USGS in Puerto Rico Keeps Watchful "Eye" on Hurricane José Today, as Tropical Storm José strengthened and was upgraded to hurricane status, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Puerto Rico was monitoring the storm's path and intensity very closely. If the hurricane threatens Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands later this week, as predicted, the USGS is prepared to provide critical information to local government and emergency management officials responsible for protecting lives and property. The USGS maintains a network of 123 gaging stations in the Caribbean that measure river stage (height) and discharge (volume). The network transmits data via satellite to a receiving station in the USGS office in Guaynabo. During normal operations these stations transmit every 4 hours and the data is available to the general public on the Internet <http://pr.water.usgs.gov>. In Puerto Rico, the information is used on a regular basis to forecast water availability for drinking in addition to agricultural and industrial uses. USGS streamflow data for all near "real-time" stations throughout the United States are available to the public via the World Wide Web at: <http://water.usgs.gov>. During storm events, the gaging stations go into an alert mode and transmit on a special channel every 5 minutes. The near "real-time" information received is vital for emergency decisions by the Government of Puerto Rico. As soon as the instrument at one of the gaging stations detects a rapid rise in the stage of the river, indicating possible flooding, government officials have information available for making important emergency management decisions. As in the past, the USGS is paying close attention to the Río Grande de Loíza, which feeds the Carraízo reservoir. At Lake Carraízo (Lago Loíza), an entire geographical network has been designed to collect precipitation data that is fed into a rainfall-runoff model predicting how much water will reach the reservoir. With this information, the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) can release flood waters at appropriate times in order to prevent the loss of life and property. Lake Carraízo is the major public water supply source for the San Juan metropolitan area. As the nation's largest water, earth and biological science, and civilian mapping agency, the USGS works in cooperation with more than 2,000 organizations across the country to provide reliable, impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other customers. This information is gathered in every state by USGS scientists to minimize the loss of life and property from natural disasters, contribute to the sound conservation and the economic and physical development of the nation's natural resources, and enhance the quality of life by monitoring water, biological, energy, and mineral resources. * * * USGS * * *
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