The Emergency Management Network Podcast

Episode Description
What if the key to building stronger, safer, and more resilient communities isn’t another seawall, a bigger emergency operations center, or more concrete, but the relationships we build in everyday places?
In this episode of EMM Hope, hosts Todd DeVoe and Andrew Boyarsky welcome Dr. Daniel P. Aldrich, author of the new book Beyond Common Ground: How Everyday Places Solve Big Social Challenges, published by the University of California Press.
Dr. Aldrich challenges conventional thinking about how communities prepare for and respond to crises. Rather than focusing exclusively on physical infrastructure, he explores the power of social infrastructure—libraries, parks, community centers, neighborhood gathering spaces, and even radio programs—to strengthen social connections, build trust, and help communities confront some of society’s most difficult challenges.
Drawing on examples from Japan, Philadelphia, and Africa’s Sahel region, Dr. Aldrich demonstrates how investments in relationships and shared spaces can help reduce disaster vulnerability, prevent crime, and counter violent extremism.
For emergency managers, community leaders, and anyone interested in resilience, this conversation raises a fundamental question:
Are we investing enough in the people and places that hold communities together before disaster strikes?
Because when disaster happens, the first person to help you probably won’t be a government official. It will be someone who knows your name.
Show Notes
The Power of Social Infrastructure
In this conversation, Todd DeVoe, Andrew Boyarsky, and Dr. Daniel P. Aldrich explore the often-overlooked connections between everyday community spaces, social capital, and resilience.
Topics We Explore
1. Beyond Concrete and Steel
Why social infrastructure deserves as much attention as traditional investments in physical infrastructure, and why stronger communities require more than buildings, roads, and emergency equipment.
2. The Importance of Social Capital
How trust, relationships, and community networks influence disaster survival, emergency response, and long-term recovery.
3. Japan’s Ibasho Centers
How elder-led community spaces demonstrate the importance of social connections, particularly among older adults living in communities exposed to tsunami hazards.
4. Greener Neighborhoods, Safer Communities
What Philadelphia’s neighborhood greening initiatives reveal about the relationship between shared spaces, neighborhood investment, and crime reduction.
5. Radio as a Resilience Tool
How community broadcasting in Africa’s Sahel region can help counter extremist recruitment, strengthen local relationships, and create opportunities for community engagement.
6. A Polysolution Approach to Complex Problems
How a single investment in social infrastructure can help address multiple challenges, including climate change, public safety, social isolation, and disaster resilience.
7. Lessons for Emergency Managers
Why building relationships before a disaster may be just as important as developing response capabilities, and how emergency managers can incorporate social infrastructure into preparedness and mitigation strategies.
Questions for the Conversation
* What exactly is social infrastructure, and why should emergency managers care about it?
* How does social infrastructure differ from social capital?
* Are we spending too much on physical infrastructure while overlooking the relationships that help communities survive?
* Can a library, park, community center, or radio program actually save lives during a disaster?
* What can American communities learn from Japan’s Ibasho centers?
* How do we measure trust and relationships when our profession is accustomed to measuring equipment, staffing, and capabilities?
* What can local governments do today to strengthen social infrastructure without significant new funding?
* What is the one thing emergency managers should reconsider after reading Beyond Common Ground?
About Our Guest
Dr. Daniel P. Aldrich is a professor, researcher, and internationally recognized scholar whose work focuses on social capital, disaster resilience, and community recovery.
His research examines why some communities recover more effectively than others following disasters and how social relationships influence survival, recovery, and long-term resilience.
His latest book, Beyond Common Ground, expands this conversation by examining how everyday gathering places help societies address challenges extending far beyond natural disasters.
Featured Book
Beyond Common Ground: How Everyday Places Solve Big Social Challenges
* Author: Daniel P. Aldrich
* Publisher: University of California Press
* Release Date: October 13, 2026
* Length: 280 pages
* ISBN-13: 9780520429765
Closing Thoughts
We spend a great deal of time in emergency management talking about infrastructure, capabilities, equipment, and plans. All of those things matter.
