✕

IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.
Jim-McKay-Emergency-Management

Jim McKay

Editor

Jim McKay is the editor of Emergency Management. He lives in Orangevale, Calif., with his daughter, Ellie, and son, Ronan. He relaxes by fly fishing on the Truckee River for big, wild trout. Jim can be reached at jmckay@emergencymgmt.com.

Panoramic photo taken on a sidewalk in Atlanta
Preparedness and Communications
Atlanta Camera System Growth Is Bad News for Crooks
The cameras are monitored by police in the Real Time Crime Center on a Fusus solution that provides access to each camera to all officers, whether in the crime center or on the MDT in a police car.
February 02, 2024
 · Jim McKay
Black and white photo of students exiting a school with their hands in their air in an active shooter situation.
Public Safety
Active Shooter Drill Shows the Difficulties of Response
Even with months of planning for an active shooter drill at a high school in Conneaut, Ohio, with an emphasis on interoperability, the drill showed how ingrained in police departments is the inability to communicate.
February 02, 2024
 · Jim McKay
A helicopter dropping water on a wildfire.
Public Safety
Can Machine Learning and Collaboration Protect Forests?
A project using multiple data sets and lidar technology can predict and model how fires will affect specific forested areas and help balance the interests of sometimes-competing stakeholders.
January 25, 2024
 · Jim McKay
CERT volunteers
Public Safety
Glynn County, Ga., Gets Surprising Response for CERT Signups
“We’re going to have all these CERT members trained, they’re welcomed to come and get the training, and if they want to never do anything else with it, at least they’re going to be able to help themselves and their families.”
January 19, 2024
 · Jim McKay
An orange ransomware note displayed on a computer screen over lines of data.
Emergency Management
Oregon City Using Behavioral Analysis to Halt Cyber Attacks
When Keizer, Ore., was hit by ransomware in 2020, part of the data that was encrypted was police electronic evidence. The city is beefing up its defenses to help stop the same thing from happening again.
January 05, 2024
 · Jim McKay
drone flying over forested hills
GovTech Biz
Market for Disaster Management Tools Expands to Meet Need
As hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes grow in strength and frequency, first responders are increasingly adopting new digital tools like drones and integrated dispatch systems to improve response.
January/February 2024
 · Jim McKay
stormwater
Preparedness and Communications
Some Agencies Are Ill-Equipped for Stormwater Issues
With the impacts from climate change, in some areas there is now a higher concentration of rain in a shorter period of time and stormwater systems, typically in the West and Northeast, are being overwhelmed.
December 21, 2023
 · Jim McKay
Artificial Intelligence
Emergency Management
How ChatGPT Could Help First Responders During a Disaster
Researchers found that they could use generative AI to extract location data from tweets sent during Hurricane Harvey that would help first responders find exact locations for stranded residents.
December 14, 2023
 · Jim McKay
Two people embracing outside a school building after a shooting had taken place.
Emergency Management
What Are the Best Measures to Thwart a School Shooting?
“The school district doesn’t want law enforcement sitting around watching kids in the school during the day and law enforcement doesn’t want to sit around and watch kids during the school day either.”
December 05, 2023
 · Jim McKay
Sonoma+County2.jpg
Public Safety
Sonoma County Installs Flood Monitors After Wildfires
Flood risk can be high after wildfires, leading to a secondary disaster. Sonoma County, Calif., installed a flood monitoring solution after the wildfires of 2017 to keep the communities from experiencing dangerous flooding.
June 09, 2022
 · Jim McKay
Load More
gov-footer-logo-2024.png
gt-footer-logo.png
ii-footer-logo.png
nav-footer-logo.png
cdg-footer-logo.png
cde-footer-logo.png
em-footer-logo.png