Latest / EM Morning Brief / EMN Morning Brief: August 21, 2026 - Descript

Transcript

EMN Morning Brief: August 21, 2026 - Descript · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Cedric: Get EM Morning Brief delivered directly to your favorite podcast player.
• 0:04
  Cedric: Link is in the show notes below or search EM Morning Brief.
• 0:08
  Cedric: Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Friday, August 21, 2026.
• 0:15
  Cedric: A second round of heavy rain over already saturated ground has pushed the Ohio Valley back into an active flood fight.
• 0:22
  Cedric: Rain gauges in Franklin County, Ohio measured up to 6.79 inches in the 24 hours ending Thursday midday, and Licking County saw more than 5 inches.
• 0:32
  Cedric: Ohio ran 134 Flood Warnings and 23 Flash Flood Warnings across Thursday and Friday morning.
• 0:39
  Cedric: Water rescues were reported in Columbus, Pataskala, Zanesville and West Carrollton.
• 0:45
  Cedric: This morning about 30 Flood Warnings remain active across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with the South Fork Licking River in major flood and the Scioto River at Circleville still rising toward an overnight crest.
• 0:58
  Cedric: Three tropical systems are affecting American soil.
• 1:01
  Cedric: In the Marianas, Tropical Storm Saudel is carrying 70 mile per hour winds about 165 miles east of Saipan and is forecast to intensify, possibly to typhoon strength, by Saturday.
• 1:13
  Cedric: A Typhoon Warning is up for Pagan and Agrihan, with a Tropical Storm Watch for Saipan and Tinian.
• 1:19
  Cedric: In the Central Pacific, Hurricane Lala is temporarily back at Category 2 strength with 100 mile per hour winds and is beginning to move away from the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, where a Hurricane Warning and a Tropical Storm Warning
• 1:34
  Cedric: remain in effect.
• 1:37
  Cedric: Meanwhile, Tropical Depression Two-C is forecast to become a tropical storm today and deliver 5 to 10 inches of rain to the Big Island this weekend.
• 1:47
  Cedric: On the mainland, 15 Extreme Heat Warnings are active across eight states from Arizona to Mississippi.
• 1:54
  Cedric: Wildfire remains at National Preparedness Level 5.
• 1:57
  Cedric: Thursday's national situation report counts 72 uncontained large fires, more than 25,000 personnel committed, and about 3.6 million acres in active incidents.
• 2:09
  Cedric: Four new large fires were reported, including North Heglar in Idaho, which has evacuations in effect.
• 2:15
  Cedric: On the cyber side, CISA added two TrueConf Server vulnerabilities to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog Thursday, one carrying a remediation deadline of Sunday, August 23.
• 2:27
  Cedric: CISA also issued an industrial control advisory for Johnson Controls Simplex Incident Manager, a life safety product used in government and transportation facilities.
• 2:37
  Cedric: Separately, a joint advisory issued Wednesday by NSA, CISA, the FBI, the Department of Energy and EPA warns of active targeting of Siemens S7 series programmable logic controllers, and directs operators to inventory their devices and remove them from internet
• 2:53
  Cedric: exposure.
• 2:54
  Cedric: There is no active National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin.
• 2:59
  Cedric: Let’s run through the states.
• 3:01
  Cedric: Ohio is the center of the national flood picture.
• 3:04
  Cedric: The Village of Buckeye Lake ordered a mandatory evacuation effective 8:00 p.m.
• 3:09
  Cedric: Thursday for all properties west of the State Route 79 and State Route 360 intersection, with a shelter at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church and buses available.
• 3:21
  Cedric: Interstate 70 is closed in both directions at State Route 79 in Licking County, with ODOT projecting reopening late Friday if river forecasts hold.
• 3:31
  Cedric: Columbus activated the Franklinton floodwall, placing floodgates along Greenlawn and Harmon avenues, and Interstate 71 is closed between Interstate 70 and Interstate 270 because of high water.
• 3:45
  Cedric: Columbus Fire briefly declared a mass casualty incident at a homeless encampment along Blacklick Creek; all five people reported missing were later found alive.
