Eight U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Walla Walla District employees deployed during October and November to support Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster-response efforts in Georgia and Florida, according to district emergency management officials.
Among those deployed were two who work at McNary Dam near Umatilla.
During October, a civil engineer from the district headquarters in Walla Walla, Wash., went to Tallahassee, Fla., to perform bridge inspections. Several others traveled to Panama .City, Fla, to support FEMA’s temporary roofing mission. The program, named Operation Blue Roof, provides temporary covering of blue plastic sheeting to help reduce further damage to property until permanent repairs can be made.
Among those who went to Panama City included a natural resource specialist from Lucky Peak Dam and Lake, near Boise, Idaho; a materials handler from Little Goose Lock and Dam, near Starbuck, Wash.; and a construction representative from Lower Granite Lock and Dam, near Pomeroy, Wash.
During November, a power plant operator and a power plant mechanic from Lower Monumental Lock and Dam; and a rigger and a power plant electrician from McNary Dam deployed to Albany, Ga., to support FEMA’s debris-removal mission.
Twenty-seven 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.
