Preparedness and Communications

The regulations on rebuilding won't apply to every floodplain homeowner though. Any home reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement must meet the regulations only if the work equals or exceeds 50 percent of the building's market value.

A news release from the Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management on Thursday evening urged county residents to text 911 or call 509-248-0430 or 509-457-0207 until further notice if they needed to reach 911 operators.

"Wind expected out of South 20-30 MPH sustained with gusts up to 45 MPH. (Strong winds may blow down limbs, trees, and power lines. Unsecured holiday decorations may be damaged or blown away. Scattered power outages are expected," the National Weather Service said.

An eight-month LA Times investigation found that government officials did not heed decades-old warnings to build bigger basins that could have made the mudslides far less catastrophic.

The City Council passed the ordinance in October. It would require owners of brick and similar buildings to prominently post signs with the disclosure: “This is an unreinforced masonry building. Unreinforced masonry buildings may be unsafe in the event of a major earthquake.”

On International Migrants Day, they presented solutions intended to make Philadelphia and cities in Puerto Rico better prepared for future climate-related threats and migrations.

Video delay also provided police with incorrect information about the shooter delaying action as students lay wounded and dying.

The National Weather Service forecasts an 80 percent chance for a weak to moderate El Niño this winter, starting around Christmas and lasting through February. In Houston, El Niño means a warmer and wetter winter that could have more severe storms and a higher risk of localized flooding.

St. Johns County, Fla., residents can immediately get a better idea of what their flood risk is but are still urged to buy flood insurance by local emergency management officials.

' We need to make [shelters] more friendly for our elder citizens. The average age in the Sandwich shelter last winter was 86 years old. No one over 50 should be sleeping on those cots.'

Public safety commission’s stinging rebuke of the principal was part of a broad look at policy and training failures at the school and at the district level, leading to the murders of 14 children and three staff members. A former student, Nikolas Cruz, is charged with the killings and faces the death penalty.

The report calls Hurricane Harvey a warning that should not be ignored. "The enormous toll on individuals, businesses and public infrastructure should provide a wake-up call underlining the urgent need to 'future-proof' the Gulf Coast - and indeed all of Texas - against future disasters.'"

The student rights organization also called for an increase in guidance counselors and a shift toward restorative justice, which uses dialogue and understanding to resolve disciplinary issues.

Medical errors cause up to 400,000 deaths per year and 80 percent of errors stem from miscommunication, according to Pulsara’s website. The new technology is supposed to help decrease those numbers.

The Berks County, Pa., program has included annual symposiums on topics ranging from bullying to heroin use to suicide prevention. In 2012, the symposium focused on the county's all-hazard planning and standard response protocols, an effort to coordinate responses to tragic, large-scale events like a school shooting.