A BePrepared Solutions report series
Alert Pulse
Each month we look at the emergency alerts sent across the United States and what happened behind them: the floods, fires, storms and evacuations, where they hit, and what they cost.
Every edition counts distinct warnings rather than the messages that repeat them, excludes tests, reports times in the local hour people received them, and publishes what the data cannot answer alongside what it can. The figures are downloadable and free to cite.
Latest edition
Weekly report · Sep 14 – 20, 2026 · Published Sep 22, 2026
Floods bring deaths in New Mexico and evacuations in Minnesota
Flooding forced rescues and displaced residents across the Southwest and Midwest. Kansas officials reported wind damage, while students in Rexburg, Idaho, helped bail out flooded apartments.
6,071 distinct warnings · 2,817 counties
Monthly reports
Monthly report · August 2026 · Published Sep 22, 2026
Floods, fires and storms disrupt homes and roads across the United States
August flooding forced Ohio evacuations and damaged Utah homes. Oregon fires closed roads and brought shelters into service, while Maryland storms displaced residents and cut power.
37,931 distinct warnings · 3,752 counties
Monthly report · July 2026 · Published Aug 15, 2026
Heat, floods, and fire hit tens of millions in July 2026
A heat wave covered more than 100 million people. Flash floods killed people in West Virginia and Texas. Wildfires pushed families out of homes across the Pacific Northwest.
42,499 distinct warnings · 3,755 counties
State reports
New Jersey · Monthly report · August 2026 · Published Sep 22, 2026
Floods displaced students and a tornado touched down in New Jersey
August flooding entered homes, disrupted Rowan's move-in day and washed out a highway, according to university officials and news reports. Near Estell Manor, investigators found no damage definitively attributable to a brief tornado.
375 distinct warnings · 53 counties
Virginia · Monthly report · August 2026 · Published Sep 22, 2026
Floods and falling trees damaged homes and closed roads across Virginia
August flooding cut off Patrick County residents, while storms damaged homes and closed roads and parks elsewhere in Virginia. Recovery continued after the warnings ended.
1,157 distinct warnings · 266 counties