EMN Morning Brief: August 21, 2026 - Descript

Today’s EM Morning Brief covers a second round of Ohio Valley flooding that forced a mandatory evacuation at Buckeye Lake, closed Interstate 70 in both directions, and triggered water rescues across central Ohio, while Indiana enters day ten of a major outage with its state EOC still activated. In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Saudel is strengthening toward typhoon force with a Typhoon Warning for Pagan and Agrihan, Hurricane Lala holds Category 2 strength near Papahanaumokuakea, and a new depression aims heavy rain at the Big Island. We also cover a confirmed tornado and state of emergency in Dover, Delaware, a Nassau County declaration on Long Island, a new Alaska state disaster declaration for the Mukluk Fire, National Preparedness Level 5 wildfire activity across the West, and two new CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities with a Saturday remediation deadline. EM Morning Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news. Produced by Sitch Radio, an EOC Voices podcast.

Key Takeaways

• Ohio Valley flooding: A mandatory evacuation is in effect for part of Buckeye Lake, Ohio, Interstate 70 is closed both directions in Licking County, and Columbus activated the Franklinton floodwall for the first time in about 16 months. Roughly 30 Flood Warnings remain active across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

• Public health from flooding: Hamilton County, Ohio warns against contact with the Whitewater and Great Miami rivers as raw sewage discharges from a flood damaged plant in Connersville, Indiana.

• Indiana lifelines: Day ten of the northwest Indiana outage, with roughly 68,000 customers out plus about 9,000 more from a pole fire in Schererville. NIPSCO’s estimate for parts of the region is Tuesday, August 25.

• Tropical, Marianas: Typhoon Warning for Pagan and Agrihan, Tropical Storm Watch for Saipan and Tinian. CNMI has set Typhoon Condition Two and Tropical Storm Condition Three. A monsoon surge behind the storm could bring 4 to 8 inches to Guam and Rota.

• Tropical, Hawaii: Hurricane Lala remains Category 2 with a Hurricane Warning for part of Papahanaumokuakea. Tropical Depression Two-C is forecast to bring 5 to 10 inches to the Big Island while about 13,000 customers there remain without power from Lala.

• Tornado impacts: Confirmed tornado in Dover, Delaware prompted a city state of emergency. Nassau County, New York declared a state of emergency and activated its EOC after an apparent tornado at Atlantic Beach.

• Wildfire: National Preparedness Level 5 with 72 uncontained large fires and more than 25,000 personnel committed. Active evacuations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Alaska.

• Declarations and deadlines: Alaska issued a new state disaster declaration for the Mukluk Fire with applications open through October 19. Ohio and Indiana have both requested or completed expedited preliminary damage assessments. SBA physical loan deadlines for Michigan and Wisconsin counties fall August 31. Louisiana FEMA assistance for students and teachers closes October 1.

• Cyber: Two TrueConf Server vulnerabilities added to the CISA KEV catalog, one due for remediation Sunday, August 23. A new ICS advisory covers Johnson Controls Simplex Incident Manager, and a joint federal advisory issued Wednesday warns of active targeting of Siemens S7 programmable logic controllers.

• Heat and drought: 15 Extreme Heat Warnings across eight states. Puerto Rico is rationing water in seven municipalities with the Carraízo reservoir near control phase, and the USVI received a USDA drought disaster designation.

Sources

Cedric: 00:00:00

Get EM Morning Brief delivered directly to your favorite podcast player.

2

: 00:00:04

Link is in the show notes below

or search EM Morning Brief.

3

: 00:00:08

Good morning, I'm Cedric and

this is your EM Morning Brief

4

: 00:00:11

for Friday, August 21, 2026.

5

: 00:00:15

A second round of heavy rain over already

saturated ground has pushed the Ohio

6

: 00:00:19

Valley back into an active flood fight.

7

: 00:00:22

Rain gauges in Franklin County,

Ohio measured up to 6.79

8

: 00:00:26

inches in the 24 hours ending

Thursday midday, and Licking

9

: 00:00:29

County saw more than 5 inches.

