Preparedness

When there's an event like the fast-moving wildfire that spread near Old Naches Highway last week, one of the best ways to get accurate, urgent information is the county's Alert Yakima system.

"Using fake snot for runny noses and best sick-day impressions, patients will pretend to be symptomatic of chemical exposure and go through a decontamination process."

The plans for a First Responder Technology Campus for up to 19 federal, state and city law enforcement, fire, defense and other emergency response agencies has come under fire over the plan, which includes a hotel and swimming pool.

These are a few of the security measures initiated during construction of the new school or implemented following a school safety assessment by the county's school safety coordinator, Jim Burke.

The bad air quality in the northeast this week is beginning to clear, but that doesn't mean discussion of poor air quality and its relationship to climate change is over.

With many states in the northeastern U.S. already suffering from hazardous air quality, here's what you need to know to stay safe if your area is at high risk for wildfire.

The solution — in this case, funding — lies within the power of the Minnesota Legislature. It hasn't happened yet — at least to the extent it should — but we hope it's something that can be revisited and pushed through sooner than later.

The county teamed up with Northern Sonoma County Community Emergency Response Team and radio volunteers on the project, making it the county's first public-private communications tower.

Two new labs at SUNY’s Albany campus are searching for cybersecurity vulnerabilities in open-source intelligence and IoT devices. Ten other labs are planned to open in the university’s cybersecurity college by 2025.

What to put inside: Make sure you are stocked up on supplies before a tropical storm or hurricane threatens the area. If you already have one ready from last year, remember that kits need to be refreshed.

The award recognizes programs or activities at the front lines of floodplain management. Local governments from across the country, and certain regional forms of local government compete for the Witt Award annually.

A good hurricane kit will have a combination of both the essentials and the handy. And you don’t want to wait until a storm is headed this way to get your kit together. Start working on it now.

Having used the Genasys platform to alert and evacuate residents during 2020 fires, Santa Cruz County was ready with the same platform when flooding occurred during January of this year.

There are lessons to be gleaned from the rubble left behind, from the water marks that are as high as 15 feet branding Fort Myers buildings to the roads washed away as far as 50 miles inland in Arcadia because of river flooding.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to put our hands on real train equipment,” said Pell City Fire Capt. Andrew Minyard. “Norfolk Southern runs through our city. We have nearly 15 train crossings in the city limits.”

Severe bleeding can kill a person in a matter of minutes and it can happen in the house, at work in the city. The Stop the Bleed program teaches people around the world how to stop the bleeding and save someone’s life.

School boards are expected to contribute up to $400 a year toward the program; the Regional Office of Education will additionally apply for grants or similar forms of funding.

Monitoring coronavirus conditions is becoming more difficult as the pandemic’s post-emergency phase has seen data collection and reporting endeavors either scaled back or abandoned entirely.