Date: Sat, 08 Oct 2016 17:11:32 EDT
Summary: CFWSC staff respond to Hurricane Matthew.
Hurricane Matthew passed the Florida east coast last night. Five deaths in Florida were attributed to the hurricane.
The USGS Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center (CFWSC) deployed the USGS Short Term Network along the Atlantic coast, before Hurricane Matthew approached the coast of Florida, to monitor the timing, extent, and magnitude of the storm tide during the passage of the storm and in support of FEMA. The deployment included 61 water level sensors, 17 barometers, and 3 Rapid Deployment Gages (RDG) along the east Florida coast from Miami to Jacksonville. CFWSC staff (11 crews 23 staff) were deployed today, October 8th, to recover water level sensors and data. Support staff in Davie and Orlando will assist with data processing. The CFWSC Hurricane Matthew storm data will be available from a web application portal.
CFWSC has been responding to the rains and flooding as a result of hurricane Matthew. USGS-CFWSC and GAWSC deployed several staff to northeast Florida to make streamflow measurements at stream gages to verify and update the river stage and streamflow discharge ratings. These ratings are critical for determining the volume of water that passes a stream-gaging station at any given river stage and are used in issuing flood warnings, mapping floodplains, monitoring water-quality and environmental conditions, and managing water resources.
USGS CFWSC staff are making plans today (October 8) to begin a high water mark (HWM) flagging campaign pending a mission assignment from FEMA. The area to be flagged for HWMs would be the northeast Florida coast to determine the height and inland extent of the storm surge from Hurricane Matthew.
All staff have been accounted for and all offices will resume normal operations on the next business day.