1.1M bottles of water distributed by state to Jackson residents
FEMA leader to visit jackson
here running these sites. And so this is gonna be *** lot more efficient because we’re not we’re not capturing personal data and we’re not having to put needles in arms, we’re just simply handing out water. Uh so the soldiers that are here working have done that. So I sort of know the challenge is really setting the site up and once you get the site fixed, uh the traffic moves pretty well. Um you know, the the limiting factor I’m worried about is the water distribute, getting the water here to distribute, but that’s going very well. Our our partners are working very well to get us what we need. Uh Of course this is all due to the governor’s leadership. Uh he’s he’s decisive, he stepped in here, he told us what needed to be done and we’re executing his vision and his his guidance. Uh the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency fema, they’re doing *** great job of giving us all the support we need to distribute the water. Uh that includes getting the water to the site on time. Uh We also handing out hand sanitizers. Uh The Mississippi National Guard is also providing non potable water, although there hasn’t been *** big requirement for that yet. We’re prepared to fit that requirement in case we have further challenges at the water plant. Um We’re working with the Forestry Commission who’s doing their part, the Mississippi public safety Department, they’re doing *** great job. The Agricultural Commissioner is even supporting us in our case he’s helping feed our soldiers, but they’re doing *** lot of other support here on the site also. Uh And I can’t I can’t go without saying that the city of Jackson is *** great partner in this venture. Uh We’ve got the manpower to put on the site to get the water delivered, but without getting their cooperation in providing the sites and supporting them as they diligently work to improve the water system. Uh the waterway system there, um we’re gonna work hand in hand with the city of Jackson. Get that done. So we we appreciate the mayor’s cooperation. Also Questions. Or do you want to say anything? I just want to let them know, sir, we’ve got *** profit of about 600 soldiers that come out all over Mississippi. They actually come out here and help. And they really enjoyed the work that they’re doing out here. Very good. Yes, sir, can you tell me you understand that at this location alone yesterday and they distributed 75 pallets of water. Um Can you give me *** rough idea of *** total amount or I know you only have one day, but if you have any ideas of how much you’re distributing per day we are. So, you know, every site is different. In fact, we’ve been to two sites this morning that probably had *** little bit more volume than this did. And I think that has *** lot to do with their locations. Uh We did just short of 600 pallets yesterday for all of our sites were running about six sites. Uh Seven sites of water, if you include the fairgrounds down at the Mississippi fairgrounds. So seven sites. Um I think I’m counting, I’m counting families. So we’ve we serviced about 20,000 vehicles yesterday and then we put two packages of water for each family. Uh Some of those vehicles were to uh if there were two families in the vehicle, we did for just to give you an idea of the volume of responses were responding to. Well, as long as the water is coming, we can keep it going. Uh And I’ll tell you the Sergeant Major will tell you that our concern is making sure our soldiers are taken care of in this heat. So we’re providing them air conditioning at the sites. I’ve been to *** lot of sites that like you their position in the shade to get the water out. So that’s good. So we’re just making sure the soldiers and the airmen that are supporting this operation are taken care of with good accommodations, plenty of water for themselves and *** good meal at mealtime. Sorry Major. Okay, good. Alright, so we are, you know, we always planned military plans. So we’re planning for three weeks but it could be short of that. It could be longer than that. Three week is sort of the model we use for *** hurricane. So we just simply use that same model. Uh and *** lot of times it comes in shorter. Sometimes it goes beyond that other questions. We are at this location. How many are total? So good question. So we have *** total of about 600 soldiers, is that right? And um, I would say we have about 50 per site who are actually involved in the operations at the site as far as distributing water. And of course with any military operations, you know, it requires *** little bit more, you know, logistical support to make that happen. So for example, we had *** forklift go out this morning at this site. You might notice that in the background, uh, that logistical backup support Uh, gets that forklift or either replaced or fixed or comes up with *** solution to continue to move the water on site. We don’t want our 50 people who were tied up with distributing water to worry about that. So *** total of 600, about 50 per site working the water park. Where where are y’all getting the water? So the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency provides the water to us. So I can’t tell you where they’re getting it from. I’m sure they’ve got contracts with corporate America to do that. Um, my responsibility is when that 18 wheeler shows up on site we get the water on the line. I do you want to say anything first. Before I wrap it up, I would just say for the soldiers and airmen that are out there just for the, for the people of the city of Jackson just say thank