Our resident meteorologist and disaster emergency management expert, Becky DePodwin, shares her take on the preparedness challenges when a broad weather front crosses the nation. Many states are dealing with severe rain, winds, and flooding that have caused more than a dozen deaths. In fact, the month of March was the windiest on record.

Gavin Blair, COO of Bright Harbor, joins the rest of the podcast team tonight. He discusses the unique challenges people face in the aftermath of disaster. Whether it's knowing the best way to file with your insurance company, or how to navigate the FEMA bureaucracy, having an advocate in your corner can be a game-changer.

Edward Coulson from Ready Northwest returns to the Disaster Podcast to share ways businesses can build resiliency plans for disasters and major adverse events. Often overlooked in the community resilience discussion, local and regional businesses are anchors for the financial well being of a community. Including them while planning drills and events can improve the overall community response to a disaster.

Author Beth Livingston joins the team in this episode to share her accounts of two past disasters here in the United States. First she recounts the personal stories of resilience in The Dayton Flood of 1913. Then she tells the stories of the survivors of The Charleston Earthquake of 1886.

In this episode we look at the variable patient presentations USAR docs and paramedics encounter when rescuing individuals from a collapsed structure. Joe points out that these patients vary based on the amount of time that has passed since the initial disaster situation. If you're responding to the early hours after a collapse, your approach is more immediate life threats such as hemorrhage management or opening and maintaining an airway.

Dr. Joe Holley comes back after being off the show for a few months due to extensive travel for training and conference attendance. We discuss the inflow of respiratory illness to our nation's hospitals and the difficulties finding rooms and beds for patients who need them.

Kyle Nelson, our disaster meteorologist and ski patroller, joins us this week in his role as Planning Section Chief with the Winter XGames Aspen Incident Management Team. He shares his experiences planning and helping with operations for medical and response management during the games this year.

This week on the Disaster Podcast we look at some of the root causes of airline crash disasters and what kinds of things pilots do to avoid midair collisions. Becky DePodwin helped us bring in an Emergency Management colleague, Edward Colson. He's a former commercial helicopter pilot, currently and emergency manager and owner of a consulting firm, Ready Northwest.

Welcome back to the Disaster Podcast, your go-to resource for medical professionals, first responders, and disaster rescue experts. This week’s episode features a returning guest, Dan Zehner, from the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI), alongside our cohosts Sam Bradley (retired firefighter and paramedic) and Jamie Davis (nurse and retired paramedic).

On this week's episode, Dan DePodwin joins us to discuss the unique weather implications surrounding the widespread wildfires hitting the Los Angeles area this week. We discuss Santa Ana winds and the source in the mountain deserts around the Four Corners region of the Southwest.