September 7, 2019
As of 8 am ET today, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported tropical storm force winds were occurring over portions of southeastern Massachusetts. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for portions of Massachusetts and Maine, where areas are receiving or expected to receive tropical storm-force winds, heaving rainfall, and storm surge.
The greatest threat from Dorian is now to parts of Canada, where the storm is expected to start having impacts later today. The Canadian Hurricane Center reports latest forecast guidance shows the track of Dorian approaching Nova Scotia this morning, passing near Halifax this evening, east of Prince Edward Island around midnight, and then over the eastern Gulf of St. Lawrence waters or western Newfoundland by Sunday morning. It notes that severe winds and torrential rain will have major impacts for southeastern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Western Newfoundland, the Magdalen Islands and the Quebec's Lower North Shore. Large waves are expected for the Atlantic coasts of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and for eastern portions of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Finally, storm surge, combined with large waves and pounding surf, may give flooding for parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, the Magdalen Islands, and parts of the Quebec's Lower North Shore.
The NHC has also made available an interactive map that allows users to zoom in on areas in Dorian's path and toggle between the earliest reasonable arrival time of tropical-storm-force winds and most likely arrival time of tropical-storm-force winds, among other features.
FEMA has notified its partners that its National Business Emergency Operations Center (NBEOC) has been activated for Dorian. Through its Operations Dashboard, the NBEOC provides access to situational awareness updates from federal, regional, state, and private sector partners. Additionally, it offers a venue to share questions or issues through a chat room function. The NBEOC can also be reached at [email protected].
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) invites partners to attend Critical Infrastructure Stakeholder Calls for Hurricane Dorian. The call will be hosted by DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, Private Sector Division. The teleconference will include an overview of the current situation, brief updates from critical infrastructure sectors, and will conclude with an open forum for questions and information sharing. The call will be held on Saturday, September 7. The hosts will advise of the future of these calls at that time.
- Time: 3:00 pm ET
- Dial-in #: 1-888-889-4460
- Passcode/PIN: 2752050
Mutual Aid: Utilities wishing to offer aid to impacted utilities are urged to consider now what they may be able to offer. Please determine what type of team/assets your utility could deploy if requested based on the AWWA Water Sector Resource Typing Guidance that was specifically developed to support this type of incident response. Those that wish to offer assistance are encouraged to coordinate through their Water/Wastewater Agency Response Networks (WARNs). Before an out-of-state utility can provide support to a utility in an impacted state, the impacted state must make a request under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
For the latest updates on Dorian's track and anticipated effects, members are encouraged to visit the NHC. Additionally, WaterISAC will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as necessary, including to this page. It stands ready to assist members with any unmet needs and can be contacted at [email protected] and at (202)331-0479 and (866)H2O-ISAC.
