13 (Public Safety): MSP

* ESF-16 (Military Support): MANG

The SEOC will continue to monitor the forecast and will disseminate Situational Awareness Statements as necessary.

Cities and towns in need of resource support should contact their MEMA Regional office or the SEOC at 508-820-2000. Communities are also encouraged to post information to WebEOC, including information on shelter operations and impacts to utilities and critical infrastructure.

MA ESF Updates

* ESF 1 (Transportation): MassDOT

Districts 1 and 5 remain in Snow and Ice operations. Pavement temperatures are below freezing across the state. All Districts will be returning for post-storm clean-up.

Ongoing events:

o D5 - Harwich, RT-28 Both directions before Kildee Rd. Broken water main. MassDOT on scene.

o D6 - HOV lane will remain closed Friday for both the AM and PM commute.

Statewide Summary:

o 371 Pieces of equipment

o 312 MassDOT employees

* ESF 2 (Communications)

o Cell carriers and landline providers are reporting no issues with network or infrastructure at this time.

o There are no significant issues with statewide land mobile radio or major municipal outages reported.

o There are no current ESF-2 support requests.

o

* ESF 6 (Mass Care, Emergency Housing and Human Services): ARC

o Open local/regional shelters: 6

o Open local warming centers: 9

* ESF 10 (Hazardous Materials and Environmental Protection): DCR and CZM (monitoring remotely)

Coastal Zone Management (CZM)

o CZM continues to monitor coastal impacts, reporting damages via MyCoast StormReporter.

* ESF 12 (Energy): DPU

Power Outage Totals (as of 11:00 AM): 495

* Power Outages by Provider:

o National Grid: 27

o Eversource (Eastern, MA): 466

o Eversource (Western, MA): 2

o UNITIL: 0

* ESF 13 (Public Safety and Security): MSP

o MSP reports traffic volume is light and they are responding to scattered spinouts and minor motor vehicle accidents.

* ESF 16 (Military Support): MA National Guard

o National Guard has demobilized High Water Vehicles that were deployed in anticipation of moderate to major coastal flooding with yesterday's high tide. All missions have been completed.

o National Guard is supporting a mission to airlift a 9 member work crew to Nantucket to begin working on a ruptured sewer main.

Preparedness and Safety Information

* Safety and preparedness tips for extreme cold:
http://www.mass.gov/index.php/service-details/extreme-cold-safety-tips
* Winter storm preparedness and safety information:
http://www.mass.gov/index.php/service-details/winter-storm-safety-tips
* Power outage preparedness and safety information:
http://www.mass.gov/index.php/service-details/power-outage-safety-tips
* Flood safety tips:
http://www.mass.gov/index.php/service-details/flood-safety-tips
* Winter safety tips for pets:
https://www.mass.gov/service-details/winter-pet-safety-tips

Stay Informed:
Utilize Massachusetts Alerts to receive emergency notifications and information from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service. Massachusetts Alerts is a free app that is available for Android and iPhones. To learn more about Massachusetts Alerts, and for information on how to download the free app onto your smartphone, visit: http://www.mass.gov/service-details/massachusetts-alerts-smartphone-app.

Utilize MEMA's real-time power outage viewer to stay informed about current power outages in your community and region, and across the state, including information from utility companies about restoration times: http://mema.mapsonline.net/public.html
Utilize MEMA's live weather radar and forecasting tools: http://www.mass.gov/map-resources
Online Resources:
For additional information and resources, visit:
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency at www.mass.gov/mema<http://www.mass.gov/mema>
MEMA's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/MassachusettsEMA
MEMA Twitter: @MassEMA<http://twitter.com/massema>
Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.fema.gov<http://www.fema.gov>
National Weather Service/Taunton at www.weather.gov/boston<http://www.weather.gov/boston>
National Weather Service/Albany, NY at www.weather.gov/albany<http://www.weather.gov/albany>
National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center: http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov
National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/
Mass211 at www.mass211.org<http://www.mass211.org>

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