Quick hits: Tick app; Northeast rice crops; health benefits of dancing; moon farms; meteorologists get to Hollywood

As spring turns into summer, more ticks are hitching rides on socks, shoes, pant legs and hairdos. The tiny vectors bite thousands of people each year and spread diseases such as alpha-gal syndrome, Lyme disease, babesiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. But there is hope. Researchers are asking people to share their tick bites and discoveries on The Tick App so that their habits can be better understood and more effective preventive practices can be developed. The Tick App also gives tips for identifying and removing ticks.

The Northeast isn't known as a rice-growing mecca, but as the region's climate changes, some farmers are giving the crop a try. "Around New York and beyond, weather has shifted to become more extreme, bringing intense rainfall and hailstorms that could damage crops," reports Alice Sun for Offrange. Rice paddies are flood-resistant, able to withstand extreme weather, and the crop fetches a good price. Researchers at Cornell University, along with some "pioneering farmers are working to make it a more common crop in the Northeast, as a buffer for farmers to adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather."

Maria isn't sure about Elmo's reasoning. (Sesame Street photo)

Fans of "Sesame Street," past or present, may want to watch the new documentary tracing the life and career of actress Sonia Manzan, better known as the character "Maria." As Maria, Manzan became the first Latina to appear on a regular TV series, reports Greg Toppo of The74. The film travels back to Manzan's difficult upbringing in the South Bronx during the 1950s, follows her big break with the musical Godspell, and includes her adventures with Oscar the Grouch and Elmo on Sesame Street. The film is currently touring at film festivals throughout the spring and summer.

Even dancing from a sitting position is considered
healthy movement. (Photo by E. Marritz,Dance for PD)

What activity can be done while sitting or standing, creates joy and is healthy? If you thought dancing, you're correct. "Modern research is now catching up to the fact that dance is medicine, a deeply effective intervention for physical, cognitive and emotional health," reports Michaela Haas for Reasons to be Cheerful. "In a longitudinal study, seniors who took part in regular dance training fell less often and were 'physically better off and mentally fitter' than those in the control group."

It's not going to be science fiction for much longer: NASA is learning how to farm on the moon. "As we get ready to feed astronauts on the Moon and Mars, NASA scientists are figuring out how to build soil from scratch," reports Lela Nargi for Offrange. "Ralph Fritsch, a NASA retiree and lead subject matter expert for the Mars to Table challenge, which seeks to identify plausible 'surface habitat food systems,' believes space ag will probably start with hydroponics. . . . Although Fritsch believes dirt-based space greenhouses are years from fruition, there’s still been heavy investment in research."

Everyone asks about, talks about and complains about the weather -- it's a shared human experience. With the exception of farmers, who are also weather obsessed, few people might glamorize meteorologists. Until now. "Meteorologists are rarely the heroes of major Hollywood movies. Never say never," writes Rebecca Hersher of NPR. "The new film 'Pressure' is a lightly fictionalized version of the actual lead-up to the D-Day invasion of France by Allied troops during World War II, and the crucial role of meteorologists in deciding when that battle would happen." 

Why can't states simply share energy to avoid blackouts? Bolstering U.S. grids requires multi-faceted plans.

As power grids across the U.S. face more challenges, including dramatic increases in national energy needs, such as electricity-sapping data centers and extreme weather fluctuations across entire regions, some Americans may be wondering why a regional grid under strain can't just borrow from a neighboring state's grid that has plenty.

There are few links between the U.S. Eastern, Western and ERCOT interconnections. (ERCOT map)

The answer is to that question is simple and complex, energy experts Sufan Jiang and Fangxing Fran Li write for The Conversation. "The U.S. bulk power system is not one seamless national grid, but three major grid regions known as interconnections — the Eastern, Western and ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) systems. There are very few transmission lines between them, so if one has too little power, the others may not be able to help much."

In February 2021, Texas was clobbered by a series of brutal winter storms that dumped snow and ice across the state while simultaneously keeping temperatures below zero for days. Because Texas owns its own grid and shares few transmission lines with other states, ERCOT was "forced into the largest deliberate electricity shutoff in U.S. history. Operators cut power to millions of customers to avoid a total grid collapse," Jiang and Li explain. ERCOT's blackout left more than 4.5 million homes and businesses without power.

The Southern Spirit Transmission line will connect Texas to 
the Southeastern grids for power sharing. (Pattern Energy map)

In an effort to give ERCOT more options during another energy crisis, the "Southern Spirit Transmission project was announced by the Department of Energy in 2024," Jiang and Li explain. That addition "would include a 320-mile transmission line connecting Texas with Louisiana and Mississippi."

