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KC2GMM > NOAA 17.11.07 00:33l 69 Lines 3566 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: New Warning System for CA
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From: KC2GMM@WA2SNA.#NNJ.NJ.USA.NOAM
To : NOAA@USBBS
NOAA, USGS Warning System to Help Protect Southern Californians from
Debris Flows and Flash Floods
Winter Rains on Burn Areas Could Spawn New Danger
November 7, 2007
A debris flow and flash flood warning system developed jointly by NOAA’s
National Weather Service and the U.S. Geological Survey will help protect
Southern Californians from potentially devastating debris flows—commonly
known as mud slides— and flash floods in and around burn areas created by
the recent wildfires.
Much of the smoke has cleared from the region’s devastating wildfires last
month, but the danger is not over,ö said Jack Hayes, Ph.D., director of
the National Weather Service. “Moderate amounts of rainfall on a burned
area can lead to flash floods and debris flows. The powerful force of
rushing water, soil, and rock can destroy everything in its path, leading
to injury or death.
"Our science can help determine the location, size and occurrence of
potentially destructive debris flows and floods from last month's Southern
California wildfires," said USGS Director Mark Myers. "The public,
emergency managers and policymakers can use this information to prepare
for and react to these potentially devastating natural hazards."
Post-wildfire debris flows are closely linked to precipitation and are
therefore more predictable than other landslides. The USGS has developed
precipitation thresholds that help identify potential debris flows in
recent burn areas and provides this information to National Weather
Service forecast offices in Southern California. Using a flash flood
monitoring and prediction tool, weather forecast offices monitor rainfall,
and if it approaches the thresholds developed for burn areas, incorporate
wording about debris flow hazards into flash flood warnings and public
information statements. Flash flood warnings are communicated to the
public through the Emergency Alert System and NOAA Weather Radio-All
Hazards, and directly to local emergency managers.
Even before the fires started, the agencies agreed to extend for another
year the debris flow and flash flood warning system pilot project started
in September 2005. In a 2005 report, the agencies outlined the initial
plan for the project, identified the need to expand the warning system
nationwide and focused on developing improved technologies to characterize
flash flood and debris flow hazards.
The project will continue to cover San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara,
Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego
counties, most of which were affected by the recent wildfires.
NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years
of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey
of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather
Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of
America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.
NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety
through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events
and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing
environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.
Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS),
NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the
European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as
integrated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects.
www.noaa.gov
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