• 3:54
  Cedric: The Red Cross is sheltering 40 to 50 people a night in Perry County and has opened a second shelter in Muskingum County.
• 4:02
  Cedric: Hamilton County Public Health is warning the public away from the Whitewater and Great Miami rivers because raw sewage is still discharging from a flood damaged treatment plant in Connersville, Indiana.
• 4:16
  Cedric: Governor DeWine has asked FEMA and the Small Business Administration to begin joint preliminary damage assessments now, naming 18 counties for potential Individual Assistance and 16 for Public Assistance.
• 4:30
  Cedric: Indiana is now in the tenth day of the northwest Indiana outage.
• 4:34
  Cedric: NIPSCO reported about 68,000 customers still without power Thursday morning, and a utility pole fire in Schererville knocked out roughly 9,000 more, darkening traffic signals on two U.S.
• 4:46
  Cedric: highways and taking the town hall offline.
• 4:50
  Cedric: NIPSCO's restoration estimate for parts of the region is now Tuesday, August 25.
• 4:55
  Cedric: The State Emergency Operations Center remains at Level Three, 22 counties have local declarations, and 12 shelters are housing 229 people.
• 5:06
  Cedric: The state reports seven storm related deaths since August 11 and is reviewing an eighth.
• 5:12
  Cedric: More than 20,000 people have applied to the State Disaster Relief Fund, which offers grants up to $5,000.
• 5:19
  Cedric: Expedited joint preliminary damage assessments with FEMA were completed Thursday, the step before a major disaster declaration request.
• 5:28
  Cedric: A boil water advisory remains in effect for Cambridge City.
• 5:32
  Cedric: Delaware declared a city state of emergency in Dover Thursday evening after National Weather Service warnings described a large and extremely dangerous tornado over the city, using particularly dangerous situation language.
• 5:46
  Cedric: A damage survey is pending.
• 5:48
  Cedric: Damage concentrated downtown and along North DuPont Highway, where two hotels were significantly damaged.
• 5:55
  Cedric: Outages knocked out traffic signals at numerous intersections, and police asked residents to stay off the roads and reserve 911 for true emergencies.
• 6:05
  Cedric: The state of emergency was lifted Friday morning and cleanup is underway.
• 6:10
  Cedric: Alaska has a new state disaster declaration.
• 6:13
  Cedric: Governor Dunleavy issued it Thursday for the Alaska Gateway REAA covering the Mukluk Fire near Tok, activating both state Public Assistance and Individual Assistance, including housing, other needs and transportation assistance.
• 6:28
  Cedric: The application window runs through October 19.
• 6:31
  Cedric: GO NOW evacuations remain in place north of the Alaska Highway from Mackenzie Trail to East 5th Street, and two shelters are open in Tok at the Dog Mushers Association and Tok School.
• 6:42
  Cedric: The fire stands at about 5,077 acres with 44 structures lost.
• 6:48
  Cedric: Hawaii is racing a second storm.
• 6:50
  Cedric: Hawaiian Electric reported Oahu and Maui essentially restored after Lala, but about 13,000 Hawaii Island customers remained without power Thursday afternoon, with partner crews from a California utility brought in to speed restoration.
• 7:06
  Cedric: The utility is urging customers to review emergency plans with a new system approaching.
• 7:12
  Cedric: Hawaii County has precautionary boil water notices in the Kau district, water tankers staged in four communities, a shelter open at Naalehu Elementary, and is asking residents to use 911 for life threatening emergencies only.
• 7:26
  Cedric: New Jersey saw significant flash flooding Thursday evening.
• 7:30
  Cedric: In Jersey City, first responders used boats to reach nearly 70 drivers trapped in vehicles after more than an inch of rain fell in minutes.
• 7:38
  Cedric: Newark reported multiple separate water rescues, including vehicles trapped under an Interstate 78 overpass.
• 7:46
  Cedric: Ten tornado warnings were issued statewide, and the Weather Service is flagging an increased flash flood threat for Saturday with up to 4 inches possible.
• 7:56
  Cedric: New York declared a Nassau County state of emergency and activated its Emergency Operations Center after an apparent tornado struck Atlantic Beach on Long Island Thursday evening.
