Community-Based Preparedness

As the fall season approaches, the public must remain vigilant amidst colder weather, reopened schools, and loosening restrictions. Some ways to stay safe are to limit your physical contact to just a small group of friends or family and to leave large gatherings to a virtual platform. It is also a…

How do communities maintain social distancing when tornado season hits and people need to evacuate their homes to go to community shelters? Emergency managers and other officials are trying to decide the best protocol for their natural disaster response amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Some changes may…

The United States is still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. As time goes on, more places will have to deal with natural disasters occurring in addition to the pandemic, like the tornadoes that hit Iowa in April. State and local authorities are preparing emergency shelters, deciding where to send…

The coronavirus poses a threat to college campuses across the United States, prompting many schools to quickly formulate preparedness plans and inform students of changes to campus life including alternative online class options. Schools are also imposing travel restrictions, preventing university…

Despite projections of 1 to 1.5 million tests to be performed this week from Vice President Mike Pence and Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the FDA, the number of actual tests performed in the U.S. is much lower. The Atlantic was only able to verify that less than 1,900 people have received…

The Xinjia Hotel in Quanzhou, China that was be used to quarantine people that tested positive for COVID-19 or had come in contact with people who had the virus, has collapsed. 70 people got trapped as the hotel caved in on itself, and an estimated 38 people have been rescued. Families of the…

Artificial intelligence technology is used to generate manipulated facial images for fake social media accounts. Social media activist, Nandini Jammi, has been a victim of harassment from an AI-generated user named "Jessica", one of fifty accounts owned by a single online troll. The…

Structural engineers are a type of civil engineers that are specialized in understanding the stability of any structures, like the framework of buildings and bridges. Structural engineers have a particular role in the context of emergency preparedness and disaster response - at the scene of a…

The adoption of the “Domestic Violence High Risk Team Model” has seen significantly effective results. According to the crisis center, there were zero domestic violence-related homicides in the high-risk team’s greater Newburyport area between 2005 and 2016, with 81% of all offenders found guilty…

Five months after Hurricane Dorian, which destroyed thousands of homes in the Grand Bahama and Abaco Islands, recovery efforts have been slow. Many people were evacuated, so there is a shortage of labor to rebuild the islands. Piles of debris on the streets pose a safety hazard, and utilities are…

Hurricane Maria devastated the Caribbean in 2017, claiming over 3000 lives. On Saturday, Puerto Rico’s emergency director, Carlos Acevedo, was fired after a warehouse filled with water pallets and emergency supply boxes was found in the city of Ponce, prompting an investigation. Acevedo denied…

The LA Sanitation clean-up of homeless encampments in the Sepulveda Basin prompted many residents to scramble in search of new temporary settlements as their encampments were quickly demolished. However, some evacuees have hope that they can finally settle into a permanent residence after waiting…

Hypergiant, an Artificial Intelligence company, is building a new model that improves efficiency in search and rescue operations. This product uses geographic and aerial analysis to pinpoint the areas that are most impacted and where to focus their relief efforts on. Read more about the new…

The 7 year old ride-sharing app Lyft has over 2 million drivers and 30 million customers in the US and Canada. However, the company's negligence related to background checks of its drivers has led to lawsuits of sexual assault and harassment in 19 states across the US. Lawsuits claim that along…