Once in a generation rain floods the Northeast corridor with rescues in Connecticut and North Jersey

Today's EM Morning Brief leads with the Sunday flash flood event along the Interstate 95 corridor, where 6 to 7 inches of rain fell between Norwalk and Westport, Connecticut, crews ran vehicle and boat rescues in Connecticut and North Jersey, and the FAA held Kennedy Airport arrivals for nearly four hours. New York City ordered 10 Bronx cooling towers cleaned after Legionella was detected, in a cluster that has now sickened 10 people and killed one. The National Interagency Fire Center holds the country at preparedness level 3 with 58 uncontained large fires and 13,018 personnel committed, led by the Moonshine Fire in Wyoming and a 513 person surge on California's Lucas Fire. The brief also covers a third day of evacuation at a Hastings, Michigan apartment building, a systemwide boil water advisory in Spring Lake, North Carolina, continuing 911 phone failures in Unicoi County, Tennessee, and new SBA disaster loan deadlines for South Dakota, Texas and Utah. 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

Northeast flooding: 6 to 7 inches of rain from Norwalk to Westport, Connecticut at rates of 3 to 4 inches an hour, with 13 vehicle rescues in Westport, boat rescues in Bridgeport and roughly 20 rescues in Paterson, New Jersey.

Transportation impact: Metro-North and Amtrak delays and cancellations on New Haven line service, plus an FAA ground stop on Kennedy Airport arrivals from 8:18 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Eastern Sunday.

Public health: New York City ordered 10 Bronx cooling towers drained and disinfected by today, including the Yankee Stadium tower, in a Legionnaires cluster with 10 confirmed cases, one death and three hospitalized.

Wildfire posture: National preparedness level holds at 3 with 58 uncontained large fires, 102 incidents, roughly 2.57 million cumulative acres and 13,018 personnel committed.

Highest risk incident: Wyoming's Moonshine Fire grew 1,134 acres to 6,790 acres at 35 percent containment with two structures lost, residences threatened and evacuations in effect.

Largest resource surge: California's Lucas Fire added 513 personnel in one operational period to reach 1,804, with numerous residences and communication infrastructure threatened.

Fastest growth: Oregon's Sycan Fire in Lake County expanded 2,100 acres to 2,500 acres at zero containment, with structures and energy infrastructure threatened.

Fire weather: NIFC places high significant fire potential over parts of Wyoming today, and a red flag warning covers the Sacramento Valley and northern foothills until 5 p.m. Pacific.

Hazmat: A suspected ricin incident keeps 145 residents of Tyden Lofts in Hastings, Michigan displaced for a third day, with environmental sampling underway and a Red Cross shelter open.

Water systems: Spring Lake, North Carolina is under a systemwide boil water advisory after E. coli was detected in a repeat sample, and West Columbia, South Carolina issued a limited advisory after a main break.

Communications: Unicoi County, Tennessee 911 continues intermittent phone failures with a backup line in use, and the FCC reports five of 704 cell sites out on Kauai with no public safety answering points affected.

Assistance deadlines: SBA published deadlines this morning for South Dakota (November 1 physical, June 1, 2027 economic injury), Texas and Utah (both November 9 physical, June 2027 economic injury).

Federal posture: No NTAS advisory, no new CISA known exploited vulnerabilities since Friday, no new FEMA declaration since September 1, and no U.S. tropical

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Sources

Cedric: 00:00:00

Good morning, and apologies for today’s delay.

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: 00:00:02

I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning

,: 2026

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: 00:00:08

Flooding in the Northeast is the

dominant operational story this morning.

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: 00:00:13

A slow moving rain band parked over

the Interstate 95 corridor Sunday and

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: 00:00:17

dropped 6 to 7 inches from Norwalk

to Westport, Connecticut, with rates

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: 00:00:22

reaching 3 to 4 inches an hour.

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: 00:00:25

Crews ran vehicle and boat rescues in

coastal Connecticut and across North

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: 00:00:29

Jersey, Metro-North and Amtrak took

delays and cancellations on lines

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: 00:00:34

serving New Haven, and the Federal

Aviation Administration held Kennedy

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: 00:00:38

bound departures for nearly four hours.

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: 00:00:41

New Jersey's state climatologist

calls the rainfall in parts of

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: 00:00:44

Bergen and Passaic counties at

least a once in a generation event.

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: 00:00:50

A flood warning remains up

in Rhode Island this morning.

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: 00:00:53

The national wildfire

picture is heavy but steady.

