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Tornadoes in Atlanta, flooding in Detroit, dire hurricane predictions for the Gulf Coast, and wildfires in the country’s interior: 2020’s extreme weather season has already begun. Agencies around the country are rushing to prepare for these potential disasters, despite already being in disaster mode. 

Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has stretched state and federal disaster preparedness services. But as we move into spring and the beginnings of hurricane, tornado, flooding, and fire season—periods that have grown longer and more unpredictable in recent years—local, state and federal authorities will be fighting to save lives and livelihoods from potentially many more threats. According to experts, they’ll be best equipped to succeed in these aims if they are able to communicate efficiently with one another. 

“Having strong communication mechanisms between hospitals, [emergency medical services] providers, long term care facilities, public health agencies and others are really important in a situation where you’ve got multiple competing hazards,” says Glen Mays, a professor of preparedness and health systems at the University of Colorado and project leader on the National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHSPI), a Centers for Disease Control-launched initiative to analyze how prepared the country is to keep its citizens safe during disasters.   

Read the full story at Popular Science.