But resilience is also built over coffee, in neighborhood parks, at community meetings, and through conversations between people who might otherwise never meet.
The strongest communities aren’t necessarily those with the most resources. They may be the ones where people know, trust, and care for one another.
Join Todd DeVoe, Andrew Boyarsky, and Dr. Daniel P. Aldrich for a conversation about the places that bring us together and why those connections may be among our greatest tools for confronting the challenges ahead.
EMM Hope — Exploring the people, ideas, and connections that make communities stronger.
Hashtags
#EMMHope #DanielAldrich #SocialInfrastructure #CommunityResilience #EmergencyManagement



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THE EMN DAILY NEWS | Thursday, 1 October 2026
The Overview
Flood watches across Texas and Oklahoma; FY27 starts on a CR
Flood watches cover southern Oklahoma and much of north and central Texas today as the remnants of Hurricane Polo move across the region, with flash flood warnings overnight around Wichita Falls and a watch running through Friday evening over the Hill Country counties still in Public Assistance recovery from the July floods. Fiscal year 2027 opens on a continuing resolution that runs through December 11, holding agencies at fiscal 2026 levels and permitting up to $26.37 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund. The national preparedness level holds at 2 with 58 incidents and 4,826 personnel, down 574 in a day, with no new large fires. Year-to-date fire counts were adjusted sharply upward to 62,218, moving the season from 124 to 134 percent of the ten-year average. Dome in Yosemite National Park reached 39 percent contained as a second California team mobilizes.
For great insight from leading emergency managment professionals, visit EM Network on Substack.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Oklahoma and north Texas: The Norman forecast office holds a flood watch until 1 p.m. today for 25 Oklahoma counties and five northern Texas counties, with 2 to 4 inches likely and local amounts to 6 inches. Flash flood warnings ran overnight for Wichita Falls, Burkburnett, Iowa Park and Sheppard Air Force Base after 1 to 3 inches fell in short order.
Central Texas: The Fort Worth office carries a flood watch through Friday morning across north central Texas, including Dallas, Denton, Collin and McLennan counties, with 2 to 3 inches widespread and localized totals to 5 inches. The Austin and San Antonio office holds a watch until 7 p.m. Friday for Hill Country counties including Kerr, Bandera, Uvalde, Real, Edwards, Gillespie and Kendall, all of which carry open Public Assistance from the July declaration.
Fiscal year: Agencies begin fiscal 2027 under the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, signed September 2, which funds the government through December 11 at prior-year levels. The measure permits up to $26.37 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund, with obligations charged against fiscal 2027 appropriations rather than treated as supplemental. Under a continuing resolution, agencies cannot start programs, projects or activities that were not already funded and active, which constrains new grant starts until a full-year bill passes.
Get ready, Long Beach! Join emergency management professionals from across the country and around the world for the IAEM 74th Annual Conference & EMEX, November 9-11, 2026, and experience three incredible days of big ideas, new connections, innovation, and the people shaping the future of emergency management. We’ll see you in Long Beach!
Wildfire posture: Preparedness Level 2 with 58 incidents, 14 uncontained large fires, 1,641,606 acres and 4,826 personnel, a drop of 574, per the Wednesday situation report. Initial attack was light, with 91 fires and no new large incidents; one large fire was contained, and five complex teams were committed. The Northwest, Northern California and Southern Area each released more than 220 people in a single operational period.
Reporting adjustment: Year-to-date fires rose from 57,521 to 62,218 in one reporting cycle, almost entirely in the Southern Area, which moved from 28,661 to 33,302. That shifts the season from 124 to 134 percent of the ten-year average for fire counts. The situation report attributes such changes to mapping or reporting adjustments rather than new activity, and a similar acreage swing last week reversed within days.
