From coastal flooding in the Northeast to tropical rainfall threats in the Pacific, this episode of the Disaster Podcast explores how changing weather patterns create challenges for communities and responders. Disaster meteorologist Dan DePodwin joins hosts Jamie Davis and Sam Bradley to discuss nor’easters, hurricane activity, El Niño, and storms that return after seemingly fading away.

Dan begins by explaining what makes a storm a nor’easter and why these systems can cause problems well beyond snowfall. In the Northeast forecast discussed during the recording, the concerns include coastal wind gusts of 40–60 miles per hour, heavy rain, rough surf, and potential power outages. Persistent onshore winds have already set the stage for coastal flooding, with the Jersey Shore, Long Island, and southeastern New England among the areas of concern.

The conversation then shifts to the Pacific, where tropical systems threaten both island communities and the mainland. Dan describes how tropical moisture interacting with Hawaii’s mountainous terrain can produce extreme rainfall, flash flooding, and landslides. Another concern is moisture moving inland from the eastern Pacific, potentially bringing flooding to parts of the Southwest and central United States. A storm’s effects can extend far beyond its coastal track.

National Hurricane Center Website

El Niño provides a broader backdrop for the discussion. Dan explains how warmer equatorial Pacific waters and changes in atmospheric conditions can influence tropical activity and weather patterns around the world. He also distinguishes those large-scale influences from the ingredients that produce an individual storm: understanding El Niño helps explain the seasonal picture, but it does not mean every weather event has a single cause.

Sam brings a personal perspective to the discussion, recalling a tornado warning while driving through Missouri. She describes taking shelter in a convenience store as warning sirens sounded and later learning that a tornado had struck in the general area. Her experience leads into a conversation about seasonal tornado risks and the importance of paying attention to changing conditions while traveling.

The group also explores so-called “zombie storms”—tropical systems that weaken or lose their tropical characteristics before reorganizing. Hurricane Ivan comes up as the hosts and Dan discuss how a storm’s story can continue long after its initial impact.

Throughout the episode, Dan connects the weather science with the practical concerns facing responders: coastal flooding, inland rainfall, power disruptions, and rapidly changing forecasts. Listen for a conversation about understanding the hazards behind the storm names and keeping the full geographic reach of a weather event in view.

Our thanks to Dr. Joe Holley from Paragon Medical Education Group for sponsoring the Disaster Podcast.

Thank you as always to Paragon Medical Education Group for their long-term support of the Disaster Podcast. Dr. Joe Holley and the team at Paragon continue to provide excellent and customized disaster response training to jurisdictions around the U.S. and internationally as well.

A hurricane approaching the Gulf Coast brings concerns that extend well beyond its expected landfall. In this episode of the Disaster Podcast, disaster meteorologists Kyle Nelson and Dan DePodwin join Dr. Joe Holley, a physician with a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue team, to discuss coastal and inland weather threats, responder preparations, and the dangers of complacency.

Hosts Sam Bradley, a paramedic and author, and Jamie Davis, a paramedic, nurse, and author, guide a conversation that stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, connecting tropical weather with flooding, drought, and seasonal planning.

The team examines the Gulf Coast forecast discussed during the recording, including concerns for the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, southeastern Mississippi, and Georgia. Heavy rainfall, storm surge, and possible tornadoes all feature in the discussion. Joe shares how response teams had begun positioning around the anticipated impact area in preparation for potential deployments.

Dan explains an important distinction when looking at hurricane maps: the forecast cone describes the expected track of the storm’s center, rather than the full area that could experience dangerous weather. Rainfall, gusty winds, and other hazards can reach communities far from that track. The conversation includes potential inland impacts across the Southeast and flooding concerns in the Appalachians.

Meanwhile, tropical activity in the Pacific raises a different set of concerns. Moisture moving toward the western United States may bring welcome rain, but heavy precipitation over a short period can create flash flood risks in desert communities. Kyle discusses the particular vulnerability of wildfire burn scars, where runoff and debris flows can threaten areas downstream.

