7 Jul 2021

“They lost everything”: What it's like to deploy to disaster-stricken communities

Picture a city the size of Manhattan. Now picture 10 Manhattans ablaze. Nearly everything is gone. Seared car frames line the street. People sift through the ash where their homes used to be for whatever may have survived: jewelry, wedding gifts, a vase their mother gave them. Everything smells like melted plastic and smoke.

3 Feb 2021

Walla Walla District cost engineers provide expertise and support to FEMA and other federal agencies

Natural disasters like floods and hurricanes can severely damage homes, businesses and infrastructure. Those who suffer damages in natural disasters can apply to FEMA for financial assistance. When this happens, a cost estimate is needed to determine how much money it would take to either repair or replace the structure in question.

23 Apr 2020

Debris team wrapping up FEMA technical support mission in Middle Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 23, 2020) – The Corps of Engineers’ team supporting clean-up efforts in Middle Tennessee in the wake of deadly tornadoes that devastated the region in early March is wrapping up its FEMA technical support mission where contractors have removed an estimated 450,000 cubic yards of debris, enough to fill 137 Olympic-size swimming pools.

2 Dec 2016

Custodians of disaster relief

Thanks to a cadre of Corps custodians who prepare year-round, Deployable Tactical Operations System (DTOS) teams are ready to provide their expertise and mobile command centers to quickly respond following hurricanes and other disasters.

17 Nov 2016

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District is Active in Urban Search and Rescue

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approximately 30 volunteers in the Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) program and five of the volunteers reside within the Buffalo District. The cadre of Structures Specialists provide technical expertise in the area of structural engineering. The deployment of Structures Specialists is imperative in disaster situations in which disaster victims may be trapped in collapsed buildings and rescuers require assistance with securing safe access to locate them.

13 Oct 2016

Corps to reduce flows from Lake O; Hurricane Matthew damage assessment continues

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District will reduce outflows from Lake Okeechobee this weekend as a result of receding water levels. Effective Friday (Oct. 14), the target flow for the Caloosahatchee Estuary is 4,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) as measured at Moore Haven Lock & Dam (S-77) located on the southwest side of the lake. The target flow for the St. Lucie Estuary is 1,800 cfs as measured at St. Lucie Lock & Dam (S-80) near Stuart. Additionally, the Corps continues to assist with post-Hurricane Matthew damage assessments around the state.

13 Jun 2016

Nashville District focuses on preparedness for ‘America’s PrepareAthon’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 13, 2016) – To participate in “America’s PrepareAthon” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District spent the first five months of 2016 preparing personnel, projects and facilities for possible future disasters, hazards and threats, and planning ahead for emergencies.

4 Jun 2015

Sacramento District sends help for Texas flood recovery

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District has flown three reservoir operations specialists to assist the Corp’s Southwestern Division with their round-the-clock response to recent flooding in Texas.

17 Dec 2014

Engineers with a rescuer’s heart

Rescue engineers are specially trained volunteers whose job is to help prevent disaster rescue teams from also becoming victims. Six of these Corps volunteers are from the Sacramento District. Learn more about their challenging role.

18 Jun 2014

Army Corps of Engineers Joins City Agencies and FEMA in Debut of Nation’s First Urban Post-Disaster Housing Prototype in Brooklyn

Officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, recently joined Commissioners Joseph F. Bruno, New York City Office of Emergency Management, Feniosky Peña-Mora, New York City Department of Design and Construction, and officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Brooklyn celebrating the completion of emergency prototype housing units designed to quickly resettle large numbers of people in urban areas after a major coastal storm or disaster. It is the only system of its kind in the U.S.