18-129 Walla Walla District employee deploys to support FEMA debris-management mission in Georgia

Published Dec. 6, 2018
WALLA WALLA, Wash. –  A natural resource specialist from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Walla Walla District deployed Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, to support Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster-response efforts in Georgia, according to District emergency management officials.

Sara Jones, a Pomeroy, Washington, resident, assigned to the District’s natural resource management office in Clarkston, Washington, volunteered to support FEMA’s debris-management mission in Georgia as a quality assurance inspector. As of Nov. 27, 2018, more than 2.11-million cubic yards of Hurricane Michael-caused debris from 13 counties in Georgia has been removed via USACE-administered contracts, with an estimated 490,000 cubic yards remaining for cleanup.

Twenty-eight District employees have volunteered to support FEMA disaster-response missions since June 1, the start of the 2018 hurricane season. Currently, USACE has more than 400 personnel from across the nation providing support both onsite and remotely, coordinating with local, state and FEMA disaster-response partners, to help those affected by Hurricane Michael https://www.fema.gov/hurricane-michael. Our number one priority is the life, health and safety of all those impacted by the storm.

USACE is prepared and ready to respond to natural and human-made disasters and overseas contingencies. When disasters occur, USACE teams and other resources are mobilized from across the country to assist our local districts and offices to deliver our response missions. USACE has more than 50 specially-trained response teams supported by emergency contracts to perform a wide range of public works and engineering-related support missions. USACE uses pre-awarded contracts that can be quickly activated for missions such as debris removal, temporary roofing, and temporary emergency power.

Every year, USACE, as part of the federal government’s unified national response to disasters and emergencies, deploys hundreds of people to provide technical engineering expertise and to promote capacity development at home and abroad. In 2017, USACE had 5,731 personnel deployments in response to one or more of 59 disaster declarations.


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Contact
CENWW-PA
509-527-7020
CENWW-PA@USACE.ARMY.MIL

Release no. 18-129