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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
A Florida county leads the way with a high-tech 911 system that improves emergency response
When an emergency happens in Collier County, Florida, the 911 calls go to one of the most high-tech communications centers in the U.S., where callers can sent text and video from the scene to dispatchers. Moving to what's known as an NG911 — or Next Generation 911 — system is a journey Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and Bob Finney, the county's director of communication, have been on for much of the past decade. It's a long way from Feb. 16, 1968, when Alabama 's then-House Speaker Rankin Fite made the nation's very first 911 call in Haleyville, Alabama, on a bright red, rotary-style landline telephone. That ceremonial call came just 35 days after AT&T announced plans to use 911 as a nationwide emergency number. Today, most calls to 911 originate with cellphones, with dispatchers in upgraded centers using geo tracking to get accurate geographic locations from callers. But the response time in an emergency depends on the type of technology being used at any of the 6,000 emergency communications centers in the U.S. that receive 911 calls. There is no uniform emergency system in the U.S., so individual cities, counties, states or geographic regions are responsible for operating their own 911 call centers. While some states have fully updated to NG911 systems, others are still using legacy 911 systems that rely on antiquated equipment. 'We're just reminded in these last two weeks, with the flooding in Texas, just how important the work of 911 is,' said Michael Martin, CEO of RapidSOS, which provides infrastructure that passes critical data to emergency centers across the United States. The future is now for 911 The Collier County Sheriff's Office covers 911 calls from an area of about 2,030 square miles (5,258 square kilometers) that stretches from sandy beaches at the southernmost tip of the Gulf Coast on Florida's peninsula inland to the Everglades. It's a region that has been ravaged by hurricanes this century, including Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricanes Ian and Milton most recently. That's why Sheriff Rambosk wanted a high-tech emergency operations center. 'We just believe that when we can reduce the response time using technology, it will improve safety and survivability of those calling in,' said Rambosk, who has been sheriff since 2009. 'And that's really what we're all about, keeping people safe and rescuing them when they need it.' Today 61 full-time employees and three part-timers staff two emergency operations centers around the clock. They rely on data that RapidSOS collects from connected buildings, devices, vehicles and even smart watches to send first responders to emergency scenes. The baseline data is provide free of charge to all 911 centers, Martin said. Mixing technology with emergency response As Hurricane Helene was tracking toward north Florida last September, forecasters were predicting it could hit Tallahassee as a major Category 3 storm. Officials in Leon County, which serves the state's Capitol and nearby counties on legacy 911 equipment, reached out to Collier County, some 430 miles (692 kilometers) to the southeast, to see if they could take over emergency calls if the storm knocked their center out. Helene moved to the east of Tallahassee, but Collier County was prepared to help if needed. "Because of the partnership with Rapid SOS, they were able to create a map to where not only did we see our own calls, but we could see exactly where the calls were coming in Tallahassee,' Finney said. Collier County has also partnered with Charleston, South Carolina, as a backup 911 center. Each region is fully prepared to take on 911 calls for the other in case their emergency system goes down for any reason. It's a similar story in North Carolina, where legislation in 2017 helped establish funding for a next generation 911 system, said Pokey Harris, who serves as president of the National Association of State 911 Administrators and executive director of the North Carolina 911 Board. Harris said Hurricane Helene provided validation for the upgraded system by being able to direct 911 calls from areas that were devastated by the storm to other parts of North Carolina that were not affected. 'During Helene, if a citizen could reach a dial tone, even though their local 911 center may have been impacted because of infrastructure devastation, another center somewhere in the state could answer their call,' Harris said. No federal funding for next-generation systems Next Generation 911 systems aren't cheap. 'There has been no federal funding for 911,' Martin, of RapidSOS said. 'It has been in various draft formats as long as I've been doing this and it's never gotten through Congress.' There is also no federal oversight of 911, he said. 'It's really quite remarkable how well 911 works despite those challenges," Martin said. 'I think it's a testament to the people of 911, not the technology.'
