Emergency Management

FEMA Wants to End Flood Insurance for the Nation’s Riskiest Properties

Democrats and counties oppose the idea. Properties that have been flood-damaged multiple times account for nearly half the program’s payouts over the years.

  • By Kery Murakami

Early Warning System Pinpoints Flooded Roads in Some States

Nearly a dozen states are using real-time, hyper-local monitoring to assess potential flooding at specific bridges or roads.

  • By Jenni Bergal, Stateline

FEMA Chief: Top Priority Is Ensuring Adequate Staffing For Emergencies

Employees and managers alike continue to warn lawmakers about the impact that growing demands will have on the agency's ability to respond to disasters.

  • By Eric Katz

How Cities are Trying to Combat the Nation's Deadliest Weather Risk

Heat doesn’t get the same attention as hurricanes or wildfires, but city officials are paying more attention to it as hot temperatures become more common.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Coastal Homebuyers are Ignoring Rising Flood Risks, Despite Clear Warnings and Rising Insurance Premiums

COMMENTARY | Part of the problem may be mortgage lenders and appraisers aren’t factoring in properties’ vulnerability to sea level rise, so risk isn't necessarily priced in to houses.

  • By Risa Palm and Toby W. Bolsen, The Conversation

New Statewide System Boosts State's Mass Emergency Alerts

Emergency managers in Iowa now can automatically push out safety alerts through emails, text messages, phone calls, RSS feeds and social media—and in multiple languages.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Pittsburgh Bridge Collapses Ahead of Biden Visit

The Fern Hollow Bridge, flagged by inspectors as being in poor condition, buckled, injuring 10 people.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

5 Challenges States Must Anticipate Before the Next Emergency

COMMENTARY | After acquiring a vast amount of personal protective equipment, states will need to determine how to manage it so it doesn’t go to waste.

  • By Deborah Haywood

Past Due: How to Fix the Broken Emergency Assistance Programs

COMMENTARY | The eviction cliff demonstrates that the United States needs to build stronger financial safety nets for the American people.

  • By Georges Clement and David Helene

How the Pandemic Can Help Government Prepare for Future Crises

COMMENTARY | A new report provides a dozen lessons learned from Covid-19 that can help governments at all levels deal with diseases and natural disasters to come.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

FCC Renews Effort to Block Robocalls to 911 Call Centers

Under a proposed rule, voice service providers would cross reference autodialed calls with numbers on the do not call list to block any robocalls to emergency lines.

  • By Andrea Noble

Advancing Local Emergency Response 20 Years After 9/11

One of the biggest lessons to come out of the terrorist attacks was the importance of regional cooperation and training in emergency preparedness, experts said.

  • By Andrea Noble
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Rural Ambulance Services Are in Jeopardy as Volunteers Age and Expenses Mount

Experts say rural communities must find new models to keep emergency services afloat as more 911 calls go unanswered.

  • By Aaron Bolton, Kaiser Health News

‘Managed Retreat’ Can Reinvent Cities While Protecting Lives When Climate Change Floods, Burns or Bakes the Land

COMMENTARY | Low-lying communities near rivers and bays face increasing risk of flooding.

  • By A.R. Siders and Katharine Mach, The Conversation

In a California Town, a Recreation Boom Kindles Wildfire Anxiety

COMMENTARY | As outdoor tourism returns, residents of Mammoth Lakes, still scarred by the 2020 fire season, are justifiably on edge.

  • By Astra Lincoln, Undark

A $26 Billion Plan to Save the Houston Area From Rising Seas

Lawmakers are poised to decide the fate of a massive project to protect the coast around Houston from rising sea levels.

  • By Eric Bender, Undark

Rocky Mountain Forests Burning More Now Than Any Time in the Past 2,000 Years

COMMENTARY | Colorado’s East Troublesome Fire jumped the Continental Divide on Oct. 22, 2020, and eventually became Colorado’s second-largest fire on record.

  • By Philip Higuera, Bryan Shuman and Kyra Wolf, The Conversation

Hurricanes, Wildfires, Tornadoes, Floods – Whatever Your Local Risk, Here’s How to be More Weather-ready

COMMENTARY | Everyone should understand what kinds of severe weather hazards could affect their family and home and be ready for them. Here are some ways to do it.

  • By Erik Salna, The Conversation

Getting the 'Bosses of Procurement' to Understand its Strategic Value

State procurement departments have been front and center during the pandemic. Once the crisis wanes, focus on procurement may diminish, but officials say it needs ongoing high-level attention.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

'I Need to Find Water, and I Need to Find it Now': A Local Official Takes Disaster Relief Into Her Own Hands

Paige Ellis, a city council member in Austin, Texas tracked down 10 pallets of bottled water and distributed it across her district after winter storms left thousands in the state without power or water.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

‘It Doesn’t Feel Worth It’: Covid Is Pushing New York’s EMTs to the Brink

Emergency medical services work has long been grueling and poorly paid. Covid-19 has added stress and new risks for workers in the profession.

  • By Martha Pskowski, Kaiser Health News