In its simplest form, a transmission line connects energy providers so they can share power. But when it comes to natural disasters and extreme weather, power lines have to withstand the storm or event. Jiang and Li write, "The answer to bolstering power grids is not just to build more high-voltage transmission lines. It is also important to harden the transmission corridors that already exist so they can withstand extreme weather and be restored more quickly after a disaster."

The federal government also regulates the sharing of grid energy between operators. "Federal standards require transmission providers to have enough electricity available in reserve to serve their own local homes and businesses safely," Jiang and Li explain. "Only excess electricity above that safety threshold can realistically be treated as power available to help neighboring grids during an outage."

Quick hits: SS Edmund Fitzgerald mystery remains; internet carriers team up; complex beef pricing; what to wear for extreme-weather reporting

At 729-feet, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the longest ship traveling through the Great Lakes
before it was 'swallowed' by Lake Superior. (Wikipedia photo) 

It's still a story investigative reporters are exploring: What caused the massive SS Edmund Fitzgerald to sink 17 miles from the safety of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin? "On November 9, 1975, the ship left Superior, Wisconsin, with more than 26,000 tons of taconite pellets aboard. By the next evening, Lake Superior had swallowed the Edmund Fitzgerald whole," reports Andrew Daniels of Popular Mechanics. "One answer may be the ship’s cargo hatches. Ric Mixter, who visited the Fitzgerald wreck in the 1990s, said that if he could return, he would take photos of every hatch clamp and investigate where the taconite ended up." Read Pop Mech's deep dive on the famous ship's final voyage here. Listen to Gordon Lightfoot's haunting ballad about the fate of the Edmund Fitzgerald and its 29-member crew here. 

It's expensive for U.S. ranchers to increase their herds.
(Photo by Daniel Quiceno M, Unsplash)

Why can't farmers just raise more cattle so the price of beef will come down? "Ranchers say it's not that simple," reports Jack Dura of The Associated Press. "It’s never been so expensive for Americans to buy a steak or hamburger. … The dwindling number of cattle is a key reason the average price of all uncooked ground beef in the U.S. was $6.86 per pound in March." Even with high beef demand and high prices, ranchers still have to consider the cost of adding to their herd. Livestock owners are already paying more for the cattle they do have because drought and wildfires have left ranchers no choice but to pay for additional feed and water to be delivered to herd sites. 

Despite efforts to get the entire country online, many U.S. residents still live in areas without internet access, but that problem could soon change. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Communications announced that they are "setting aside their differences and forming a joint venture that will help end wireless dead zones across the U.S., especially in rural and underserved areas," reports Connor Hart of The Wall Street Journal. "The companies said the initiative will help the U.S. extend its global leadership in wireless communications technology … "

Handwritting letters is good for the human brain.
(Photo by T.D. Aran, Unsplash)

Handwriting letters may seem more than a trifle old-fashioned, but revisiting the aged tradition of letter, pen and stamp can reap benefits. Elizabeth Passarella of The New York Times writes, "Research shows that writing by hand lights up multiple parts of your brain — areas that are associated with creativity, memory and your senses — in a way that emailing does not. … Unlike chatting, writing makes you slow down and decide which details of your life are meaningful enough to share." Readers interested in tips to get started with a letter-writing habit can click here.

Whether it's tornado, wildfire or hurricane season, journalists need to be ready to hit the natural disaster beat. But first, preparations need to be made, and extreme-weather reporter Judson Jones is here to help reporters look good no matter what Mother Nature blasts. "Shortly after returning from a trip to chase hailstorms, Jones gave me a rundown of his core outfit packing list that keeps him ready for any assignment," reports Kyle Fitzgerald of Wirecutter. "We talked about why the way he unpacks is as important as the way he packs, as well as the need to bring multiple hats." After years of trial and error, Jones has even found a jacket that keeps him dry during hurricane rain and winds and is stylish enough to wear to dinner post-storm reporting. Read his picks and tips here. 

The world loves American cheese and butterfat products.
(Photo by Edward Howell, Unsplash)

Global cheese and butterfat demand continues to climb, helping American dairy farmers slice off profits even as milk production continues to increase. Cheese exports in March broke records with "over 63,435 metric tons exported, which is an all-time high for single-month exports," reports Sarah Jungman of Dairy Herd Management. The 2026 gain represents a 29% jump in cheese exports over March of 2025. "Butterfat and anhydrous milk fat exports also set a single-month record at 17,074 metric tons shipped, 109.9% higher than March of 2025." During the first quarter of 2026, Mexico exported the largest chunk of American dairy products. 

Severe weather and wildfires have home insurance rates climbing in states where rates had been cheaper

Hailstorms in Iowa have caused home insurance
rates to spike. (Photo by Champers Fu, Unsplash)

After a decade of severe weather and wildfires across multiple regions of the U.S., many home insurance companies have responded by increasing their rates to reflect emerging risks. 