California: Dome in Yosemite National Park grew 151 acres to 5,410 and jumped to 39 percent contained, up from 31, with 932 personnel and California Team 4 mobilizing. Costs stand at $24 million. Plaskett on the Los Padres National Forest is fully contained, and Timber holds at 88 percent with numerous structures still threatened.
Northwest: Eight uncontained large fires and 2,186 personnel, down 239. Command on Little Giant transfers from Northwest Team 13 to Northwest Team 12 today, with the fire at 93 percent contained and structures still threatened. Sisi near Stehekin nearly doubled containment to 29 percent, with residences threatened.
Recovery calendar: SBA physical damage deadlines for the September 1 public assistance declarations close November 1 in Colorado and South Dakota and November 2 in Missouri and Texas, with economic injury applications open to June 1, 2027. Texas recently added Grimes, Live Oak, McMullen and Schleicher counties for Public Assistance, and its Individual Assistance request covering 30 counties remains pending.
Fire weather: Breezy northerly winds in the Sacramento Valley and southern California ease this morning, but relative humidity of 10 to 15 percent persists with above-normal temperatures. In the southern Plains, breezy south winds of 10 to 18 miles per hour and minimum humidity of 25 to 35 percent create locally elevated conditions.
SOURCES
Texas and Oklahoma flooding
NWS Norman: Flood Watch for 25 Oklahoma counties and five northern Texas counties, issued Oct 1 at 1:41 a.m. CDT until 1 p.m. CDT
https://govonestop.com/nws/oklahoma-texas-severe-flood-watch-effective-09302026-2341
NWS Norman: Flash Flood Warning for Wichita County, Texas, issued Oct 1 at 2:57 a.m. CDT
https://govonestop.com/nws/texas-severe-flash-flood-warning-effective-10012026-0057
NWS Norman: Flash Flood Warning for southeastern Archer and southern Clay counties, issued Oct 1 at 1:45 a.m. CDT
https://www.defconlevel.com/alert/2026-10-01-nws-noaa-weather-flash-flood-warning-issued-october-1-at-1-45am-cdt-until-october-1-at-4-45am-cdt-by-nws-norman-ok
NWS Fort Worth: Flood Watch through Friday morning for north central Texas, issued Sept 30 at 2:26 p.m. CDT
https://govonestop.com/nws/texas-severe-flood-watch-effective-09302026-1226
NWS Austin/San Antonio: Flood Watch until 7 p.m. Oct 2 for Hill Country counties, issued Sept 30 at 9:52 p.m. CDT
https://govonestop.com/nws/texas-severe-flood-watch-effective-09302026-1952
Federal funding
White House: H.R. 6500, Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, signed Sept 2, funding agencies through Dec 11
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2026/09/congressional-bill-h-r-6500-signed-into-law/
Congressional Research Service summary via Legis1: $26.37 billion permitted for the Disaster Relief Fund under the continuing resolution
https://legis1.com/news/fy2027-continuing-resolution-funds-agencies
Office of the Texas Governor: four additional counties approved for Public Assistance, Individual Assistance request pending
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-approval-of-federal-disaster-assistance-for-four-additional-counties-following-summer-storms-and-flooding
Wildfire, national
NICC Incident Management Situation Report and Predictive Services discussion: Wednesday, Sept 30, 2026, 0730 MDT (live PDF, overwritten daily). Source for all fire figures and the California, Northwest and fire weather items.
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/sitreprt.pdf
IMSR archive
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/incident-information/imsr


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FEMA has issued a formal definition of emergency management, calling it the strategic coordination of emergency services to protect life, property, and continuity of operations, and paired it with 12 coordination responsibilities that every FEMA component must now align its doctrine, training and publications to. Three Federal Register notices published yesterday reset the annual assistance numbers: Individuals and Households Program maximums rise to $44,800 each for housing and other needs, Serious Needs Assistance goes to $790, and the Public Assistance simplified procedures threshold moves to $1,093,800. Texas added four more counties for Public Assistance, while its Individual Assistance request for 30 counties remains pending. The national preparedness level holds at 2 with 62 incidents and 5,400 personnel, down 297, and three new large fires in the Southern Area. Moisture from decaying Hurricane Polo brings wetting rain and localized flooding to the Southwest and Colorado today.