• 8:07
  Cedric: The chief fire marshal reported 30 cabanas damaged or destroyed at the Sun and Surf Beach Club, with one worker injured.
• 8:15
  Cedric: A Weather Service survey is pending.
• 8:17
  Cedric: Separately, Seneca County confirmed two more measles cases plus two presumed positives, and Onondaga County reported its first human West Nile virus case of the year.
• 8:28
  Cedric: Oregon has two large fires burning at zero percent containment.
• 8:33
  Cedric: The Paradise Fire on the Umatilla National Forest grew more than 700 acres with evacuations and closures in effect, and Walla Walla County has elevated an advisory to a Level 1 be ready.
• 8:45
  Cedric: The Austin Fire on Mount Hood National Forest grew 343 acres.
• 8:51
  Cedric: Separately, the Hagen Fire east of Pendleton is at 19 percent containment across more than 58,000 acres, and a joint emergency operations center reduced some evacuation levels Thursday.
• 9:03
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
• 9:08
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting our sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
• 9:13
  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
• 9:15
  Cedric: Washington remains the most heavily committed state in the country.
• 9:19
  Cedric: The Little Giant Fire has burned about 137,000 acres at 12 percent containment with 26 structures lost, and Chelan County has Level 3 get out now orders on the north shore of Lake Chelan.
• 9:33
  Cedric: Kittitas County has Level 1, 2 and 3 evacuations on the Three Queens Fire, which is 2 percent contained.
• 9:41
  Cedric: Governor Ferguson formally asked the Treasury Department Thursday for a one year federal tax filing and payment postponement covering seven counties and three tribal nations, and the state emergency management division is building damage assessments toward a major disaster declaration
• 9:58
  Cedric: request expected in mid-September.
• 10:02
  Cedric: Alabama had about 7,000 Huntsville Utilities customers without power in Madison County after overnight storms, plus roughly 600 Decatur Utilities customers as of 6 a.m.
• 10:13
  Cedric: Friday.
• 10:15
  Cedric: Arizona saw a dust and wind event take out about 18,000 SRP and APS customers across Maricopa and Pinal counties, tearing part of the roof off a Mesa apartment complex during a stretch of extreme heat.
• 10:29
  Cedric: California reduced some evacuation orders to warnings on the Timber Fire near Big Sur and modified the northern Highway 1 closure.
• 10:37
  Cedric: Three Red Flag Warnings are up in Siskiyou and Modoc counties.
• 10:42
  Cedric: Idaho has evacuations and closures on the new North Heglar Fire in Cassia County, 33 miles southwest of Pocatello, with structures threatened at zero percent containment.
• 10:53
  Cedric: Illinois waived penalties and interest for taxpayers affected by recent severe weather.
• 10:58
  Cedric: McLean County declared a seven day local disaster, and a commercial building collapsed in downtown Mattoon with no injuries.
• 11:07
  Cedric: Kansas utilities in Kansas City had about 9,600 customers still without power Thursday, down from roughly 18,000 the day before.
• 11:17
  Cedric: Schools resume Friday with several buildings still closed, and volunteers are distributing heat relief kits to households still without cooling.
• 11:26
  Cedric: Kentucky had winds over 60 miles per hour, flooded roadways in Graves, Ballard and McCracken counties, and Mayfield Independent Schools canceled classes Thursday.
• 11:37
  Cedric: Louisiana opened FEMA Individual Assistance to students and teachers whose homes and personal property were damaged by Tropical Storm Arthur in six parishes, with an October 1 deadline.
• 11:49
  Cedric: Michigan issued a precautionary boil water advisory for part of Battle Creek after a partial system shutdown.
• 11:56
  Cedric: Michigan and Wisconsin both had counties added to their major disaster declarations, with Small Business Administration physical loan deadlines of August 31.
• 12:07
  Cedric: Minnesota health officials linked 23 illnesses to Minnesota grown alfalfa sprouts in a multistate E.
• 12:13
  Cedric: coli and salmonella outbreak, with 17 more cases in Wisconsin.
• 12:18
  Cedric: Consumers should discard the product.
