Ohio flash flooding brings water rescues; wildfire preparedness holds at Level 5 with 75 uncontained large fires

Flash flood warnings and reported water rescues across central Ohio lead today’s brief, with the flooding threat shifting to the Philadelphia and New York City corridor by midday. The national wildfire picture holds at Preparedness Level 5 with 75 uncontained large fires and nearly 27,000 personnel committed, led by Washington’s Little Giant and Sinlahekin fires and new Level 3 evacuation orders in Oregon. Hawaii continues Lala recovery with roughly 17,600 customers still without power and new boil water notices in Kau, while a second Central Pacific system carries 90 percent formation odds. In the Marianas, Tropical Storm Saudel prompts a Tropical Storm Watch for Saipan and Tinian and Port Condition X-Ray. Plus a joint CISA advisory on active targeting of Siemens programmable logic controllers, a confirmed data breach at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and an updated multistate Salmonella outbreak. 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

• Wildfire posture: National Preparedness Level 5 holds with 75 uncontained large fires, 133 active incidents, 26,890 personnel and 22 complex incident management teams. Year to date acres are 171 percent of the ten year average.

• Washington fires: Little Giant at 137,294 acres and 10 percent containment with 26 structures destroyed; Sinlahekin at 154,178 acres and 44 percent with 35 structures destroyed; Three Queens at 2 percent with Level 3 orders east of Snoqualmie Pass.

• Ohio Valley flooding: Five flash flood warnings in Ohio overnight with reported water rescues in Pataskala, plus warnings in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Thirteen river flood warnings are active in Ohio.

• I-95 corridor: Flood watches take effect at midday from Philadelphia through northern New Jersey to New York City, with localized totals of three to five inches. NYC Emergency Management activated the Flash Flood Emergency Plan.

• Hawaii recovery: Roughly 17,600 customers still without power, new boil water notice for Waiohinu and Naalehu, countywide essential use only water notice, a second suspected storm fatality, and a new Central Pacific system with 90 percent formation odds.

• Marianas tropical threat: Tropical Storm Watch for Saipan and Tinian, Typhoon Watch for the far northern islands, Port Condition X-Ray set, and forecast intensification to a possible Category 3 typhoon by the weekend.

• Cyber: Joint CISA advisory AA26-231A on active targeting of internet exposed Siemens S7 PLCs across critical manufacturing, energy, water and chemical sectors. One new KEV entry August 19 and four added August 18. UTSA breach confirmed with fall classes delayed to Monday.

• Lifelines: NIPSCO shows roughly 67,000 Indiana customers out on day nine. Guam suffered a government wide internet outage from load shedding. NYC’s Bronx 911 center failure affected up to 400 callers.

• Deadlines: Louisiana individual assistance for Tropical Storm Arthur closes October 1. The Pointe Coupee Parish Disaster Recovery Center closes today at 5 p.m. FEMA’s dam safety grant application window closes September 2.

• Public health: Salmonella Javiana tied to jalapenos now at 431 illnesses, 57 hospitalizations and 32 states. B. Braun recalled one lot of Lactated Ringers Injection for particulate matter, relevant to hospital and EMS supply.

Sources

Cedric: 00:00:00

Good morning, I’m Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief

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: 00:00:03

for Thursday, August 20, 2026, Get

EM Morning Brief delivered directly

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to your favorite podcast player.

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: 00:00:10

Link is in the show notes below

or search EM Morning Brief.

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: 00:00:14

The national wildfire picture stays at

Preparedness Level 5, the highest tier.

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: 00:00:19

The National Interagency Fire Center’s

Wednesday situation report counts

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75 uncontained large fires across

133 active incidents, with 26,890

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personnel committed and 22 complex

incident management teams assigned.

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Year to date, 49,418 fires have burned

7,471,468 acres, which is 171 percent

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of the ten year average for acres.

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International crews from Australia

and New Zealand remain assigned

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to the Northwest and Great Basin.

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Flash flooding is the active

life safety threat this

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morning across the Ohio Valley.

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The National Weather Service has flash

flood warnings up in Ohio, Indiana,

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Kentucky and Tennessee, with two

to four and a half inches of rain

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already down in central Ohio and

water rescues reported in Pataskala.

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Later today the risk shifts east, with

flood watches taking effect at midday from

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Philadelphia through northern New Jersey

to New York City, where localized totals

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of three to five inches are possible.

