First response

SEARCH & RESCUEUsing Smartphones to Improve Disaster Search and Rescue
When a natural disaster strikes, time is of the essence if people are trapped under rubble.When visibility is limited, sound that can penetrate through rubble is the key to finding trapped victims quickly.
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DISASTER RESPONSEFEMA’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year
By Rebecca Egan McCarthy
As 2025 draws to a close, the departure of the beleaguered acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Richardson, caps a tumultuous year for FEMA. Internal turmoil and delayed aid – all under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s vow to abolish the agency — expose the agency’s fragility under Trump.
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EMERGENCY EVACUATIONSThe Hong Kong High-Rise Fire Shows How Difficult It Is to Evacuate in an Emergency
By Milad Haghani, Erica Kuligowski, and Ruggiero Lovreglio
The catastrophic Hong Kong fire highlights how difficult it is to evacuate high-rise buildings in an emergency. A key problem: As high-rises grow taller and populations age, the old assumption that “everyone can take the stairs” simply no longer holds.
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SEARCH & RESCUERobot to the Rescue When Buildings Collapse
By Georg Mathisen
When disaster strikes, a small robot steps in to save lives. The researchers have dubbed it a “Smurf.” It uses its eyes, ears and nose to find survivors in collapsed buildings.
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HOSPITALS & FLOODSAt Least 170 U.S. Hospitals Face Major Flood Risk. Experts Say Trump Is Making It Worse.
By Holly K. Hacker, Brett Kelman, and Daniel Chang, KFF Health News
At many of these facilities, flooding from heavy storms has the potential to jeopardize patient care, block access to emergency rooms, and force evacuations.
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FIRST RESPONDERSFirst Responders Put Drones to the Test in Complex Urban Environments
New York City was the backdrop for a third Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) assessment of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) on the “Blue List.” S&T’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) recently evaluated a handful of systems to see if they are up to the task for critical public safety operations.
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DISASTER RESPONSEHow AI Is Changing Our Approach to Disasters
By Patrick S. Roberts
Disaster losses are rising, and the stakes are high for reducing risk. Artificial intelligence (AI) promises new ways to spot danger sooner, coordinate relief more quickly, and save lives and property. But AI doesn’t just drop neatly into a command center.
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TSUNAMI WARNINGSLLNL Scientists Explore Real-Time Tsunami Warning System on World’s Fastest Supercomputer
Scientists have helped develop an advanced, real-time tsunami forecasting system that could dramatically improve early warning capabilities for coastal communities near earthquake zones.
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HURRICANE KATRINA: 20 YEARS ONHurricane Katrina: 3 Painful Lessons for Emergency Management Are Increasingly Important 20 Years Later
By Eric Kevin Stern
Hurricane Katrina looms large in the history of American emergency management, both for what went wrong as the disaster unfolded and for the policy changes it triggered. As efforts to reform –and possibly rebalance –the U.S. emergency management system continue, it is essential to remember and heed the costly lessons of Hurricane Katrina.
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DISASTER ALERTSCuts to Early Warning Systems Are Leaving the U.S. Unprepared for Summer Floods
By Alice C. Hill
The extreme costs and death toll of recent floodings across Texas, New Mexico, and the Northeast have put into question the future of the United States’ emergency preparedness amid major budget and staffing cuts to critical risk-reduction agencies and programs.
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DISASTERSThe Surprising Reasons Floods and Other Disasters Are Deadlier at Night
By Kate Yoder
It’s not just that it’s dark and people are asleep. Urban sprawl, confirmation bias, and other factors can play a role.
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SEARCH & RESCUEWhy Drones and AI Can’t Quickly Find Missing Flood Victims, Yet
By Robin R. Murphy and Thomas Manzini
For search and rescue, AI is not more accurate than humans, but it is far faster.
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FLASHFLOOD WARNINGSWhy Flash Flood Warnings Will Continue to Go Unheeded
By Rebecca Egan McCarthy
Experts say local education and community support are key to conveying risk.
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TEXAS FLOODSCan Sirens Help Save Lives in the Next Flood? Yes, but There’s More to It.
By Emily Foxhall
While sirens can help in areas with shaky cell service, experts say officials also need to consider alert fatigue and provide education on what to do in an emergency.
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TEXAS FLOODSWeather Warnings Gave Officials a 3 Hour, 21 Minute Window to Save Lives in Kerr County. What Happened Then Remains Unclear.
By Emily Foxhall
Federal forecasters issued their first flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. Local officials haven’t shed light on when they saw the warnings or whether they saw them in time to take action.
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