Situation Update 3

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management

Situation Update 3

May 22, 2019 – 9:45 p.m.

As a result of severe weather and flooding impacts across the state, the State Emergency Operations Center remains activated. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) remains in contact with emergency managers across the state and coordinating with agencies and organizations including the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma National Guard, Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Oklahoma Insurance Department, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma State Department of Education, Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services - Oklahoma Public Safety Broadband Network, Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department State Parks Division, National Weather Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Oklahoma American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief and the Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management continues to ask residents impacted by the recent storms to report damages to their property at damage.ok.gov or by calling 211. Reporting damage helps local and state emergency managers better coordinate response and recovery efforts. Residents can report damage to homes, businesses or agriculture through the online survey.

Blackwell Emergency Management reports numerous homes have been evacuated due to flooding.

Grady County Emergency Management reports road damage across the county.

Lincoln County Emergency Management reports additional water rescues earlier today.

Logan County Emergency Management reports voluntary evacuations in Twin Lakes near the Cimarron River Bank due to large amounts of water flow. Numerous bridges and roads are washed out across the county.

Muskogee County Emergency Management reports ongoing evacuations along the river in Muskogee and Webbers Falls and areas along Manard Bayou in Fort Gibson due to rising flood levels.

Ottawa County Emergency Management reports a tornado touched down off Highway 20. Damage assessments are still underway.

Seminole County Emergency Management reports a tornado touched down north of Cromwell, with minimal damage reported.

Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency reports The Army Corps of Engineers is currently releasing 215,000 cubic feet per second at Keystone Dam and believe there is a high probability that more water will be released in the coming days that would cause significant flooding in the Tulsa metro. Officials will alert residents when the Army Corps of Engineers increases output rates at any point. Find more information at www.cityoftulsa.org. 

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, 44 injuries have been reported by area hospitals.

Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reports one fatality in Payne County is attributed to flooding.

American Red Cross reports the following shelters are open due to high water:

Crosstown Church of Christ, 3400 E. Admiral, Tulsa

First Christian Church, 2424 N. Main, Miami

Bacone College, 2299 Old Bacone Rd, Muskogee

Church on the Word, 1511 Culwell Rd, Warner

Roland High School, 300 Ranger Blvd, Roland

Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3700 Woodland Road, Bartlesville

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief mud out teams are assisting in Hominy. They are also providing meals in Blackwell.

The Salvation Army is supporting the Bacone College shelter in Muskogee and providing meals in Sand Springs.

Oklahoma State Department of Health reports 47 Gore Nursing Home residents were relocated to the Vian Nursing Home.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management has staff deployed to the affected areas, including Tulsa and Muskogee counties.

Oklahoma Dept of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) has been coordinating with Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps and the Oklahoma State Animal Response Team to activate animal response volunteers to assist with animal sheltering at the request of Tulsa Animal Welfare. This would also include the activation of County Animal Response Teams and the Oklahoma Large Animal First Responder Team. They are also working with Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency to provide technical large animal rescue resources through American Humane. ODAFF has deployed a state veterinarian to Tulsa to help coordinate these resources.

Oklahoma National Guard is staging 50 military vehicles, 120 personnel, and 3 hoist capable helicopters in northeast Oklahoma to assist with evacuation efforts.

Oklahoma State Department of Health staff have been deployed to the Muskogee County EOC and to the Cherokee Nation EOC to provide support with resource requests.  

Civil Air Patrol is facilitating a fly over of flooded areas on behalf of the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol completed 55 water search and rescue missions in Skiatook with 75 people rescued. Three people were rescued in Turley.

OHP is prepositioning the following equipment and personnel in Muskogee and Tulsa: 2 SJX vessels, 3 Airboats, 1 recovery vessel, and 12 personnel. The OHP Marine Enforcement Division has pre-positioned personnel and equipment to the areas projected to be affected by flooding.                     

They have canceled days off for all OHP Troopers and Communications personnel through May 27.

Cherokee Nation is providing a Documentation Unit to assist in Muskogee County.

Department of Environmental Quality reports they are working with local officials to identify debris sites and provide support to water districts.

