Posted at 5:27 p.m., Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Army Corps of Engineers assists with damage inventory
Advertiser Staff
Honolulu District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is deploying a nine-man structural assistance team to the Big Island at the request of Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide technical assistance to local and state officials in assessing earthquake-related damage to infrastructure, including roads and bridges.Honolulu District's acting Chief of Engineering and Construction Curtis Yokoyama leads the joint U.S Army Corps of Engineers/FEMA Structural Damage Assessment Team of volunteer Corps structural engineers from Honolulu District and five Mainland Corps districts and divisions.
Immediately following the earthquakes on Sunday, members of Honolulu District's Emergency Power Planning and Response team (Power PRT) mobilized to the Pacific Ocean Division Emergency Operations Center at Fort Shafter to prepare for a potential deployment of power generators for emergency power assistance to the local or state agencies. The specialized management cell team works with the 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power), contractors, and local and state entities to assess, install and maintain emergency generators at critical facilities.
Following a request from the City and County of Honolulu, two-15 ton 560 kilowatt (KW) emergency generators from FEMA were installed by the 249th Engineer Battalion at the Sand Island wastewater pump station to serve as temporary backup generators while the pump station's normal backup generators are under repair. Under a memorandum of understanding, the city will provide maintenance for the emergency generators while installed at Sand Island.