Home insurance rate increases can be particularly onerous for rural residents who already pay more because of their distance from emergency and fire services.

In the past, traditional home insurance policies were more expensive in coastal states, where hurricanes could devastate hundreds of homes in a single season. Lower rates were reserved for inland states considered less likely to be hit by Mother Nature's seasonal wrath.

But that old playbook has been swept aside, report Carl Churchill, Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky, Jean Eaglesham and Jason French of The Wall Street Journal. "Now, hailstorms, wildfires and wind damage are hammering places once thought to be shielded from the worst rate hikes."

In Iowa, where hailstorms have become more common, home-insurance rates have "increased 91% since 2021: In Florida, despite the hurricane risk, the increase is 35%," the Journal reports.

Before buying a new home, it can be worthwhile to see how much it will cost to insure. "Home-insurance premiums can vary dramatically, depending on where you live: Crossing a county line can more than double the cost," the Journal reports.

In high-risk areas of the country, finding an insurance company willing to issue coverage is difficult, and policy prices have skyrocketed. A resident in Braue of Orinda, Calif., said his "annual premium had shot up to $16,496, more than nine times his premium of less than two years ago," the Journal reports. "The reason? Wildfires, which are scorching homeowners’ chances of cheaper insurance in many states."

How states regulate home insurance rates also impacts home policy pricing. According to the article, "North Carolina is one of 11 states that allow regulators to veto requested home-insurance rate increases. . . .Cross over from Cherokee County, North Carolina, to Monroe County, Tennessee, and the typical rate jumps more than 50%." Despite similar risk assessments, the state with regulatory controls has lower rates.

Neighbors in Maine volunteer to build window inserts for each other to fight the winter cold

Students in Vermont build a WindowDresser insert. 
(Photo by Andrew McKeever, The Yonder )

Harsh winters in Maine can make it hard to keep the cold air outside from creeping into the older New England style homes. WindowDressers is a community-based heating solution that keeps warm air inside by inserting an insulated wooden window into a home or commercial window frame, Andrew McKeever reports for The Daily Yonder.

The concept started in a church in Rockland, Maine, which was losing heat due to its leaky aluminum-clad windows. Church member Richard Cadwgan decided to build window inserts for the church windows, which he learned about at a Midcoast Green Collaborative conference, a Maine-based nonprofit organization. Cadwgan told McKeever the window inserts were a “win-win-win – lower heating bills, fewer carbon emissions, and greater comfort in the cold winter months.”

After word spread to other community members, Cadwgan and former congregation president Frank Munro took orders for 185 inserts for homes the next year, and 1,231 inserts the year after. With so many orders, more volunteers were needed, so “community builds” were formed. Now, there are 52 community builds throughout Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Community builds allow for volunteers with no prior carpentry experience to help build the window inserts after just a brief instruction from their team leader, McKeever explains. Jim Salsgiver, one of the original organizers, told McKeever, “I love the builds and getting together, meeting new people. What’s so cool is somebody comes in and says, ‘Okay, well I signed up, but what do I do?’ And, you know, after three hours, they’re acting like pros doing it and excited about it and telling their friends.”

As of 2024, at least 78,600 inserts have been made, saving almost 4 million gallons of heating fuel.

How to stay safe when it's cold and there's a power outage

Photo by S. Modak, Unsplash

Whether it's 32 degrees or -5 degrees, prolonged exposure to cold air takes a toll on the human body. For rural residents living in remote areas far from help, or in regions not accustomed to colder temperatures, knowledge about coping with cold, including proper clothing, and supplies for extended power outages can save lives, reports Devi Shastri of The Associated Press.

Cold can be stealthy. "Some of the most dangerous situations happen when the temperature is low for a long time, even 30 to 40 F," Shastri writes, "In these situations, long-term cold exposure taxes the body, driving up blood pressure and working the heart." A person who is shivering needs to be warmed as soon as possible.

Drinking plenty of water helps people stay warm. Drinking alcohol isn't advised because it can make people feel warmer than they are.

Wearing layers of dry clothes, especially dry socks, is one of the best ways to help the body trap heat. "The North Carolina Department of Emergency Management suggests wearing warm, loose-fitting, lightweight clothing in many layers that are easy to add or remove," Shastri reports. "It also recommends covering your mouth with scarves to protect the lungs from directly breathing in extremely cold air."

Smaller spaces will stay warmer. If you're waiting for the heat to come back on, move into a smaller room. Some sources even suggest pitching a tent in a room and climbing into a sleeping bag to add heat.

Check on your neighbors. "Young children, older adults and people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are the most at risk when it’s cold," Shastri adds. "Community awareness is key during dangerous cold spells. Many don’t realize they need help until someone asks."