you to the soldiers because they actually came all over the state of Mississippi in order to support this operation. So, you know, I always talk about these remarkable young men and women in the National Guard. If you look, if you look out here, you’ll see. Some of them have been in *** combat zone, some have not uh and for them to not only be willing to deploy overseas, but then to also help in their communities Absolutely makes them *** remarkable person. And I value every one of them, which is why we want to take good care of them, why they’re out here working. Um they come into the National Guard for different reasons. They come in because we do jobs that they like. You’ve got *** lot of Air defense artillery men and women out here. You have *** lot of uh uh aviation men and women out here. We’ve even got some field artillery men and women out here. Um you know, so I just value every one of them. Um and they’re willing to deploy overseas but they’re also willing to work in their backyard. Do you have any soldiers or anybody who are from the Jackson area that are going through *** water shortage at the same time and dealing with their family simultaneously. So I’ve talked to any Jackson residents, Most of the residents I’ve talked to are from the Delta or from North Mississippi or from East Mississippi. That seems to be the where they’re, where they’re coming in from. I did have one young lady from Pearl Mississippi because we’re providing them hotel room. She told me she didn’t need *** hotel room. But I think I’ve only got one soldier that I’ve met that is from this area and it is anything between the three flooding sort of. That’s *** great question. So we didn’t deploy anybody for the flooding. But what did factor into our consideration is we have to have our search team available for hurricane. And so we’ve got that group of soldiers and airmen in reserve and uh look this this formation is 11,500 people. So we’ve got and and we really don’t have very many deployed right now. And so we’ve got plenty of folks to to react to *** hurricane and continue this mission if we have to. Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. What’s the toughest part of this operation? Um, you know, like with any operation, you serve the military surges to *** point and we think we’ve got it all planned out and everything works. And then you have your gremlins show up that that you know, you need to do all and and we operate on the fly. I will tell you what’s interesting is that we showed up for our initial operations yesterday and got things set, but we were not scheduled to be fully operational with everything set until today and we do that. We give it 24 hours so we can work out the kinks. I don’t know that there’s been any big snack food. Have you heard of any? For me? It would be meals. Okay so we for example, we gave all the soldiers and airmen M. R. E. S. ***. Meal ready to eat that they can deploy with that’s for their lunch. But already we have volunteers who are offering to feed them lunch one side up in uh Northwest Jackson. Uh they’re located at *** school and the ladies there at the school since they’re not feeding Children offered to feed them *** meal. So the community is really supporting us and we really appreciate that. Thank you for that. Why do you think this operation is just as important as other ones *** crossing? You know I would tell you that that water is something that is very intimate to everybody because we bathe in it, we brush our teeth with it, it sustains us and without water we’re affecting every household in the city. So to be able to provide the water to households. It’s I mean that’s it’s the sustainment of everyday life. And so it’s very important that we do this. No, just thank you for your interest. I think this is *** great story for the National Guard. Uh It just highlights the fact that we don’t just deploy overseas and help people overseas. That we actually really value the opportunity to help our communities. I mean, these, look, these young men are working, these young men and women are working *** holiday weekend to do this. They’re giving up their, their weekend of doing something else with their families and friends to be out here to help their community. Absolutely remarkable. And I value that truly value that. Uh, how many cars? Okay. Uh, so at this side, I don’t know the number here. I do know that overall in Jackson, we serviced 20,000 cars yesterday. 20,000. So you break that down by seven sites and you sort of do the math on that. That’s gonna be over 2000 site. I mean, to me that’s pretty remarkable. Pretty, pretty impressive. And uh, so I’m not worried about, I think we’re efficient enough right now. From what I’ve seen that the cars are moving very efficiently. Uh, I had one young lady at the side earlier, she said she’s running it like carpool. She’ll, she’ll have six cars pull up and they’ll load all six cars. Uh, like you would load Children in *** carpool and then send them on their way. I thought that was *** pretty creative way to, to distribute water. So they’re moving very efficiently at the sites. And I’m letting those local commanders determine the best way to get water into vehicles. But I haven’t seen, I mean they’re moving pretty quickly as you can see here. They are moving very quickly. You know, I am not tasked with doing that. What I am seeing in my role. Is there *** lot of non profits out there who are doing *** lot of that and the non profits have *** role to play in this exercise. Also, I’m sure that they are coordinating with Mima in doing that, but that is not something they’ve asked us to do.