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Major US airports ground all flights
An impending tropical storm in the Gulf has set off a chain reaction of ground stops and lengthy delays at major airports along the entire East Coast. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended multiple ground stops at airports in New York, Florida, and Washington DC. More than a dozen major airports are currently stuck in ground delays which are snarling airport traffic and delaying flights by up to three hours in some cities. AccuWeather is forecasting widespread tropical downpours in Florida this week, which have already delayed or grounded flights at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Orlando International Airport, and Miami International Airport. The rainfall forecasted along the entire East Coast has led to flight delays at Philadelphia International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, and New Jersey's Teterboro Airport as well. 'Flight to Vegas got delayed by three hours, I hate airports,' one frustrated passenger posted on X Monday afternoon. 'My flight is delayed by like five hours and I'm already feeling so sick... I just want today to [be] over,' another exhausted traveler added. Countless fellow travelers have been posting their horror stories on social media Monday as Flight Aware said that at least 7,300 flights in to and out of the US have been delayed as of 5:20pm ET. Federal travel officials have warned that ground delays at these East Coast airports will stay in effect until at least 10pm, with several stretching overnight, including in New York and Philadelphia. AccuWeather warned that Americans along the East Coast should expect more stormy weather for the rest of the week as a tropical rainstorm sweeps across the Florida Peninsula. The storm is projected to make landfall Tuesday before barreling into the Gulf and bringing several inches of rain to Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana on Wednesday. Flights out of Miami have been delayed by more than 190 minutes (three hours and 10 minutes) Monday evening. Departing flights in Fort Lauderdale are delayed for more than two hours. 'A cold front slowly approaching the East Coast will spark showers and storms across the East on Monday. Ample moisture in place will also ramp up the risks for flooding and locally severe thunderstorms,' the AccuWeather team added in a statement Monday morning. The approaching storm has only led to early afternoon delays on Monday getting extended into the evening as the thunderstorms and rain move in throughout the country. Airports like Philadelphia International Airport, which started with only a ground delay, were forced to ground all flights around 5pm, with ground stop orders until at least 5:45pm. As of 5:30pm, more than 1,700 flights throughout the US have been cancelled. Many of them were a result of the tropical storm moving in. The founder of flight alert service Dollar Flight Club, Jesse Neugarten, recently advised travelers to start planning their cancellation backup plans before airlines even make that frustrating announcement. 'If the plane that's supposed to become your flight is delayed in another city, you'll often see the writing on the wall before the airline officially tells you,' Neugarten told Travel + Leisure in June. He added that flyers should start checking their airline's app for rebooking options before they even get out of line to board the plane or return to the gate because of poor weather. Additionally, trying to call the airline's customer service team which handles flights in other countries, like Canada or the UK, may help you cut the hold time dramatically. Despite handling bookings for other nations, these customer service reps may still be able to help existing customers rebook a cancelled flight.
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
More droughts expected to be declared in England after heatwaves
More English regions are expected to join the North West and Yorkshire in an official drought on Tuesday after yet another hot and dry spell of announcement is likely to come after the National Drought Group – which manages preparations for dry conditions in England – meets on Tuesday a drought means that water companies put in place their plans to manage water resources. That can involve hosepipe bans, but not are driven by natural weather patterns, but climate change and our growing use of water are raising the risks of water shortages, the Environment Agency says. The National Drought Group is made up of the Environment Agency, government, Met Office, water companies and are no official droughts in Wales and Northern Ireland at the moment. Scotland does not declare droughts but monitors "water scarcity".Parts of eastern Scotland are in "moderate" scarcity – the second most extreme category – which means there is "clear" environmental England there is no single definition of drought, but it is ultimately caused by a prolonged period of low rainfall, which has knock-on effects for nature, agriculture and water had its driest spring in more than 100 years, followed by three heatwaves in quick succession for some areas in June and intense warmth has drawn even more moisture out of the while it may be raining where you live today, it's unlikely to be enough to bring water levels back to normal across the Environment Agency (EA) declares droughts in England based on reservoir levels, river flows and how dry the soil is, alongside long-term weather forecasts."We certainly expect more regions to enter drought status," said Richard Thompson, deputy director of water resources at the EA, adding that further details would be announced later on a "reasonable worst-case scenario" - where regions get 80% of their long-term average rainfall - another five regions across central and southern England could enter drought status by September, joining Yorkshire and the North West, according to the long-term forecasts suggest roughly normal levels of rainfall over the next few months, however. If further droughts are declared, it does not automatically mean that hosepipe bans will be put in place, but these can often regions, such as parts of Kent and Sussex, have already declared hosepipe bans, but are not in drought status. The EA warned last month that England's water supplies could face a shortfall of six billion litres a day by 2055 without dramatic action, driven by rising temperatures, population growth and other change is expected to lead to drier summers on average, while more intense heatwaves mean more water can be lost via evaporation. Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