Reporting on winter weather offers unique opportunities for community service and local stories

National Guard soldiers push a stuck motorist’s vehicle in Indiana.
(Indiana National Guard photo, Flickr CC, via SEJ)

Old Man Winter is here, and he appears to be angry, which may be miserable for most of us; however, seasonal swings provide a unique opportunity for community reporters who can offer highly localized weather data and stories to help their readers with local forecasts, weather warnings, safety reminders and precautions specific to regional needs.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center may have a global reach, but it also "monitors all kinds of things that may make more local news near you," reports Joseph A. Davis for the Society of Environmental Journalists.

"Maybe you live in a water-scarce area like California or the Colorado River Basin. The NSIDC not only monitors seasonal snowpack but translates that into meltwater potential."

When reporting about weather, it's good to remember that not everyone can work from home and "some people have to slog to work to make trips possible for those who do," Davis writes. "Wintry conditions affect the lives of all kinds of people. Plow operators can look forward to double shifts. . . . . Restaurant workers could lose their jobs if they don’t show for work. Farmers can lose their crops or livestock, and older people stuck at home if their heat goes out could die."

Stories can cover how local medical clinics and rural hospitals prepare for snow and ice storms, or could explore how highway officials and snowplow operators prepare for extreme winter weather. 

Davis recommends these reporting resources: 

• National Weather Service: Depending on your perspective, you may want to check in with your local NWS office for forecasts and alerts.
• National Snow and Ice Data Center: Not only does it have ski reports, but it also puts them in terms of global climate.
• National Integrated Drought Information System: A multi-agency government/academic data portal on drought conditions; check out its snow drought data and maps.
• California Snowpack Maps: Because snowpack predicts water supply, Californians check snow often. Good maps with the state’s Department of Water Resources and with the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest regional maps.
• SkiCentral: A commercial service tracking ski snow reports for the United States, Canada and beyond.
• OnTheSnow: A fairly good listing of snow conditions at most major ski areas. The site is ultimately aimed at getting paying guests to ski resorts.
• American Automobile Association: AAA offers travel advisories, although only to members of this road-travel service.

Rural communities build 'resilience hubs' designed to prepare for emergencies through interdependence

Resilience Hub Collaborative map

Working to address immediate needs following a natural disaster or emergency event, several rural communities are building "resilience hubs as a model for a quick and reliable first line of defense and relief," reports Kim Kobersmith of The Daily Yonder.

"People are awakening to the fact that neighbors are the real first responders, and thinking ahead is vital," Kobersmith writes. "The hubs provide some level of preparation and support for residents in a disruption and beyond."

Every community hub is a little bit different, and "can range from a mobile solar energy source to a central building able to feed community members in a crisis to a community center offering year-round services," Kobersmith adds.

A spirit of community interdependence is at the heart of each hub, where community members commit to preparing for, rather than reacting to, emergencies. The action-focused nonprofit Resilience Hub Collaborative can help communities plan and build their hub.

Ki Baja, an experienced hub organizer with the collaborative, told Kobersmith, "Studies have shown for decades that connectivity, social cohesion, is the number one indicator for successful recovery from disruptions."

National Weather Service has hundreds of vacancies, 'exhausted employees'

The National Weather Service was created to protect people and property. (NOAA graphic)

On any given day, the National Weather Service deploys staff to research, predict and issue warnings for weather activity across the United States, which covers a total of roughly 3.8 million square miles. However, after losing 600 employees this spring, the agency is now stretched thin and may struggle to meet the demands of fall weather, which includes a busy hurricane season.

"Exhausted employees have maintained weather monitoring and forecasting almost without interruption, staff said. But many are wondering how much longer they can keep it up," report Hannah Natanson and Brady Dennis of The Washington Post.

Despite receiving an exemption from the federal hiring freeze and working to replace lost staff, the agency still has hundreds of vacant positions, an active Atlantic hurricane season, and a possible government shutdown to manage.

Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, the union that represents the agency’s workers, told the Post, "We have a strained and severely stretched situation. . . .There’s a breaking point.” 

A spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offered reassurances that the Weather Service is “'equipped to meet its mission of protecting American lives and property through timely forecasts and critical decision support services,'" the Post reports. "But even before this year’s losses, the Weather Service was considered understaffed."

Since NWS shortages have been extreme, the Trump administration gave the agency permission to "list and hire 450 positions," Natanson and Dennis add. "But it won’t be an immediate fix. . . . Federal hiring is often slow. . . .Government work may seem like a bad option, since Trump has stripped away the guaranteed job stability that once made up for the lower pay."

Mobile home dwellers in rural desert towns face extreme temperatures

Photo by Patrick Reichboth,Unsplash

Extreme heat in the summer and cold in the winter pose risks for mobile home residents in Madras, a rural desert town in Oregon, Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder reported. 

Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shows that 15% of houses in rural areas are manufactured or mobile homes.

