Latest / EM Morning Brief / Tropical Storm Lala leaves 179,000 without power and closes Hawaii statewide; record rainfall drives more than 50 water rescues in Kanawha County, West Virginia

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Tropical Storm Lala leaves 179,000 without power and closes Hawaii statewide; record rainfall drives more than 50 water rescues in Kanawha County, West Virginia · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Cedric: Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Monday, August 17, 2026.
• 0:06
  Cedric: Hawaii is the national story.
• 0:09
  Cedric: Tropical Storm Lala is pulling away west of the main Hawaiian Islands, and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center has dropped all coastal watches and warnings, though the storm is forecast to strengthen back to a hurricane over open water by
• 0:22
  Cedric: Wednesday.
• 0:24
  Cedric: The recovery it leaves behind is large.
• 0:26
  Cedric: About 179,000 customers are without power statewide, with 16 transmission lines down on Hawaii Island and nine on Oahu.
• 0:35
  Cedric: Governor Josh Green has closed all state offices, public schools, charter schools and Judiciary facilities today, and says he will request a major disaster declaration.
• 0:46
  Cedric: Hawaii County has issued an islandwide essential needs only water notice tied to the power loss.
• 0:52
  Cedric: Hilo and Kona international airports reopened Sunday morning after runway and terminal inspections, and Hilo and Kawaihae harbors are open and operating, though flight cancellations continue.
• 1:04
  Cedric: Crews conducted overnight search and rescue in Naalehu for callers who could not be reached through flooded roads.
• 1:10
  Cedric: Officials say the hardest hit rural areas of Hawaii Island could be without power for weeks.
• 1:17
  Cedric: The second event is flash flooding in the central Appalachians and Ohio Valley.
• 1:22
  Cedric: Charleston, West Virginia set a new daily rainfall record Sunday at 4.23 inches, breaking a mark of 1.64 inches that stood since 1922, and Kanawha County logged more than 50 water rescue calls into Monday morning.
• 1:37
  Cedric: West Virginia also produced the heaviest storm report count in the country Sunday.
• 1:43
  Cedric: The Weather Prediction Center carried a Moderate risk of excessive rainfall over West Virginia Sunday evening and continues a Slight risk today across southeast Ohio, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and northwest North Carolina, with flash flood guidance exceedance
• 2:00
  Cedric: probabilities above 70 percent in places that have taken more than four inches in the past week.
• 2:06
  Cedric: A Flood Watch runs through early Tuesday.
• 2:09
  Cedric: In Colorado, a Flash Flood Emergency over the Aspen Acres burn scar southwest of Pueblo killed one person Sunday afternoon.
• 2:17
  Cedric: Nationally, the wildfire system remains at Preparedness Level 5.
• 2:22
  Cedric: The most recent National Interagency Coordination Center situation report, an official update published about 24 hours ago, counts 87 uncontained large fires, 147 active incidents, roughly 3.88 million acres and 29,548 personnel committed, with 21 complex incident management teams and
• 2:43
  Cedric: one national incident management organization team assigned.
• 2:47
  Cedric: On the federal side, FEMA announced presidential approval of an emergency declaration for Indiana, Public Assistance only, covering 53 counties.
• 2:56
  Cedric: Extreme Heat Warnings cover twelve states: California, Nevada and Arizona in the west, then Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas.
• 3:07
  Cedric: Federal cyber is quiet: no new items in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog since August 11, no new advisories since August 13, no active DHS terrorism advisory, and no State Department travel advisory level changes.
• 3:22
  Cedric: Let’s run through the states.
• 3:24
  Cedric: California has the Timber Fire on the Los Padres National Forest southeast of Big Sur.
• 3:30
  Cedric: CAL FIRE's latest data puts it at 5,103 acres and 17 percent contained with about 2,177 personnel assigned.
• 3:39
  Cedric: Evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect for multiple Monterey County zones, Highway 1 is closed through the Big Sur area, and a shelter is open at Carmel Middle School.
