Ernest Noe, standing in front of semi-trucks lined up to load and carry away debris.

Ernest Noe during his recent deployment.

For Chief Ranger Ernest Noe and Park Ranger Russ Lundstrum at the Buford Dam Project Office of the US Army Corps of Engineers, when disaster strikes in the Southeast, there’s more than a slight chance that they will be called into action.

When in late September and early October, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton dealt the Southeast a double whammy of destructive rain, winds and floods, both men knew they’d be heading to the disaster areas as part of the Corps of Engineers mission support team.

“Typically we keep a go-bag packed and ready to go,” said Noe, whose recent deployment lasted about six weeks. “Sometimes we don’t even know how long we’ll be gone, but we stay ready for the mission of giving assistance and leadership when there are hurricanes, fires or tornadoes.”

Lundstrum was called into service after Helene passed over Florida in anticipation of Milton making landfall.

“They sent me to Albany first to support the temporary power mission into Florida and I pre-staged with a convoy of generators for six days,” Lundstrum said. “After Milton hit I was moved to our temporary field office for two weeks in Columbia, South Carolina for damage from Helene.”

By the time Lundstrum arrived in Columbia, there were five other deployed Corps of Engineers staff from other projects in the field office, including Noe. Two staff came from the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway project in Mississippi and two from Lake Seminole in southwest Georgia bordering on Florida.

Noe had arrived in Columbia on October 4 and had already begun his monitoring and verifying debris removal in four hard-hit counties in South Carolina.

Here’s how it works:

Hurricane-generated debris, including certain vegetation, mattresses and furniture, plus construction materials such as drywall, shingles and other items, will be removed by local trucking contractors who will then be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“The procedure is for residents to push their debris to the street where the trucking contractors pick it up to take it to the landfill,” Noe said. My work involved monitoring the debris removal by the truckers and verifying the weight or volume that was taken by the trucks. For them to be reimbursed, these amounts must be confirmed to FEMA first.”

Noe often worked in the field to digitally record information and take photographs to ensure that the contractors are doing what they’re reporting. He also monitored the contractors and the processes’ safety procedures.

“The trucks are rated by cubic yards and the goal is to remove as much debris as possible in each load, confirming they’re working in the appropriate range to move the process along in a timely manner,” Noe said. “The trucks will make three passes over the course of several weeks to remove as much debris as possible.”

Noe returned to the Lanier Project Management Office in late November.

Russ Lundstrum standing in front of digital presentation.

Russ Lundstrum hurricane deployment work included developing specialized applications and training personnel to use them.

At the Columbia support office, Lundstrum was tasked with developing a digital GIS application and phone apps for the field staff to document tree damage and debris. Additionally, he developed a digital GIS application for citizens to keep informed about the progress of Operation Blue Roof, a program of the Army Corps of Engineers/FEMA to provide homeowners with fiber-reinforced sheeting to cover their damaged roofs until arrangements can be made for permanent repairs.

According to the Operation Blue Roof website, the program is a free service to homeowners. Operation Blue Roof protects property, reduces temporary housing costs, and allows residents to remain in their homes while recovering from the storm.

“Homeowners apply through FEMA and the Corps supports the program by keeping the homeowners informed about the status of their request to participate in Operation Blue Roof,” Lundstrum said. “With my Geographic Information System and IT experience, I created an app that sent homeowners a separate email after each step.”

Emails were sent when the application is received, when it’s approved, when installation is scheduled and when the work is complete.

In addition to writing the app in South Carolina, Lundstrum was moved again to the Savannah office for 10 days to build out apps for the debris team there and trained more than 50 people in the field to use the app.

“As you can imagine after a natural disaster, requests come in pretty quickly,” Lundstrum said. “Having an automated app can help reduce the time it takes to go from the application to completing the installation, while at the same time keeping homeowners informed.

“It can help give the homeowners peace of mind, and it reduces the number of calls so that the team can address the necessary issues.”

Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton are just a recent example of bringing in Corps personnel from other projects and districts to assist with disaster aid and recovery.

Lundstrum has been deployed 11 times starting with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He has served at USACE Headquarters Operations Center in Washington DC, remotely supported response for Typhoon Mawar in Guam and the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. Here at the Buford Dam Project Management Office, part of his work is maintaining and updating the Lake Lanier navigation maps that are available online through arcis.com.

Noe has been deployed eight times, including an extended time in Puerto Rico for recovery from Hurricane Maria in September 2017. A report on the Corps of Engineers’ website calls the 2017 disaster “the longest blackout in US history.” (Search Hurricane Maria on the Corps’ website at usace.army.mil for details.)

“Deployments are part of our job,” Noe said. “And we’ve been known, as part of an immediate response team, to get the call and be at the airport in two hours.”

Photos: courtesy COE