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

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.SourcesFEMA• 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, 2026CISA• 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 summaryNWS 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 watchNHC• NHC Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook• NHC Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion — May 25, 2026 0015 UTCUSGS 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 pageDHS and State Department• DHS National Terrorism Advisory System landing page• State Department Travel AdvisoriesCDC• CDC Health Alert Network archiveFAA• FAA National Airspace System Status — live ground stops and delays• FAA Daily Air Traffic ReportCalifornia• 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 AngelesAlabama• Possible tornado damage in Tuscaloosa County — ABC 33/40• Memorial Day severe weather coverage — NBC Palm SpringsGeorgia• <a...