--- title: "Floods bring deaths in New Mexico and evacuations in Minnesota" url: "https://bepreparedsolutions.co/reports/alert-pulse/week-2026-09-14" description: "Every emergency alert sent across the United States in Sep 14 – 20, 2026, and what happened behind them. Figures for the week, with the data behind them." source: "BePrepared Solutions" --- [BePrepared](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/)[Alert Pulse](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/reports/alert-pulse) [](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/reports/alert-pulse/week-2026-09-21 "Sep 21 – 27, 2026")[Try freeFree 7\-day trial](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/trial?source=alert-pulse&utm_source=alert-pulse&utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=week-2026-09-14&utm_content=masthead&returnTo=%2Freports%2Falert-pulse%2Fweek-2026-09-14) Alert Pulse · Weekly report · Sep 14 – 20, 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. [1](#newcomb-southwest-flooding "Flash flooding in the Southwest and Rockies, September 15 to 17")[4](#rexburg-basement-apartment-flooding "Flash flooding in Idaho, September 18")[3](#herington-kansas-storm-winds "Severe storms in the Southern Plains and Texas, September 19 to 20")[2](#new-richland-care-center-flooding "Flash flooding in the Upper Midwest and Midwest, September 19 to 20") Each story below, on the day it peaked - Flash flooding · Sep 15–17 the Southwest A county agency told people to leave - Flash flooding · Sep 17–19 the Southwest 3 orders to leave came from county agencies - Severe storms · Sep 19–20 the Southern Plains Gusts to 80 mph Named in the warnings: Council Grove, Alma, Eskridge - Flash flooding · Sep 20 the Ohio Valley - Flash flooding · Sep 19–20 the Upper Midwest Fillmore County spent 3 days under warning Warnings told people to avoid floodwater and seek shelter, but evacuations, rescues and neighbors’ help were still needed when water entered roads and homes. [Read the week](#newcomb-southwest-flooding) ## Where the week happened Each numbered area is one of the stories below, drawn over the counties its warnings covered. - Flash flooding in the Southwest, Sep 15–17 - Flash flooding in the Upper Midwest, Sep 19–20 - Severe storms in the Southern Plains, Sep 19–20 - Flash flooding in Idaho, Sep 18 Fig. 1. The counties each story covered, numbered as the report tells them. Colour groups the hazard: water, heat and fire, storms. Counties are the smallest area these warnings describe. The same areas as a list - **1.** Flash flooding in the Southwest and Rockies, September 15 to 17 · Water · 26 counties drawn - **2.** Flash flooding in the Upper Midwest and Midwest, September 19 to 20 · Water · 54 counties drawn - **3.** Severe storms in the Southern Plains and Texas, September 19 to 20 · Storms · 102 counties drawn - **4.** Flash flooding in Idaho, September 18 · Water · 8 counties drawn Figure 02 ### When it happened Each square is one day of the week, shaded by how many warnings went out.Shade is warnings that day. A number is the story it belongs to on the map. A ring marks a day on which news or officials reported what the event did to people. - Fewer warnings - More warnings - Impact on people reported View as a table | Day | Warnings | Story on the map | Documented impact on people | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sep 14 | 742 | — | — | | Sep 15 | 807 | 1 | Yes | | Sep 16 | 817 | 1 | Yes | | Sep 17 | 694 | 1 | Yes | | Sep 18 | 834 | 4 | Yes | | Sep 19 | 1,069 | 2, 3 | Yes | | Sep 20 | 1,108 | 2, 3 | Yes | ## [1](#the-map)Floodwaters kill a child and two adults near Newcomb, New Mexico 1. SEP 15, 3 PM UTC First warning San Juan County, Utah 2. SEP 15, 3 PM UTC Considerable threat San Juan County, Utah 3. SEP 15, 6 PM UTC County order Emery County, Utah 4. SEP 16, 1 PM UTC County order Emery County, Utah 5. SEP 17, 1 PM UTC County order Emery County, Utah 6. SEP 17, 3 PM UTC Last warning Maricopa County, Arizona - Flash flooding — coloured as water. 