Preparedness and Communications

With the National Weather Service predicting two to four inches of snow or sleet for the Atlanta area Friday, state and local agencies are preparing, having been educated by the infamous January 2014 storm.

As fires in Los Angeles County continue to burn, interest is piquing in the app run by a nonprofit in Northern California. Launched in 2021, it aggregates several relevant data streams and had 7.2 million users at year’s end.

Upstate South Carolina will potentially be blasted by a winter storm expected to arrive Friday after sunset, and so various government agencies and Duke Energy are preparing as best they can.

Authorities expanded the police presence outside the Eagles game Sunday, seeking to reassure fans that it's safe to attend big events in the aftermath of the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans.

The state recently launched BEACON, driven by artificial intelligence and capable of transforming written emergency updates into real-time, multilingual audio message broadcasts on multiple platforms.

More than seven months after Manatee County, Fla., launched a pilot program for a drone that can quickly respond to medical emergencies, 911 dispatchers have yet to use it.

For firefighters, it is key to stay ready for a range of diverse challenges, from leading rescue operations to managing medical emergencies.

A focus group for emergency services on Monday packed the Effingham City Council chambers with police officers, firefighters, the dive team and more emergency response team members.

Of particular concern was a traffic snarl that wrapped around downtown Eureka, Calif., following the issuing of a statewide tsunami warning that sent people rushing to their cars to escape.

A two-part grant is helping local hazardous materials planners in Alabama prepare for disaster, doing so by awarding a mix of state and federal funding.

An update to the 30-year-old Northwest Forest Plan for management could allow more logging to fight extreme wildfires and climate change. A draft environmental impact statement identifies several strategies for the U.S. Forest Service.

A new smartphone app from the Jasper County Emergency Management Agency offers readiness materials for a variety of emergency situations, plus the ability to send emergency alerts. Users can submit storm damage reports, and weather information, and make incident checklists.

Residents in three fast-growing Boise neighborhoods say that evacuation efforts could trap them there if the wind blows the wrong way or the main road becomes blocked.

In North Carolina, the cold is creeping in as autumn gives way to winter early in the mountains, but this year it comes at a precarious time, when many residents are still suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Four local fire departments in northern Massachusetts will share more than $600,000 in federal grants, money which will help bring in new tech and potentially faster response times for each station.