That leads Jamie to ask how water managers in Colorado use forecasts to plan for snowpack and reservoir supplies. Kyle explains the importance of looking months ahead and why a single rainy period cannot resolve a long-term drought. Dan adds perspective on El Niño and its potential influence on winter weather, while the group acknowledges the uncertainty involved in seasonal forecasting.

Preparedness remains a central theme throughout the episode. Jamie reflects on friends trading wildfire risks for hurricane risks after moving to the Gulf Coast. Sam shares her own experience navigating unfamiliar warning systems, highlighting how much there is to learn when moving to a different region.

Joe points to complacency as a serious concern, even among people who have weathered previous storms. Familiarity with a place does not mean every storm will behave the same way or bring the same consequences.

The team closes by discussing the value of local emergency management updates and official social media channels. Those sources help residents—and loved ones following from elsewhere—understand local preparations and changing conditions.

Listen as Kyle, Dan, Joe, Sam, and Jamie explore the weather behind the warnings and the importance of taking each storm’s risks seriously.

Our thanks to Dr. Joe Holley from Paragon Medical Education Group for sponsoring the Disaster Podcast.

Thank you as always to Paragon Medical Education Group for their long-term support of the Disaster Podcast. Dr. Joe Holley and the team at Paragon continue to provide excellent and customized disaster response training to jurisdictions around the U.S. and internationally as well.

What happens when a patient’s wishes, scene safety, and a responder’s responsibilities pull in different directions?

Returning guest Sonnet Daymont, a licensed trauma therapist and adjunct professor, joins hosts Jamie Davis and Sam Bradley, and Becky DePodwin, disaster emergency management expert. On this episode of the Disaster Podcast, the hosts and guests explore the ethical challenges first responders face during emergencies. Together, they discuss patient dignity, mental health crisis response, consent, and the limits of a system built around immediate intervention.

Emergency scenes rarely arrive with clear answers. Responders may encounter frightened patients, distressed families, conflicting accounts from bystanders, and behavior that makes providing care more difficult.

Sonnet explores how patient goals, privacy, professional responsibilities, and personal values can overlap. Those considerations become even more complicated when EMS, law enforcement, and mental health professionals approach the same situation from different perspectives.

Sam brings those challenges into the discussion of patients whose behavior may be confrontational or dangerous. She and Sonnet consider how responders can balance compassion with safety while recognizing that a person in crisis may need support beyond what an emergency response alone can provide.

Jamie discusses community paramedicine and the potential benefits of closer collaboration between first responders and mental health professionals.

Sonnet describes how trained mental health personnel could contribute through grounding techniques, communication, and information gathering. Helping someone become calmer may also make it easier to understand what happened and what support they need.

The group considers another familiar challenge: bystanders who want to help but offer incomplete, conflicting, or distracting information. Their discussion explores how clear boundaries and focused questions can support both patient care and scene management.

The conversation turns to situations in which a patient refuses evaluation or treatment. The hosts and Sonnet explore the tension between respecting a person’s decisions and responding to concerns about immediate safety.

These situations raise questions about decision-making capacity, consent, and the responsibilities of different professionals. The discussion also touches on documenting observations, conversations, and the reasoning behind decisions.

Because applicable laws, protocols, and professional roles vary, this portion of the episode explores ethical dilemmas rather than offering a universal rule for handling refusals or involuntary intervention.

Could additional treatment pathways help people whose needs do not fit neatly into an ambulance ride or an emergency department visit?

The team discusses the concept of mental health urgent care, including ideas raised in connection with North Carolina, and the potential value of more accessible crisis services. Sonnet also brings a therapist’s perspective to the barriers people face when seeking help, including stigma and gaps in available care.

