Emergency Management: Selected Websites

Information on preparing your home and business for a hurricane or tropical storm.

Maps showing potential state evacuation routes and storm surge maps for all coastal counties provided by the NJ Office of Emergency Management. Maps are in .pdf format.

The Centers for Disease Control has information on hurricane preparedness and recovery. Information for the public and response workers.

The National Hurricane Center provides a listing and description of hurricanes and tropical storms to have impacted the United States from 1900 to 2008. Images of some of the hurricanes are included.

Information about forecasting hurricanes, and preparing for an impending hurricane. Hurricane safety, hazards, climatology and history.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has information on planning, responding, and recovering from a hurricane. They provide access to their "Hurricane eMatrix" which highlights a number of tasks and operations associated with disaster response and recovery. They also have links to many related emergency response publications such as preventing falls, tree removal safety, generator safety, and many other topics.

Archived site from the Disaster Information Management Research Center at the National Library of Medicine. Includes information on cleanup and recovery, specific populations, coping with disasters, and multi-language resources.

Detailed meteorological and historical report on Hurricane Sandy from NOAA/National Hurricane Center. Includes meteorological statistics, casualties and damages.

Learn what to do before, during and after a hurricane.

Information from the Disaster Information Management Research Center covering wide-ranging topics related to hurricanes including health issues, emergency responder safety, cleanup, recovery, and coping.

Information from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for property owners, insurance professionals, claims adjusters, and state and local officials about the program and applying for assistance.

Provides a current hurricane summary, tropical weather discussions, marine forecasts, Atlantic and Pacific tracking charts, and links to additional hurricane resources and publications that promote hurricane awareness.

The National Weather Service access to official weather forecast products and observations including: active alerts, radar, forecast maps, past weather and warnings by state.

How is the intensity of a hurricane measured? What is the difference between a Category One hurricane and a Category Five hurricane? This web page from the National Hurricane Center explains the scale that describes these storms in terms of wind speed, storm surge and damage caused.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality site. Find local air quality conditions and forecasts by zip code or state. It includes ozone and particle pollution, and air quality forecast. The Publications link includes information about the air quality index, smog, and the health effects of ozone. The publications are also available in Spanish.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s air monitoring site that provides current air quality readings and forecasts. See current air status by pollutant type.

Heat related deaths are preventable. Information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on preventing heat-related problems. Includes an extreme heat prevention guide, information on heat stress in the elderly, and heat stress resources for people who must work outside.

Web page from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Safety tips when using fireworks and additional information such as state rules on use of fireworks, and firework injury statistics.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service discusses outdoor food safety. Describes using a food thermometer, keeping foods cold, and purifying water. This site also makes suggestions about what types of foods are best to bring on an outdoor expedition.

Heat safety tips and resources. Heat watch vs. heat warning, heat index, and heat related illness.

Provides chart for determining the Heat Index based on temperature & humidity. Links to Heat Index Calculator to generate the heat index value based on dew point or humidity along with temperature.

The Humane Society provides tips on keeping pets safe and healthy in the summer months. Includes exercise and pets in cars.

Summer safety as it relates to children and adolescents. Topics include boating safety, pool safety, and open-water swimming.

This U.S. Environmental Protection Agency site explains the UV Index and discusses sun safety. Search for the UV Index in a particular area by zip code. The site also contains additional links about protection from overexposure to the sun.

The United States Search and Rescue Task Force discusses what blizzards are, why they are dangerous, and how they may affect different regions of the country. There is also information about what to do if caught in a blizzard outside.

This American Veterinary Medical Association site provides information about keeping your pet safe and healthy during winter months.

Information provided includes overviews, symptoms, prevention and first aid from MedlinePlus a resource from the National Library of Medicine.

The MayoClinic presents information about hypothermia which is caused by exposure to cold or immersion in cold water. The web page discusses symptoms, risk factors, treatment and prevention of hypothermia.

This site presents an abundance of information about snow, glaciers, sea ice, climate change, and arctic climatology.

The ASPCA provides guidelines to help protect your pet in the winter cold.

Winter driving tips brought to you by the National Public Radio’s program, “Car Talk”. This site provides lots of great ideas for preparing your car for driving in winter weather, and also tips on how to drive in bad weather.

Great tips for driving in the snow and on long-distance winter trips. The site provides information on safe driving in many types of conditions.

Presents ideas about how to exercise in the cold weather months, and how to dress if you will be exercising outdoors.

Information on preparing your home and car for winter weather.

Find information about preparing for winter storms, what to include in emergency kits, and how to winterize your vehicle and home. There is also a section on carbon monoxide.

The American Red Cross provides information on preparing for, and responding to, a winter storm. There are also links to information preventing and thawing frozen pipes, and protecting pets during snowstorms.

Information on handling extreme cold and winter storms, avoiding hypothermia and frostbite, from the Centers for Disease Control.

Links to forecasts and storm warning information, preparedness information, climate information, wind chill chart, and snow and precipitation maps. Also has links to historically significant winter storms.

The New Jersey Geological Survey has compiled a collection of information about earthquakes in New Jersey. This includes a description of what earthquakes are, past damage from earthquakes in NJ, geologic faults located in NJ, and frequency of earthquakes happening in NJ. The page also provides general information about earthquakes such as how to prepare for an earthquake, what to do during an earthquake, and a description of the Mercalli scale which provides a measure of the magnitude of a quake.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency web site relating to the hazards of earthquakes. The site provides information for different population groups such as individuals, teachers, businesses, building designers, program managers, and communities. Links to publications, grants, and training. Also has links to educational information such as why earthquakes occur, and your earthquake risk.

The National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley has compiled a database of earthquake images. Searches can be performed by a keyword, or browsable lists classified by geographical name of where earthquake occurred.

This web site from the US Geological Survey provides an expansive collection of worldwide earthquake information and related topics. Up-to-date information on the latest earthquakes, which are continually occurring. Earthquakes facts and lists that include earthquake photos, faults, a description of plate tectonics, and earthquake “top ten” lists.

The American Red Cross page presents information about how to prepare, respond, and recover after an earthquake.

The Centers for Disease Control site on being prepared for an earthquake. The main message when inside a building: “Drop, Cover, Hold On.” What to do inside or outside, specific situations, and coping with disaster.

This comprehensive resource from the National Library of Medicine provides information on a wide variety of critical topics related to earthquakes including preparedness, response, worker and responder safety, tsunamis, mass fatalities, animals in disasters, coping, and multi-language resources.

Guidance document from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Document is available in English, Spanish, Japanese and Haitian Creole.