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Twelve Extreme Heat Warnings and 46

Heat Advisories are in force across

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the Southwest, Texas and the Southeast.

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The Storm Prediction Center carries

a slight risk of severe storms for

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the Mid Atlantic and from Nebraska

into northwest Wisconsin, where hail

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larger than two inches is possible.

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In the Pacific, Hurricane Lala is a

Category 2 storm with 105 mile per

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hour winds moving north northwest

well northwest of the main Hawaiian

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islands, with a Hurricane Warning

for part of Papahanaumokuakea.

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A second system east southeast of Hawaii

carries a 90 percent chance of becoming a

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tropical depression, and forecasters are

telling Hawaii interests to monitor it.

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In the Marianas, Tropical Storm

Saudel has prompted a Tropical

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Storm Watch for Saipan and Tinian.

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On cyber, CISA and four partner agencies

published an advisory warning that

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threat actors are actively targeting

internet exposed Siemens programmable

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logic controllers, and CISA added a

new MLflow vulnerability to the Known

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Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

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On public health, CDC and FDA updated

the Salmonella outbreak tied to

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jalapenos to 431 illnesses and 57

hospitalizations across 32 states.

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Let’s run through the states.

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Alaska: The Mukluk Fire near Tok

has burned 5,077 acres at 16 percent

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containment with 30 structures

lost and 167 personnel assigned.

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State forestry reduced the size of

the Level 3 “Go” zone Wednesday and

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added Level 2 “Set” zones covering

Sundog, Willow West and Tok City.

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Fire activity picked up

on the northwest flank.

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FEMA authorized a Fire Management

Assistance Grant for the incident, the

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first in Alaska this year, covering

threats to the Tok power plant,

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the airport and the Alaska Highway.

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A magnitude 4.2

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earthquake struck the Rat Islands early

Thursday, with no damage reported.

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Arizona: The Weather Service in Phoenix

issued four new Extreme Heat Warnings

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early Thursday morning that run through

Sunday evening, and Tucson issued

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warnings overnight through Friday.

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Lower desert highs are

forecast between 109 and 113.

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Cooling centers are open valley wide.

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The Weather Prediction Center carries a

marginal risk of excessive rainfall for

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the Mogollon Rim, with monsoon storms

capable of flash flooding over burn scars.

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California: The MP18 Fire near Hoopa

in Humboldt County stands at 7,147

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acres and 26 percent containment

with more than 2,000 personnel

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assigned, the only uncontained

large fire in Northern California.

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On the Big Sur coast, the Timber Fire

is at 5,269 acres and 24 percent, and

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Monterey County reduced some evacuation

orders to warnings Wednesday and modified

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the northern Highway 1 closure again

as utilities and access are restored.

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: 00:04:20

Colorado: The Elk Fire in Hinsdale

County has burned 7,281 acres

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at 35 percent containment with

evacuations, area and road closures

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in effect northwest of Lake City.

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The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and

Gunnison National Forests put Stage

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1 fire restrictions into effect

just after midnight this morning.

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The state emergency operations

center remains at response level two.

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Hawaii: Recovery from

Lala dominates the state.

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Hawaiian Electric reported roughly

17,600 customers still without power

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Wednesday evening, with about 14,400

of those on Hawaii Island in Puna,

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Kona, Kohala, Hamakua, Hilo and Kau.

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The utility lifted its Oahu

conservation appeal and is targeting

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95 percent restoration on Hawaii

Island by Friday, but says some

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pockets in Puna, Kohala and southern

Kau could wait at least two weeks.

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The county water department issued a

new precautionary boil water notice for

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Waiohinu and Naalehu after switching a

well to generator power, and a countywide

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essential use only water notice remains

with potable water tankers staged.

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Police recovered a second body believed

to be storm related near Naalehu.

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The federal government released

six million dollars in emergency

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transportation relief funds.

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Indiana: The state homeland security

department’s Wednesday situation

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report puts the death toll from the

August 11 storm system at seven,

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with an eighth under investigation.

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Thirteen shelters remain open housing 262

people, 19 counties hold local disaster

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declarations, and the state emergency

operations center stays at level three.

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NIPSCO still shows roughly 67,000

customers out in Lake, Porter and

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LaPorte counties on day nine, with full

restoration promised by late Monday.

