The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Caribbean District activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) ahead of Tropical Storm Ernesto. Caribbean District Commander, Col. Charles Decker, ordered the activation of the Caribbean District EOC to mobilize resources and be prepared to assist local, state and federal partners in addressing potential impacts resulting from TS Ernesto in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) and Puerto Rico (PR). The Emergency Management (EM) team immediately integrated a liaison to the PR Bureau for Emergency Management and Disaster Administration (NMEAD in Spanish), Emergency Operation Center (EOC) and coordinated with the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) during the District’s first natural disaster event.
“As soon as the precursors of Tropical Storm Ernesto began to form in the Atlantic our Emergency Management team, in coordination with the entire USACE Enterprise and our federal, state, and local partners, began to mobilize our resources in order to respond if needed,” explains Col. Charles Decker, Commander of the USACE Caribbean District. “We are better prepared for events like this than ever and the entire USACE team is ready to deploy our specialized capabilities at a moment’s notice. Since standing up Task Force Virgin Island Puerto Rico (TF VIPR) last year and the transition into the Caribbean District last month, our District personnel are 100% focused on serving the communities in Puerto Rico and the USVI which allows us to be more responsive and engaged to the needs in our geographical area of operations, particularly storm events like this one.”
Historically, USACE has had a significant role assisting territories, states and the nation during manmade and natural disasters, and this time was no different. Now with the newly established USACE Caribbean District headquarters in PR we can provide even better support to the U.S. citizens of USVI and PR.
Projects like Portugués Dam and Río Grande de Manatí at the municipality of Barceloneta are just two of the many projects that USACE have built across the Caribbean to provide protection for those communities.
“Once again, our completed projects, like Portugués and Bucananá Dam in Ponce provided significant flood damage protection to the citizens of Ponce specially those within the Portugués and Bucaná river basin,” said Alberto González, Project Manager, USACE Caribbean District. “In addition, the Río Grande de Manatí at the municipality of Barceloneta, completed in 2010, has provided, in multiple occasions, flood damage protection to the citizens of Barceloneta, including recently during the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto.”
USACE Flood Risk Management projects on the island of PR proved again to be effective by safeguarding life and mitigating damages to property.
Portugués Dam is the first single-centered roller compacted concrete thick arch dam flood risk management project constructed by the USACE in the Caribbean and is designed to reduce impacts of flooding. Construction of the 220-foot-tall structure was completed in 2013 and since then has provided flood reduction protection in and around Ponce by controlling water release during natural events that bring vast amounts of rain.
Río Grande de Manatí at the municipality of Barceloneta Flood Risk Management project was authorized under the Water Resources Development Act of 1999. The construction was completed and transferred to the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental resources in 2010. In September 2017 the project (levee) was impacted by Hurricane María, causing erosion damages to the east levee and as designed it protected properties and citizens of Barceloneta from flooding. A contract for repairs was awarded in December 2017 and completed to restore a total of 5,000 lineal feet of the east levee with final inspection in December 2018. Since 2010 the project Río Grande de Manatí at Barceloneta has provided Flood Risk Management protection by diverting water from the Río Grande de Manatí river away from the municipality.
The establishment of the Caribbean District is the next step by the USACE to improve on their service to the region.
| Date Taken: | 08.19.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2024 12:53 |
| Story ID: | 478945 |
| Location: | SAN JUAN, PR |
| Web Views: | 93 |
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