Preparedness and Communications

The funding will go toward expanding the county's real-time flood warning system, part of ongoing efforts to improve flood preparedness and safeguard residents.

Data shows Ravalli County, Mont., an area seeing explosive population and development growth, is at higher wildfire risk than the vast majority of counties in the country.

The updated Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan will evaluate risks and reduce disaster impacts. Having a FEMA-approved plan ensures the county and its partners remain eligible for state and federal funding.

The state government, as well as many cities and counties, indicate they're ready for this year's storms regardless of whether federal assistance arrives. Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state has always led disaster response.

The county joins other San Francisco Bay Area jurisdictions in approving the "smoke-sniffing" devices to shore up the region's wildfire detection capabilities as fire season gets underway.

Amid uncertainty at FEMA and no guarantee of federal recovery funds, emergency managers in the Houston metro area say they have plans in place to handle the upcoming hurricane season and will seek state assistance as needed.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a forecast of 13 to 19 named storms this year, three to five of which could become storms of Category 3 strength or higher.

Upheaval at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the May 8 dismissal of acting director Cameron Hamilton, has experts worried that Americans are now more vulnerable to climate change-fueled disasters.

To drastically cut response times to people needing help on remote trails, the Seminole County Fire Department created an internal app using lay-of-the-land expertise and countywide collaboration.

The legislation includes funds to help residents safeguard their homes against extreme weather, creates a new State Resilience Office, and launches a program to modernize data on flood risk and make it accessible online.

The Drone814 initiative in the greater Johnstown, Pa., area will use drones to deliver supplies like defibrillators and EpiPens to local emergency scenes. The trials will compare the drones' speed to that of an ambulance.

The bill divides the funds between six conservancies throughout the state. Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom also approved $2.5 million to help the Los Angeles area recover from the January wildfires.

Calling the state's wildfire crisis "immense," CAL FIRE and federal officials presented a new three-part strategy that includes community hardening, forest management and wildfire response.

Called HNL Alert, the mass notification system will send text messages, push notifications or emails to users during situations like severe weather, evacuations, or drinking water or ocean safety issues.

The county's Community Emergency Response Team program originally formed after 9/11 but had since faded. In this new iteration, 14 team members are trained in a variety of scenarios, including disaster preparedness and fire safety.