Because many of the homes are old, they are often “less energy efficient and can have issues like mold and other dangerous health hazards,” Carlson wrote.

These poor living conditions can be deadly: 20% of deaths during the 2021 heat dome in Oregon were among mobile home residents. And it is only expected to get worse with climate change.

Nonprofits such as the Energy Trust in Oregon help to replace old, manufactured homes with new ones built to withstand the extreme temperatures.

However, according to Professor Patricia Solís from Arizona State University, “there are probably around 175,000 mobile and manufactured homes that are older in the state that need to have some kind of weatherization done to it.”

She believes the solution lies in tackling two issues: the affordable housing crisis and climate change. But it would require government investment in building more manufactured homes. 

Solís’ reasoning is that manufactured homes are less expensive, would provide affordable housing and can be outfitted with energy-efficient technology to adapt to the climate. 

Scientists 'drill, baby, drill,' and find freshwater deep beneath the ocean floor off the North Atlantic coast

The U.S. already faces a freshwater crisis, brought on by drought, higher temperatures, overuse and pollution. But a scientific dig into the North Atlantic seafloor more than 50 years ago could offer a surprising solution. "It found, of all things. . . fresh water," report Calvin Woodward, Carolyn Kaster and Rodrique Ngowi of The Associated Press. 

Fast forward to this summer, when researchers were following up on the past discovery. "A first-of-its-kind global research expedition [is] drilling for fresh water under the salt water off Cape Cod," AP reports. Researchers pulled thousands of water samples from what is now "thought to be a massive, hidden aquifer stretching from New Jersey as far north as Maine."

Do these freshwater troves exist in coastal areas around the globe? Scientists agree that it's likely that the aquifers exist in shallow salt waters around the world. Even so, the "secret fresh water" comes with a litany of challenges, from how to get it to the surface without harming surrounding marine life to questions about who owns it.

As data centers and record heat in some areas rapidly slurp up fresh water, researchers and world leaders are motivated to finance a different kind of drilling. AP reports, "No one globally had drilled systematically into the seabed on a mission to find freshwater."

Under-ocean water samples are being analyzed to discover where they came from, how old they are and what microorganisms thrive in water hidden under the ocean. The discovery and sampling are so dramatic that some scientists are ecstatic. Geophysicist Rob Evans, whose 2015 expedition helped point the way, told AP, “There’s a ton of excitement that finally they’ve got samples.”

When temperatures sizzle, outdoor laborers often continue to work; a new OSHA rule could help keep them safe

To help outdoor workers stay healthy amid U.S. heat waves, last year the country took steps "towards protecting millions of workers from the impacts of extreme heat on the job," reports Frida Garza of Grist. In July 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration published "its first-ever draft rule to prevent heat illness in the U.S. workforce."

OSHA's proposed rule would "require employers to provide access to water, shade, and paid breaks during heat waves," Garza writes. "In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 986 workers died from heat exposure on the job from 1992 to 2022, or about 34 per year."

While the Trump administration has sought to undo several workplace regulations, the drafted heat protection rule has moved forward. "The agency is currently in the middle of soliciting input from the general public about the proposed policy."

Some labor experts say the proposal is moving through the process quickly, but labor advocacy groups "focused on workers along the food supply chain, say workers have waited too long for basic life-saving protections," Garza reports. "Even in a best-case scenario, regulations would not be on the books for another 12 to 14 months." In some cases, it takes several more years for a rule to be fully implemented.

Given the lengthy timeline, several advocacy groups are working to educate employers and give outdoor workers a voice in public forums. The group "WeCount" in South Florida "has spearheaded multiple campaigns to draw public attention to how sweltering temperatures impact outdoor workers in the region, including plant nursery workers," Garza explains. "WeCount members are trying to publicize the risks that agricultural workers take on."

Getting consumers to care about their workforce enough to take action is one of the best ways outdoor employees can lobby for heat protections. Garza reports, "The Fair Food Program, first established by tomato pickers in 2011 in Florida, has won stringent heat protections for farm workers in part by building strong support for laborers’ demands among consumers."

American emergency alert systems continue to face challenges in reaching everyone in harm's way

Tornado sirens are designed to warn people outside to take cover. 
 (Photo by G. Johnson, Unsplash)

Despite significant improvements in American emergency alert technology, the country often fails to broadcast warnings that reach people in time. "Federal, state and local authorities share responsibility for alerting citizens that they are in danger," report Drew FitzGerald, Josie Reich and Caitlin Ostroff of The Wall Street Journal. "But the country’s patchwork of digital and physical emergency-alert tools is often a step behind Mother Nature, with deadly consequences."

