Oak Ridge Today

City receives grant for water plant landslide

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Pictured above is the landslide next to the access road to the Oak Ridge Water Treatment Plant on Pine Ridge, above the Y-12 National Security Complex, on Saturday night, February 23, 2019. (File photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

The City of Oak Ridge has received a $17,389 grant to cover some costs associated with a landslide at the access road to the water treatment plant above the Y-12 National Security Complex in 2019.

The estimated costs of the repairs are $384,444, Oak Ridge Public Works Director Patrick Berge said in a memo to City Manager Mark Watson.

The city began talking to the Federal Emergency Management Agency immediately after the landslide, and the discussions included potential future reimbursements, Berge said. The $17,389 partial reimbursement is through the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

[Read more…]

ORNL helps emergency responders with hurricanes Harvey, Irma

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The map above is part of the LandScan system that has been used by Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help readiness, response, and recovery crews during Hurricane Harvey, which hit most heavily in Texas. This map shows population counts in the Houston area, with red areas having the highest counts and yellow areas lower counts and gray areas none. The map has a flooding overlay, where red is more flooding and green is less. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The map above is part of the LandScan USA system that has been used by Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help readiness, response, and recovery crews during Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. This map shows population counts in the Houston area, with red areas having the highest counts and yellow areas lower counts and gray areas none. The map has a flooding overlay, where red shows more flooding and green shows less. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Data collection systems at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are being used to help emergency responders and recovery crews with two deadly hurricanes, Harvey and Irma.

The data collection systems are LandScan USA and EAGLE-I. Information from the systems is being used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, among other agencies. The two systems give information on electric customer outages and population counts, and they are being used in daily briefings, according to ORNL staff members.

The first system, LandScan USA, shows population counts with a resolution of about 90 meters. The system can show color-coded maps with population counts ranging for high to low, and it includes daytime and nighttime populations.

Flood maps can be overlaid on the population count maps to help determine the best places for rescuers to respond, said Amy Rose, ORNL team lead in Population Distribution and Dynamics. Rose displayed that map and overlay during an interview in the EVEREST visualization laboratory at ORNL on Tuesday.

Houston, which experienced heavy flooding, didn’t evacuate before Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm that came ashore just northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday night, August 25. [Read more…]

Climate data: Knox County could have 20-80 more days above 95 by 2100

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By 2100, Knox County could have 20-80 more days when the maximum temperature is above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, according to climate data used by the City of Knoxville and developed with help from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and NOAA Climate Explorer.

By 2100, Knox County could have 20-80 more days when the maximum temperature is above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, according to climate data used by the City of Knoxville and developed with help from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and NOAA Climate Explorer.

 

By 2100, Knox County could have 20-80 more days when the maximum temperature is above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, according to climate data used by the City of Knoxville and developed with help from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The additional 20 days with a high over 95 is considered the best-case scenario. That would be almost three more weeks of high temperatures.

The 80 more days with a high over 95 would be a worst-case scenario. That would be close to three more months of high temperatures.

The higher and lower number of days appear to be correlated with, or caused by, higher and lower emissions.

There could be some variability in the temperature increases from year to year, but the overall trend would be up, according to the data, which used the NOAA Climate Explorer. (NOAA is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.)

An animated image based on the data shows projected changes from 2011 to 2050 in an eight-county region, including Knox and Anderson. Overall, there would be a general increase in the number of days with a maximum temperature above 95 degree Fahrenheit, compared to a 1981-2005 average. There could be some variability by location, even between counties. You can the animated image here: ORNL Climate Data Summary Movie. (The movie moves quickly through the slides after the animation; you can find a PDF version of those slides in the link at the end of this article.) [Read more…]

Oak Ridge spent about $22,000 responding to Sevier County fires

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Oak Ridge Fire Department mitchell-rd Sevier County

People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews helped respond to the Sevier County wildfire starting Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

 

Oak Ridge spent about $22,000 responding to the wildfires in Sevier County in November and December, but the city doesn’t want to seek reimbursement.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department sent fire crews to Pigeon Forge on November 28 and 29, and then to Gatlinburg from November 30 to December 4. The ORFD provided structural and wildfire suppression, and search and rescue services in Sevier County, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in a February 6 memo to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.

Besides the emergency services that were provided, four employees of the Oak Ridge Fire Department provided incident management services in the Gatlinburg fire command center, serving as logistics and communications specialist on the state Incident Management Team, Kerley said.

He said it cost about $22,000 in staff, equipment, and fuel to respond to the mutual aid request for the historically large, deadly Sevier County fires, which were started by the Chimney Top 2 fire and fueled by high winds, dry conditions, and downed power lines. The money for the city’s firefighting aid came out of the Oak Ridge Fire Department salary, overtime, and fuel budget. [Read more…]

AC awarded federal funds under emergency food, shelter program

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Submitted

Anderson County has been awarded federal funds made available through the Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program.

