Families and Communities

Your Home

Home is where the heart is. It’s a place we like to think is secure from all harm, but too often our houses are not free from hazards and we are not prepared to respond to emergencies as they occur. Sometimes the emergency is really a disaster we can’t control. We can, however, take time to prepare before a disaster hits. We can also prevent many accidents.

The Alabama Department of Insurance provides information for consumers and insurance agents on disaster preparedness.

American Red Cross provides a wealth of information and links to services.

Prepare.Org, a Web site produced by the American Red Cross, includes disaster preparedness materials for people with disabilities. The site itself is primarily text in large print.

CSREES, Family Development and Resource Management provides this page for families.

The Federal Communications Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau wants you and your family to be able to communicate in a disaster. Tips for communicating in an emergency include recommendations for all users and additional tips for people with disabilities and for communications providers.

Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed an extensive guide for disaster preparedness. Are You Ready? provides a step-by-step outline on how to prepare a disaster supply kit, emergency planning for people with disabilities, how to locate and evacuate to a shelter and even contingency planning for family pets. Man-made threats from hazardous materials and terrorism are also treated in detail.

Emergency Financial First Aid Kit is a tool created in partnership with U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Citizen Corp and Operation HOPE. The publication lists five tips for preparing for emergencies and provides forms for families to complete. The forms are useful for keeping financial records in order to help maintain stability in the event of an emergency.

 

The National Safety Council provides dozens of fact sheets on topics that focus on driving, safety inside and outside the home and other issues in its Fact Sheet Library.

 

Community

Disasters affect entire communities, from services such as water and electricity to the local economy and school systems. Everyone has a role in preparing for an emergency or a disaster. The following links provide resources to help you prepare for disasters. Use them to make your community a safer place to live and work.

Preparing for Disasters

The Alabama Forestry Commission provides information about rural community fire protection as well as current status of county fire alerts.

 Alabama’s Water Quality Program includes a comprehensive database of answers to questions on a variety of water-related topics. The questions are subcategorized under general information or one of the eight current USDA/CSREES water quality themes.

The U.S. Department of Education emergency planning page describes several emergency planning resources available to schools.

U. S. Department of Labor, Office of Safety and Health Administration provides technical links to safety and health topics.


The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site includes a comprehensive emergency preparedness and response page. It includes current agents (bioterrorism and chemical), diseases and other threats.

The Disaster Education Guide, produced by the National Disaster Education Coalition,“has been developed to assist anyone providing disaster safety information to the public.…Users of this guide may include emergency managers, meteorologists, teachers, disaster and fire educators, public affairs/public relations personnel, mitigation specialists, media personnel and/or any other person in the severe weather, earthquake, disaster, or communications communities.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency Mitigation Division, Success Stories and Case Studies Web site features examples of communities that have developed plans and activities that focus on the prevention of loss of life and damage to buildings and other structures.

Federal Emergency Management Agency — FEMA for Kids

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4 includes Alabama. The Web site provides access to compliance assistance, financial and grant information and other resources.

 

Severe Weather

National Weather Service’s StormReady program was begun in 1999 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The program helps communities “with the communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property—before and during the event. StormReady helps community leaders and emergency managers strengthen local safety programs.”

University of Missouri Extension's Storms &Tornadoes site provides information on Family, Food & Water, Financial Management, General Safety, Home, Yard & Farm, and Spanish Language Publications.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency also provides the following links:
Drought
Fire
Floods
Hurricanes
Severe Storms

 

Recovering From Disasters

Rehabbing Flooded Houses - A Guide for Builders and Contractors