10

: 00:00:32

Ohio ran 134 Flood Warnings and

23 Flash Flood Warnings across

11

: 00:00:37

Thursday and Friday morning.

12

: 00:00:39

Water rescues were reported in Columbus,

Pataskala, Zanesville and West Carrollton.

13

: 00:00:45

This morning about 30 Flood Warnings

remain active across Ohio, Indiana

14

: 00:00:49

and Illinois, with the South Fork

Licking River in major flood and the

15

: 00:00:53

Scioto River at Circleville still

rising toward an overnight crest.

16

: 00:00:58

Three tropical systems are

affecting American soil.

17

: 00:01:01

In the Marianas, Tropical Storm Saudel

is carrying 70 mile per hour winds

18

: 00:01:05

about 165 miles east of Saipan and

is forecast to intensify, possibly

19

: 00:01:10

to typhoon strength, by Saturday.

20

: 00:01:13

A Typhoon Warning is up for Pagan

and Agrihan, with a Tropical

21

: 00:01:16

Storm Watch for Saipan and Tinian.

22

: 00:01:19

In the Central Pacific, Hurricane

Lala is temporarily back at Category 2

23

: 00:01:23

strength with 100 mile per hour winds

and is beginning to move away from

24

: 00:01:28

the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National

Monument, where a Hurricane Warning and a

25

: 00:01:33

Tropical Storm Warning remain in effect.

26

: 00:01:37

Meanwhile, Tropical Depression Two-C

is forecast to become a tropical storm

27

: 00:01:41

today and deliver 5 to 10 inches of

rain to the Big Island this weekend.

28

: 00:01:47

On the mainland, 15 Extreme Heat

Warnings are active across eight

29

: 00:01:50

states from Arizona to Mississippi.

30

: 00:01:54

Wildfire remains at National

Preparedness Level 5.

31

: 00:01:57

Thursday's national situation

report counts 72 uncontained

32

: 00:02:01

large fires, more than 25,000

personnel committed, and about 3.6

33

: 00:02:06

million acres in active incidents.

34

: 00:02:09

Four new large fires were reported,

including North Heglar in Idaho,

35

: 00:02:13

which has evacuations in effect.

36

: 00:02:15

On the cyber side, CISA added two

TrueConf Server vulnerabilities to the

37

: 00:02:20

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

Thursday, one carrying a remediation

38

: 00:02:24

deadline of Sunday, August 23.

39

: 00:02:27

CISA also issued an industrial

control advisory for Johnson Controls

40

: 00:02:31

Simplex Incident Manager, a life

safety product used in government

41

: 00:02:35

and transportation facilities.

42

: 00:02:37

Separately, a joint advisory

issued Wednesday by NSA, CISA, the

43

: 00:02:41

FBI, the Department of Energy and

EPA warns of active targeting of

44

: 00:02:45

Siemens S7 series programmable logic

controllers, and directs operators

45

: 00:02:50

to inventory their devices and

remove them from internet exposure.

46

: 00:02:54

There is no active National

Terrorism Advisory System bulletin.

47

: 00:02:59

Let’s run through the states.

48

: 00:03:01

Ohio is the center of the

national flood picture.

49

: 00:03:04

The Village of Buckeye Lake ordered a

mandatory evacuation effective 8:00 p.m.

50

: 00:03:09

Thursday for all properties west

of the State Route 79 and State

51

: 00:03:14

Route 360 intersection, with a

shelter at Our Lady of Mount Carmel

52

: 00:03:18

Catholic Church and buses available.

53

: 00:03:21

Interstate 70 is closed in both

directions at State Route 79 in Licking

54

: 00:03:25

County, with ODOT projecting reopening

late Friday if river forecasts hold.

55

: 00:03:31

Columbus activated the Franklinton

floodwall, placing floodgates along

56

: 00:03:35

Greenlawn and Harmon avenues, and

Interstate 71 is closed between

57

: 00:03:40

Interstate 70 and Interstate

270 because of high water.

