Garden Grove chemical tank crisis keeps 50,000 evacuated in Orange County; Memorial Day severe storms drive flash floods and tornado damage across the Southeast

May 25
7 mins

Episode Description

Today’s EM Morning Brief leads with the ongoing chemical tank emergency at a Garden Grove aerospace facility, where roughly 50,000 Orange County residents remain evacuated and California has formally requested federal assistance. Severe weather across the eastern half of the country brings flash flooding, tornado damage in Alabama, and an FAA ground stop at Hartsfield-Jackson. CISA flags an actively exploited Drupal SQL injection with a federal remediation deadline this week. The USGS opens the forecast window for Kilauea’s episode 48 lava-fountaining today, and NIFC operates at National Preparedness Level 2 with the Trigg Fire prompting evacuations in northeastern New Mexico. EM Morning Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news. Produced by Sitch Radio, an EOC Voices podcast.

Key Takeaways

Garden Grove chemical tank, Orange County, California: Roughly 50,000 residents remain evacuated. State of emergency in effect; federal Emergency Declaration requested. Operations focused on cooling a 34,000-gallon methyl methacrylate vessel.

Memorial Day severe weather, Eastern U.S.: Flash flooding, tornado activity, and travel disruption from the Central Gulf Coast into the Ohio Valley and metro Atlanta. Hartsfield-Jackson ground stop late Sunday.

CISA KEV, Drupal CVE-2026-9082: Actively exploited SQL injection. FCEB remediation deadline May 27, 2026. Imperva reports thousands of exploit attempts globally.

Kilauea episode 48 forecast, Hawaii: USGS HVO eruption window opens today. Alert Level Advisory, Aviation Color Code Yellow. Glow visible at summit overnight.

NIFC operational tempo: National Preparedness Level 2. Year-to-date acreage roughly 230% of the ten-year average. Trigg Fire in New Mexico threatening residences with active evacuations.

CNMI Typhoon Sinlaku recovery: Survivor Recovery Centers operating on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. Standard FEMA case processing resumed May 22.

Whatcom County, Washington FEMA deadlines: Disaster Assistance Centers closed today for Memorial Day. June 10, 2026 application deadline remains in effect for December storms and flooding.

Sources

FEMA

FEMA Disasters and Other Declarations — current declarations dashboard

Whatcom Disaster Assistance Center closed Memorial Day, May 22 release

Disaster Assistance Center Opens May 14 in Packwood, WA

Second Disaster Assistance Center Opening in Whatcom County

Saipan Survivor Recovery Center opening, May 6, 2026

CISA

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog — landing page

CISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog (May 21, 2026)

Drupal Core SQL Injection CVE-2026-9082 added to KEV — The Hacker News summary

NWS and Storm Prediction Center

SPC Day 1 Convective Outlook — May 24, 2026

SPC Day 2 Convective Outlook — May 24, 2026

Weather Prediction Center home — current national forecast

NWS Birmingham, AL — Tuscaloosa area forecast and warnings

NWS Atlanta — current weather story and flood watches

NWS New Orleans/Baton Rouge — southeast Louisiana flood watch

NHC

NHC Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook

NHC Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion — May 25, 2026 0015 UTC

USGS and NIFC

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory — Kilauea Volcano Updates

USGS HVO Volcano Notice — May 24, 2026 (episode 48 forecast)

USGS Significant Earthquakes 2026 — Hawaii M6.0 listing

NIFC National Fire News — IMSR May 24, 2026

NIFC National Fire News landing page

DHS and State Department

DHS National Terrorism Advisory System landing page

State Department Travel Advisories

CDC

CDC Health Alert Network archive

FAA

FAA National Airspace System Status — live ground stops and delays

FAA Daily Air Traffic Report

California

Governor Newsom proclaims state of emergency, Garden Grove chemical incident, May 23, 2026

Governor Newsom requests Presidential Emergency Declaration, Orange County, May 24, 2026

Garden Grove chemical tank live coverage — ABC7 Los Angeles

CAL FIRE — current incidents

Sandy Fire Simi Valley updates — ABC7 Los Angeles

Alabama

Possible tornado damage in Tuscaloosa County — ABC 33/40

Memorial Day severe weather coverage — NBC Palm Springs

Georgia

Flash flood warning issued in metro Atlanta counties — WSB-TV

Flood watches issued for parts of North Georgia — FOX 5 Atlanta

Atlanta lifts boil water advisory, May 23, 2026 — Decaturish

Ground stop issued at Atlanta airport for thunderstorms — Atlanta News First

Hawaii

USGS HVO Kilauea Volcano Updates

Kilauea episode 48 eruption window opens May 25 — Big Island Video News

Magnitude 6.0 quake on Hawaii Island felt throughout state — Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Kentucky

Tornado warning issued for Todd County — WSMV

Louisiana and Mississippi

Memorial Day rain and flood threat — FOX 8 New Orleans

Mississippi Pearl River flood warning — GovOneStop

New Mexico

NIFC IMSR, May 24, 2026 — Trigg Fire entry

New Mexico Fire Info — current incidents

Ohio and West Virginia

Flash Flood Warning issued for portions of West Virginia and Ohio — WTRF

NWS flash flood watch for parts of West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio — WCHS

Washington

FEMA — Whatcom Disaster Assistance Center closed Memorial Day

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

FEMA approves 1,670 CNMI applications, awards $5.5M in aid — Isla Public Radio

FEMA Saipan Survivor Recovery Center opening, May 6, 2026

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