US Army Corp of Engineers is assisting with 100,000 sandbags and a sandbag machine to be staged City of Tulsa and 3,000 sandbags for Broken Arrow.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation reports all lanes of SH-100 and I-40 are closed over the Arkansas River near the Muskogee/Sequoyah County line until further notice. Two barges are loose in the navigation channel and the highways are being closed as a safety precaution. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation and other agencies are closely monitoring at this time. Drivers can expect significant delays and should avoid the area and seek an alternate route if possible.

The following highways are closed:

• Alfalfa County - SH-8/SH-11 is closed between US-64 north of Cherokee to the SH-58 junction.
• Beckham County - The I-40 southern service road (old 66) at MM19 is closed for extended repairs due to road damage from flooding.
• Cherokee County - SH-80 is closed four miles west of Hulbert near Fort Gibson Lake; SH-80 is closed near the Canyon Rd. access area just north of Fort Gibson.
• Cotton County - SH-5B is closed between SH-5A and US-70.
• Delaware County - SH-127 is closed near Jay just west of US-59 due to a damaged drainage structure.
• Grant County - US-81 is closed between Medford and Pond Creek.
• Johnston County - SH-48A is closed to through traffic between the SH-48 junction in Coleman and SH-7 in Milburn due to a damaged construction detour.
• Kay County - US-77 is closed between SH-156 and southern Tonkawa; US-177 is closed just north of SH-11 in Blackwell.
• Logan County - US-77 is closed at the Cimarron River north of Guthrie; US-77 is closed north of SH-74C near Guthrie; SH-74F is closed between Cashion and SH-33 due to pavement damage from flooding.
• Love County - SH-77-Scenic is closed at Lake Murray Spillway.
• Lincoln County - SH-18 is closed 7 miles north of Chandler at CR 840; SH-66 is closed between US-177 and SH-18 in Chandler.
• Mayes County - SH-82 is closed at Grand River south of Langley.
• Muskogee County - SH-10 is closed 2 miles east of the US-62 junction near Fort Gibson.
• Noble County - SH-15 is closed between US-77 and Red Rock.74; SH-156 is closed between Marland and US-60/US-177 in Kay County.
• Nowata County - SH-10 is closed east of US-169 near Lenapah due to damage to a drain.
• Pawnee County - US-64 is closed between Pawnee and SH-18.
• Payne County - SH-18 is closed at the Cimarron River between Cushing and the SH-51 junction.
• Ottawa County - SH-125 is closed one mile south of SH-10 in Miami; US-59/SH-10 is closed one mile west of US-69; SH10 is closed between US-69 and the SH-69A junction in Miami.
• Tulsa County - SH-11 is closed from 76th St. North to 186th St North; SH-20 is closed from US-75 to west of Skiatook.
• Wagoner County - SH-16 is closed near the Muskogee Turnpike just north of Muskogee; SH-16 is closed northwest of Okay.
• Washington County - SH-123 is closed between Bartlesville and Dewey.

For official information about highway closures due to flooding, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation posts updates in the Traffic Advisory section of www.odot.org. An interactive map showing highway conditions and closures can be found at www.okroads.org.

A State of Emergency remains in effect for 66 Oklahoma counties due to severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding that began in April. Under the Executive Order, state agencies can make emergency purchases and acquisitions needed to expedite the delivery of resources to local jurisdictions. The declaration also marks a first step toward seeking federal assistance should it be necessary.

The counties included in the declaration are: Adair, Alfalfa, Atoka, Beckham, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Craig, Creek, Custer, Delaware, Dewey, Garvin, Grady, Greer, Haskell, Hughes, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnston, Kay, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Latimer, Le Flore, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Marshall, Mayes, McClain, McCurtain, McIntosh, Murray, Muskogee, Noble, Nowata, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Payne, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Pushmataha, Roger Mills, Rogers, Seminole, Sequoyah, Stephens, Tillman, Tulsa, Wagoner, Washington, Washita, and Woods.

For Oklahoma residents seeking non-emergency disaster or health and human service information, please contact your local 2-1-1. Services are available 24 hours a day by dialing 2-1-1 from your home or cellular telephone. Please only call 911 for emergencies.

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