Preparedness

Residents of New Baltimore, Mich., have long complained of flooding in their neighborhoods after major storms. The City Council has approved a proposal to complete a topographic survey of the area to improve the drainage plan.

Law enforcement agencies across the country are amping up their efforts to train for the chaos of a mass shooting event, mimicking the stress responders will encounter in real time.

The new machine learning method only needs 21 hours of input data to produce accurate air quality forecasts, while traditional models can require months’ worth of data.

The continual maintenance of roadways, culverts, and dams, as well as the enforcement of building and floodplain management codes, are some of the public safety measures included in Warren County's Hazard Mitigation Plan.

In the eight Southern California counties that were under a state of emergency during the recent storm, only 52,820 homes and businesses were covered by flood policies, according to the National Flood Insurance Program.

The new law empowers school boards to issue bonds to make repairs after a natural disaster without having to follow the usual procedures that require approval from voters in the school district.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said that federal funding means the agency has “more resources than ever to help communities prepare for and mitigate the impacts of disasters.”

While local school districts follow and utilize state-mandated emergency response plans, training and drills, many implement additional safety features or frameworks.

A system designed to amplify classroom audio can now be equipped with safety buttons that provide teachers with a one-touch ability to notify office personnel if something is amiss.

The program at Columbia Southern University focuses on cutting-edge industry trends, topics and research and emphasizes theoretical as well as practical emergency management leadership components.

Users can see the status of rivers or creeks, including the water height and time of last update. The icons will also alert users if the river is currently in a flood stage and show a graph displaying water levels for the past several days.

Through the tax-free weekend, customers will pay no state sales tax on a broad range of preparedness items, from batteries and flashlights to plywood, duct tape, smoke detectors and portable ice chests.

With potentially record-breaking rainfall predicted for Sunday and Monday, Los Angeles and its neighboring counties were well-prepared, having endured a storm of similar magnitude in January 2023.

Supported by a federal grant, Riverside Local School District in Ohio is spending $250,000 with Vocera Communications to replace analog radios with 400 new digital badges and radios that are typically used in hospitals.

The grant has to be accepted by the council for the city to begin building the emergency shelter. The council will consider accepting the grant during today's 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall.

Gusts up to 80 mph are also anticipated in the highest peaks of the Santa Lucia Range and San Benito County mountains. A flood watch is in effect from the North Bay to Big Sur until at least Monday morning.

Even with months of planning for an active shooter drill at a high school in Conneaut, Ohio, with an emphasis on interoperability, the drill showed how ingrained in police departments is the inability to communicate.

A new bill introduced in the Senate, and a companion House bill, would reclassify 911 dispatchers as first responders, giving them increased benefits like access to mental health services.