Preparedness and Communications

“We’re currently tracking and monitoring cases in Pennsylvania but are also examining what’s happening in Ohio, Maryland and other neighboring states“We’re currently tracking and monitoring cases in Pennsylvania but are also examining what’s happening in Ohio, Maryland and other neighboring states,” state Department of Education spokesman Eric Levis said.

First responders are following the guidelines from the CDC like everyone else about how to avoid becoming infected with the coronavirus, but diligence and using and disposing of equipment properly is critical.

Work-from-home policies are about to take center stage as public agencies and private corporations around the world prepare unprecedented measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Is government ready?

“If someone were to become ill and they need to stay home for the duration of their illness, are there enough household supplies where no one would have to leave the house? Not everyone can afford to go out and buy a month’s worth of supplies.”

The program, OnlineCERT, will provide access to those who may have had trouble getting it, like people in rural areas who may not have access, and allow volunteers to acquire the CERT credential at their own pace.

The notoriously drone-friendly state, which has one of a handful of federally approved centers for testing the technology, plans to use visuals from the devices to more quickly identify at-risk areas.

The spaces were part of a retrofit project funded by the Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program and Hurricane Shelter Deficit Reduction Program — programs designed to increase a structure's ability to withstand hurricanes.

At a time when Del Mar, Pacifica and other coastal cities are fighting to defend their homes and roads from the rising sea, Marina, Calif., residents are learning how to adjust with the ocean as the water moves inland.

Florida had hoped to begin testing people for COVID-19 by now at state laboratories in Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa. But the CDC said the test kits sent to states and intended to provide quick results proved faulty.

Florida currently has nearly 83,000 private flood insurance policies. In 2015, there were fewer than 1,000 policies. They represent a small fraction of the 1.76 million government-backed residential and commercial policies.

The bill is the latest move from Sacramento to force insurance companies to continue issuing policies in the wildland-urban interface, the gray zone where millions of homeowners reside between suburbia and the forest.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is helping connect software vendor RapidSOS with its 82 counties. The company's no-cost solution can relay a person's location to 911 dispatchers accurately to about 3 feet.

If a property owner discovers that their home has been mapped into a flood plain, or that their home has been moved to a higher-risk area with a higher premium, FEMA officials urge them to buy a “Preferred Risk Policy.”

There are now more than 8,000 coronavirus cases, with at least 98 cases in 18 countries outside China. At least 170 people have died, all in China. The World Health Organization stopped short of calling for travel bans.

When Cleveland County, Okla., submitted its five-year hazard mitigation plan, it was reduced from more than 500 pages down to around 150 pages, thanks to a reduction in requirements of certain information.