58

: 00:03:45

Columbus Fire briefly declared a mass

casualty incident at a homeless encampment

59

: 00:03:49

along Blacklick Creek; all five people

reported missing were later found alive.

60

: 00:03:54

The Red Cross is sheltering 40

to 50 people a night in Perry

61

: 00:03:58

County and has opened a second

shelter in Muskingum County.

62

: 00:04:02

Hamilton County Public Health is warning

the public away from the Whitewater and

63

: 00:04:07

Great Miami rivers because raw sewage is

still discharging from a flood damaged

64

: 00:04:12

treatment plant in Connersville, Indiana.

65

: 00:04:16

Governor DeWine has asked FEMA and

the Small Business Administration

66

: 00:04:20

to begin joint preliminary damage

assessments now, naming 18 counties

67

: 00:04:25

for potential Individual Assistance

and 16 for Public Assistance.

68

: 00:04:30

Indiana is now in the tenth day

of the northwest Indiana outage.

69

: 00:04:34

NIPSCO reported about 68,000 customers

still without power Thursday morning,

70

: 00:04:39

and a utility pole fire in Schererville

knocked out roughly 9,000 more,

71

: 00:04:44

darkening traffic signals on two U.S.

72

: 00:04:46

highways and taking the town hall offline.

73

: 00:04:50

NIPSCO's restoration estimate for parts

of the region is now Tuesday, August 25.

74

: 00:04:55

The State Emergency Operations Center

remains at Level Three, 22 counties

75

: 00:05:00

have local declarations, and 12

shelters are housing 229 people.

76

: 00:05:06

The state reports seven storm

related deaths since August

77

: 00:05:09

11 and is reviewing an eighth.

78

: 00:05:12

More than 20,000 people have applied

to the State Disaster Relief Fund,

79

: 00:05:16

which offers grants up to $5,000.

80

: 00:05:19

Expedited joint preliminary damage

assessments with FEMA were completed

81

: 00:05:23

Thursday, the step before a major

disaster declaration request.

82

: 00:05:28

A boil water advisory remains

in effect for Cambridge City.

83

: 00:05:32

Delaware declared a city state of

emergency in Dover Thursday evening

84

: 00:05:36

after National Weather Service warnings

described a large and extremely

85

: 00:05:40

dangerous tornado over the city, using

particularly dangerous situation language.

86

: 00:05:46

A damage survey is pending.

87

: 00:05:48

Damage concentrated downtown and

along North DuPont Highway, where two

88

: 00:05:52

hotels were significantly damaged.

89

: 00:05:55

Outages knocked out traffic signals

at numerous intersections, and police

90

: 00:05:59

asked residents to stay off the roads

and reserve 911 for true emergencies.

91

: 00:06:05

The state of emergency was lifted

Friday morning and cleanup is underway.

92

: 00:06:10

Alaska has a new state

disaster declaration.

93

: 00:06:13

Governor Dunleavy issued it Thursday

for the Alaska Gateway REAA covering the

94

: 00:06:17

Mukluk Fire near Tok, activating both

state Public Assistance and Individual

95

: 00:06:22

Assistance, including housing, other

needs and transportation assistance.

96

: 00:06:28

The application window

runs through October 19.

97

: 00:06:31

GO NOW evacuations remain in place north

of the Alaska Highway from Mackenzie

98

: 00:06:35

Trail to East 5th Street, and two

shelters are open in Tok at the Dog

99

: 00:06:40

Mushers Association and Tok School.

100

: 00:06:42

The fire stands at about 5,077

acres with 44 structures lost.

101

: 00:06:48

Hawaii is racing a second storm.

102

: 00:06:50

Hawaiian Electric reported Oahu and Maui

essentially restored after Lala, but

103

: 00:06:55

about 13,000 Hawaii Island customers

remained without power Thursday afternoon,

104

: 00:07:01

with partner crews from a California

utility brought in to speed restoration.