• 3:49
  Cedric: Farther north, the MP 18 Fire near Hoopa is at about 5,700 acres and 19 percent contained with structures and communication infrastructure threatened.
• 4:01
  Cedric: Colorado confirmed a flood fatality Sunday.
• 4:04
  Cedric: The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office reports an 80 year old man was swept away by fast moving water in Beulah during a Flash Flood Emergency over the Aspen Acres burn scar, and was found dead two miles downstream after a
• 4:17
  Cedric: ground and air search.
• 4:19
  Cedric: The National Weather Service in Pueblo labeled the situation particularly dangerous with a catastrophic damage threat.
• 4:27
  Cedric: Roads in the Beulah area closed for water and debris flows.
• 4:31
  Cedric: Separately, Colorado Springs Fire issued a pre evacuation order near Highway 115 and Lake Avenue for a hazardous materials fire.
• 4:39
  Cedric: The Aspen Acres Fire itself stands at 102,004 acres and 72 percent contained, with 915 structures lost, the highest structure loss on the national report.
• 4:51
  Cedric: Hawaii is in full response and early recovery.
• 4:54
  Cedric: Utility figures put roughly 44,900 customers out on Hawaii Island, 126,500 on Oahu, about 7,000 in Maui County and about 863 on Kauai.
• 5:06
  Cedric: Most Hawaii County shelters have closed, with two remaining open for severely impacted residents, and roughly 215 people were sheltered on the Big Island with 117 in eight Oahu refuge areas.
• 5:19
  Cedric: Maui County opened a shelter with charging and WiFi at the Eddie Tam Memorial Center in Makawao for extended Upcountry outages.
• 5:28
  Cedric: Kauai has conservation notices in four service areas, and Maui County reports a water service outage in Olinda and Piiholo with four tanks staged for potable supply.
• 5:39
  Cedric: The Department of Health issued a brown water advisory for the Big Island.
• 5:43
  Cedric: Utility lines are down along Highway 11 between Mountain View and Volcano.
• 5:48
  Cedric: One hundred linemen from California arrive in the coming days, most on Tuesday.
• 5:54
  Cedric: The state has set aside 100 million dollars, and officials report more than 100 homes and eight bridges damaged in southern Hawaii Island.
• 6:03
  Cedric: Idaho has six large fires, including Moose Mountain northeast of Pierce at 2,805 acres and 7 percent contained with structures threatened, and Upper Smith near Porthill at 38 percent contained with energy infrastructure threatened.
• 6:19
  Cedric: Indiana continues flood recovery.
• 6:22
  Cedric: FEMA announced presidential approval of emergency declaration 3651 for severe storms, straight line winds, tornadoes and flooding that began August 11.
• 6:32
  Cedric: It authorizes Public Assistance across 53 counties, and notably does not include Individual Assistance, so survivors should not be directed to apply for individual aid on this declaration.
• 6:44
  Cedric: The National Weather Service in Indianapolis reports record crests on the White River at Anderson and Noblesville, breaking 1913 records.
• 6:53
  Cedric: Marion County emergency management has asked Ravenswood residents to hold off returning home until Tuesday, and reports 100 people and 48 pets evacuated.
• 7:04
  Cedric: In Carmel, the Hazel Dell Parkway bridge washed out completely.
• 7:08
  Cedric: Twenty eight flood warnings remain active statewide.
• 7:12
  Cedric: Kentucky reports more than 26,000 customers without power as of early this morning after overnight storms, concentrated in Daviess, Jefferson, Fayette and Perry counties.
• 7:23
  Cedric: Eastern Kentucky remains inside the Slight risk area for excessive rainfall, and a Flood Watch covers northeast Kentucky counties through early Tuesday.
• 7:33
  Cedric: A tornado warning was issued Sunday evening for Boyd, Carter and Lawrence counties.
• 7:39
  Cedric: Minnesota has four large fires on the Superior National Forest under a single Southern Area team, the largest being Bear Trap at 30,110 acres and 45 percent contained.
