Preparedness

The Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority is now using an artificial intelligence system to respond to some calls that come in through a non-emergency line.

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.

A Missouri Democratic lawmaker is pushing legislation that seeks to ban people from carrying guns into parades after the deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade.

As crews rushed to stabilize a historic O'Keefe Avenue building after its façade tumbled to the ground, shocking tenants and neighbors, the building's owners remained in the dark about what caused the collapse.

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

Big Basin Redwoods State Park is California's oldest, and it was 97 percent burned in 2020, when the CZU Lightning Complex Fire erupted in the Santa Cruz Mountains, incinerating tens of thousands of trees.

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.

Students in a criminal justice program at Vinal Technical High School built a free website for first responders that gives daily briefings on hurricanes, disease outbreaks, power outages and solar flares.

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.

A powerful 7.0 earthquake off the coast of Humboldt County Thursday morning, followed by a series of aftershocks, left people scared and shaken — and grateful the damage wasn’t worse.

Unclear police policies, inefficient training and too little accountability is resulting in some North Carolina officers misusing tasers and similar devices, civil rights lawsuits and advocates say.

While officials in Mercer County are still awaiting a federal disaster declaration from the White House, more than 1,600 claims for assistance have been submitted to FEMA in neighboring Tazewell County.

Helene’s floods and mudslides damaged at least 100,000 homes in Western North Carolina, according to null, displacing many of the people who live in some communities.

Built on bottomland east of Eureka, the St. Louis Area’s Times Beach was vulnerable to the periodic rages of the Meramec, a river that drains a wide area of wooded hills.

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.

The state was approved for a Fire Management Assistance grant through FEMA, in which 75 percent of the cost will be picked up by federal dollars and the remaining quarter through state and local resources.

Ladris CEO Leo Zlimen outlines how artificial intelligence can help government agencies and communities prepare for disasters, refine emergency response plans, mitigate risks and speed up the recovery process.