Preparedness and Communications

When heavy rain occurs, there is a risk of flooding, particularly in low-lying and flood-prone regions. It is important to never attempt to drive through water on the road, regardless of how deep it appears.

A 44-page report said during and after a recent storm 1,350 people went to overnight shelters and hundreds rushed to emergency rooms. The county medical examiner said it suspects four people died of hypothermia.

Chelan and Douglas counties are switching to Everbridge, the same system neighboring counties use, to create emergency alert uniformity and boost reliability. Users on the old system will be automatically switched over.

The study at Texas A&M University is looking at the effects of smoke on the hearts of wildland firefighters using an Apple Watch and an air quality sensor worn by the firefighters.

The goal is to "build a better and more up-to-date and fortified emergency operation center," which could help operations move more smoothly. Right now, the average age of the fire department’s buildings is 85 years old.

Perimeter is an app that puts emergency managers in an advanced state of situational awareness, allowing them to share critical information like road closures and evacuation routes both internally and with the public.

House Finance Committee Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood, said the state was guarding against a potential clawback of $465 million as the reason a $50 million allotment for trust fund was omitted from the state House budget bill.

The National Weather Service emphasizes the importance of acting quickly to stay safe during a tornado and being informed about tornado watches and warnings by staying connected to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio.

The fact that police were unprepared and waited some 77 minutes to enter the school, and that Uvalde is a small community where law enforcement are always at the fore, adds another layer of grief to the situation.

FEMA collected data in March 2023, and using risk assessments, created a map that shows the counties that are most at risk for wildfires. FEMA looked at community resilience and how well people prepare.

The money was generated from unique trends such as federal pandemic relief programs and is not a recurring appropriation. Seventy percent went to cities and towns of all sizes and to townships with more than 10,000 people.

FEMA created a map using its data and risk assessments that shows the counties across the U.S. currently considered the most and the least at risk of potential wildfires, from very low to very high.

Several Midwest public safety agencies this week either tested their emergency warning sirens as planned or sounded a siren as a warning of what to expect from now on; one accidentally sounded a real alarm.

The 15 deaths in the first two months of the year are by far the most in this time period since 2015 and almost five times the nine-year average of 3.2 deaths, according to data obtained by CT Insider.

The pop-up warming shelters were said to have achieved the goal of shuttling people inside during January’s five-day, four-night arctic freeze, but some have concerns about security at the shelters.