The EMN Daily NEWS is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news. For more detailed analysis of issues facing emergency management, subscribe to EM Network on Substack.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
FEMA doctrine: The definition came in a September memorandum from Administrator Cameron Hamilton, released September 22 during National Preparedness Month. It sets 12 coordination responsibilities running from capacity building through continuous improvement, alongside professional skills covering command and coordination, consequence analysis, planning, decision-making under pressure, technical writing and after-action analysis. FEMA says the standard applies regardless of sector, and all components will update doctrine, policy, guidance, training, workforce materials and exercise products to match.
Assistance thresholds: The new figures took effect with yesterday’s Federal Register notices and are indexed to a 2.9 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for the 12 months ending August 2025. The Individuals and Households Program caps at $44,800 for housing assistance and $44,800 for other needs assistance. Serious Needs Assistance is set at $790. The Public Assistance simplified procedures threshold rises to $1,093,800.
Texas: The major disaster declaration for the July storms and flooding now includes Grimes, Live Oak, McMullen and Schleicher counties for Public Assistance, in addition to the 19 counties approved earlier. The state’s request for Individual Assistance covering 30 counties remains pending.
Get ready, Long Beach! Join emergency management professionals from across the country and around the world for the IAEM 74th Annual Conference & EMEX, November 9-11, 2026, and experience three incredible days of big ideas, new connections, innovation, and the people shaping the future of emergency management. We’ll see you in Long Beach!
Wildfire posture: Preparedness Level 2 with 62 incidents, 15 uncontained large fires, 1,690,313 acres and 5,400 personnel, a drop of 297, per the Tuesday situation report. Initial attack was light, with 90 fires, three new large incidents, two large fires contained and five complex teams committed. Year to date, the country is at 57,521 fires and 8,565,689 acres, 124 and 141 percent of the ten-year averages.
Southern Area: Fifty-five new fires and three new large incidents. Honey, nine miles southwest of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, on Bureau of Indian Affairs protection, is 333 acres and 80 percent contained, with active fire behavior and structures threatened. 3 Alpha Sierra, five miles west of Weston, Florida, is 330 acres and 16 percent contained. Stone Bridge near Wilburton, Oklahoma, grew to 45 acres with residences threatened.
California: Timber on the Los Padres National Forest jumped to 88 percent contained, up from 77, with numerous structures still threatened and costs at $171.6 million. Dome in Yosemite National Park grew 178 acres to 5,259 acres, at 31 percent contained. Command on Plaskett transfers back to the local unit today.
Northwest: Eight uncontained large fires and 2,425 personnel, down 163. Little Giant on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest rose to 91 percent contained with structures still threatened, and Northwest Team 12 is mobilizing. Three Queens holds at 33 percent contained with numerous residences and critical infrastructure threatened.
Recovery calendar: SBA physical damage deadlines for the September 1 declarations close November 1 in Colorado and South Dakota and November 2 in Missouri and Texas, with economic injury applications open to June 1, 2027.
Fire weather: Breezy northerly winds develop in parts of the Sacramento Valley and southern California with relative humidity of 10 to 15 percent, creating elevated conditions. Downslope westerly winds are expected in north-central Montana east of the Divide. Moisture from decaying Hurricane Polo persists over the Southwest and Colorado with widespread wetting rain and local amounts near 3 inches, bringing areas of flooding.
