Emergency Preparedness & Response
TYPES OF WEATHER
Find out what you can do before severe weather strikes. Preparation is key to staying safe and minimizing impacts. Severe weather can create hazardous conditions, including damaging winds, tornadoes, large hail, flooding and flash flooding, and freezing.
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Flooding
Every year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other storm-related hazards. If you know what to do before, during, and after a flood can increase your chances of survival.
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Lightning
Lightning is hotter than the surface of the sun and can reach temperatures around 50,000 degrees. Although most lightning occurs during the summer, people can be struck at any time of year.
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Tornadoes
Tornados are a violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm down to the ground. Tornadoes are capable of destroying well-made structures, uprooting trees, and hurling objects through the air like deadly missiles.
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Hurricanes
A hurricane is a tropical storm with winds that have reached a constant speed of 74 miles per hour or more. The eye of a storm is usually 20-30 miles wide and may extend over 400 miles. The dangers of a storm include torrential rains, high winds and storm surges.
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Cold & Ice
Winter storms create a higher risk of car accidents, hypothermia, frostbite, carbon monoxide poisoning, and heart attacks from overexertion. Winter storms can bring extreme cold, freezing rain, snow, ice and high winds.
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Heat
Heat is one of the leading weather-related killers in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year. Heat can be very taxing on the body.
Emergency Kit
Part of preparation is having a plan of response in case of emergencies. You can build your own basic emergency supply kit using the following items.
- Water (one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation)
- Food (at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food)
- Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
- Flashlight
- First aid kit
- Extra batteries
- Whistle (to signal for help)
- Dust mask (to help filter contaminated air)
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape (to shelter in place)
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties (for personal sanitation)
- Wrench or pliers (to turn off utilities)
- Manual can opener (for food)
- Local maps
- Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery
You should consider adding more to your kit based on your individual needs. Additional emergency supplies are listed at Ready.gov.
Since you do not know where you will be when an emergency occurs, prepare supplies for dorm/apartment, work and cars.
After building your kit, remember to maintain it so it’s ready when you need it. Emergency kits should be updated every six months.
- Keep canned food in a cool, dry place.
- Store boxed food in tightly closed plastic or metal.
- Replace expired items as needed.
- Re-think your needs every year and update your kit as your needs change.