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: 00:00:57

The National Interagency Fire Center

holds the country at preparedness level

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: 00:01:00

3, with 58 uncontained large fires,

102 active incidents, roughly 2.57

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: 00:01:07

million cumulative acres and

13,018 personnel committed.

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: 00:01:13

Four new large fires were

reported in the last operational

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: 00:01:15

period, three of them in Texas.

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: 00:01:18

Evacuations remain in effect on

the Moonshine Fire in southeast

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: 00:01:21

Wyoming, the Plaskett Fire in

California and three fires on

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Oregon's Mount Hood National Forest.

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: 00:01:28

NIFC predictive services places the

highest significant fire potential

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: 00:01:32

in the country over parts of Wyoming

today, with gusts of 40 to 50

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: 00:01:37

miles per hour and minimum relative

humidity as low as 8 percent.

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: 00:01:42

Federal posture is quiet.

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: 00:01:44

The National Terrorism Advisory

System carries no current advisories,

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: 00:01:48

CISA has added no new known

exploited vulnerabilities since

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: 00:01:51

Friday, and FEMA has issued no

new declaration since September 1.

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: 00:01:57

The Small Business Administration did

publish disaster loan deadlines this

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: 00:02:01

morning for South Dakota, Texas and Utah.

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: 00:02:04

Heat advisories cover 12 states from

South Texas through the lower Ohio

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: 00:02:08

Valley, with no extreme heat warnings

active anywhere in the country.

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: 00:02:13

The National Hurricane Center

has no Atlantic systems and two

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: 00:02:16

weakening Eastern Pacific cyclones,

neither of which threatens land.

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: 00:02:21

Let's run through the states.

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: 00:02:23

Connecticut: Coastal Connecticut absorbed

the heaviest rain of the Northeast event.

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: 00:02:29

The stretch from Norwalk to Westport

took 6 to 7 inches Sunday morning

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: 00:02:34

at rates of 3 to 4 inches an hour.

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: 00:02:37

The Westport Fire Department conducted

13 rescues of people trapped in

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: 00:02:41

vehicles, and the Bridgeport Fire

Department put boats in the water

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: 00:02:45

to reach residents in flooded areas.

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: 00:02:48

Governor Ned Lamont and other

state officials urged drivers

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: 00:02:51

to stay out of standing water.

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: 00:02:53

Metro-North and Amtrak reported delays

and cancellations on lines serving

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: 00:02:57

Norwalk, Bridgeport and New Haven.

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: 00:03:01

New Jersey: North Jersey saw the most

extreme rainfall rates of the event.

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: 00:03:06

A Rutgers weather station in North

Haledon recorded more than 4 inches

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: 00:03:10

between 7 and 10 Sunday morning

inches by: 12:30

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: 00:03:14

the afternoon, with totals near 4.5

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: 00:03:17

inches in Little Falls and Haworth.

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: 00:03:20

State climatologist John Krasting

described the totals in those communities

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: 00:03:24

as at least a once in a generation event.

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: 00:03:28

Water rescues were reported in Paterson,

Westwood, Closter and Fair Lawn, and

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: 00:03:33

Paramus reported widespread road closures.

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: 00:03:36

Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh says

crews pulled about 20 people from

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: 00:03:40

rising water, with no immediate

deaths or severe injuries.

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: 00:03:44

New York: New York City health officials

ordered 10 Bronx cooling towers drained,

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: 00:03:49

cleaned and disinfected by today after

preliminary testing detected Legionella,

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: 00:03:54

including the tower at Yankee Stadium.

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: 00:03:57

Ten people have tested positive in the

Melrose and Morrisania cluster, one

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: 00:04:02

has died and three remain hospitalized.

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: 00:04:05

The health department sampled 24

towers after opening the investigation

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: 00:04:09

on September 10, and culture

confirmation may take up to two weeks.

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: 00:04:13

Separately, Sunday's rain forced road

closures and water rescues in White Plains

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: 00:04:18

and other Westchester communities, and the

city opened dozens of overnight shelters.

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: 00:04:24

The Kennedy Airport ground stop

ran from 8:18 in the morning

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: 00:04:28

to 12:15 in the afternoon.

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: 00:04:31

California: The Lucas Fire in the

Sonoma, Lake and Napa unit grew 533

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: 00:04:35

acres to 4,008 acres at 15 percent

containment, and staffing jumped by

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: 00:04:40

513 to 1,804 personnel, the largest

single period surge in the country.

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: 00:04:47

Numerous residences and communication

infrastructure are threatened.