105

: 00:07:06

The utility is urging customers

to review emergency plans

106

: 00:07:09

with a new system approaching.

107

: 00:07:12

Hawaii County has precautionary boil

water notices in the Kau district, water

108

: 00:07:16

tankers staged in four communities,

a shelter open at Naalehu Elementary,

109

: 00:07:21

and is asking residents to use 911

for life threatening emergencies only.

110

: 00:07:26

New Jersey saw significant

flash flooding Thursday evening.

111

: 00:07:30

In Jersey City, first responders

used boats to reach nearly 70 drivers

112

: 00:07:34

trapped in vehicles after more than

an inch of rain fell in minutes.

113

: 00:07:38

Newark reported multiple separate water

rescues, including vehicles trapped

114

: 00:07:42

under an Interstate 78 overpass.

115

: 00:07:46

Ten tornado warnings were issued

statewide, and the Weather Service is

116

: 00:07:50

flagging an increased flash flood threat

for Saturday with up to 4 inches possible.

117

: 00:07:56

New York declared a Nassau County

state of emergency and activated its

118

: 00:07:59

Emergency Operations Center after

an apparent tornado struck Atlantic

119

: 00:08:04

Beach on Long Island Thursday evening.

120

: 00:08:07

The chief fire marshal reported 30 cabanas

damaged or destroyed at the Sun and Surf

121

: 00:08:11

Beach Club, with one worker injured.

122

: 00:08:15

A Weather Service survey is pending.

123

: 00:08:17

Separately, Seneca County confirmed

two more measles cases plus two

124

: 00:08:21

presumed positives, and Onondaga

County reported its first human

125

: 00:08:25

West Nile virus case of the year.

126

: 00:08:28

Oregon has two large fires burning

at zero percent containment.

127

: 00:08:33

The Paradise Fire on the Umatilla National

Forest grew more than 700 acres with

128

: 00:08:37

evacuations and closures in effect,

and Walla Walla County has elevated

129

: 00:08:42

an advisory to a Level 1 be ready.

130

: 00:08:45

The Austin Fire on Mount Hood

National Forest grew 343 acres.

131

: 00:08:51

Separately, the Hagen Fire east of

Pendleton is at 19 percent containment

132

: 00:08:55

across more than 58,000 acres, and

a joint emergency operations center

133

: 00:08:59

reduced some evacuation levels Thursday.

134

: 00:09:03

We have more to cover this morning, but

first, a quick word from our sponsors.

135

: 00:09:08

Thanks for supporting our sponsors who

help make EM Morning Brief possible.

136

: 00:09:13

Now, back to this morning’s updates.

137

: 00:09:15

Washington remains the most heavily

committed state in the country.

138

: 00:09:19

The Little Giant Fire has burned about

137,000 acres at 12 percent containment

139

: 00:09:25

with 26 structures lost, and Chelan

County has Level 3 get out now orders

140

: 00:09:31

on the north shore of Lake Chelan.

141

: 00:09:33

Kittitas County has Level 1, 2 and

3 evacuations on the Three Queens

142

: 00:09:38

Fire, which is 2 percent contained.

143

: 00:09:41

Governor Ferguson formally asked

the Treasury Department Thursday for

144

: 00:09:45

a one year federal tax filing and

payment postponement covering seven

145

: 00:09:49

counties and three tribal nations,

and the state emergency management

146

: 00:09:53

division is building damage assessments

toward a major disaster declaration

147

: 00:09:58

request expected in mid-September.

148

: 00:10:02

Alabama had about 7,000 Huntsville

Utilities customers without power

149

: 00:10:06

in Madison County after overnight

storms, plus roughly 600 Decatur

150

: 00:10:11

Utilities customers as of 6 a.m.

151

: 00:10:13

Friday.

