Airmen from the 204th Airlift Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard, load a vehicle onto a C-17 Globemaster III Sept. 30 at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, in preparation for departure for a humanitarian mission in Amercian Samoa. The island nation was devastated by an earthquake and Tsunami Sept. 29. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jerome Tayborn)

FEMA

FEMA Headquarters:

• FEMA NRCC is at Level 1 (24/7) with selected Emergency Support Functions (ESFs)

Region IX:

• RRCC at Level 1 (24/7) with all ESF

Airlift:

• FEMA Region IX is responsible for setting priority of cargo and passenger flow to the island. A USCG C-130 landed this morning with assessment teams, medical supplies, food, shelter and LNO from JFHQ-HI who has been in touch with the Army Reserve unit on the island.
• The first C-17, arrived from Hawaii with 46 HING members from the Medical and Search and Extraction elements of the Hawaii CERF-P and members of the C2 Communications.
• The second aircraft is scheduled to depart at 0100 EDT on October 1, 2009 with primarily FEMA assets containing food and water from storage facilities on Hawaii. HING will have approximate 6 members on the aircraft.
• The third aircraft is scheduled to depart at 0300 EDT on October 1, 2009. This aircraft will include 20 HING members from the CERF-P Search and Extraction Team and Mortuary Affairs along with supplies.

Status of Response:

• There are seven shelters open with 907 occupants.
• The roads have been cleared, but the bridge to Leone has temporary shoring to allow for emergency vehicles.
• The power for the eastern district is unresolved and will require significant ESF-12 support with an estimated time of completion of 30 days.
• The water to the eastern district is terminal due to power shortages, but the majority of the water on island is flowing, but there are some water pressure issues.
• The hospital is still at capacity, but holding strong; they are purchasing distilled water for dialysis and lab work from local businesses.
• The medication list submitted to Region IX is being filled in total by ESF-8 and should begin arriving today.
• Schools in the western district will begin opening later today.
• There are no fuel shortages being reported. (Region IX, FEMA HQ)

National Park Service

Shortly before 7 a.m. on Tuesday, September 29th, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck 120 miles from American Samoa, a U. S. territory with a population of approximately 65,000 people. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami that produced several large waves that destroyed the park’s visitor center and offices.

All park employees and volunteers are accounted for and are safe. At least one employee’s house and four employees’ vehicles were destroyed by the tsunami. Fortunately, this event happened early enough in the day that most employees were not yet at work and were in areas of high ground that were unaffected by the wave impacts. The few employees who were at the office were able to run to the safety of high ground, although most of them had to run through water to get there.

The park visitor center and all contents, including the park’s curatorial collections, were destroyed. The entire park fleet of vehicles was destroyed with the exception of two vehicles.

The extent of damage to park marine resources will not be known for some time. Undoubtedly there will be impacts to coral reefs and there will be significant amounts of debris in the water and along beaches. Most of the park terrestrial resources appear to be undamaged.

Park staff initially assisted the U. S. Coast Guard with rescue and recovery operations on site and are currently engaged in assessing and providing for the well-being of NPS employees and volunteers. They have also been assessing damage to park facilities, salvaging equipment and cultural resources, and securing NPS property from looters. Park staff will be available to continue assisting with the broader FEMA-led recovery operation in the coming days.

Park employees are doing a great job of keeping their spirits up and helping each other and the rest of the community through this difficult event. Special agent Neal Akana from Hawaii Volcanos National Park flew to American Samoa yesterday morning and has been acting as the NPS representative at the FEMA unified command meetings. He is working with superintendent Mike Reynolds to prepare for the arrival of the Western Incident Management Team, critical incident stress management personnel, and other support staff who will arrive tomorrow. A team of cultural resource specialists will be assisting with the assessment and recovery of cultural resources in the park and will likely assist with the broader recovery efforts on the islands.

U.S. Air Force

Two C-17 Globemaster IIIs departed here Sept. 30 with approximately 100 military personnel to provide humanitarian assistance to the island of American Samoa.

The island nation was struck Sept. 29 by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake generating 15-foot waves and destroying whole villages. At least 111 people are reported dead in American Samoa, neighboring Samoa and Tonga.

The operation is a joint military effort shared by personnel from the 735th Air Mobility Squadron; 15th Airlift Wing; 154th Medical Group, Hawaii Air National Guard; and Hawaii National Guard chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high yield explosives Enhanced Response Force (CERF).

“We will provide search and rescue missions, medical triage and treatment, command and control, communications support, damage assessment and hazardous material capability,” said Maj. Dave Lowery commander 293rd Combat Communications Squadron, who is the deputy task force commander for the operation. “Our assets will allow us to sustain life support for 96 hours.”

Part of the equipment and supplies include cargo vans, trailers, pickup trucks, bottled water, meals ready to eat and medical supplies.

“We are ready for anything out there,” said Major Lowery. “We want to efficiently and effectively support the impacted areas and ensure our people are safely and properly equipped. Our presence there should reduce the public’s anxiety, mitigate any danger and restore critical functions.”

U.S. military personnel in the Pacific train routinely for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations and are postured to rapidly deploy around the globe in response to crises across the military spectrum from natural disasters to conflict.

“As soon as we arrive, we’ll integrate with the local military to provide the support where needed,” said Major Lowery. “We’re here to help.”

American Samoa is a U.S. unorganized, unincorporated territory located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa. With an estimated population of 57,291, it is the only U.S. possession in the southern hemisphere.

Sidney Morning Herald

Brisbane Times

Hawaii NG

Tags: american samoa, FEMA tsunami response, Hawaii National Guard, Pago Pago, samoa earthquake, samoa tsunami, south pacific earthquake, south pacific tsunami

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 10:20 am and is filed under Disasters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.