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: 00:04:50

The Plaskett Fire on the Los Padres

National Forest is 29,961 acres at 83

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: 00:04:56

percent with evacuations still in effect,

and the Timber Fire is 25,426 acres at 39

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: 00:05:03

percent, with Highway 1 closed from Kirk

Creek Campground to just north of Gorda.

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: 00:05:08

A red flag warning for the

Sacramento Valley and northern

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foothills runs to 5 p.m.

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: 00:05:13

today, and PG&E's public safety power

shutoff has affected customers across

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a dozen counties since Saturday.

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: 00:05:21

Colorado: The Swiss Roll Fire northeast

of Pagosa Springs on the San Juan National

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Forest is listed as a new large incident,

at 777 acres with zero containment

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: 00:05:31

and 61 personnel as of late Sunday,

showing crowning and wind driven runs.

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: 00:05:37

The Pagosa Ranger District is

issuing a closure order for Quartz

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: 00:05:40

Meadow Road and two nearby trails.

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: 00:05:43

The Aspen Acres Fire in Custer County

stands at 102,004 acres and 82 percent

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: 00:05:49

contained, with 915 structures lost.

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: 00:05:52

The National Weather Service issued a

flash flood warning Sunday evening for

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: 00:05:56

the Lee burn scar in Rio Blanco County.

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: 00:06:00

Michigan: The evacuation of Tyden

Lofts in Hastings entered a third day,

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: 00:06:04

with 145 residents still displaced

after a suspected ricin incident.

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: 00:06:10

Hazmat crews re-entered the

building Sunday, and the Barry-Eaton

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: 00:06:14

District Health Department is taking

environmental samples to determine

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: 00:06:18

what further cleanup is needed.

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: 00:06:20

The health department says no quarantine

is needed and there is no suspected

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: 00:06:24

exposure elsewhere in Hastings.

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A Red Cross shelter is operating at

the Commission on Aging, and the FBI

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and Michigan State Police are involved.

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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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Oregon: The Sycan Fire in Lake County

posted the largest single period growth

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: 00:06:52

in the West, expanding 2,100 acres

to 2,500 acres at zero containment,

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: 00:06:57

with personnel rising to 99.

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: 00:07:00

Structures and energy infrastructure

are threatened, and estimated

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: 00:07:03

containment is September 18.

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: 00:07:06

Evacuations and area, road and trail

closures remain in effect on three Mount

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: 00:07:11

Hood National Forest fires: the Austin

Fire at 12,881 acres and 56 percent,

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: 00:07:17

The Narrows at 304 acres and 89 percent,

and the Grasshopper Fire at 94,000 acres

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: 00:07:24

and 97 percent with 33 structures lost.

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: 00:07:28

Washington: The Sisi Fire northwest

of Stehekin grew 139 acres to 3,193

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: 00:07:34

acres and remains just 5 percent

contained, with residences and energy

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: 00:07:39

infrastructure threatened, though

precipitation fell over the fire area.

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: 00:07:44

Kittitas County reduced evacuation levels

in three areas around the Three Queens

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: 00:07:48

and Goat fires, moving cabins along Baker

Lane to Level 1 and part of the Lake

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: 00:07:53

Kachess area from Level 3 to Level 2.

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: 00:07:56

The reductions do not reopen

the closed national forest area.

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: 00:07:59

The King Fire is 3,278 acres at zero

containment and remains unstaffed

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: 00:08:04

because of steep, inaccessible terrain.

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: 00:08:08

Wyoming: The Moonshine Fire 17 miles

southwest of Wheatland grew 1,134

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: 00:08:13

acres to 6,790 acres at 35 percent

containment, with two structures

121

: 00:08:18

lost and costs to date of 4.5

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: 00:08:21

million dollars.

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: 00:08:23

Personnel rose to 352, with 8 crews,

21 engines and 4 helicopters assigned.

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: 00:08:29

Fire behavior is active, with backing,

torching and short range spotting.

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: 00:08:33

Residences are threatened and

evacuations remain in effect.

126

: 00:08:36

NIFC predictive services places

high significant fire potential

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: 00:08:41

over parts of the state today.

128

: 00:08:43

Arizona: The National Weather Service

in Flagstaff issued a flash flood

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: 00:08:47

warning Sunday evening for the

Havasu Creek basin on the Havasupai

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: 00:08:51

Reservation after a roughly five foot

rise on Cataract Creek, warning that

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: 00:08:56

foot bridges would wash out at Supai

Campground and campers could be stranded.

132

: 00:09:01

The warning ran until 5 a.m.