SOURCES
FEMA doctrine
FEMA, Administrator’s Corner: We Must Return to the Basics, A Definition of Emergency Management and Professional Framework, released Sept 22 (page could not be retrieved in this sweep; text supplied by the editor)
https://www.fema.gov/about/administrators-corner/emergency-management-framework
Federal assistance
Federal Register: Notice of Maximum Amount of Assistance Under the Individuals and Households Program, published Sept 29
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/29/2026-19854/notice-of-maximum-amount-of-assistance-under-the-individuals-and-households-program
Federal Register: Notice of Award Amount Adjustment for Serious Needs Assistance, published Sept 29
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/29/2026-19856/notice-of-award-amount-adjustment-for-serious-needs-assistance
Federal Register: Notice of Adjustment of Disaster Grant Amounts, published Sept 29
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/29/2026-19898/notice-of-adjustment-of-disaster-grant-amounts
Federal Register: Notices of Emergency and Major Disaster Declarations and Related Amendments, March through August 2026, published Sept 29
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/29/2026-19857/notices-of-emergency-and-major-disaster-declarations-and-related-amendments
Office of the Texas Governor: federal disaster assistance approved for four additional counties, Individual Assistance request pending
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-approval-of-federal-disaster-assistance-for-four-additional-counties-following-summer-storms-and-flooding
Wildfire, national
NICC Incident Management Situation Report and Predictive Services discussion: Tuesday, Sept 29, 2026, 0730 MDT (live PDF, overwritten daily). Source for all fire figures and the Southern Area, California and Northwest items.
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/sitreprt.pdf
IMSR archive
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/incident-information/imsr


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THE EMN NEWS DAILY BRIEF | Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Hawaii County has shifted from response to damage assessment after Hurricane Nolo and is asking residents and businesses to file damage reports through separate residential and commercial forms. Governor Josh Green has identified roughly $686 million in damage and recovery costs from the state’s first four disasters of 2026, before Nolo, which was the season’s seventh tropical cyclone. In the Northeast, Rhode Island Energy restored all 50,000 customers it lost in under 48 hours, and PSEG Long Island reported more than 128,000 cumulative outages, with more than 99 percent restored by late Monday. The nor’easter produced an 81-mile-per-hour gust at Montauk Point and 6.3 inches of rain in southeastern Massachusetts. The national preparedness level holds at 2 with 64 incidents and 5,697 personnel, down 306, while the Southern Area reported 63 new fires. CISA released nine industrial control system advisories last week. The EMN NEWS Daily Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Hawaii assessment: Mayor Kimo Alameda said flooding remains the county’s biggest concern, particularly in Kau, where roads closed after overnight rain. Naalehu, Waiohinu and Pahala took the brunt of the rain and wind, the same communities Hurricane Lala hit in August. The three shelters opened in Naalehu, Pahala and Ocean View held 10 people Sunday morning and have since closed.
Hawaii water system: Department of Water Supply crews are assessing the system for damage and connecting backup generators, and will notify customers when normal use may resume. Customers may see low pressure or intermittent service while conditions stabilize. The essential-use request remains in effect.
Kauai deadlines: Hurricane Lowell recovery continues, with the Koloa hurricane resource center open today and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Households that lost food to power outages may be eligible for replacement SNAP benefits. Real property tax exemption applications close tomorrow with no extensions. Owners of storm-damaged property have until June 30, 2027, to file for disaster tax relief.
Get ready, Long Beach! Join emergency management professionals from across the country and around the world for the IAEM 74th Annual Conference & EMEX, November 9-11, 2026, and experience three incredible days of big ideas, new connections, innovation, and the people shaping the future of emergency management. We’ll see you in Long Beach!
Nor’easter restoration: Rhode Island Energy deployed more than 270 crew members and field personnel, responded to more than 270 vegetation-related outages and over 150 wires-down 911 calls, and replaced 20 broken poles. Scituate, South Kingstown, Cumberland and Coventry were hardest hit. PSEG Long Island ran 16-hour shifts against more than 1,000 downed trees and 530 large branches.