• 12:20
  Cedric: Mississippi storm cleanup is underway after more than 8,800 customers lost power, hardest hit in Leake, Attala, Madison and Hinds counties.
• 12:30
  Cedric: Montana added two new large fires, Windmill in Stillwater County with a pre evacuation ready notice, and Cherry Peak on the Lolo National Forest with structures threatened.
• 12:42
  Cedric: New Mexico reports extreme fire behavior on the Frijoles Fire near Cundiyo, with crowning, group torching and long range spotting, evacuations and closures in effect at 31 percent containment.
• 12:55
  Cedric: Pennsylvania declared a state of emergency and a curfew in Columbia Borough, Lancaster County, after a building collapse during Thursday's storms.
• 13:04
  Cedric: A sewer authority power failure at the Lancaster Area Sewer Authority treatment plant prompted water conservation requests in five municipalities.
• 13:13
  Cedric: South Carolina issued a 24 hour precautionary boil water advisory in Walhalla after a pump station breaker failure, and city council has called a special meeting Friday evening on water system policy.
• 13:27
  Cedric: South Dakota residents holding temporary paper vehicle registrations from Pennington County's cybersecurity incident must complete transactions in person by August 31 or face penalties.
• 13:39
  Cedric: Texas issued a citywide boil water notice in Jourdanton after a system wide water outage.
• 13:46
  Cedric: West Virginia continues flood recovery.
• 13:48
  Cedric: Charleston area residents report eight homes destroyed and 27 damaged, and Harrison County has opened damage assessment forms with FEMA.
• 13:57
  Cedric: All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 14:02
  Cedric: Let’s look at the territories.
• 14:04
  Cedric: Northern Mariana Islands are under formal readiness conditions as of 8:00 a.m.
• 14:08
  Cedric: Friday.
• 14:09
  Cedric: Homeland Security and Emergency Management set Typhoon Condition Two for Agrihan and Pagan, Tropical Storm Condition Two for Alamagan, and Tropical Storm Condition Three for Saipan and Tinian.
• 14:22
  Cedric: Northern Islands residents are told to shelter in place and prepare for more than 24 hours of hazardous conditions.
• 14:30
  Cedric: High surf and rip current advisories are in effect.
• 14:33
  Cedric: The Small Business Administration's deadline for Typhoon Sinlaku physical damage loans is today.
• 14:40
  Cedric: Guam is not in the path of Saudel and no protective action is required, but Homeland Security warns of life threatening rip currents on east facing reefs through Sunday.
• 14:51
  Cedric: The Weather Service is forecasting a monsoon surge behind the storm, with 4 to 8 inches of rain possible on Guam and Rota from Sunday night into next week.
• 15:01
  Cedric: Puerto Rico is under a heat advisory covering 60 municipalities, with heat index values at or above 100 degrees.
• 15:10
  Cedric: Drought is the larger story: the Carraízo reservoir is 52 centimeters from control phase, 13 of 19 monitored reservoirs dropped in a day, and water rationing continues across seven municipalities in the San Juan metro area and eastward.
• 15:26
  Cedric: The Education Department reports a quarter of affected schools lack functioning cisterns.
• 15:31
  Cedric: U.S.
• 15:32
  Cedric: Virgin Islands received a USDA primary natural disaster designation for drought covering St.
• 15:37
  Cedric: Croix, St.
• 15:38
  Cedric: Thomas and St.
• 15:39
  Cedric: John, opening Farm Service Agency emergency loans to farm operators, who have eight months to apply.
• 15:46
  Cedric: American Samoa is under a High Surf Advisory for Tutuila, Aunu'u and Manu'a through Sunday, with strong longshore and rip currents and possible impacts to harbor entrances.
• 15:57
  Cedric: All other territories and the District of Columbia have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 16:04
  Cedric: That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 16:07
  Cedric: New episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5:00 AM hour P.T., so the day starts with clarity instead of catch-up.
• 16:14
  Cedric: Subscribe on the Emergency Management Network on Substack, or follow on your favorite podcast player.
• 16:20
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 16:23
  Cedric: Stay Safe.