August 17, 2009 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Program "Notes of the Day"

(1) Camille Remembered:

Associated Press. “Camille Remembered 40 Years Later,” August 16, 2009. Accessed at:

Kunzelman, Michael. “Hurricane Camille’s Fury Remembered 40 Years Later,” Associated Press, August 16, 2009. Accessed at:

Roylance, Frank D. “Hurricane Camille Made History 40 Years Ago.” Baltimore Sun August 17, 2009. At:

(2) Hurricane Katrina:

Department of Homeland Security. “Secretary Napolitano Announces $32 Million in Funding for Rebuilding Projects at Southern University at New Orleans. Wash. DC: DHS Office of the Press Secretary, Aug 17, 2009.

(3) New Orleans and Hurricane Levees:

Spaht, Susan. “Corps of Engineers Committed to its Goal: 100-Year Level Protection in June 2011,” Task Force Hope Status Report Newsletter (US Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Corps Hurricane Response), August 14, 2009, 5 pages. Accessed at:

(4) States and Disaster Reinsurance:

Lehmann, Evan. “States Shed Reinsurance and ‘Run Naked’ Through Storm Risks.” New York Times, August 17, 2009. Accessed at:

(5) Terrorism Threats:

Green, J. J. “What Keeps Janet Napolitano Up At Night.” WTOP.com. August 17, 2009. Accessed at:

Solomon, Deborah. “Questions for Janet Napolitano: The Defender,” New York Times, August 12, 2009. Accessed at:

(6) This Day in Disaster History -- August 17, 1983 -- Hurricane Alicia, Galveston, So. TX

Killer Cane

“A weak frontal trough drifted in the Northern Gulf of Mexico on the night of August 14th. A huge area of thunderstorms developed off the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Northwest Florida. A large cluster of thunderstorms, known as a Mesoscale Convective Complex (MCC) was seen 150 miles south of the Louisiana coast during the morning and early afternoon of the 14th. It drifted west-southwest and by the afternoon of the 14th, thunderstorms developed over an apparent surface circulation. A weak low was analyzed in that area. It became Alicia, a tropical storm, by the afternoon of the 15th and a hurricane by the afternoon of the 16th. Hurricane Alicia struck the coast at around 2 am on August 17th in SouthwesternGalvestonIsland after moving painfully slowly in the Gulf. It weakened into a tropical depression as it passed east of College Station….

“Storm surges were 12.1 feet at MorganPoint, along GalvestonBay. Highest rainfall total noted was 10.75" at Greens Bayou; 9.70" fell at Deweyville. Highest winds measured were 102 m.p.h. gusts at Galveston. Seventeen tornadoes were spawned by Alicia in Southeast Texas and seventeen people perished.

“A major crude oil spill occurred around Texas City…. An ocean going tug capsized 50 miles south of SabinePass. Alicia relieved the drought stricken Plains over the next few days as it continued northward through Oklahoma. Fifty to 200 feet of GalvestonIsland's coast eroded away. Damages totaled over $3 billion.” (Roth. TX Hur. Hist, Late 20th Cen., 2003)

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“The Coast Guard cutter Buttonwood moored at Galveston reported sustained winds of 96 mph with gusts to 125 mph. Hobby Airport at Houston, Texas reported 94 mph sustained winds with gusts to 107 mph. Wind gusts of hurricane force in downtown Houston littered the streets with broken glass as windows broke in the high-rise buildings. Additionally, twenty-three tornadoes were reported from Alicia….Alicia was responsible for 21 deaths and $2 billion in damage in the United States.” (NHC. Hurricane History. Alicia, 1983.)

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“Hurricane Alicia, which cane ashore near Galveston, Texas, during the night of August 17-18, 1983, was the first tropical cyclone of full hurricane intensity to strike the U.S. mainland in over three years. It will be recorded as the second most costly storm ever to strike the United States, if Hurricane Agnes, which in 1972 caused inland flooding over a large part of the U.S. East Coast, is excluded. Alicia's coastal property damage was exceeded only by that of Hurricane Frederic, which came ashore near Mobile, Alabama, in 1979.

“Though Alicia was not a strong hurricane, the area of maximum winds in the storm crossed a large metropolitan area--the Galveston-Houston area of Texas…placing that area's network of expensive structures, buildings, and lifeline facilities at risk. Wind damage was extensive throughout the area, and rain and storm surges caused flooding damage in some areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico and GalvestonBay….

“Tallies of the death toll from Alicia vary from 10 to 20, depending on the extent to which deaths indirectly attributable to the storm are included.

“The purposes of this report are to document the storm's characteristics and effects, to call attention to specific characteristics, effects, and storm-related conditions that could be studied further with beneficial results, and to examine the warnings, responses, and recovery occasioned by the storm. The report is based on a four-day survey by team members on August 23-26 of the conditions after the storm and on oral and written follow-up.

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Sources:

Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council. Hurricanes Iwa, Alicia, and Diana – Common Themes: A Report of the Committee on Natural Disasters, 1984. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 1985, 30 pages.. Digitized by Google. Accessed at:

Godschalk, David R., David J. Brower, and Timothy Beatley. Catastrophic Coastal Storms: Hazard Mitigation and Development Management. DurhamNC: Duke Univ. Press, 1989, 75-93.

National Climatic DataCenter, “Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters 1980-1994.” August 4, 1997. Table 4. Accessed at:

NationalHurricaneCenter, NOAA. Hurricane History. “Alicia, 1983.” Accessed at:

Roth, David. Roth, David. Texas Hurricane History: Late 20th Century. National Weather Service, Weather Service Forecast Office, Lake Charles, LA, NOAA, 1998. June 23, 2003 modification. Accessed at:

Savage, Rudolph P., Jay Baker, Joseph H. Golden, Ahsan Kareem, Billy R. Manning. Hurricane Alicia: Galveston and Houston, Texas, August 17-18, 1983. Washington, DC: NationalAcademy Press (Committee on Natural Disasters, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council), 1984. Digitized by Google. Accessed at:

(7) Email Inbox Backlog: 667

(8) EM Hi-Ed Program Notes of the Day Distribution: 25,728 subscribers.

B. Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM
Higher Education Program Manager
Emergency Management Institute
National Preparedness Directorate
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Department of Homeland Security
16825 S. Seton, K-011
Emmitsburg, MD 21727

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