133

: 00:09:02

Mountain.

134

: 00:09:04

Hawaii: The FCC's Hurricane Lowell

communications status report for Sunday

135

: 00:09:09

shows five of 704 cell sites out across

Kauai and Oahu, all five of them on

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: 00:09:14

Kauai, with no public safety answering

points affected and 2,191 cable and

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: 00:09:20

wireline subscribers still out of service.

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: 00:09:23

Iowa: The National Weather Service in

Des Moines issued a flood watch Sunday

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: 00:09:27

evening for roughly 30 counties across

southwestern, central and northeastern

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: 00:09:32

Iowa, including Polk, Story, Black

Hawk and Dallas, for flash flooding

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: 00:09:37

possible through Tuesday morning.

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: 00:09:40

Kansas: A flash flood warning for

Doniphan County was issued at 4:52

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: 00:09:44

this morning and runs to 10:45 a.m.

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: 00:09:47

Central, part of a cluster of

warnings along the Missouri River.

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: 00:09:51

Missouri: Flash flood warnings cover

Holt and Andrew counties this morning,

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: 00:09:56

issued between 4:52 and 5:16 a.m.

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: 00:09:59

Central and running into mid morning.

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: 00:10:02

North Carolina: The Town of Spring

Lake issued a systemwide boil

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: 00:10:05

water advisory effective Sunday and

continuing until further notice after E.

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: 00:10:10

coli was detected in a repeat

sample collected September 11.

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: 00:10:15

Residents are told to boil for at

least one minute and to discard ice

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: 00:10:19

made with tap water since September 8.

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: 00:10:22

North Dakota: The National Weather

Service in Bismarck issued a high wind

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: 00:10:26

warning for 18 zones across western

and central North Dakota through

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: 00:10:30

midnight, plus a wind advisory for 15

more counties with west winds of 25

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: 00:10:36

to 35 miles per hour and gusts to 50.

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: 00:10:41

Pennsylvania: A flash flood warning

covering Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery

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: 00:10:45

and Philadelphia counties ran Sunday

morning, with emergency management

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: 00:10:49

reporting water rescues and road closures

in Delaware County and Frankford Creek

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: 00:10:54

in Philadelphia County rising rapidly.

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: 00:10:57

Rhode Island: Flash flood warnings Sunday

morning gave way to a flood warning

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: 00:11:01

for Washington County, issued at 5:18

this morning and running to 2 p.m.

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: 00:11:07

Eastern.

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: 00:11:08

South Carolina: West Columbia issued

a boil water advisory Sunday afternoon

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: 00:11:13

for a small set of addresses on Lake

Shire Drive, Cornish Way and Laurel

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: 00:11:17

Road following a water main break,

with affected customers told to

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: 00:11:21

boil vigorously for one full minute.

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: 00:11:25

South Dakota: The Small Business

Administration published loan

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: 00:11:29

deadlines this morning for the public

assistance declaration covering

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: 00:11:32

eight counties and two reservations.

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: 00:11:35

Private nonprofit physical

loan applications are due

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: 00:11:37

November 1, and economic injury

,: 2027

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: 00:11:44

Tennessee: The Unicoi County 911

center continues to experience

174

: 00:11:48

intermittent phone failures.

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: 00:11:50

Callers who get no answer are told

to hang up and use the backup line

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: 00:11:54

at 423-743-1850 while technicians

work to restore the primary system.

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: 00:12:00

(Official update published

roughly 48 hours ago.)

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: 00:12:05

Texas: Heat advisories cover 26

north and central Texas counties,

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: 00:12:09

including the Dallas and Fort

Worth metro, through 8 p.m.

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: 00:12:12

Central.

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: 00:12:13

Three new large fires were reported:

the Woodward Fire near Eldorado

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: 00:12:17

at 1,700 acres, Double Barrel near

Pennington at 1,315 acres, and Star

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: 00:12:23

Lake near Stowell at 1,129 acres.

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: 00:12:27

Utah: The Small Business Administration

published loan deadlines this

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: 00:12:30

morning for the Cottonwood Fire and

flooding declaration covering Beaver

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: 00:12:33

County and five contiguous counties.

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: 00:12:37

Physical loan applications are due

November 9, and economic injury

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: 00:12:41

applications are due June 9, 2027.

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: 00:12:45

All other states and territories have no

significant updates in the last 24 hours.

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That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.

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: 00:12:52

New episodes drop Monday through

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

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: 00:12:56

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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: 00:13:03

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: 00:13:05

EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.

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: 00:13:09

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