152

: 00:10:15

Arizona saw a dust and wind event take out

about 18,000 SRP and APS customers across

153

: 00:10:21

Maricopa and Pinal counties, tearing

part of the roof off a Mesa apartment

154

: 00:10:25

complex during a stretch of extreme heat.

155

: 00:10:29

California reduced some evacuation

orders to warnings on the Timber

156

: 00:10:32

Fire near Big Sur and modified

the northern Highway 1 closure.

157

: 00:10:37

Three Red Flag Warnings are up

in Siskiyou and Modoc counties.

158

: 00:10:42

Idaho has evacuations and closures

on the new North Heglar Fire in

159

: 00:10:46

Cassia County, 33 miles southwest of

Pocatello, with structures threatened

160

: 00:10:50

at zero percent containment.

161

: 00:10:53

Illinois waived penalties and

interest for taxpayers affected

162

: 00:10:56

by recent severe weather.

163

: 00:10:58

McLean County declared a seven

day local disaster, and a

164

: 00:11:02

commercial building collapsed in

downtown Mattoon with no injuries.

165

: 00:11:07

Kansas utilities in Kansas City

had about 9,600 customers still

166

: 00:11:11

without power Thursday, down from

roughly 18,000 the day before.

167

: 00:11:17

Schools resume Friday with several

buildings still closed, and volunteers

168

: 00:11:21

are distributing heat relief kits

to households still without cooling.

169

: 00:11:26

Kentucky had winds over 60 miles

per hour, flooded roadways in

170

: 00:11:30

Graves, Ballard and McCracken

counties, and Mayfield Independent

171

: 00:11:34

Schools canceled classes Thursday.

172

: 00:11:37

Louisiana opened FEMA Individual

Assistance to students and teachers

173

: 00:11:41

whose homes and personal property were

damaged by Tropical Storm Arthur in six

174

: 00:11:45

parishes, with an October 1 deadline.

175

: 00:11:49

Michigan issued a precautionary boil

water advisory for part of Battle

176

: 00:11:52

Creek after a partial system shutdown.

177

: 00:11:56

Michigan and Wisconsin both had

counties added to their major

178

: 00:11:59

disaster declarations, with Small

Business Administration physical

179

: 00:12:03

loan deadlines of August 31.

180

: 00:12:07

Minnesota health officials linked

23 illnesses to Minnesota grown

181

: 00:12:11

alfalfa sprouts in a multistate E.

182

: 00:12:13

coli and salmonella outbreak,

with 17 more cases in Wisconsin.

183

: 00:12:18

Consumers should discard the product.

184

: 00:12:20

Mississippi storm cleanup is underway

after more than 8,800 customers

185

: 00:12:25

lost power, hardest hit in Leake,

Attala, Madison and Hinds counties.

186

: 00:12:30

Montana added two new large fires,

Windmill in Stillwater County with

187

: 00:12:35

a pre evacuation ready notice, and

Cherry Peak on the Lolo National

188

: 00:12:39

Forest with structures threatened.

189

: 00:12:42

New Mexico reports extreme fire behavior

on the Frijoles Fire near Cundiyo, with

190

: 00:12:46

crowning, group torching and long range

spotting, evacuations and closures

191

: 00:12:51

in effect at 31 percent containment.

192

: 00:12:55

Pennsylvania declared a state of emergency

and a curfew in Columbia Borough,

193

: 00:12:59

Lancaster County, after a building

collapse during Thursday's storms.

194

: 00:13:04

A sewer authority power failure at the

Lancaster Area Sewer Authority treatment

195

: 00:13:08

plant prompted water conservation

requests in five municipalities.

196

: 00:13:13

South Carolina issued a 24 hour

precautionary boil water advisory

197

: 00:13:17

in Walhalla after a pump station

breaker failure, and city council

198

: 00:13:21

has called a special meeting Friday

evening on water system policy.

199

: 00:13:27

South Dakota residents holding

temporary paper vehicle registrations

200

: 00:13:30

from Pennington County's cybersecurity

incident must complete transactions in

201

: 00:13:35

person by August 31 or face penalties.

