Preparedness

As hurricane season begins, Gov. Josh Stein recommended the North Carolina legislature put extra money in the rainy-day fund for hurricane relief in case the federal government stops supporting disaster recovery.

Data shows Ravalli County, Mont., an area seeing explosive population and development growth, is at higher wildfire risk than the vast majority of counties in the country.

The city's warning system didn't activate recently when a powerful tornado arrived in the city, the result of a broken activation button and miscommunication. But officials have known the system was deteriorating for years.

The new dashboard from the state Department of Health uses real-time data from the National Weather Service and New York State Mesonet, and allows county officials to keep track of forecasted heat-related health risks.

The updated Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan will evaluate risks and reduce disaster impacts. Having a FEMA-approved plan ensures the county and its partners remain eligible for state and federal funding.

The state government, as well as many cities and counties, indicate they're ready for this year's storms regardless of whether federal assistance arrives. Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state has always led disaster response.

The county joins other San Francisco Bay Area jurisdictions in approving the "smoke-sniffing" devices to shore up the region's wildfire detection capabilities as fire season gets underway.

Amid uncertainty at FEMA and no guarantee of federal recovery funds, emergency managers in the Houston metro area say they have plans in place to handle the upcoming hurricane season and will seek state assistance as needed.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a forecast of 13 to 19 named storms this year, three to five of which could become storms of Category 3 strength or higher.

Upheaval at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the May 8 dismissal of acting director Cameron Hamilton, has experts worried that Americans are now more vulnerable to climate change-fueled disasters.

The Trump administration has indicated states should play a bigger role in disaster recovery. As hurricane season approaches, Mississippi communities consider how they would recover without assistance from FEMA.

The legislation includes funds to help residents safeguard their homes against extreme weather, creates a new State Resilience Office, and launches a program to modernize data on flood risk and make it accessible online.

The Drone814 initiative in the greater Johnstown, Pa., area will use drones to deliver supplies like defibrillators and EpiPens to local emergency scenes. The trials will compare the drones' speed to that of an ambulance.

Calling the state's wildfire crisis "immense," CAL FIRE and federal officials presented a new three-part strategy that includes community hardening, forest management and wildfire response.

Called HNL Alert, the mass notification system will send text messages, push notifications or emails to users during situations like severe weather, evacuations, or drinking water or ocean safety issues.

Tornado warnings Sunday gave way to severe thunderstorm warnings and watches in at least six lower Michigan counties. Some electricity customers were already without power following an earlier ice storm.

The "Weather the Storm" virtual reality experience from Clemson University and the University of Georgia simulates storm surge creeping into a home during a tropical storm in hopes that it will teach users to take evacuation orders seriously.

The Oceanside Police Department has been offered grant money for a 13-month trial of new first responder drones that can soar from a downtown rooftop within seconds of a 911 call.