• 7:51
  Cedric: Mississippi Emergency Management announced five Disaster Service Centers opening at noon tomorrow for Tropical Storm Arthur survivors under declaration 4930, in Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River and Stone counties, staffed by FEMA, MEMA and Small Business Administration specialists.
• 8:10
  Cedric: In Hancock County, the North Shore Drive subdivision in Bay St.
• 8:13
  Cedric: Louis was evacuated as a precaution for a woods fire near Highway 603.
• 8:19
  Cedric: Montana has active evacuations on two fires.
• 8:22
  Cedric: Sand Creek east of Wisdom grew nearly 3,916 acres in a day to 31,652 acres at 1 percent contained, though Beaverhead County reports Shale Creek and Clark Creek residents may return today and shift to set status.
• 8:37
  Cedric: Granite County has a red evacuation order for the Frog Pond area on the Moose Fire, which is at 5,678 acres and zero percent contained.
• 8:47
  Cedric: Nevada has evacuations in effect on the Stallion Fire west of Nixon, at 40,691 acres and 81 percent contained, with numerous residences and critical infrastructure threatened.
• 8:59
  Cedric: The adjacent Bug Fire is at about 94,105 acres with nine structures lost.
• 9:05
  Cedric: New Mexico has the Frijoles Fire on the Santa Fe National Forest east of Cundiyo at 8,921 acres and zero percent contained with 544 personnel assigned.
• 9:16
  Cedric: North Carolina has a continuing boil water advisory in the Town of Hillsborough central pressure zone following a six inch water main leak that dropped system pressure.
• 9:27
  Cedric: Sample results were expected this morning.
• 9:30
  Cedric: Restaurants and childcare centers must file operating plans with Orange County Environmental Health.
• 9:37
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from the sponsor supporting today’s episode.
• 9:44
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting the sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
• 9:48
  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
• 9:51
  Cedric: Ohio has six flood warnings issued between 3:37 and 6:33 this morning across the southeast and central parts of the state, with numerous roads closed and streams still rising on earlier runoff.
• 10:03
  Cedric: The Route 79 eastbound exit at Interstate 70 near Buckeye Lake is closed for high water, with water encroaching on the eastbound outer lane.
• 10:12
  Cedric: A Flood Watch runs through 2 a.m.
• 10:14
  Cedric: Tuesday for Athens, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Morgan, Perry, Vinton and Washington counties.
• 10:22
  Cedric: Ohio logged 36 storm reports Sunday, second only to West Virginia, including a both directions closure of State Route 687 in Stark County for downed utility lines and debris.
• 10:34
  Cedric: Oklahoma has two new large fires with extreme behavior: Burnt Canyon northwest of Mooreland at 1,811 acres and zero percent contained, and Wichita Hills near Anadarko at 315 acres and zero percent contained.
• 10:49
  Cedric: Heat advisories cover east, southeast, southern and southwest Oklahoma today with heat index values to 110.
• 10:56
  Cedric: Oregon carries 24 large fires, the most in the nation.
• 11:00
  Cedric: Big Grass southwest of Jordan Valley remains the largest fire in the country at about 578,000 acres and 71 percent contained, with evacuations in effect.
• 11:11
  Cedric: Wrights Spring near Sprague River is at 53,628 acres and 51 percent contained with evacuations in effect.
• 11:19
  Cedric: Grasshopper east of Government Camp is at about 90,130 acres with active wind driven runs and 22 structures lost, and containment there is reported inconsistently across official updates between 37 and 47 percent.
• 11:34
  Cedric: Austin southeast of Estacada and Paradise east of Milton Freewater are both at zero percent containment with structures threatened.
• 11:43
  Cedric: Texas reports El Paso Electric outages affecting 14,644 customers across 54 separate outages Sunday evening.
• 11:52
  Cedric: The Texas Department of Transportation closed Montana Avenue westbound at Justice and Tierra Este Road in far east El Paso for high water.