26 counties in the Southwest, Sep 15–17. Near Newcomb, New Mexico, early on September 16, a child and two adults drowned after floodwaters swept them away on the Navajo Nation, The Associated Press reported via ABC News. Flash flood warnings covered the area that day, but the available accounts do not establish whether those who died received them. The regional warnings began the previous morning in San Juan County, Utah, with a considerable damage threat designation, part of the Southwest flooding marked 1 on the map. That afternoon, the Emery County Sheriff’s Office issued this message: “POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING IN THE GOBLIN VALLEY AND SAN RAFAEL AREA”. Responders rescued everyone trapped by flooding in Little Wildhorse Canyon that day and escorted them out before 10 p.m., ABC4 reported via AOL. Archived alert · Sep 14 – 20, 2026Sent September 17, 2026 · NWS Grand Junction CO > At 917 PM MDT, the public reported thunderstorms producing heavy rain over the Gold Mountain Burn Scar. On the Navajo Nation, the Commission on Emergency Management’s September 16 assessment reported overnight evacuations and severe washouts requiring transportation crews. The Navajo Nation Council announced that Sanostee Day School and Tohaali Community School would remain closed for the rest of the week. The council and commission had reaffirmed a Nation-wide emergency the previous day because of storms, flooding and road damage. In Arizona that Wednesday, state troopers pushed three stranded vehicles out of floodwater at Scottsdale’s Princess Drive on-ramp, Arizona’s Family reported. The station also reported a helicopter rescue of two people from a car stranded in a wash. In Mesa, firefighters brought occupants of vehicles near Higley Road out safely, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. By Wednesday night, the weather service in Grand Junction was directing people near Colorado’s Gold Mountain burn scar to higher ground and away from the Cutler and Dexter Creek drainages. Its warning stated: “Life threatening flash flooding of areas in and around the Gold Mountain Burn Scar.” Flood concerns continued into Thursday in southern Utah, where the weather service advised campers and hikers to avoid streams and creeks. [Flood alerts by the numbers](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/flood-preparedness#flood-statistics): every published month, by state and county. ## [2](#the-map)Neighbors help evacuate a flooded care center in New Richland, Minnesota 1. SEP 19, 2 AM UTC First warning Fillmore County, Minnesota 2. SEP 21, 12 AM UTC Last warning Mower County, Minnesota - Flash flooding — coloured as water. 54 counties in the Upper Midwest, Sep 19–20. In New Richland, Minnesota, on September 19, a neighbor supplied a pontoon boat as students and first responders helped evacuate 36 care-center residents, FOX 9 reported. Residents were relocated to other senior-care communities after floodwater entered the building. The regional flooding, marked 2 on the map, had prompted a flash flood warning in Fillmore County the previous evening. Early Saturday, the weather service in the Twin Cities relayed a report from law enforcement: “At 107 AM CDT, local law enforcement reported thunderstorms producing heavy rain in southern Waseca county along the MN Highway 30 corridor.” Archived alert · Sep 14 – 20, 2026Sent September 20, 2026 · NWS Chicago IL > Rapid-onset flooding of creeks, streams, drainage ditches, streets, underpasses, low-lying areas, and other poor drainage areas. At New Richland Care Center, opening a door let more water inside. Facility administrator Robert Johannsen told FOX 9: “At that time, it was knee-deep in the building. Every time you would open the door, water would rush in.” The evacuation depended on people and a boat reaching residents inside the flooded building. Beyond the care center, about 80% of New Richland’s homes were damaged by the flash flood, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported on September 20. Officials offered sandbags and help finding overnight lodging, according to MPR News. Across this regional flooding, the reporting reviewed recorded no deaths or injuries. In Cedar Rapids on September 20, officials reported water entering basements and deployed six portable pumps along major sanitary sewer lines, KCRG reported. Prairie Creek overtopped J Street SW, prompting a street closure. The flooding had moved from an evacuation emergency in New Richland to another community’s effort to keep water out of homes. [Flood alerts by the numbers](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/flood-preparedness#flood-statistics): every published month, by state and county. ## [3](#the-map)Storm winds reach about 75 mph in Herington, Kansas 1. SEP 19, 6 PM UTC First warning Jeff Davis County, Texas 2. SEP 20, 7 AM UTC Last warning McPherson County, Kansas - Severe storms — coloured as storms. 