More than two weeks after Winter Storm Fern swept across the South, many communities remain in a difficult in-between phase: the immediate crisis has passed, but thousands of residents—particularly the elderly, rural, low-income, and medically vulnerable—are still without reliable heat, power, communications, or water. President Trump issued Presidential Disaster Declarations for twelve states , but in many places FEMA Individual Assistance has not yet been activated. This cr

Moving communities from reactive response to continuity by design. C heck out our next webinar on February 11, 2026 if you are interested in learning more! Disasters are not random acts of fate. The storms, hurricanes, fires, and other extreme events that naturally occur are not disasters in themselves. What causes the disasters are the failures of power, water, communications, logistics, and finance —and communities that prepare for those failures recover faster, cheaper, a

As communities across the South—from Texas and Oklahoma through the East Coast—dig out from Winter Storm Fern's historic damage, a familiar pattern is emerging: time is the most expensive commodity . Businesses need to reopen, infrastructure must be restored, and communities expect visible progress—often long before federal reimbursements arrive. Winter Storm Fern has exposed what disaster finance professionals already know: most state and local governments are not structure

Preparing Communities for Severe Winter Weather: A Leadership Playbook for the Days Ahead If you don't have time to read the blog, here's a quick checklist to review. Winter Storm Fern (always a bad sign when they name a storm), is forecast to bring snow, ice, freezing rain, and prolonged power and transportation disruptions to large portions of the South, Southeast, and East Coast. For community leaders, this is not just a weather event. It is a continuity test for local go

A powerful winter storm—now forecast to impact millions across the South, Southeast, and East Coast —is bearing down on states from Texas and the Plains through Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia, and into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Snow, sleet, freezing rain, dangerously cold temperatures, and widespread ice accumulation are expected from this weekend into early next week. Officials warn that tree limbs and power lines could come down under the weight of ice, leading t

By Stephen Jordan Communities today face disruptions that never trigger a federal disaster declaration — cyber incidents, heat waves, housing shocks, supply-chain interruptions, failing infrastructure, and more. Traditional disaster response frameworks were not built for this reality. They activate after something breaks. But what communities increasingly need is an approach that protects lives, livelihoods, and living environments every day , not only in crisis. This broader