• 12:00
  Cedric: ERCOT has issued no conservation appeal or emergency notice.
• 12:04
  Cedric: Utah has an active go evacuation order from the Emery County Sheriff for the Reeder Subdivision on the Black Canyon Fire, which is at 3,563 acres and 36 percent contained with residences and energy infrastructure threatened.
• 12:19
  Cedric: Widemouth 2 near Kanosh is at 129,741 acres and 80 percent contained with evacuations in effect.
• 12:28
  Cedric: Virginia reports more than 12,600 Dominion Energy customers without power after Sunday night storms, about 8,200 of them in central Virginia, with Chesterfield County hardest hit at 6,576.
• 12:43
  Cedric: Flash Flood Warnings covered Richmond and surrounding counties into the overnight.
• 12:48
  Cedric: Southwest Virginia remains in the Slight risk area for excessive rainfall today.
• 12:53
  Cedric: Washington has 16 large fires and several active evacuations.
• 12:58
  Cedric: Little Giant northwest of Leavenworth is at about 132,978 acres and 10 percent contained with 26 structures lost, active evacuations, and level three get out now zones along both shores of Lake Chelan.
• 13:12
  Cedric: Three Queens east of Snoqualmie Pass is at 3,603 acres and 2 percent contained with Kittitas County evacuation levels active.
• 13:20
  Cedric: Kaiser Canyon near Nespelem is at 138,296 acres and 83 percent contained with 47 structures lost and evacuations in effect.
• 13:30
  Cedric: Grand Park 2 in Mount Rainier National Park also has evacuations in effect.
• 13:35
  Cedric: Luna in North Cascades National Park remains at zero percent containment with structures and energy infrastructure threatened, and the adjacent Border 2 Fire is between 3 and 10 percent contained depending on the reporting source.
• 13:50
  Cedric: West Virginia is the flood story.
• 13:53
  Cedric: Kanawha County Metro 911 logged more than 50 water rescue calls from Sunday into early this morning, 54 by one supervisor's count as of 4:45 a.m., though some may relate to the same incident.
• 14:06
  Cedric: No injuries have been reported, and the county emergency management director described flooding across the county.
• 14:13
  Cedric: Rescues occurred in Eskdale, Carbon and Charleston, and from Cross Lanes to Cedar Grove.
• 14:19
  Cedric: Route 61 closed from floodwaters near the locks and dam, and Paint Creek overtopped its banks from Hansford to the Interstate 77 entrance.
• 14:28
  Cedric: The Division of Highways closed multiple Barbour County roads with sections of Routes 92 and 57 underwater.
• 14:35
  Cedric: Charleston's 4.23 inches Sunday broke a 1922 record.
• 14:41
  Cedric: A Flood Watch continues through 2 a.m.
• 14:43
  Cedric: Tuesday, and the Weather Prediction Center's highest concern today runs along and west of Interstate 79.
• 14:50
  Cedric: All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 14:55
  Cedric: Let’s run through the Territories.
• 14:58
  Cedric: U.S.
• 14:58
  Cedric: Virgin Islands recorded two light earthquakes in the window per the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, a magnitude 3.76 offshore event early this morning and a magnitude 3.55 Sunday evening.
• 15:11
  Cedric: No felt reports, damage or official response have been recorded, and no tsunami warning, advisory or watch is in effect for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
• 15:21
  Cedric: Northern Mariana Islands recorded a magnitude 4.8 earthquake 159 kilometers east southeast of Saipan early this morning at a depth of ten kilometers, with no felt reports and no tsunami threat.
• 15:34
  Cedric: Ahyi Seamount remains at advisory and aviation color code yellow.
• 15:39
  Cedric: Puerto Rico shows a stable grid with no significant outages reported by LUMA Energy, and no emergency announcement from the territorial emergency management agency.
• 15:50
  Cedric: All other territories and the District of Columbia have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
• 15:57
  Cedric: That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 15:59
  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.
• 16:07
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• 16:13
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 16:16
  Cedric: Stay Safe.