Anderson County has been chosen to receive $12,790 to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county. The selection was made by a National Board that is chaired by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency and consists of representatives from American Red Cross; Catholic Charities, USA; National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; The Jewish Federations of North America; The Salvation Army; and, United Way Worldwide.

The Local Board was charged to distribute funds appropriated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high-need areas around the country. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge conducts city-wide disaster training today

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The City of Oak Ridge will be conducting a city-wide exercise of the Emergency Management System and Emergency Operations Center today. The full-participation exercise will begin at 11:15 this morning (Thursday, November 5) at Oak Ridge Fire Department headquarters located in the Municipal Building at 200 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The drill was planned and is administered by 10 instructors from across the United States and former Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency managers and trainers. The lead instructor is Phil McLaughlin, owner of the McLaughlin Training Group, a press release said. Chief McLaughlin is the retired deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

All city departments are represented in today’s drill, along with representatives from Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Anderson County Health Department, American Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol, Oak Ridge Schools, Methodist Medical Center, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the city manager’s office. [Read more…]

ORFD: Sign up for CodeRed Severe Weather Alert System

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Oak Ridge Fire Department

The Oak Ridge Fire Department is encouraging home and business owners to commit to being a leader for weather readiness by signing up on the CodeRed Severe Weather Alert System.

The system is designed to help spread the word about severe weather and make employees and members of the community better prepared, a press release said.

“Know the risks, take action, and be an example by signing up,” a press release said. [Read more…]

President declares disaster for Tennessee, including Anderson, Roane

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Passtime Garage Storm Damage

Passtime Garage on South Main Street in Clinton was damaged by a fast-moving storm and severe winds in early June. (Photo courtesy WYSH Radio/WGAP Radio)

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Wednesday that federal disaster aid has been made available to the state of Tennessee to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding from June 5-10.

The action by President Barack Obama makes federal funding available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding in Anderson, Bledsoe, Carroll, Decatur, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Lawrence, Lewis, Madison, Marion, Maury, McNairy, Moore, Perry, Roane, Sequatchie, and Tipton counties, officials said.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide, FEMA said in a press release.

W. Michael Moore has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Moore said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments. [Read more…]

Mobile app developed by ORAU featured in emergency preparedness campaign

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CSEPP Ready Mobile App

CSEPP Ready Mobile App

ORAU training and mobile app help communities near chemical stockpiles be prepared for related emergencies

CSEPP Ready, a mobile application developed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities, is a featured element in the inaugural 2013-2014 Prepare Pueblo emergency preparedness campaign in Pueblo, Colo., which is in its final phase from June to August 2014. Both the campaign and the app are intended to assist residents living in communities surrounding one of the last two active U.S. Army chemical warfare agent stockpiles with preparing for a potential related emergency.

Even though an accident is unlikely, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Army work together to ensure the local communities are prepared through the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, or CSEPP. Through CSEPP, ORAU experts provide hands-on technology courses to train public affairs professionals and emergency managers to develop and deliver timely public information in an emergency event using the latest technology tools, including mobile apps, cloud technology, and social media. Specifically, CSEPP Ready, which can be downloaded free in both Android and iPhone/iPad mobile formats, provides checklists for family disaster kits, information on how to respond to emergency sirens, and directions for sheltering in place. [Read more…]

FEMA official to participate in session on emergency management culture

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Richard Serino

Richard Serino

A federal emergency management administrator will take part in a Wednesday conference call from Oak Ridge on organizational innovations in emergency management.

Richard Serino, deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will take part in a Think Tank session on how to cultivate innovation in the “white spaces” of emergency management, a press release said. The Think Tank is from 1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Zach Wamp Auditorium of the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Serino will be joined by Jim Bassham, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and officials from the U.S. Department of Energy.

[Read more…]

DOE, TEMA emergency forum set for Sept. 26 in Oak Ridge

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office will host another Oak Ridge Emergency Management Forum on Sept. 26. This year’s theme is “Back to Basics: Partnerships in Emergency Management.” Admission is free to the public and activities will begin at 8 a.m.

The DOE-ORO and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency collaborated to sponsor this year’s forum, which will be held at the Y-12 New Hope Center in Oak Ridge. The keynote speaker, Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator Richard Serino, will speak about current innovations in emergency management partnerships. The all-day forum will also include panel and breakout sessions on a variety of topics. [Read more…]

Registration open for Oak Ridge Emergency Management Forum

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Online registration is open to the public for the U.S. Department of Energy’s DOE Oak Ridge Office and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency’s 10th Oak Ridge Emergency Management Forum that will be held Sept. 26 at the New Hope Center.

This year’s forum theme, “Back to Basics: Partnerships in Emergency Management,” will feature general session speaker Richard Serino, deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He will speak on current innovations in emergency management partnerships. [Read more…]