For our current SITREPS (Situation Reports) please see:  www.dera.us/eoc

For overall DERA activities, please see:  www.disasters.org

REPORTED BY MURRAY CORNISH, BRUCE ATKINSON, LIAM FOX:

A convoy of emergency supply vehicles has arrived in the flooded north Queensland town of Ingham, carrying much-needed food, medical supplies and other goods.

The town has been cut off for the last eight days but floodwaters have now dropped enough to allow the trucks to complete their journey from Townsville.

Emergency Management Queensland spokesman Glenn Kachel says the supplies will boost residents’ morale.

“I think it’s very much a sign of the community returning to normality, that the roads become open so people can get about their business and things return to normal,” he said.

Sergeant Geoff Bormann says motorists should stay in Townsville because it will take longer for the highway north of Ingham to open and he does not want extra people stranded in the town.

“At the moment we just don’t have the facilities or the food supplies for that to happen,” he said.

“We don’t need a heap of people coming up and creating a bottleneck there.”

The floodwater is continuing to drop slowly and residents are being warning to watch for the dangers of fast-flowing water.

Emergency Management Queensland regional director Jason Cameron says there have been unconfirmed crocodile sightings in flooded creeks running through the middle of town.

“We’ve had a couple of sightings I believe of crocodiles in the area,” he said.

“So again residents are reminded - and particularly children - not to play in those waters and steer clear of them until they recede and are cleared by the council.”
Missing in floodwaters

The body of a man swept away by floodwaters in Queensland’s far north on Saturday night has been recovered.

He was in a car that was washed off the Bruce Highway at Euramo. Another man is still missing, while five others were rescued.

And the search will continue tomorrow for a five-year-old boy feared taken by a crocodile in far north Queensland.

Rangers have put a crocodile trap into the Daintree River, north of Cairns, to try to determine what happened to the boy.

He vanished on Sunday morning after following his dog into the water from a private boardwalk on his parent’s property on the river’s northern bank.

Searchers say they found several crocodiles close to where a boy went missing.

His parents are local tourism operators and say they do not want any retribution against the reptiles.

BT

//DERA Operations Center/Pacific Watch//

BT

EOT

NNNN

Radio Australia Reports:

Authorities in Victoria are warning communities to be vigilant as the deadly bushfires continue to burn across the state.

Several blazes are threatening homes across Victoria, and despite a cool change wind continues to hamper efforts to bring the fires under control.

The death toll has continued to rise, with the latest confirmed total sitting at 166.

The highest toll was recorded at Kinglake, north of Melbourne, were 35 people died, including former Channel 9 Melbourne newsreader Brian Naylor.

In the destroyed town of Marysville, the recovery team co-ordinator Howard Paix said the community has united in the face of the disaster.

“It is a tough time, but you see community come together,” he said.

“You see people work out what is real and what is the essential things in life and how relationships are so important. And seeing a whole community pull together is just marvellous.”

Kinglake resident Jessica Barnes was overcome by the community reaction, she told ABC1’s Lateline program.

“I don’t know what to say and it makes me cry every time I see people and see what everyone’s done. And everyone, everyone is doing something and it’s wonderful,” she said.

The Army, police and CFA volunteers spent yesterday searching burnt out houses and cars for more victims of the fires.

Brigadier Michael Arnold, who is heading up the Australian Defence Force Joint Taskforce, says his team was ready to be called up.

“We started our planning for this around about November last year,” he said.

“We had earmarked units for this that have been involved in other bushfire type situations in the past, there’s a lot of corporate knowledge in the reserve here in Victoria when it comes to firefighting, and we’ve tapped into that straight away.”
Remain vigilant

Fires across the state have destroyed more than 740 homes, and are still threatening property in some areas.

Residents of Healesville north-east of Melbourne are warned they could be directly affected by ember attack, with winds in the region picking up throughout the night.

The water supply in the area has also been affected by the fire, but at present is secure.

Nina Cullen from the Department of Sustainability and Environment says residents need to be prepared.

“The Toolangi area, there’s a fire that continues to burn south-east in a northerly direction, and residents are advised impacted directly by fire,” she said.

“Similarly in the Healesville area, residents in the vicinity of Dowd road, Romeo Road, Anderson Road, Gibbs Road and Juliet Avenue will be directly impacted upon by heavy ember attack.”

The Churchill fire, east of Melbourne, is no longer posing a direct threat to communities around Won Wron, but residents are urged to stay vigilant.

The Blaze at Dederang, near Beechworth in Victoria’s north-east, escalated during the day and is spotting ahead of the main fire.

Residents in the area need to act on their fire plans.

The Yea-Murrindindi forest fire is about 93,000 hectares in size, and while it is not posing a threat, residents are reminded to be vigilant.

Fire activity at Kinglake has settled down for now.

BT

//DERA Operations Center/Pacific Watch//

BT

EOT

NNNN

SUBJ: EMCOMM ONE FOR HURRICANE IKE

1.  EMCOMM TWO (ADVANCED READINESS) CONTINUES FOR ALL U.S. DERA COMMUNICATIONS STATIONS.

2.  EMCOMM ONE (EMERGENCY OPERATIONS) CONTINUES FOR ALL DERA STATIONS IN LOUISIANA AND ALL OTHERS PROVIDING SUPPORT TO THE HURRICANE GUSTAV RECOVERY.

3.  EMCOMM ONE (EMERGENCY OPERATIONS) IS EFFECTIVE AT 0800 EDT, FRIDAY 12 SEPT 2008 (1300Z) FOR ALL DERA STATIONS IN TEXAS.

4.  ALL U.S. STATIONS SHOULD PREPARE FOR POSSIBLE EMCOMM ONE (EMERGENCY OPERATIONS) SHOULD HURRICANE IKE RESULT IN CATASTROPHIC CONDITIONS IN THE HOUSTON AREA.  IN ADDITION, THE REMNANTS OF THIS HURRICANE WILL LIKELY POSE SIGNIFICANT RISK FOR SEVERAL DAYS FOLLOWING LANDFALL AND ALL STATIONS ARE REQUESTED TO REMAIN WATCHFUL AND AT A HIGH STATE OF READINESS TO ASSIST.

5.  DERA INCIDENT MANAGER IS CATHERINE LAWHUN.

BT

EOT

NNNN

FOR USA STATIONS, THAT EQUATES TO 8:01 PM EDT.

BT

EOT

NNNN