NOAA Partnership Policy – The First Year AMS Symposium on the Public/Private Sector PartnershipBrian Koeneke
WFO Jackson
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10-20 inches rainfall in less than 24 hours Sep 20-21
Catastrophic flooding in AL, GA, SC and NC
11 fatalities
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26 fatalities
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Catastrophic river flooding in Jackson
~$800 million damage around Jackson (1979 dollars)
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Jackson Fairgrounds
Key Findings
People could not relate information in the flood warnings to their location
Lack of SPECIFIC information
Warning length made it difficult to find key information
Forecasters, EMs, Public did not recognize severity of the flooding at the outset
Lack of information relayed back to NWS
Weekend event
Great Basin
Key Findings
Reverse 911/Evacuation Notice better received
Low tolerance for false alarms
Many of the fatalities occurred at night
All locations had an NWS warning in effect
Over ½ of fatalities in TN/KY were over age 60
Weather education at night, no cell phones, no internet
River gauges failing during significant flooding
Lack of information relayed to NWS in these locales
Great Basin
Put into context of previous floods, if possible
Multiple warning dissemination methods (iNWS(flash flood?), NWSChat, Graphicasts)
Heighten awareness of night driving dangers in heavy rain
7 April 2003. Newton County
Great Basin
Nights, weekends, holidays, it does not matter
Conference calls, updated briefings
Understand our partners needs during these events (USACE, USGS)
Develop tools to help convey significant flooding information
Use of Flash Flood Emergency
similar to Tornado Emergency
We need to know what’s occurring in your communities
Information then relayed in updated warnings
Don’t wait for us to call you!
Specific, Specific, Specific
Anything residents in the area would recognize
Residents must personally validate a threat before acting
Especially during a large, multi-warning event
But, We Need Your Help!
Let us know specific flood impacts in your communities beforehand
Sunny day preparation!
At River Flood Stage “X”, Impacts are “X”
At “X” inches in 1 hour period, Impacts are “X”
We need a 24 hour contact to get information
Dam Breaks and Heavy Rain
NWS issues flash flood watches/warnings for dam/levee failures
We need to know about possible problems and related specifics ASAP
Pool heights, storage in the dam, etc.
Flash Flood Watch needed downstream of the dam?
Flash Flood Warning will be issued upon notification of failure/imminent failure
Can occur on sunny days
Assessment Links