Coastal damage: Long Island is assessing steep erosion at Gilgo Beach, where the Army Corps of Engineers was already mobilized for sand replenishment. The stairs to the surf at Smith Point Park were destroyed, part of the Jones Beach fishing pier was knocked down, and the Jones Beach theater took significant damage with water reaching the orchestra seats. In Lindenhurst, floodwater surrounded homes for three days. Measured coastal inundation in New York City topped 2.6 feet.
Wildfire posture: Preparedness Level 2 with 64 incidents, 17 uncontained large fires, 1,681,161 acres and 5,697 personnel, a drop of 306, per the Monday situation report. Initial attack was light at 89 fires, with one new large incident and five complex teams committed. Year to date, the country is at 57,339 fires and 8,563,287 acres, 124 and 142 percent of the ten-year averages.
Southern Area: Sixty-three new fires, the most of any region by a wide margin, and one new large incident. Rafter 4B southeast of Eldorado, Texas grew 850 acres to 2,100 and rose to 50 percent contained, adding 114 personnel. Grover Bend, southeast of Benjamin, Texas, is 320 acres and 60 percent contained.
California: Dome in Yosemite National Park grew 475 acres to 5,081, holding at 30 percent contained with costs at $19.9 million. Timber on the Los Padres National Forest rose to 77 percent contained, with numerous structures still threatened. Command on Plaskett, at 99 percent contained, transfers back to the local unit today.
Cyber: CISA released nine industrial control system advisories on September 22, ICSA-26-265-01 through 09. The set covers the lwIP TCP/IP stack, Siemens Siveillance Control, Desigo CC, Industrial Edge Management, and OpenPLC Runtime v3.
Fire weather: Abundant moisture from Hurricane Polo moves into the Southwest with widespread showers, scattered thunderstorms and localized flooding. Dry conditions and below-normal temperatures return to California, the western Great Basin, the Northwest and the northern Rockies.
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SOURCES
Wildfire, national
NICC Incident Management Situation Report and Predictive Services discussion: Monday, Sept 28, 2026, 0730 MDT (live PDF, overwritten daily). Source for all fire figures, the Southern Area and California items.
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/sitreprt.pdf
IMSR archive
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/incident-information/imsr
Hawaii
Hawaii News Now: Hawaii County shifts to damage assessment, Mayor Alameda comments, shelter counts, Sept 27
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/09/27/hawaii-county-shifts-damage-assessment-hurricane-nolo-moves-away/
Hawaii News Now: county asking residents and businesses to report storm damage, separate residential and commercial forms, Sept 29
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/09/29/hawaii-island-residents-businesses-urged-report-storm-damage-hurricane-nolo/
Big Island Now: Department of Water Supply assessment and generators, shelter closures, Sept 28
https://bigislandnow.com/2026/09/28/what-big-island-residents-need-to-know-wednesday-about-tropical-storm-nolo/
Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Governor Green’s $686 million accounting across the first four 2026 disasters, Sept 24
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2026/09/24/hawaii-news/new-storm-threat-to-isles-projected-to-become-a-hurricane/
Honolulu Star-Advertiser: federal assistance approved, Nolo as the season’s seventh tropical cyclone, Sept 26
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2026/09/26/hawaii-news/federal-assistance-approved-as-hurricane-nolo-nears-hawaii/
The Garden Island: Kauai County Lowell recovery, resource center hours, SNAP replacement, tax deadlines, Sept 27
https://www.thegardenisland.com/2026/09/27/hawaii-news/county-update-nolo-next/
East Coast
Rhode Island Energy: restoration complete, crew counts, outage and pole figures, Sept 28
https://news.pplweb.com/Rhode-Island-Energy-restores-power-to-all-customers-following-September-noreaster
The Watchers: PSEG Long Island cumulative outages and restoration, Montauk gust, southeastern Massachusetts rainfall, New York City inundation, storm position Monday, Sept 29
https://watchers.news/2026/09/29/noreaster-exits-after-days-of-heavy-rain-and-coastal-flooding-across-u-s-northeast/
