Preparedness and Communications

Americans are flying at pre-pandemic numbers. While COVID-19 ushered in new health and cleaning protocols to make airplane travel safer, airlines’ readiness for medical emergencies is in question because of incomplete or insufficient medical kits.

Though the Russian River began receding Tuesday after peaking just below flood stage in the early morning, another round of sustained rainfall predicted to come through Wednesday and Thursday is expected to drive it upward again.

The back-to-back atmospheric rivers that have battered the Golden State have led to at least 17 deaths, including those of two motorists who died early Tuesday in a crash on Highway 99 when a tree that had been struck by lightning fell onto the road.

“The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency."

City officials squarely blamed a lack of preparation on incorrect weather forecasts from the National Weather Service — but the agency disputes that and has communications with the city to back it up.

People who rely on electricity for medical devices, people in flood-risk areas as well as unsheltered homeless people are at the greatest risk of harm, and emergency officials urged Sacramento residents to seek shelter or stay at home.

The Sacramento area started to see early signs of recovery Monday after a New Year’s Eve storm breached levees, overflowed rivers and triggered evacuations across the region. But light rain returned in the afternoon.

Though no end date to the state of emergency was included in the executive order, the scope of the state's duties is "to restore normal travel conditions and emergency services" for county and tribal governments.

The storm should affect much of the nation, and cover the entire Great Lakes region. But northern Michigan, in particular, should be "in the sweet spot for the worst of it" early Friday through Sunday.

The first real warnings that the climate was changing more rapidly than normal were sounded in the 1950s. Scientists then cautioned that warming would lead to changes in the atmosphere as well as an expanding ocean.

A total of 88 grants were announced for organizations in 29 states and U.S. territories amounting to more than $136 million. In Louisiana, matching money from local sponsors will increase the funding total to $9.3 million.

Understaffing had become a key source of contention in negotiations, as nurses argued they were being given excessive caseloads and forced to work back-to-back shifts because nobody else was available to care for their patients.

A new report shows that 90 percent of U.S. counties have experienced a climate-related federal disaster declaration and suggests that a paradigm shift from recovery to resilience is critical.

A major water main burst just before 3:30 p.m. in Lowell, Mass., spewing thousands of gallons of water into several streets behind the JFK Civic Center, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents and an instant response from citizens.

The renewed scrutiny comes exactly two decades after the hurricane center debuted the cone of uncertainty, sometimes called the cone of concern. It’s a simple tool, showing the projected direction of the hurricane’s powerful eye over five days.