The episode closes with questions about documentation, liability concerns, vehicle cameras, and emerging AI tools. The team identifies these as subjects for further discussion, particularly around privacy, accuracy, and professional responsibilities.

Listen to the episode for a thoughtful conversation about caring for people in crisis—and supporting the responders asked to make difficult decisions under pressure.

The Disaster Podcast is sponsored by Dr. Joe Holley from Paragon Medical Education Group.

Thank you as always to Paragon Medical Education Group for their long-term support of the Disaster Podcast. Dr. Joe Holley and the team at Paragon continue to provide excellent and customized disaster response training to jurisdictions around the U.S. and internationally as well.

When an emergency turns into an extended shift, even basic needs like water, food, and clean socks can become a challenge. In this episode of the Disaster Podcast, co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis welcome Hannah Cornett and Luke Croston from Tags4Lives, a nonprofit helping communities support the people who respond when disaster strikes.

Their approach starts with a relationship. By working directly with departments before an emergency, Tags4Lives identifies what personnel need and establishes a process for getting requested supplies into their hands without disrupting operations.

Hannah explains how the organization prepares supply packs for different weather conditions and assignments. Items can include water, granola bars, socks, sunscreen, and first aid supplies, with departments helping determine what makes sense for their crews. In-kind donations, grants, and private support help make that work possible.

Drawing on her wildland fire experience, Sam shares why coordination matters. Well-intentioned donations can create extra work when the food or supplies don’t fit the situation. Establishing relationships ahead of time helps turn community generosity into practical assistance that responders can actually use.

Hannah describes how that process has worked in Northeast Ohio, including providing water to fire, public works, and parks departments during hot weather. Getting the system in place before supplies are needed allows departments to request support when conditions change or a routine workday stretches into a prolonged response.

Luke brings an important public works perspective to the conversation. Responding to tornadoes, water main breaks, and other emergencies helped him recognize his department’s role as first responders. Public works employees keep essential infrastructure functioning and help restore the services a community depends on after a disaster. Their crews face long hours and unexpected assignments, and they need support, too.

There’s also a personal element in every appreciation bag. Hannah describes including handwritten messages of gratitude from the public, including messages written on aluminum tags. Alongside the practical supplies, those notes offer a reminder that someone recognizes the work these crews are doing. Jamie reflects on how meaningful that connection can be during a difficult response.

The conversation returns to a lesson that applies across disaster preparedness: build relationships before the emergency. Tags4Lives gives community members a coordinated way to help, while allowing departments to guide the support their personnel receive.

Listen as Hannah and Luke share how their program works, why public works belongs in the responder support conversation, and how a few practical supplies paired with a personal thank-you can make a difference during a long shift.

Thank you as always to Paragon Medical Education Group for their long-term support of the Disaster Podcast. Dr. Joe Holley and the team at Paragon continue to provide excellent and customized disaster response training to jurisdictions around the U.S. and internationally as well.

Returning guest and author Beth Livingston joins co-hosts Jamie Davis and Sam Bradley, along with Dr. Joe Holley, to explore the 1860 sinking of the Lady Elgin on Lake Michigan. Beth’s new book, The Lady Elgin Sinking of 1860, examines a disaster that claimed hundreds of lives and the extraordinary efforts of people determined to help.

Listeners may remember Beth from her previous visits discussing the Charleston earthquake and the Dayton flood. This time, she brings us to the Great Lakes, where a passenger excursion from Milwaukee to Chicago ended in tragedy.

Beth describes how members of Milwaukee’s Union Guards, accompanied by family members and other passengers, traveled to Chicago for a fundraising outing. After a day of activities and sightseeing, they boarded the Lady Elgin for the return trip. During the overnight voyage, the steamer collided with the sailing vessel Augusta in stormy conditions.

As water entered the damaged ship, Captain Jack Wilson and his crew tried desperately to keep it afloat. Beth recounts attempts to plug the breach and the decision to move passengers onto the upper hurricane deck as the situation worsened. When the vessel went down, survivors faced rough water, floating wreckage, and a dangerous journey toward shore.