102 counties in the Southern Plains, Sep 19–20. In Herington, Kansas, on Saturday evening, law enforcement reported strong storm winds. The weather service in Topeka relayed the observation: “At 619 PM CDT, law enforcement reported wind gusts in Herington around 75 mph.” That was a reported gust, not simply a wind speed forecast in advance of the storm. The broader severe-weather episode, marked 3 on the map, began with a warning in Jeff Davis County, Texas, earlier that afternoon. By 3:55 p.m. Central, the weather service in Norman had warned northern Woods County and northeastern Woodward County in Oklahoma, telling people to move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Archived alert · Sep 14 – 20, 2026Sent September 19, 2026 · NWS Goodland KS > People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles. Expect considerable tree damage. Wind damage is also likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings. At 6:40 p.m. Central that evening, the weather service in Topeka stated that storms were producing widespread wind damage in a warning naming Council Grove, Alma and Eskridge. It told people to shelter inside a sturdy structure and stay away from windows. The warning, reproduced by Winter Weather Warnings, did not identify damaged properties or quantify losses. The distinction matters: Norman’s warning said, “Expect considerable tree damage. Damage is likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings.” Those words described anticipated effects, unlike Topeka’s report of damage already occurring. Warnings continued into early Sunday in McPherson County. As far as the reporting reviewed shows, no deaths or injuries were reported for this episode. [Tornado alerts by the numbers](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/tornado-preparedness#tornado-statistics): every published month, by state and county. ## [4](#the-map)Rexburg students bail out flooded basement apartments 1. SEP 18, 3 AM UTC First warning Madison County, Idaho 2. SEP 18, 4 AM UTC County order Madison County, Idaho 3. SEP 18, 4 AM UTC County order Madison County, Idaho 4. SEP 18, 4 AM UTC Considerable threat Jefferson County, Idaho 5. SEP 19, 2 AM UTC Last warning Boise County, Idaho - Flash flooding — coloured as water. 8 counties in Idaho, Sep 18. In Rexburg, Idaho, flooding entered apartment buildings on Thursday night, BYU-Idaho Radio reported the following day. At Heritage, residents gathered to help neighbors in flooded basement apartments, part of the Idaho flooding marked 4 on the map. The first flash flood warning for Madison County went out at 9:51 p.m. Mountain. The sheriff’s office followed with: “Madison County: FLASH FLOOD WARNING. Avoid low areas and never cross floodwater.” A later county message offered sandbag help, and by 10:25 p.m. a warning in Jefferson County carried a considerable damage threat designation. Archived alert · Sep 14 – 20, 2026Sent September 18, 2026 · NWS Pocatello ID > Life threatening flash flooding of areas in and around the Big Rock Burn Scar. On Friday, weather service warnings also addressed potential flooding and debris flows around the Big Rock and Ohio burn scars. Those warnings did not establish that homes or roads there had been destroyed. In northeastern Boise County, however, a weather service warning relayed emergency management’s report of debris on State Highway 21, according to the notice republished by GovOneStop. Madison County Emergency Management reported distributing more than 1,200 sandbags in the county, BYU-Idaho Radio reported on September 18. The county also deployed pump trucks to drain roads and apartment complexes, while flooded roads stopped students trying to reach other places to help. The reporting reviewed found no deaths or injuries reported from this Idaho flooding. At Heritage during the overnight flooding, neighbors spent an hour removing water with buckets, bins and bowls, according to BYU-Idaho