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A flash flood warning covered Hendricks,

Morgan and Putnam counties early

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Thursday, and 18 river flood warnings are

active on the Wabash and White rivers.

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Kentucky: The Weather Service in Paducah

issued flash flood warnings early

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Thursday for Marshall and McCracken

counties, including Paducah and Benton,

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after two to three inches of rain.

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Flood watches cover western Kentucky

and 17 counties in the Louisville

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forecast area, with training

thunderstorms producing rates

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of one to three inches an hour.

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Louisiana: The Disaster Recovery Center

at the Pointe Coupee Parish Library in

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Innis closes permanently today at 5 p.m.

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The Terrebonne Parish center

in Houma remains open.

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The deadline to apply for individual

assistance from Tropical Storm

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Arthur is October 1 for Avoyelles,

Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St.

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Landry, St.

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Tammany and Terrebonne parishes.

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A heat advisory covered

southeast Louisiana Wednesday

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with heat index values near 112.

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Montana: The Sand Creek Fire east

of Wisdom in Beaverhead County has

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burned 31,667 acres at 2 percent

containment with 563 personnel.

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Evacuations, area, road and trail closures

are in effect, and numerous structures

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and communication sites are threatened.

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The Northern Rockies reported

four new large incidents and

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13 uncontained large fires.

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Nevada: The Shoshone Fire northeast

of Fallon in Churchill County grew

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5,634 acres in a single operational

period to 13,634 acres with zero

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containment, the largest single

day growth in the Great Basin.

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Road closures are in place but

no evacuations are reported.

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Daytime cooling stations opened by Clark

County and its cities remain operating

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through Friday in Las Vegas, North Las

Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, Laughlin

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and Mesquite, with several pet friendly

and one location open around the clock.

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New Jersey: Flood watches take effect at

midday for most of the state, including

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Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and

Union counties in the north and much

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of the south, with localized amounts

of three to five inches possible.

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New Mexico: The Frijoles Fire on

the Santa Fe National Forest near

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Cundiyo remains the only uncontained

large fire in the Southwest.

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Sources conflict on containment:

the national situation report lists

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12,887 acres at 13 percent, while the

incident’s own Wednesday evening update

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lists 13,120 acres at 31 percent.

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Evacuations and closures are in

effect, with active crowning and

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short range spotting reported.

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We have more to cover this morning, but

first, a quick word from our sponsors.

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Thanks for supporting our sponsors who

help make EM Morning Brief possible.

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Now, back to this morning’s updates.

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New York: New York City Emergency

Management issued a weather alert

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Wednesday and activated the city’s

Flash Flood Emergency Plan ahead of

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today’s storms, with the heaviest

rain expected between five and eight

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in the evening during the commute.

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Environmental Protection and

Transportation crews are clearing

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catch basins in flood prone areas, and

the agency issued specific guidance

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for basement apartment residents.

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Separately, the city confirmed that

a communications router failure at

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the Bronx 911 call center on Tuesday

morning affected roughly 1,700 of

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5,659 incoming calls over about seven

hours, and that up to 400 callers may

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not have connected with a call taker.

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The center is running normally

and the city is investigating.

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Ohio: Ohio has the most active

flooding in the country this morning.

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The Weather Service has issued five flash

flood warnings since overnight across

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central, western and eastern Ohio, with

warning text citing life threatening

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flash flooding and broadcast media

reporting water rescues in Pataskala.

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Between two and four and a half inches of

rain has fallen in the hardest hit areas

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at rates of one to two inches an hour.

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Thirteen river flood warnings are

active, including the Scioto at Columbus,

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the South Fork Licking near Buckeye

Lake, and the Great Miami at Sidney,

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where minor flooding is occurring.

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Perry and Muskingum counties, both

under warnings this morning, are the

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same counties covered by the state’s

August 11 emergency declaration.

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: 00:10:42

Oregon: The Paradise Fire on the Umatilla

National Forest jumped to more than

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6,000 acres with zero containment, and

Umatilla County issued a new Level 3

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“Go Now” order Wednesday for the Mill

Creek Watershed east of Mill Creek Road

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north to the Washington state line.

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The Wrights Spring Fire in Klamath

County is at 54,016 acres and 55

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percent containment with evacuations

and road closures in effect.