1.1M bottles of water distributed by state to Jackson residents
FEMA leader to visit jackson
More than 1.1 million bottles of water were distributed by Mississippi agencies on Thursday in response to Jackson’s water emergency, according to state officials. The water was supplied by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and was distributed by members of the Mississippi National Guard. “When that 18-wheeler arrives on-site, we get the water on the line,” said Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles.Gov. Tate Reeves declared an emergency and activated the guard, which deployed 600 soldiers to the city of Jackson and surrounding areas. Boyles said about 50 soldiers are at each of the seven state-run distribution sites handing out water. The rest of the guardsmen are assisting with the operation.”With any military operation, you know, it requires a little bit of logistical support to make that happen,” Boyles said. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will be in Jackson Friday to see what’s being done to get the situation under control and determine how the federal government can continue to help.President Joe Biden on Tuesday approved the governor’s request for a federal emergency declaration in response to Jackson’s water crisis. “There’s money to deal with this problem,” Biden said Thursday. “We’ve given them the EPA. We’ve given them everything there is to offer.”Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar said Thursday during a joint news conference with the governor that local, state and federal agencies are working together “to ensure that we keep the most primary focus on the residents of Jackson.”The mayor said “positive gains” have been made in the system — a day after an emergency rental raw water pump was installed at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant. The mayor said the J.H. Fewell Water Treatment Plant is running at normal capacity, and the city well water system tanks are stable.Residents are still advised to boil their water for drinking, cooking and cleaning dishes. You don’t need to boil water for washing clothes, hands or when bathing. Drinking water and non-potable water are being distributed at several sites around Jackson. Jackson residents on the city surface water system have already been under a boil-water notice for weeks. Residents on the city’s well water system have not been affected.According to Lumumba, the city’s ongoing water issues result from decades of deferred maintenance and staffing shortages.
More than 1.1 million bottles of water were distributed by Mississippi agencies on Thursday in response to Jackson’s water emergency, according to state officials.
The water was supplied by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and was distributed by members of the Mississippi National Guard.
“When that 18-wheeler arrives on-site, we get the water on the line,” said Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles.
Gov. Tate Reeves declared an emergency and activated the guard, which deployed 600 soldiers to the city of Jackson and surrounding areas. Boyles said about 50 soldiers are at each of the seven state-run distribution sites handing out water. The rest of the guardsmen are assisting with the operation.
“With any military operation, you know, it requires a little bit of logistical support to make that happen,” Boyles said.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will be in Jackson Friday to see what’s being done to get the situation under control and determine how the federal government can continue to help.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday approved the governor’s request for a federal emergency declaration in response to Jackson’s water crisis.
“There’s money to deal with this problem,” Biden said Thursday. “We’ve given them the EPA. We’ve given them everything there is to offer.”
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar said Thursday during a joint news conference with the governor that local, state and federal agencies are working together “to ensure that we keep the most primary focus on the residents of Jackson.”
The mayor said “positive gains” have been made in the system — a day after an emergency rental raw water pump was installed at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant.
The mayor said the J.H. Fewell Water Treatment Plant is running at normal capacity, and the city well water system tanks are stable.
Residents are still advised to boil their water for drinking, cooking and cleaning dishes. You don’t need to boil water for washing clothes, hands or when bathing. Drinking water and non-potable water are being distributed at several sites around Jackson.
Jackson residents on the city surface water system have already been under a boil-water notice for weeks. Residents on the city’s well water system have not been affected.
According to Lumumba, the city’s ongoing water issues result from decades of deferred maintenance and staffing shortages.