The tragic July 4th flooding, where, in Kerr County alone, there were more than 90 confirmed fatalities, offers a sobering picture of how much can go wrong. "There were repeated flash flooding warnings in Kerr County, as rain moved in and the Guadalupe River surged at the start of the July 4 weekend," the Journal reports. "Those alerts never reached some of the campers and residents who lacked cellphone service, silenced notifications or didn’t have phones with them, and outdoor sirens were considered but never built."

Texas is not alone. Human errors during the January Los Angeles wildfires caused some text alerts to be delayed, with some even sent to the wrong areas. During Maui's deadly wildfires, cellphone networks failed, leaving some residents who would have received text warnings unaware and unable to seek safety in time.

Besides Mother Nature's stealth, human error and the unpredictability of first-time disasters, what else is going wrong? "The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s internet-based alert system has made it easier for local authorities to reach residents," they write. "But industry experts say some rural officials often lack the funding, expertise or permission from state authorities to push their own alerts through broadcasters and cellphones."

Too many alerts "can cause cellphone users to shut off notifications that become bothersome or irrelevant. A menu of warnings for floods, fires, missing children and more have caused 'alert fatigue' in some areas," the Journal reports. "The FCC is working on changes that would let authorities send muted or vibrate-only notifications in less-dire situations. Those changes won’t go into effect until 2028."

Rural communities can provide ways for vulnerable senior residents to recover after natural disasters

Community support can help older adults recover from disasters. 
(Photo by Ross Harried, Getty Images via The Conversation, CC)

When extreme weather hits a rural community, elderly residents often struggle the most to recover. To help prepare for a natural disaster, smaller towns need to understand their residents' needs and capitalize on their strong community ties to overcome challenges. Lori Hunter, a sociologist who studies rural issues at the University of Colorado, offers tips on how communities can support their senior residents after the storm has passed.

Understanding your town's population makeup and preparation is key. "Rural areas have higher percentages of older adults, a group that is more likely to have chronic health problems that make experiencing natural disasters especially dangerous," Hunter explains. "Friends, family and neighbors in rural areas can help [seniors] develop disaster response plans to ensure older residents have access to medications and medical treatment and that they have an evacuation plan."

Rural communities tend to have stronger social ties that can help older residents work through recovery demands. "Those social connections can help reduce older adults’ vulnerability when disasters strike," Hunter adds. "Following severe flooding in Colorado in 2013, social connections helped older adults navigate the maze of paperwork required for disaster aid, and some even provided personal loans."

Supporting overall health for rural seniors can also mitigate a disaster's long-term impact. "Rural communities and local groups can also help build up older adults’ mental and physical health before and after storms by developing educational, social and exercise programs," Hunter writes. "Better health and social connections can improve resilience, including older adults’ ability to respond to alerts and recover after disasters."

U.S. Forest Service chief says it is ready for fire season; some staff disagree

USFS Chief Tom Schultz talk with Region 4 employees in Utah.
 (USFS photo via Route Fifty)

Despite shedding 5,000 employees in early 2025, the United States Forest Service leadership feels sufficiently staffed for this year's wildfire season, which started near the beginning of June, peaks in mid-summer and trickles down in late October. "USFS says it’s ready for fire season after asking separated employees to come back," reports Eric Katz for Route Fifty. "But employees say the losses have been 'crippling.'"

U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz admitted that staffing cuts and retirements had left shortages "though he said efforts to bring some of those employees back to work and shift others around to fill 'critical positions' will ensure its readiness," Katz explains. At a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, Schultz reassured lawmakers that USFS is prepared.

While 2025 USFS staffing levels for firefighters and some deployment teams are comparable to those from 2024, they are just two parts of the operation. An entire team of fire experts, or "red card" holders, support firefighters behind the scenes, and both firefighters and red card holders "depend on support personnel who have left the agency in large numbers," Katz reports. USFS employees who actively fight fires rely on support staff for paychecks, supply purchases and contract management.

Schultz told Senate members that 1,400 [red card] employees will return for the upcoming fire season. He added that the USFS had "reassigned between 600 and 700 employees to move laterally to serve in critical areas," Katz writes. Schultz didn't comment on which areas would supply staff for the lateral move.

Even with the return of experienced key personnel, some active USFS firefighters don't think it will be enough. One firefighter told Katz, "We are not ready. The institutional knowledge of older people who left and the numbers of skilled people who left from all disciplines is crippling.”

Steve Guitierrez, a long-time federal firefighter who represents his colleagues through the National Federation of Federal Employees, told Katz, "I find it difficult to make that without all those employees that we will be fully staffed for this fire season. We were already low on numbers to begin with.” 

National Weather Service hiring to cover field offices left shorthanded after DOGE cuts

The NWS was understaffed as spring storms hit towns in
the central-eastern U.S. (Photo by G. Johnson, Unsplash) 

After facing public backlash over unstaffed or understaffed field offices, the National Weather Service is back in hiring mode. "Erica Grow Cei, a National Weather Service spokesperson, says the new hires will fill positions at field offices where there's 'the greatest operational need,'" reports Greg Allen of NPR. The National Weather Service has been short-staffed since the Trump administration terminated 600 NWS employees in early 2025.