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On the Hagen Fire, Highway 204 through

Tollgate reopened between Elgin and

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Weston Wednesday afternoon with a warning

it could close again without notice.

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The Rowe Creek Complex is 89 percent

contained, but the Crook County

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Sheriff issued a new Level 3 order

Wednesday after a falling snag pushed

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fire across the line near Mill Creek.

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: 00:11:32

Pennsylvania: Flood watches take

effect at midday for Philadelphia,

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Delaware, Chester, Montgomery

and Bucks counties, with rainfall

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rates up to three inches an hour.

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A separate watch covers Greene and

Washington counties in the southwest.

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Tennessee: The Weather Service in

Nashville issued a flash flood warning

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early Thursday for Hickman, Humphreys

and Perry counties, including Centerville

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and Hurricane Mills, with one to two

inches already down and rates of two

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to three inches an hour expected.

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Texas: Extreme Heat Warnings issued

overnight cover the Dallas Fort

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Worth area, south central Oklahoma

border counties and east Texas.

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ERCOT forecasts peak demand will

exceed the all time record of 91,089

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megawatts every day from today through

Tuesday, though the grid operator

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has issued no energy emergency

alert and no conservation appeal.

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The Texas Cyber Command confirmed

Wednesday that the University of Texas

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at San Antonio was the victim of a data

breach, not just an attempted intrusion.

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The university took systems offline,

disrupting registration, payments, phone

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systems and library services for roughly

42,000 students, and pushed the start of

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fall classes from Wednesday to Monday.

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Washington: Washington carries the

heaviest fire commitment in the country.

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The Little Giant Fire in Chelan

County stands at 137,294 acres

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and 10 percent containment with 26

structures destroyed and more than

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2,000 personnel assigned, the largest

single fire staffing in the nation.

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Level 3 “Go Now” zones remain in

effect near Lake Wenatchee and

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the north shore of Lake Chelan.

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The Sinlahekin Fire in Okanogan County

is at 154,178 acres and 44 percent

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containment with 35 structures destroyed,

and crews worked slopovers overnight while

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the county reduced one evacuation zone

north of Upper Conconully Lake to Level 2.

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The Three Queens Fire east of Snoqualmie

Pass is at 3,726 acres and 2 percent

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containment with Level 3 orders for

the Kachess and Cooper Lake areas.

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The statewide wildfire emergency and

burn ban run through September 30.

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West Virginia: Flood watches cover

13 counties in the north and northern

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panhandle through early afternoon.

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The statewide state of emergency

Governor Morrisey declared Tuesday

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for storms, flash flooding,

mudslides and water rescues remains

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in effect for all 55 counties.

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All other states have no significant

updates in the last 24 hours.

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Let’s check in on the territories.

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Northern Mariana Islands: The Weather

Service in Tiyan issued a Tropical

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Storm Watch for Saipan and Tinian,

citing a westward shift in the track

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of Tropical Storm Saudel that brings

damaging winds closer to both islands.

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A Typhoon Watch remains up for

Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan.

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Saudel was about 380 miles east

southeast of Saipan with 40 mile per

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hour winds, moving northwest at 7

miles per hour, and forecasters say

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it could become a typhoon Friday night

and pass through the far northern

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islands as an intensifying Category 3.

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The Coast Guard Captain of the Port

set Port Condition X-Ray for Saipan and

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Tinian effective at noon local time today.

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The Weather Service office is

running expanded 24 hour shifts.

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Guam: Emergency repairs at the

Piti 8 baseload plant Tuesday night

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dropped generation below demand

and forced the power authority

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into rotating load shedding.

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The outages drained the battery backup

at the Office of Technology, causing

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a government wide internet outage.

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The governor’s office says the

vast majority of affected agencies

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were restored by midmorning

Wednesday and that there is no

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connection to hacking or malware.

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Guam is not under any watch

or warning for Saudel.

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Puerto Rico and the U.S.

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Virgin Islands: Heat Advisories are

active in both territories as part

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of the broader national heat pattern.

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: 00:15:41

All other territories and the District

of Columbia have no significant

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updates in the last 24 hours.

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That wraps today’s EM Morning Brief.

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New episodes drop Monday through

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

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so the day starts with

clarity instead of catch-up.

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Subscribe on the Emergency Management

Network on Substack, or follow

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EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.

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