Radio. Joaquin Minnick, a university freshman and Heritage resident, told the station: “The water probably got up to my ankles on the basement floor”. Residents were using what they had to help clear water from their neighbors’ apartments. [Flood alerts by the numbers](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/flood-preparedness#flood-statistics): every published month, by state and county. ## How BePrepared monitors this, all year This report exists because we already monitor the whole country. Every couple of minutes, around the clock, we read the emergency alerts going out across all fifty states and territories, and we keep them. A month of that record is what you have just read. The national picture is the part most people never see. What matters to you is much smaller: which of these warnings would have reached your street, and what the risks around you look like on an ordinary day. That is what BePrepared is for. Put in your ZIP code and you get the picture for where you live — the flood, fire and storm history around you, the dams and facilities nearby, and a plan for your household rather than a general one. With a free account you can keep a watchlist of the places you care about, like your home, your parents' address, and your kids' school, and set what you want to hear about. ## Where it hit hardest Counted as distinct warnings, and as the days a county spent under one. A county is the smallest area these warnings describe. ### Warnings by region - Southwest254 - Southern Plains142 - Midwest107 - Rockies91 - Ohio Valley89 ### Most days under a warning - Jackson County, AR8 days Jackson County, AR was under a warning on: Sep 14, Sep 15, Sep 16, Sep 17, Sep 18, Sep 19, Sep 20, Sep 21 - Woodruff County, AR8 days Woodruff County, AR was under a warning on: Sep 14, Sep 15, Sep 16, Sep 17, Sep 18, Sep 19, Sep 20, Sep 21 - Calhoun County, IL8 days Calhoun County, IL was under a warning on: Sep 14, Sep 15, Sep 16, Sep 17, Sep 18, Sep 19, Sep 20, Sep 21 - Marion County, FL8 days Marion County, FL was under a warning on: Sep 14, Sep 15, Sep 16, Sep 17, Sep 18, Sep 19, Sep 20, Sep 21 - Fayette County, IL8 days Fayette County, IL was under a warning on: Sep 14, Sep 15, Sep 16, Sep 17, Sep 18, Sep 19, Sep 20, Sep 21 - Lincoln County, MO8 days Lincoln County, MO was under a warning on: Sep 14, Sep 15, Sep 16, Sep 17, Sep 18, Sep 19, Sep 20, Sep 21 - Citrus County, FL8 days Citrus County, FL was under a warning on: Sep 14, Sep 15, Sep 16, Sep 17, Sep 18, Sep 19, Sep 20, Sep 21 - Levy County, FL8 days Levy County, FL was under a warning on: Sep 14, Sep 15, Sep 16, Sep 17, Sep 18, Sep 19, Sep 20, Sep 21 Figure 03[Embed this chart](#use-these-figures) ### Where the warnings landed Every county that received a warning this week, coloured and scaled by how many; the faint dots received none.2,352 of the country's counties received at least one warning; the faint dots are the counties that received none, and a quiet county is not a safe county. Each county wears its MOST frequent kind of warning and its dot scales with how many it received; the month's three biggest kinds carry color and every other kind wears gray, with the panels below giving each kind its own map. The full per-county mix is in the CSV. 465 warned areas — marine zones and territories — have no county position on this map, about 12% of county-level warning volume. They are still counted in every figure and table. Too few counties to panel: winter (5). - Flooding - Extreme heat - Severe storms - Everything else Flooding4,929 warnings · 725 counties Extreme heat4,560 warnings · 595 counties Severe storms2,866 warnings · 573 counties Fire165 warnings · 63 counties Safety & civil145 warnings · 83 counties Tornadoes128 warnings · 52 counties View as a table | County | State | Warnings | Most frequent kind | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sandoval | NM | 96 | Flooding | | McKinley | NM | 95 | Flooding | | Pima | AZ | 87 | Flooding | | Socorro | NM | 87 | Everything else | | Cibola | NM | 70 | Everything else | | Maricopa | AZ | 69 | Flooding | | Lincoln | NM | 67 | Flooding | | Otero | NM | 64 | Flooding | | Cochise | AZ | 62 | Flooding | | Rio Arriba | NM | 59 | Flooding | | Meigs | OH | 58 | Flooding | | Valencia | NM | 58 | Everything else | | San Juan | NM | 55 | Flooding | | Emery | UT | 55 | Everything else | | Sierra | NM | 54 | Flooding | | Mesa | CO | 52 | Everything else | | Athens | OH | 50 | Flooding | | Pinal | AZ | 48 | Flooding | | Rio Blanco | CO | 47 | Everything else | | Woods | OK | 46 | Severe storms | The human record ## What it cost, and who reported it These figures are not ours. Our archive records that a warning was issued, never what happened next, so every number here comes from the organization named beside it and was retrieved on September 22, 2026. - Toll 3deaths Two adults and one child drowned after being swept away by floodwaters near Newcomb, New Mexico, early on September 16, 2026. Source: [The Associated Press via ABC News](https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/3-dead-after-swept-floodwaters-navajo-nation-136509544) ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on September 16. - Toll 0injuries in this incident No one was hurt in the September 16 incident involving three stranded drivers on Scottsdale's Loop 101 on-ramp at Princess Drive. Source: [Arizona's Family (KTVK/KPHO)](https://www.azfamily.com/2026/09/17/crews-respond-water-rescues-storms-move-through-phoenix-area/) - Displaced The Navajo Nation Commission on Emergency Management reported overnight evacuations and identified U.S. Highway 191 between mileposts 451 and 456 as a primary flood-affected area in its September 16 assessment. Source: [Navajo Nation Commission on Emergency Management](https://www.navajonationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/CEM_reaffirms_Navajo_Nation-wide_state_of_emergency_declaration.pdf) - Rescue 3vehicles Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers pushed three stranded vehicles out of approximately two feet of water on Scottsdale's Loop 101 on-ramp at Princess Drive on September 16. Source: [Arizona's Family (KTVK/KPHO)](https://www.azfamily.com/2026/09/17/crews-respond-water-rescues-storms-move-through-phoenix-area/) ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on September 16. - Rescue 2people rescued A helicopter rescue team saved two people in their 80s from a car stranded in a wash along State Route 238 on September 16. Source: [Arizona's Family (KTVK/KPHO)](https://www.azfamily.com/2026/09/17/crews-respond-water-rescues-storms-move-through-phoenix-area/) - Toll 36residents evacuated Flooding forced the evacuation of 36 residents from New Richland Care Center on September 19. Source: [FOX 9](https://www.fox9.com/news/new-richland-community-steps-up-help-evacuate-nursing-home-after-flooding) - Toll MPR News reported no immediate reports of injuries from the southern Minnesota flooding. Source: [MPR News](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/09/19/torrential-rain-flooding-mudslides-southern-minnesota) ArchiveOur records place this event in Minnesota between 2026-09-19 and 2026-09-20. - Displaced A neighbor supplied a pontoon boat, and students and first responders helped evacuate New Richland Care Center before residents were relocated to other senior-care communities. Source: [FOX 9](https://www.fox9.com/news/new-richland-community-steps-up-help-evacuate-nursing-home-after-flooding) - Rescue 4homes reached in boat rescues New Richland firefighters rescued residents from four homes by boat, city administrator Tyler Lendt said. Source: [The Minnesota Star Tribune](https://www.startribune.com/flooding-shuts-down-roads-and-trails-in-southern-minnesota/601891603) - In their words Care-center administrator Robert Johannsen described water entering the building during the evacuation. > “At that time, it was knee-deep in the building. Every time you would open the door, water would rush in.” Robert Johannsen, Facility administrator, New Richland Care Center, to FOX 9 Source: [FOX 9](https://www.fox9.com/news/new-richland-community-steps-up-help-evacuate-nursing-home-after-flooding) - Damage At 6:40 p.m. CDT on September 19, 2026, NWS Topeka stated that storms were producing widespread wind damage in a warning naming Council Grove, Alma, Eskridge, Maple Hill, Alta Vista and McFarland, without identifying damaged properties or quantifying losses. Source: [National Weather Service Topeka, reproduced by Winter Weather Warnings](https://www.winterweatherwarnings.com/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.9dff2398a925014c3f16b9fcefe23d73433d9a90.001.1) ArchiveOur