Homeowners, schools, businesses, emergency responders, and others should use the information on these pages to better understand the risks for advance planning and recovery efforts and inform others.

Planning efforts - Preparing for natural disasters can greatly reduce the risks to health and the environment. Hurricanes or floods can contaminate drinking water sources. Forest fires or volcanoes harm air quality. Tornados or earthquakes, by damaging factories or storage facilities, can release contaminants where people live or into the environment.

Recovery efforts - Understanding risks will help speed recovery efforts and help keep problems from becoming worse. Improper use of portable generators or heating devices can release deadly carbon monoxide into the indoor air. Ice-melting agents used improperly can pollute waterways. Large amounts of debris can present serious disposal problems for state and local communities. Owners or operators of damaged facilities may be responsible for reporting spills.

Planning and preparing for...

• Hurricanes (en español | 中文 | Tiếng Việt)
• Flooding (en español)
• Drought
• Earthquakes
• Extreme heat
• Tornadoes
• Tsunamis
• Snow and ice (also see general winter tips)
• Volcanoes
• Wildfires

Response and recovery after...

• Hurricanes (en español | 中文 | Tiếng Việt)
  • response to 2005 Katrina & Rita
• Flooding (en español)
• Drought
• Earthquakes
• Extreme heat
• Tornadoes
• Tsunamis
• Snow and ice
• Volcanoes
• Wildfires

General information related to various types of disasters

Dealing with debris and damaged buildings after a disaster