As lava crawled down Leilani Road in a hissing, popping mass, Cheryl Griffith stood in its path and placed a plant in a crack in the ground as an offering to the Native Hawaiian volcano goddess, Pele.

Griffith lives in Leilani Estates, a subdivision on the Big Island where molten rock from the Kilauea volcano has burst through the ground, destroying more than two dozen homes and resulting in evacuation orders for nearly 2,000 people. But the 61-year-old did not leave.

Maryland is best poised to respond to a public health crisis, while Nevada and Alaska are least prepared, according to a national index released earlier this month.

The National Health Security Preparedness Index measures states’ readiness to respond to health disasters, including natural disasters, terrorism and disease outbreaks—think Zika or Ebola.

It's a whole new ballgame when it comes to protecting a business' reputation, according to Steven Minsky, CEO of enterprise risk management software provider LogicManager.

While regulators may be struggling to keep up with the times, the public isn't feeling quite so constrained. As the recent Facebook debacle shows, consumers and investors can swiftly throttle a business' reputation when they suspect the company isn't playing by the rules. "Companies are operating in what I call the 'see-through economy'—a dizzyingly, fast-paced age of transparency where consumers and investors are empowered by new technologies to impact a company’s reputation," said Minsky, who recently authored the study, The State of Risk Management in 2018.

In California in 1862, the area between Sacramento and San Francisco became, in effect, an inland sea of about 300 miles long by 30 miles wide after 40 to 45 straight days of rain.

That area is now home to millions of people and the state Capitol. What would happen if that type of rain event occurred in the near future, and what’s the likelihood? The answer to the first question is, there would be complete devastation. In looking for an answer to the second question scientists invoke a phenomenon they’re calling “precipitation whiplash.”

This refers to the rapid transitions between precipitation extremes and the opposite — so a heavy season of rain followed immediately by drought or vice versa. This, scientists say in a study published in the scientific journal, Nature Climate Change, is what California can expect in its future because of the warming climate.

It means that severe rain or drought will be concentrated in more narrow intervals of time than they have been traditionally. It means, possibly, more extreme flooding events and more drought.

On a recent list of the fastest growing American cities, Nashville jumped from 20th to 7th in a year. There are more than 210 active construction projects in the downtown core alone. We are hardly alone. Denver, New York, Charlotte, Atlanta and more are experiencing similar growth. Cities are booming and growing, and the construction cycle is showing little sign of letting up soon.

This growth presents great opportunity for companies in the construction industry. While it is exciting to see many succeed and take part in skyline-changing projects, it cannot be overlooked that with growing opportunity comes growing challenges. Risk management and comprehensive protections are becoming a central component of doing business, as more activity, more competition and tougher deadlines mean that no matter how good a company is with its service, risk is increased.

An acrid stink of petroleum three years ago sent Santa Barbara County firefighters scrambling in a search for a possible spill. When they arrived at Refugio State Beach they witnessed oil staining the pristine sands and seeping into the surf. Uphill they discovered oil gushing like a fire hose “without a nozzle.”

It was the worst California coastal spill in 25 years, spreading a shimmering sheen out to sea that eventually deposited tar balls on beaches more than 100 miles away. But were they looking at a crime scene?

The increased reliance on emergency text alerts to receive warnings of natural or manmade disasters is a capability that most people have come to expect. Listening to broadcast radio warnings of severe weather happening miles away has transformed into more precise, geo-located alerts that target specific locations. The benefits of this technology are profound and should lead to people taking action when an alert comes in because they know that the threat is timely and accurate to their locations. New technologies could save many lives during future disasters.

An Apple employee recently leaked an internal memo in which Apple warns employees to stop leaking information. (Read the memo here.)

While it is hard not to enjoy the irony of a leaked memo warning against leaked information, the incident has highlighted a sensitive issue that reaches far beyond Silicon Valley. Here are three reasons every organization should care about leaks.

(TNS) — In any given eight-hour shift, John Butz sits in front of eight monitors in the Trumbull Police Department, fielding 911 calls.

Amid the chaos that any night can bring, Butz will handle calls running the gamut from a report that someone ran over a mailbox to a 3-year-old in cardiac arrest.

“We’re the first link of communications,” during emergency situations, Butz said of dispatchers.

(TNS) - Running past the wounded crying out for help, a team of police officers made sure an active shooter was was no longer a threat. Only then did they start giving other assistance at a mass casualty drill on Thursday morning.

“You can't assume he's dead,” said Officer Michael Eldred of the Indiana State University Police. “They are still a possible threat. That's why we handcuffed him. Then, once the shooter is secured and we make sure there were no other active shooters, we try to lend any assistance we can.”

Blood, wounds and weapons -- all fake -- added to the chaotic scene in a parking lot near the Landsbaum Center on the campus of Union Hospital.

Teams from both Regional and Union hospitals participated in the drill, along with Air Evac, IU Health Lifeline personnel, staff of the Rural Health Innovation Collaborative Simulation Center, and other agencies.