records show severe storms warnings covering this area on September 19. - Response NWS Topeka instructed people in the September 19 warning area covering Council Grove, Alma, Eskridge, Maple Hill, Alta Vista and McFarland to seek shelter immediately inside a sturdy structure and stay away from windows. Source: [National Weather Service Topeka, reproduced by Winter Weather Warnings](https://www.winterweatherwarnings.com/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.9dff2398a925014c3f16b9fcefe23d73433d9a90.001.1) ArchiveOur records show severe storms warnings covering this area on September 19. - Response At 3:55 p.m. CDT on September 19, 2026, NWS Norman issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northern Woods County and northeastern Woodward County and instructed people to move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Source: [National Weather Service Norman, reproduced by Winter Weather Warnings](https://winterweatherwarnings.com/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.11a3411a2960e32557fee6b444fa4ce4da7711ba.001.1) ArchiveOur records show severe storms warnings covering this area on September 19. - Response At 6:17 p.m. CDT on September 19, 2026, NWS Midland/Odessa issued a flash flood warning for south-central Pecos County and north-central Brewster County until 8:15 p.m., describing flooding as ongoing or expected shortly and instructing drivers to turn around at flooded roads and residents to report observed flooding to emergency services. Source: [National Weather Service Midland/Odessa, reproduced by GovOneStop](https://govonestop.com/nws/texas-severe-flash-flood-warning-effective-09192026-1617) ArchiveOur records show severe storms warnings covering this area on September 19. - In their words Heritage resident Joaquin Minnick described water reaching his ankles inside the basement. > “The water probably got up to my ankles on the basement floor” Joaquin Minnick, BYU-Idaho freshman and Heritage apartment resident, to BYU-Idaho Radio Source: [BYU-Idaho Radio](https://www.byui.edu/radio/flash-floods-in-rexburg-bring-students-together) - Damage In its September 18 report on flooding that began Thursday night, BYU-Idaho Radio confirmed flooding at Heritage, Alpine Chalet, Bunkhouse and Parkview Apartments in Rexburg. Source: [BYU-Idaho Radio](https://www.byui.edu/radio/flash-floods-in-rexburg-bring-students-together) ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on September 18. - Damage The National Weather Service's September 18 warning for northeastern Boise County stated that emergency management reported debris on Idaho State Highway 21 between mileposts 103 and 105. Source: [National Weather Service, republished by GovOneStop](https://www.govonestop.com/nws/idaho-severe-flash-flood-warning-effective-09182026-1647) ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on September 18. - Closed Flooded roads stopped students traveling to help elsewhere, and the county deployed pump trucks to drain roads and apartment complexes. Source: [BYU-Idaho Radio](https://www.byui.edu/radio/flash-floods-in-rexburg-bring-students-together) - Response Heritage residents gathered to help residents of flooded basement apartments and spent an hour removing water with buckets, bins and bowls. Source: [BYU-Idaho Radio](https://www.byui.edu/radio/flash-floods-in-rexburg-bring-students-together) For 3 of these stories, research looked for reported deaths and injuries and found none. As far as the record shows, no one was hurt. BePrepared ## 6,071 warnings across the country in Sep 14 – 20, 2026. See which reach your street. We read the emergency alerts going out across all fifty states, around the clock. That is where this report comes from. Enter your ZIP and get the version that matters to you: the flood, fire and storm history around your address, what sits nearby, and a plan built for your household. [Start your free 7-day trial](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/trial?source=alert-pulse&utm_source=alert-pulse&utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=week-2026-09-14&utm_content=card&returnTo=%2Freports%2Falert-pulse%2Fweek-2026-09-14) No card. It ends on its own. [Or just look up your ZIP](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/zip) The numbers behind this report Every warning counted once, by type, place, day and hour, with the method below and the whole table downloadable at the end of the page. Distinct warnings 6,071 carried by 9,472 messages (1.56× echo) Counties reached 2,817 across 52 states and territories Overnight 1,124 10pm–6am local · 17 of the most severe Effective on arrival 99% take effect the moment they are sent ### What was warned about | Alert type | Warnings | Messages | | --- | --- | --- | | Special Weather Statement | 1,418 | 1,418 | | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | 1,371 | 1,371 | | Flood Advisory | 663 | 663 | | Flash Flood Warning | 578 | 578 | | Small Craft Advisory | 467 | 2,866 | | Flood Warning | 260 | 346 | | Flood Watch | 252 | 379 | | Heat Advisory | 170 | 228 | ### Where | State | Warnings | | --- | --- | | NM | 550 | | KS | 377 | | AZ | 365 | | TX | 348 | | CO | 344 | | IA | 244 | | OH | 235 | | UT | 230 | The busiest hour of the period was 6pm local time, with 599 warnings. ### Counties reached most often | County | State | Warnings | | --- | --- | --- | | Sandoval | NM | 96 | | McKinley | NM | 95 | | Pima | AZ | 87 | | Socorro | NM | 87 | | Cibola | NM | 70 | | Maricopa | AZ | 69 | | Lincoln | NM | 67 | | Otero | NM | 64 | | Cochise | AZ | 62 | | Rio Arriba | NM | 59 | A county with no alerts is not a county with no risk. It can mean a quiet period, or a hazard that this feed does not carry. Figure 04[Embed this chart](#use-these-figures) ### When the warnings arrived Distinct warnings by the local hour they were sent, across the whole period.Local time in the place each alert was sent to. 1,124 arrived between 10pm and 6am, 17 of them at the highest severity. View as a table | Local hour | Warnings | Of which most severe | | --- | --- | --- | | 12am | 133 | 2 | | 1am | 118 | 6 | | 2am | 145 | 0 | | 3am | 138 | 0 | | 4am | 118 | 1 | | 5am | 98 | 0 | | 6am | 126 | 0 | | 7am | 104 | 2 | | 8am | 108 | 1 | | 9am | 121 | 0 | | 10am | 124 | 4 | | 11am | 147 | 2 | | 12pm | 151 | 3 | | 1pm | 266 | 8 | | 2pm | 395 | 2 | | 3pm | 520 | 5 | | 4pm | 592 | 7 | | 5pm | 584 | 8 | | 6pm | 599 | 13 | | 7pm | 488 | 6 | | 8pm | 352 | 2 | | 9pm | 270 | 5 | | 10pm | 220 | 7 | | 11pm | 154 | 1 | Figure 05[Embed this chart](#use-these-figures) ### The feed repeats itself How many messages the feed carried, how many distinct warnings they represent, and how many counties those reached.An echo rate of 1.56× — for every warning issued, 1.56 messages carried it. Reporting messages as warnings would overstate this week by 3,401. View as a table | Stage | Count | | --- | --- | | Messages received | 9,472 | | Of which updates | 4,577 | | Of which cancels | 0 | | Distinct warnings | 6,071 | | Counties reached | 2,817 | Figure 06[Embed this chart](#use-these-figures) ### How severe they were Distinct warnings by the severity the issuing agency assigned. - Minor - Moderate - Severe - Extreme - Not classified View as a table | Severity | Warnings | | --- | --- | | Minor | 1,281 | | Moderate | 1,951 | | Severe | 2,707 | | Extreme | 85 | | Not classified | 47 | Figure 07[Embed this chart](#use-these-figures) ### What people were told to do The share of warnings carrying each instruction to the public.These are response counts. They record the instruction an alert carried, not the hazard behind it. - Avoid - Follow instructions - Shelter - Everything else Where those instructions came from - Shelter (1,394) — 298 corroborated as flood, 69 corroborated as tornado, 9 corroborated as wildfire, 1,018 with no hazard stated in the alert text - Evacuate (7) — 6 corroborated as wildfire, 1 with no hazard stated in the alert text View as a table | Response | Warnings | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | Avoid | 2,302 | 37.9% | | Follow instructions | 1,755 | 28.9% | | Shelter | 1,394 | 23.0% | | Prepare | 330 | 5.4% | | Monitor | 220 | 3.6% | | Unstated | 57 | 0.9% | | Evacuate | 7 | 0.1% | | All clear | 6 | 0.1% | ### What this report cannot tell you - This report records the warnings that were sent: when, where, and what people were told to do. It cannot say whether anyone received them, whether they acted, or whether they had anywhere to go. - Deaths, injuries, damage and acreage come from the news organizations and agencies named beside each figure. Our own records measure warnings, never outcomes, and are never the source for a toll. - A county is the smallest area these alerts describe, so "a county was warned" does not mean every street in it was at risk. - Where no figure has been reported, this report says so rather than estimating. ## How these numbers were counted Counted SEP 14, 2026 – SEP 21, 2026 · Frozen at publish The alert figures in this report — how many warnings, where, when, and how severe — come from the alerts this archive received from FEMA IPAWS and the National Weather Service between September 14, 2026 and September 21, 2026, counted once and frozen when the report was published. Deaths, damage and acreage are **not** ours and are never drawn from this archive. Each is attributed to the organization that reported it, above. ### What was counted - cap\_status = 'Actual' (tests, exercises and demos excluded) - SAME test codes RWT/RMT/DMO/NPT/NAT excluded, and any event type containing "test" - An event is the first message of a CAP identifier chain; updates and cancels are counted separately - Alert time is cap\_sent, falling back to ingest time when the feed omits it - Counties come from the alert geocodes (SAME/FIPS); statewide codes are not counted as counties ### What these numbers cannot tell you - Lead time is the gap between when an alert was sent and when it takes effect. This archive collapses CAP onset into effective, so for many products those are the same instant by design — it is not a measure of forecast warning time. - 59 alerts expire exactly 24 hours after they were sent because the feed omitted an expiry and the ingest substitutes a default. They are excluded from the duration distribution rather than charted as real forecasts. - Evacuation and shelter figures are RESPONSE counts. They record what people were told to do, not what caused it; where the alert text does not name a hazard, the row is reported as unstated. - Hour-of-day figures use each alert’s own local time, resolved from its state. Alerts spanning several states resolve to the first state in their geocodes. - National Weather Service alerts began arriving in volume on 2026-06-12. Earlier months hold only the handful that reached this archive by other routes, so they undercount weather alerts badly and cannot be compared with later months. - Population figures are not available for these counties, so alert counts are reported per county and never per resident. ### This archive Collection began 2026-03-27. National Weather Service alerts began arriving in volume on 2026-06-12 (a small number reached the archive by other routes from 2026-03-31). Months from 2026-07-01 onward can be compared with each other; earlier ones cannot. For newsrooms and researchers ## Use these figures Figures v1 · Frozen Journalists, emergency managers and researchers are welcome to reuse anything in this report, including the underlying counts, with attribution. Version 1 of these figures is frozen: if a correction changes them, it appears above as a dated note rather than silently replacing what you cited. [Download the figures (CSV)](https://bepreparedsolutions.co/reports/alert-pulse/week-2026-09-14/data.csv?v=1)[Ask about the data](mailto:hello@bepreparedsolutions.co?subject=Alert%20Pulse%20data%20question) Cite this report BePreparedSolutions.co. "Floods bring deaths in New Mexico and evacuations in Minnesota." Alert Pulse, September 22, 2026. https://bepreparedsolutions.co/reports/alert-pulse/week-2026-09-14 Attribution line for a chart or table Source: BePrepared Solutions, Alert Pulse (2026). Alert counts from FEMA IPAWS and National Weather Service feeds; casualty and damage figures as attributed in the report. Embed a chartWhere the warnings landedWhen the warnings arrivedMessages, warnings, countiesHow severe they wereWhat people were told to do Paste this where the chart should appear The embed updates itself if we publish a correction, so it never goes stale the way a screenshot does. The CSV carries the same frozen figures as this page, keyed to version 1. --- _Guidance here is general and cannot account for your circumstances. In an active emergency, official instructions from local authorities take precedence over anything published by BePrepared Solutions._