CBS New York: Long Island damage assessment, Gilgo Beach erosion, Smith Point, Jones Beach and Lindenhurst, Sept 28
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/noreaster-long-island-south-shore-lindenhurst-flooding/
ABC7 New York: PSEG Long Island crew shifts, downed trees and branches, Sept 27
https://abc7ny.com/live-updates/developing-noreaster-threatens-jersey-shore-long-island-coastal-flooding-rough-surf-strong-winds-accuweather-alert/19861959/entry/19880585/
CISA
CISA Releases Nine Industrial Control Systems Advisories: ICSA-26-265-01 through 09, Sept 22
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCISA/bulletins/42bfaa9
CISA Adds One Known Exploited Vulnerability to Catalog: CVE-2026-7273, Sept 21; no later additions located in this sweep
https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2026/09/21/cisa-adds-one-known-exploited-vulnerability-catalog


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emnetwork.substack.com/subscribe

Hurricane Nolo passed farther south than forecast and spared Hawaii Island the worst case, but flooded roads on the Big Island, prompted five high-water rescues Sunday and knocked out power on Oahu and Maui. A pre-landfall Presidential Emergency Declaration approved Friday covers four counties at a 75 percent federal cost share. On the East Coast, the nor’easter killed a New York City Housing Authority worker struck by a falling tree Saturday in Brooklyn, drove outages past 100,000 customers at their peak, and produced the worst coastal flooding since Sandy at two Jersey Shore tide gauges. New Jersey and New York both declared states of emergency before landfall. The national preparedness level holds at 2 with 69 incidents and 6,003 personnel, down 305, and three new large fires, including one near Benton City, Washington, that destroyed seven structures. The EMN NEWS Daily Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Hawaii outcome: Nolo tracked south of the main islands, with rainfall above 14 inches at the Big Island's highest elevations. Crews worked through Sunday on flooding, debris, high surf and wind. Highway 11 in Kau closed in multiple locations between Pahala and Waiohinu. Hawaii County Civil Defense is asking residents and businesses to report storm damage so agencies and nonprofit partners can assess unmet needs.
Hawaii infrastructure: The Hawaii County Department of Water Supply asked customers in affected service areas to limit water to essential health and safety needs, citing power outages and possible damage to water system infrastructure. County solid waste transfer stations in Kauai stayed closed, and the Hele-On Route 90 run to Kona was canceled.
Federal declaration: The pre-landfall declaration approved September 25 provides federal assistance for emergency protective measures in the City and County of Honolulu and Hawaii, Maui and Kauai counties, including direct federal assistance, at a 75 percent federal cost share. The State Emergency Operations Center remains at Level 1 full activation with 24-hour staffing, coordinating with FEMA Region IX, the counties and utilities.
Get ready, Long Beach! Join emergency management professionals from across the country and around the world for the IAEM 74th Annual Conference & EMEX, November 9-11, 2026, and experience three incredible days of big ideas, new connections, innovation, and the people shaping the future of emergency management. We’ll see you in Long Beach!
Nor’easter toll: Outages ran past 100,000 customers across the Northeast at times Sunday, concentrated from New Jersey through Long Island and coastal Connecticut, and were down to roughly 40,000 by this morning. Major coastal flooding was reported at tide gauges from Delaware to Long Island, with two Jersey Shore locations reaching their highest levels since Hurricane Sandy.
State declarations: New Jersey Executive Order 25 declared a state of emergency effective 5 p.m. Friday for Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem counties, activating the State Emergency Operations Center. New York declared a state of emergency for the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester.
Federal posture: FEMA reported that response coordination centers in the affected regions operated at an enhanced posture through the weekend, with teams on standby in New England in case of widespread outages.
