UPDATE ON TROPICAL STORM HANNA AND HURRICANE IKE:

UNCLAS STATE 095200 SIPDIS FOLLOWING FSC CHARLESTON 01755 DATED 09/05/08 SENT ACTION SECSTATE BEING REPEATED FOR YOUR INFO. QUOTE: UNCLAS FSC CHARLESTON 001755 MCO REPEAT TO ALDAC POSTS INCLUDING MINIMIZE FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OFFICERS, MANAGEMENT OFFICERS/COUNSELORS, USOFFICE FSC BANGKOK FOR DIRECTOR ISMAIL ASMAL PARIS ALSO FOR FSTO DIRECTOR JAMES INDER DEPARTMENT FOR AF/EX, EAP/EX, EUR-IO/EX, NEA/SCA/EX, WHA/EX E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ABUD AFIN AMGT KFSC SUBJECT: UPDATE ON TROPICAL STORM HANNA AND HURRICANE IKE: FINANCIAL TRANSACTION PROCESSING IN GFS CHARLESTON REF: A. STATE 93885 OF 09/02/2008 ¶B. STATE 94296 OF 09/03/2008 ¶C. STATE 94704 OF 0-9/04/2008 ¶1. Tropical Storm Hanna will make landfall Friday evening between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. GFS Charleston continues to make preparations for the storm (as advised in reftels). ¶2. Financial operations in Charleston will cease on Friday, September 5 at 10 am. We will assess over the weekend and anticipate restarting all systems and making them available to users Sunday morning (September 7). ¶3. For Charleston region Posts: Payment batches or RFMS Direct Connect activity entered before 3:00 PM (Charleston time) on Thursday, September 4 are being disbursed today (Friday, September 5) in the morning. Transactions entered before today's 10 AM systems shutdown will be processed when the systems become available. ¶4. For Bangkok Posts: Payment batches or RFMS Direct Connect activity entered before 4:00 PM (Bangkok time) on Friday, September 5 is being processed this morning and should be paid when Bangkok re-opens after the normal weekend. ¶5. Our goal is to restore RFMS Direct Connect availability immediately after the storm passes. Charleston systems personnel will transmit an email broadcast to the RFMS broadcast distribution list when the system is available for use. ¶6. USAID's Phoenix will also be unavailable for use starting at 10 AM, Friday, September 5. ¶7. NOAA now projects that Hurricane Ike may make landfall in southern Florida early Wednesday morning, however warns that the track could change considerably. GFS management continues to monitor Ike as it is a much more powerful storm than Hanna, and currently is projected to make a northward turn as it makes landfall in southern Florida. GFS will advise posts of possible closures of Charleston facilities for Hurricane Ike early next week. MILLETTEUNQUOTE RICE MINIMIZE CONSIDERED