The rescue effort brought together crew members, nearby residents, and students who responded as news of the sinking reached land. Among them was Edward Spencer, a student at Garrett Biblical Institute, who is credited with rescuing 17 people. Beth also shares Captain Wilson’s efforts to help passengers survive and the account of his death while trying to save a mother and child.

For Jamie, Sam, and Joe, these stories raise questions that remain familiar to disaster responders today. What drives someone to enter danger to help a stranger? How do people find the strength to keep going when the need seems overwhelming? And how do communities come together when an ordinary day becomes a mass-casualty event?

Sam brings her responder’s perspective to a conversation about the human side of disaster. Across generations, the equipment and communication systems change, but the impulse to help remains a powerful part of the response.

Beth also takes us behind the scenes of her research. She discusses tracing the people involved, exploring how news of the wreck spread, and discovering how much of the story had faded from public memory. A visit to Captain Wilson’s hometown helped spark renewed local interest in his life and actions.

This episode offers a look at both a historic maritime tragedy and the people whose choices deserve to be remembered. Listen as Beth shares the story behind her new book and helps us connect the experiences of the Lady Elgin’s passengers and rescuers with the challenges responders face today.

Listen to Beth’s Previous Episode of the Disaster Podcast

Our thanks to Dr. Joe Holley from Paragon Medical Education Group for sponsoring the Disaster Podcast.

Thank you as always to Paragon Medical Education Group for their long-term support of the Disaster Podcast. Dr. Joe Holley and the team at Paragon continue to provide excellent and customized disaster response training to jurisdictions around the U.S. and internationally as well.

This week on the Disaster Podcast we chat with returning guest Seamus Leary ,MPA, CEM. He is President of Meridian Strategic Services, Inc. and is an emergency management expert who worked at the state and local levels and later with FEMA at the Federal level. He was previously on the Disaster Podcast talking about leadership in the midst of catastrophe.

Disaster Podcast Episode – Leading Through Catastrophe with Seamus Leary

In this episode, Seamus comes on to talk about resilience and preparedness for what happens when our plans aren’t enough to manage an ever-evolving situation. In these fluid situations that exceed the parameters of the initial disaster plan, adaptation is key to looking at and assessing the situation on the ground and making decisions based on the best possible knowledge managers have at the time.

Meridian Strategic Services on LinkedIn

Great Blizzard of 1888

The episode also featured Dr. Joe Holley and was co-hosted by Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis.

Scroll down for Podcast Discussion Summary

Thank you as always to Paragon Medical Education Group for their long-term support of the Disaster Podcast. Dr. Joe Holley and the team at Paragon continue to provide excellent and customized disaster response training to jurisdictions around the U.S. and internationally as well.

Podcast Discussion Summary

Seamus Leary from Meridian Strategic Services discussed his company’s new “Culture of Resilience” initiative, presenting ten key lessons learned from real-world disaster experiences.

The key points include:

1. plans aren’t enough when disasters outpace them
2. leadership sets the tone for preparedness
3. people are the difference when empowered to make decisions
4. communication creates clarity
5. partnerships drive strength
6. real-time decision making is crucial
7. adaptability is essential
8. trust is earned through transparency
9. after-action reports should distinguish between lessons observed and lessons learned
10. resilience is a choice that requires honest risk assessment and resource-constrained planning

The discussion highlighted the importance of building strong partnerships between diverse organizations during disasters and the need for emergency managers to continuously learn and adapt their approaches.

The team went through contact information and the team encouraged listeners to stay safe. The group discussed the role of specialized training, with Jamie highlighting the sponsorship of the Disaster Podcast by Paragon Medical Education Group.

Catch the full episode using the player above or on your favorite podcast platform, and don’t forget to subscribe to the Disaster Podcast for weekly insights from leaders in disaster response and research!