Disaster Podcast

In this week’s episode of the Disaster Podcast, we start off with a discussion of the possibility of dual hurricanes in close proximity inside the Atlantic Basin. This gives rise to the term Fujiwara Effect , which discusses the impacts two nearby storm systems have on each other based upon their relative storm strengths. Disaster meteorologist Dan DePodwin joins us to describe the tropical...

In this episode of the Disaster Podcast, the team brings in professionals from across several hospital systems to look at how they prepare for incoming mass casualty patients. We talk about the kinds of drills the systems run, and also look at the various departments and how they respond in each type of situation. On the show are Dr. Joe Holley from Paragon Medical Education Group as well as worki...

Julie Roberts from JK Roberts, LLC drops by the podcast this week to address business disaster continuity plans. Julie led communications efforts at both the Federal and State levels including NOAA. Julie discusses the importance of building a disaster plan for businesses of all sizes. These plans include creating contingencies around suppliers and employees to ensure operations can resume at the...

Dan Zehner from the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) drops in the podcast to report on the recent documentary output from the research group. The links below contain a lot of information on how the NHERI research grants have turned into actionable infrastructure and building code improvement suggestions. Dan and co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis also talk about data c...

Midwife and Paramedic Jessica Arno, the Combat Midwife , returns this week to talk focus on pediatric emergencies in the disaster environment. She and the Disaster Podcast team talk about unique challenges facing responders who encounter sick and injured kids. Jessica stresses the importance of understanding age-appropriate behaviors and presentation. We discuss why it’s necessary to trust t...

This week features a discussion of maternity and pediatric care in disaster situations with Jessica Arno, the Combat Midwife . Jessica is a midwite, paramedic, and battlefield-born educator who’s trained over 100,000 combat medics, Special Warfare medics, and EMS professionals in OB/GYN and pediatric emergencies. From Afghan refugee camps to rural fire stations, she equips medics and civilia...

Disaster meteorologist, Dan DePodwin, joins the show this week to discuss the severe weather patterns that have led to dangerous flash flooding all across the country so far in July. The team discusses how this weather affects millions of Americans this summer. Disaster emergency management expert, Becky DePodwin shares her thoughts on messaging to protect public safety in the face of these disast...

Chuck Costanza joins the Disaster Podcast team tonight. He’s the Vice President of Client Engagement for Global Guardian . They provide global threat assessments for companies, helping them protect their employees from the effects of things like major disasters. The team discusses global security issues surrounding things like climate change. It affects many areas of global security like mas...

Dan Zehner from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s NHERI returns to the podcast this week. He talks about some of the key reports generated by their institutions in the past year. One particular StEER report on Hurricane Milton showed a huge dataset collected about the storm and its impact on homes and other infrastructure along the storm’s path. This data then goes to the individu...

We asked Thomas Di Liberto, meteorologist, climatologist, and former NOAA employee on the show to discuss recent changes in National Weather Service staffing . Do the changes made in the name of government efficiency lead to risks in accurate weather prediction and disaster weather alerts? We discuss this on the show this week with the team. Also on the show this week were meteorologist and weathe...

David DiPietro was a former Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and eventually an instructor for community operations and personnel. He later founded DiPietro and Associates, a medical equipment business , including the distribution of AEDs. Kelsey Treat, David’s daughter, now runs the company’s sales and operations while Dave focuses on new business opportunities. Our episode was hosted by Sam...

We are joined this week by former FDNY firefighter/paramedic Vincent Johnson. Vinnie comes to us from Disaster Medical Solutions and a former FEMA USAR team in New York. He and Dr. Joe Holley share information about USAR medical specialist operations training for USAR docs and paramedics. Dr. Joe Holley was also on the call and our episode was hosted by Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis. Scroll down for...

In this episode we talk about a conference a few months back that was attended by both Becky DePodwin and Kyle Nelson. Becky is our Emergency Management disaster expert and Kyle has experience in meteorological issues and is also an educator for emergency managers on social media use and information management during disasters and major events. The International Association of Emergency Managers c...

This week we take a look at what it takes to train and deploy with USAR dogs during disasters. Dr. Joe Holley’s better half, Kimberly comes by to talk about her work with the FEMA team from Memphis, Tennessee. She currently had two trained dogs (one live find dog and a human remains detection dog), Kimberly is currently training a third for live search and rescue. Kimberly goes over the trai...

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. Dr. Joe Holley talks about the post-storm USAR (Urban Search...

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. Bright Harbor, a leading disaster recovery company that has been on...

Edward Coulson 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...

Author Beth Livingston 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 . Both of these disasters took place long before our 24-hour video media coverage. Yet...

Photo Credit Dr. Joe Holley 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 lif...

Dr. Joe Holley in USAR training 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. After we talk about the hospital side of things, Joe shares some of his recent training...

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. Kyle addresses the importance of addressing complacency within the teams who’ve run the response...

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 . Edward helps us understand...

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). Together, they div...

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. Then co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis look at wildfire preparedness, emergency evacuation on a moment’s...

Our amazing Disaster Podcast team got together this week to share their favorite episodes from 2024. We covered a lot of topics and disaster responses over the previous year but there were a few standouts for each of us. Becky shared her picks first. She loved our annual “Stump Dan with obscure weather terms” episode. She also mentioned our mental health for first responders episode fe...