202

: 00:13:39

Texas issued a citywide boil

water notice in Jourdanton after

203

: 00:13:43

a system wide water outage.

204

: 00:13:46

West Virginia continues flood recovery.

205

: 00:13:48

Charleston area residents report

eight homes destroyed and 27 damaged,

206

: 00:13:53

and Harrison County has opened

damage assessment forms with FEMA.

207

: 00:13:57

All other states have no significant

updates in the last 24 hours.

208

: 00:14:02

Let’s look at the territories.

209

: 00:14:04

Northern Mariana Islands are under formal

readiness conditions as of 8:00 a.m.

210

: 00:14:08

Friday.

211

: 00:14:09

Homeland Security and Emergency Management

set Typhoon Condition Two for Agrihan

212

: 00:14:13

and Pagan, Tropical Storm Condition

Two for Alamagan, and Tropical Storm

213

: 00:14:19

Condition Three for Saipan and Tinian.

214

: 00:14:22

Northern Islands residents are told to

shelter in place and prepare for more

215

: 00:14:26

than 24 hours of hazardous conditions.

216

: 00:14:30

High surf and rip current

advisories are in effect.

217

: 00:14:33

The Small Business Administration's

deadline for Typhoon Sinlaku

218

: 00:14:37

physical damage loans is today.

219

: 00:14:40

Guam is not in the path of Saudel

and no protective action is required,

220

: 00:14:44

but Homeland Security warns of

life threatening rip currents on

221

: 00:14:47

east facing reefs through Sunday.

222

: 00:14:51

The Weather Service is forecasting a

monsoon surge behind the storm, with 4

223

: 00:14:55

to 8 inches of rain possible on Guam and

Rota from Sunday night into next week.

224

: 00:15:01

Puerto Rico is under a heat advisory

covering 60 municipalities, with heat

225

: 00:15:06

index values at or above 100 degrees.

226

: 00:15:10

Drought is the larger story: the Carraízo

reservoir is 52 centimeters from control

227

: 00:15:15

phase, 13 of 19 monitored reservoirs

dropped in a day, and water rationing

228

: 00:15:20

continues across seven municipalities

in the San Juan metro area and eastward.

229

: 00:15:26

The Education Department reports

a quarter of affected schools

230

: 00:15:29

lack functioning cisterns.

231

: 00:15:31

U.S.

232

: 00:15:32

Virgin Islands received a

USDA primary natural disaster

233

: 00:15:35

designation for drought covering St.

234

: 00:15:37

Croix, St.

235

: 00:15:38

Thomas and St.

236

: 00:15:39

John, opening Farm Service Agency

emergency loans to farm operators,

237

: 00:15:44

who have eight months to apply.

238

: 00:15:46

American Samoa is under a High Surf

Advisory for Tutuila, Aunu'u and

239

: 00:15:50

Manu'a through Sunday, with strong

longshore and rip currents and

240

: 00:15:54

possible impacts to harbor entrances.

241

: 00:15:57

All other territories and the District

of Columbia have no significant

242

: 00:16:01

updates in the last 24 hours.

243

: 00:16:04

That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.

244

: 00:16:07

New episodes drop Monday through

Friday in the 5:00 AM hour P.T.,

245

: 00:16:11

so the day starts with

clarity instead of catch-up.

246

: 00:16:14

Subscribe on the Emergency Management

Network on Substack, or follow

247

: 00:16:18

on your favorite podcast player.

248

: 00:16:20

EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.

249

: 00:16:23

Stay Safe.

Share Episode

Shownotes

Key Takeaways

Sponsors

Sources

CISA

DHS

FEMA

Wildfire

Tropical and weather

Alaska

American Samoa

Delaware

Guam

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Mississippi

Montana

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

Northern Mariana Islands

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Puerto Rico

South Carolina

South Dakota

Texas

U.S. Virgin Islands

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Transcripts

Follow

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube