Yesterday much of Manhattan was without power causing traffic lights, subway trains and elevators to stop.  New Yorkers were encouraged to avoid driving while NYFD responded to numerous transformer fires and rescued people trapped in elevators and subway cars.  But New Yorkers handled the inconvenience in stride, from helping to direct traffic to impromptu Broadway Theater performances on the street, and within a few hours power was restored.

An Air Quality Advisory has been issued for the entire Bay Region  due to the Butte County Fire. The current air quality in San Francisco is PURPLE/UNHEALTHY FOR EVERYONE.

From Red levels (unhealthy) up to Purple (very unhealthy) and even at Maroon (hazardous) levels, people should remain indoors with windows closed, and continue to remain indoors until air quality improves. Air quality also is dangerous for pets, especially birds and smoosh face breeds. Keep walks short and windows closed.

Here at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (SFDEM) we’ve been planning for and talking about El Nino for a long time. We wanted to offer you a one-stop-shop of all things El Nino to help you feel more prepared and to assist you in sharing, educating, and empowering those around you with the same intel. We know this is a lot of information, but we hope that it answers some of your questions regarding what may come to be. Above all SFDEM encourages you to do five things:

With so much activity in San Francisco lately it's hard to believe the 4th of July is around the corner! As we've seen in the last few days the Bay Area is being greeted with quite the heat wave and with the 4th just this Saturday we wanted to share some preparedness and safety tips that will be sure to contribute to your wonderful weekend.

By: Daniella Cohen San Francisco is buzzing this morning as we gear up for a historic Pride weekend on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. What a day and weekend indeed to be in this great city!

"Non Structural Mitigation" is a fancy term for doing what you can to prevent things like furniture, appliances, wall decor, etc. from falling or tipping over during an earthquake. This blog is an ongoing journal by DEM'ers (and SF72 enthusiasts!) first-hand incremental steps to prevent the big mess that the big one could cause.

Isn’t the New Year inspiring? Who doesn’t love a chance to start fresh and really focus on what you want to accomplish—with a whopping 365 days to do so. We have a hunch that preparedness may not be number one on most New Year’s resolutions lists, but in its most boiled down state, preparedness is easier than most think.  And by taking stock of your preparedness, you are doing something now, before an emergency, that will make a big difference after.