Preparedness and Communications

The disaster drill is required every three years and the scenario changes to test each agency’s preparedness. This year’s simulation included passengers with various injuries and a seriously injured emergency responder.

Sonoma County’s failure to warn most people in October 2017 when a dozen fires broke out across the region drew public outcry that still resonates today. Residents are more concerned than ever about receiving alerts.

Property owners and renters will have 90 days to submit comments and appeals, which FEMA must then study and respond to. Municipalities have six months to update flood plain management ordinances to include the new maps.

Hurricane forecasting models have developed steadily in the last decade, and increased data from aircraft over the last three years has greatly improved forecasting. But getting the message to the public is a challenge.

Gaynor had been the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s acting administrator since March 2019 after the resignation of Brock Long, who was besieged by calls of improper personal use of government vehicles.

The Common Impact Disaster Response Program helps corporate donors develop skilled volunteer teams that are ready to volunteer their expertise in the event of a disaster, providing a form of community resiliency.

Elizabeth Zimmerman, former FEMA associate administrator and director of disaster operations at FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, on the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

Since Hurricane Harvey, the county has worked to improve flood management. Three months post-storm, the county passed stricter building rules, requiring some structures to be built up to 8 feet higher than the old rules.

As of the 8 p.m. update, Karen was 45 miles east of San Juan, headed northeast at 10 mph with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. Both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, were under storm warnings.

The “red flag” warning prompted Marin fire agencies to add eight fire engines, two fire crews and more. Marin land managers have also closed or restricted access to parks countywide, including Mount Tamalpais State Park.

The fire threat in Northern California prompted PG&E to pre-emptively cut power to about 21,000 customers in three counties. The shutoffs are part of a plan to reduce sparks from utility lines that break in high winds.

As the Pacific Gas & Electric Company in California tries to reduce wildfire risk by cutting power during times of high risk, care facilities like nursing homes are up against factors that could prove deadly to at-risk patients.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced two vendor contracts for prototype solutions for wildfire detection and predictive modeling to help firefighters, law enforcement and the public as fires become more devastating.

The National Weather Service says, “Imelda is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 6 to 12 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 18 inches across portions of eastern Texas,” including Houston and Galveston.

“As good as all the planning was, it was totally overwhelmed by the events of Nov. 8,” Paradise Mayor Jody Jones said during a recent meeting of transportation commissions from Washington, Oregon and California.