Wildfire posture: Preparedness Level 2 with 69 incidents, 16 uncontained large fires, 1,707,048 acres and 6,003 personnel, a drop of 305, per the Sunday situation report. Initial attack was light at 55 fires, with three new large incidents and five complex teams committed. Year to date, the country is at 57,223 fires and 8,562,096 acres, 124 and 142 percent of the ten-year averages.
New large fires: Second Street, one mile southeast of Benton City, Washington, is 1,151 acres and 60 percent contained, with seven structures lost, extreme fire behavior and wind-driven runs, and threatened residences and energy infrastructure. Rafter 4B, southeast of Eldorado, Texas, is 1,250 acres with no containment. Stone Bridge, northeast of Wilburton, Oklahoma, is 130 acres and 60 percent contained with one structure lost.
California: Dome in Yosemite National Park grew 245 acres to 4,606 but nearly doubled containment to 30 percent, with estimated containment pushed to October 17. Timber on the Los Padres National Forest rose to 71 percent contained, with numerous structures still threatened.
Fire weather: Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms develop across the Southwest as moisture from Hurricane Polo moves north from off the Mexican coast. Heavy rain continues today in much of southern and eastern New England with strong northeast winds and coastal flooding. Winds slowly weaken in Hawaii as Nolo moves west away from the islands.
SOURCES
Wildfire, national
NICC Incident Management Situation Report and Predictive Services discussion: Sunday, Sept 27, 2026, 0730 MDT (live PDF, overwritten daily). Source for all fire figures, the new large fires and the California items.
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/sitreprt.pdf
IMSR archive
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/incident-information/imsr
Hawaii
Office of the Governor: approval of pre-landfall Presidential Declaration for Hurricane Nolo, 75 percent cost share, State EOC at Level 1, Sept 25
https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/office-of-the-governor-news-release-gov-green-announces-approval-of-pre-landfall-presidential-declaration-for-hurricane-nolo/
Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Nolo spares Big Island, outages on Oahu and Maui, five high-water rescues, damage reporting through Hawaii County Civil Defense, Sept 28
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2026/09/28/hawaii-news/nolo-spares-big-island-but-outages-hit-oahu-and-maui/
Big Island Now: Department of Water Supply essential-use request, Highway 11 closure, transfer stations and Hele-On Route 90, Sept 27
https://bigislandnow.com/2026/09/27/what-big-island-residents-need-to-know-wednesday-about-tropical-storm-nolo/
The Weather Channel: Nolo intensity west of the islands and Big Island rainfall totals, Sept 28
https://weather.com/2026/09/28/storms/hurricane/hawaii-hurricane-nolo-flooding-wind-forecast
Maui News: federal declaration detail and Maui County emergency proclamation, Sept 26
https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2026/09/federal-emergency-declaration-approved-ahead-of-hurricane-nolo/
East Coast
Office of the Governor of New Jersey: Executive Order 25, state of emergency for eight counties effective 5 p.m. Sept 25
https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/2026/20260925a.shtml
New Jersey Executive Order No. 25 (full text)
https://nj.gov/infobank/eo/057sherrill/pdf/EO-25.pdf
Associated Press via NBC News: storm death, outage totals, FEMA enhanced posture and standby teams, updated Sept 28
https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/storms/noreaster-flooding-death-toll-rcna600078
FOX Weather live updates: major coastal flooding gauges from Delaware to Long Island, two Jersey Shore locations at worst since Sandy, current outage count, Sept 28
https://www.foxweather.com/live-news/live-updates-deadly-nor-easter-floods-the-coast-as-dangerous-winds-whip-through-the-northeast
The Hill: New York and New Jersey emergency declarations, Hochul counties, Sept 25
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6112822-ny-nj-noreaster-declare-emergency/
CISA
CISA Adds One Known Exploited Vulnerability to Catalog: CVE-2026-7273, Sept 21; no later additions located in this sweep
https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2026/09/21/cisa-adds-one-known-exploited-vulnerability-catalog


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