The NWS plans to hire around 125 people to fill positions that will help rebalance workloads and return some services to the field. Tom Fahy, legislative director with the union that represents NWS employees, told Allen, "The positions' categories are meteorologist, hydrologist, physical scientist and electronic technicians." Electronic technicians maintain and repair the sensitive radar equipment used to predict severe weather.

Following the staffing cuts, some NWS field offices "were no longer staffed around the clock," Allen reports. "Some also cut back on weather balloon launches, critical tools in gathering data needed for local and national forecasts, according to the National Weather Service."

The loss of vital employees throughout tornado season and heading into hurricane season left the NSW scrambling to cover high-risk areas. Mary Glackin, a former undersecretary at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Allen, "We're in the middle of a severe weather season, and I know that's put quite a strain on the system. It's not a good time to be understaffed."

Filling the NWS positions will take time. Allen writes, "Glackin expects it will be September at the earliest before many of the positions are filled. And she notes, after the cuts earlier this year, NWS is short several hundred positions."

Helene flooded an Appalachian town’s Post Office; residents are fighting to get it reopened.

Swannanoa residents started a mail campaign to reopen
their P.O. (Photo by Anne Vilen, The Daily Yonder)

Residents from flood-torn Swannanoa, N.C., might be down, but they're not out. When Hurricane Helene pummeled western Appalachia in the fall of September 2024, it flooded the town's Post Office, grocery store and hardware shop, reports Anne Vilen for The Daily Yonder. 

More than six months later, all three businesses remain closed, leaving residents driving longer distances for pretty much everything. For many Swannanoans, living without a Post Office is unacceptable, so they're fighting to get it reopened.

In May, the town's brewery, Terra Nova, doubled as an activist meeting room where long-time Swannanoa resident Cynthia Hollar and "more than 50 of her neighbors gathered," Vilen writes. "To write hundreds of postcards to postal officials as well as state, local, and federal representatives who might sway postal service decision makers to bring the Swannanoa Post Office back home."

Dan Slagle, a former post office employee, explained the impact of not having a post office can have on rural residents. He told Vilen, "People have to drive 26 miles round trip to get their mail, their prescriptions, their social security checks, or packages.”

Vilen adds, "The Swannanoa Post Office and its PO boxes served hundreds of folks who live miles up steep mountain roads or on properties where mailboxes, bridges, and access roads went down the river the night of the hurricane."

Swannnanoa residents fear their Post Office won't reopen because the federal government doesn't have to reopen it. Vilen explains, "Under normal circumstances when the U.S. Postal Service decides to close a post office, it must allow for a public comment period and a possible appeal to the Postal Regulatory Commission. However, after a natural disaster, the emergency suspension of service can be extended to a permanent closure."

In Swannanoa, the Post Office was "the starting point for directions to houses without numbers and the water cooler for neighbors eager to swap news," Vilen writes."Town residents claim bureaucracy and red tape are the worst part of disaster recovery."

Slagle told Vilen, "You’re really not a town without a post office. It’s kind of a community hub."

North Carolina’s losses from Hurricane Helene offer lessons on emergency planning for inland communities

Hurricane Helene pummeled counties across six
states. (Adobe Stock photo)

 

Despite weather reports giving starkly accurate descriptions of the extreme risks Hurricane Helene posed as it barreled through North Carolina toward Yancey County, many of the county's residents remained unaware of the imminent danger. Jennifer Berry Hawes and Mollie Simon of ProPublica report, "The highest per capita death toll occurred in Yancey County, a rural expanse in the rugged Black Mountains devastated by flash flooding and landslides."

Yancey County residents were in Helene's violent path but didn't know it. ProPublica reports, "No one in Yancey received evacuation orders — and many, including those living in high-risk areas and caring for young children and frail older people, didn’t flee because they didn’t see clearer signs of urgency from the county."

Helene's wrath left at least 230 people dead across six states. Its trail of destruction in Yancey County left the community in ruin, families with untold losses, and a list of hard-won lessons. If storms can "make trees grow deeper roots," ProPublica has five takeaways to help regions prepare before extreme weather strikes again.

Even if your community is inland, develop storm warning education and planning. If there are internal barriers to evacuations, discussions can happen before an emergency. "Yancey’s emergency manager, Jeff Howell, told us he doubted the county commissioners would support issuing orders or that local residents would heed them given the area’s culture of self-reliance and disdain for government mandates, especially regarding property rights," ProPublica reports. "But some Yancey residents said they would have left or at least prepared better."

