Disaster Preparedness

Violent winds, deadly flooding, and the power to level buildings are all risks associated with hurricanes. These are dangerous tropical cyclones that can happen along any U.S. coast or any territory near the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. Your risk from a hurricane skyrockets in summer and fall. 

To prepare in the event of a hurricane in your area: 

• Have several ways to get severe weather alerts. The FEMA app and National Weather Service will keep you up to date. You can find other local alerts through your TV, radio, or local online websites.  
• Know the difference between a hurricane watch and warning. A hurricane watch indicates a risk of dangerous conditions is possible in 48 hours. A hurricane warning means dangerous conditions are expected in 36 hours. 
• Know your hurricane risk. Even if you do not live in a coastal area, rain, flooding, wind, even tornadoes may happen inland as a result of the hurricane making landfall. 
• Bring loose outdoor items such as garbage cans and patio furniture indoors. 
• Make sure your emergency kit is ready, and everyone in your household knows and understands your emergency plans. 
• Close storm shutters or board up your windows and stay away from them in case of flying glass. 
• Turn your refrigerator or freezer to the coldest setting to make food last longer if there are power outages.
• Shelter in place if you're not evacuated and take refuge in an interior room or storm shelter to protect yourself from high winds. 
• Evacuate immediately if you are told to do so, and let your family know where you are. 
• Don't walk or drive through floodwaters. 
• Watch for downed power lines, debris, natural hazards, or harmful chemical spills. 
• Return home only when local authorities say it's safe to do so. 
• Photograph damage for insurance claims. 

Learn how the Salvation Army helped prepare for Category 4 Hurricane Ian.  

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Tornadoes are violently rotating air columns that extend down from a thunderstorm, often called nature's most violent act. Their spinning funnels can reach speeds of up to 300 miles per hour, devastating entire communities in minutes. But it's possible to stay safe in the event of a tornado. 

• Know your area’s tornado risk. The Midwest and the Southeastern U.S. have the greatest risk of tornadoes. 
• Know the signs of a tornado, including a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud, an approaching cloud of debris, or a loud roar like a freight train. 
• Sign up for your community’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) for alarms. The NOAA Weather Radio also provides emergency alerts. If your community has sirens, then become familiar with the warning tone. 
• Follow the instructions of state, local and tribal officials.  
• Stay alert to changing weather systems, because a tornado can gather and strike within minutes. 
• Check and update your emergency kit and disaster plan before tornado season. 
• Go to a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor, such as a basement if you’re in a high-rise building. 
• Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls. 
• If outdoors, get in a vehicle and drive to the closest shelter when a tornado hits, or take cover in a stationary vehicle if possible. 
• If there’s no vehicle available for shelter or transportation, lie in an area lower than the roadway, and cover your head with your arms and a blanket, coat, or similar item  
• Never shelter under a bridge or overpass. It’s safer in a low, flat area. 
• Never try to outrun a tornado. 
• Be alert for flying debris, regardless of where you are sheltered. 
• Consider building a safe room inside your home or in some other structure. 

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Flooding is a temporary overflow of water onto normally dry land. Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States, and their waters are deceptively dangerous. Six inches of moving water can knock you down. Two feet can sweep your car away. Failing to evacuate flooded areas or entering floodwaters can lead to injury or death. 

When the waters rise, this is how to stay safe: 

• Install check valves or consider investing in a sump pump with a battery if you live in a flooding zone. 
• Purchase flood insurance if you live in a flood zone. Get flood coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).  
• Know the difference between a flood watch and warning. Flood watch means be aware, while flood warning means take action. 
• Check your disaster kit and make sure your household has a disaster preparedness strategy for what to do. 
• In the event of a flood, take shelter right away. 
• Disconnect electrical appliances. Never touch electrical equipment that’s wet. 
• Turn off gas and electricity if instructed. 
• Move important items in your home to the highest floor and keep important documents in a waterproof container. 
• When floodwaters start to rise, move to higher ground and evacuate if notified. 
• If outdoors, do not drive or walk-through flooded areas. Standing water may be electrically charged, conceal debris, or be contaminated with chemical or natural hazards. 
• Stay inside your car if it is trapped in rapidly moving water. Get on the roof if water is rising inside the car. 
• Stay off bridges over fast-moving water. 
• Return home only when it’s safe, as determined by local authorities.  
• Photograph property damage for insurance claims. 

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An earthquake is a sudden, rapid movement of the ground caused by shifting rocks deep under the earth's surface. Earthquakes can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides, or avalanches. You are at risk for earthquakes wherever you live, and they can happen at any time of the year.  

The best time to prepare for any disaster is before it happens, but in the event of an earthquake, you can stay safe during it by doing the following: 

• Identify places in your home or work where you can be safe, such as under sturdy pieces of furniture, archways, or interior walls. 
• Store disaster preparedness supplies and documents in a safe, accessible place. 
• Follow your family communication plan. 
• Stay where you are until the earthquake stops. If you’re indoors, get to the floor and cover your head with your arms. If you’re outdoors, move away from buildings. If you’re in a car, stop as quickly as you can and stay inside the car. 
• After the earthquake, find a clear path to safety. If you’re trapped, use your cellphone, tap on a pipe or wall, or use other ways such as an emergency whistle to alert first responders. 
• Stay alert for aftershocks. 
  
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Wildfires are unplanned fires that burn in natural areas like forests, grasslands, or prairies. These dangerous fires can strike and spread with alarming speed, devastating not only wildlife and natural areas, but also communities. All it takes is a dry climate, vegetation, and a spark. In seconds, roaring flames erupt. 

• Know the term “fire weather watch.” It means dangerous fire conditions are possible in 12 to 72 hours. 
• Pay attention to air quality alerts. 
• Keep the roof and gutters of your home clean. 
• Maintain a fireproof zone, a 30-foot area around your home free of wood piles, dry leaves, or other items that burn. 
• Make sure your car is fueled and equipped with disaster preparedness supplies and a change of clothes. 
• Make sure everyone in your household knows and understands what to do if you need to quickly evacuate.   
• Evacuate immediately if instructed and be aware of evacuation routes. 
• Use caution in burned areas. Hot spots can flare up without warning.  
• Use an N95 mask to protect yourself from smoke inhalation. 
• Limit your exposure to smoke. Close off a room from outside air and set up a portable air cleaner or filter, use high-efficiency filters in your central air conditioning system to capture fine particles of smoke, or stay inside in a safe location where smoke levels are lower. 
• Return home only when local authorities okay it. 
• Stay alert after the fire, checking periodically for sparks and smoke. 

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