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Cowlitz County emergency-management director reports increased alert reach and flags river-sediment, FEMA uncertainties
Summary
Director Scott Meads told commissioners the county's public-alerting systems reached about 56,000 residents across seven incidents in 2025, described drone mapping that shows sediment and island growth in the Cowlitz River, and warned that FEMA funding and hazard-plan work remain uncertain.
Scott Meads, director of Cowlitz County Emergency Management (DEM), told commissioners the office used HyperReach plus wireless emergency alerts (WEA) and the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to reach about 56,000 residents during seven incidents in 2025. He said most alerts were for missing persons and police activities and that 2025 incident counts were lower than in 2024.
Meads described DEM's drone mapping of the Cowlitz River from the Toutle confluence to the Columbia River, saying imagery shows islands gaining vegetation and, in some places, trees.…
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