Use direct and honest disaster messaging across all possible channels. "With Helene closing in, officials in rural Yancey were among those who used less-direct wording. In Facebook posts, they asked residents to 'please prepare to move to higher ground as soon as you are able,'" Hawes and Simon write. "In one post, they softened the message, adding, 'This information is not to frighten anyone.' Many [Yancey survivors] told us that in retrospect they were looking for clearer directives from their leaders."

When it comes to training local emergency managers, consider following the lead of other states. "North Carolina does not require training for local emergency managers," Hawes and Simon add. "Florida recently enacted a law mandating minimum training, experience and education for its counties’ emergency managers starting in 2026. Georgia requires its emergency managers to get the state’s emergency management certification within six months."

Build landslide awareness, even if mapping hasn't been completed. "North Carolina began examining landslide risks by county, but powerful interests stood in the way," Hawes and Simon explain. "More than 20 years ago, North Carolina legislators passed a law requiring that landslide hazards be mapped across 19 mountain counties." When real estate and land developers pushed against the mapping program, lawmakers cut its funding and staff.

Ask for a 360 review. North Carolina hasn't issued any foundational review of "lessons learned" from Helene. "As North Carolina figures out how to direct millions of dollars in rebuilding aid, there has so far been no state inquiry into the preparedness of local areas — or what could better equip them for the next unprecedented storm," ProPublica reports. For now, the state seems more focused on rebuilding.

Hurricane season officially begins June 1. Experts are planning for an active Atlantic.

NOAA experts predict a busy hurricane season that isn't as extreme as 2024.

Hurricane season 2025 officially begins June 1 and forecasters expect another active season in the Atlantic. Current predictions estimate "a 60% chance of an 'above-normal' hurricane season, with between 13 to 19 named storms," reports Emily Mae Czachor of CBS News. "Six to 10 of those are expected to strengthen into hurricanes, and three to five could become major hurricanes."

While this year's season is marked by warm ocean temperatures, they aren't as warm as last year, so forecasters "don’t think it will be as chaotic as 2024, the third-costliest season on record as it spawned killer storms Beryl, Helene and Milton," reports Seth Borenstein of The Associated Press.

Atlantic hurricane seasons have been labeled as "above normal" since 1995, "with nearly half of those considered 'hyperactive,' according to NOAA," Borenstein writes. "Last year started with a record early Category 5 hurricane in Beryl but then had a lull during the early part of peak storm season from mid-August to mid-October. But then six storms, including Helene and Milton, formed in just two weeks."

Warmer ocean temperatures are the primary catalyst for hurricanes. Kristen Corbosiero, a University at Albany tropical meteorology professor, told Borenstein, "Warmer ocean water, warmer atmosphere above it can hold more moisture, more fuel for storms.” Even with a calmer season overall, one massively destructive storm can cause havoc across a region.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been hit by deep staffing cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency, but its acting administrator, Laura Grimm, told reporters, "The hurricane center is fully staffed up and we’re ready to go. We are making this a top priority for this administration."

The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs through Nov. 30.

With FEMA grants canceled, local governments search for new funds -- and rural communities have few options

Graph by Connie Hanzhang Jin, from FEMA data compiled by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Sewage back-ups, wildfire threats or repeated flooding in residential areas are just a few of the complicated problems rural towns planned to fix with Federal Emergency Management Agency funds, but that was before the Trump administration withdrew the support.

"Rural communities were awarded FEMA grants to fix long-standing infrastructure problems, and they expected funding to be delivered this year," report Lauren Sommer and Rebecca Hersher of NPR. "But last month, the Trump administration canceled their grants and hundreds of others, including ones that had already been promised but not yet paid out.

FEMA began the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC program, in 2020, during President Trump's first term. Since then, it has expanded to award about "$4.6 billion to communities across the U.S.," Sommer and Hersher explain. "The goal was to help local, state and tribal governments protect residents from future disasters. . . . Research shows that improving buildings and infrastructure before disasters happen can reduce the overall damage and cost when they hit."

The Trump administration said it cut BRIC to address wasteful, fraudulent spending, but rural towns that were relying on FEMA dollars don't see their grant money as unwise spending. Daniel Hoffert, village president for DePue, Illinois, which lost a grant to stop chronic flooding problems, told NPR, "I don't think they know what waste is. I don't think they know what fraud is. None of this, to me, is waste and fraud."

For many rural places, federal money is the "only source large enough to update the aging infrastructure that's vulnerable to increasingly intense disasters," Sommer and Hersher write. 

"In Kamiah, Idaho, deputy city clerk Mike Tornatore says he'd already told residents that the grant was on its way. With Kamiah having seen destructive wildfires in the past, its BRIC grant focused on fire protection," NPR reports. "He's also hoping to get a meeting with Trump about the impact of what the administration has canceled."