Preparedness and Communications

Higher levels of carbon dioxide and “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere trap the sun’s heat, and that warms the ocean water. Water expands as it’s heated, and global sea levels are expected to rise by 1-8-plus feet.

Hillsborough County, Fla, dodged a bullet when Hurricane Irma sidestepped it, but the after-action reports led to an audit and an overhaul of the emergency management system, including hiring a new emergency manager.

Montour County Emergency Management Agency and fire officials said the drill went well with simulations of three fatalities and 25 injuries. There were three simulated injuries at the adjacent Nazareth Memory Center.

Included in the 47-page plan is the expansion of one or two fire and tornado drills per year to one of each for each quarter. Per the document, the district also will conduct one emergency operations drill.

Officials are investigating why dozens of campers were left soaked and stranded after the electronic door locks on a $1 million tornado shelter in Delaware County failed to unlock during an actual tornado warning.

The interactive workshop seeks to teach residents about how to recognize and respond to severe weather and available tools that can help identify severe weather. June has the highest average number of tornadoes at 9.5.

A software upgrade of sorts to the dynamical core of the model considered its ‘engine’ will produce improved forecasts of the jet stream and associated weather, tropical cyclone intensity and precipitation forecasts.

Hernando’s emergency management plan is scalable. Officials can quickly ramp up their response, ordering more evacuations, opening more shelters and bringing in more supplies and help.

Last year, two major hurricanes — Florence and Michael – caused significant damage in the Carolinas and Florida Panhandle. Forecasters are again calling for a slightly below-average hurricane season in 2019. But it only takes one bad storm to cause damage.

The changes are meant to prevent the chaos that forced the airport to close after five people were killed there in January 2017. The shooter was captured in minutes, but passengers were stranded on the tarmac for hours.

Pacific Gas & Electric served stark notice of that “new normal” this past weekend when it pre-emptively shut power to tens of thousands of customers in five Northern California counties.

The first formal deployment of its new “public safety power shutoff” rules left more than 20,500 PG&E customers in portions of Butte and Yuba counties without power as 260 utility personnel conducted safety patrols.

“It’s very important that those people who live in those areas right up against the forests are educated and have practiced ... and know what to do in case a wildfire starts in their area so they can get out safely."

FEMA’s third annual event provides Girl Scouts the opportunity to interact with FEMA staff and take part in hands-on activities that convey important lessons for disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.

For National Pet Preparedness Month, the Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division is asking residents to create an emergency preparedness kit for their pets to round out family readiness.