I want to say one thing before I dive into my review of this site; while it is set in the United States (it’s maintained by FEMA) there is a lot of information here that is useful world wide.
There are seventeen different types of disasters and this page is devoted to teaching you all about them. A few of them of them didn’t even occur to me so I was very happy to learn about them. The disasters are: Chemical Emergencies, Dam Failure, Earthquake, Fire, Flood, Hazardous Material, Heat, Hurricane, Landslide, Nuclear Power Plant Emergency, Terrorism, Thunderstorm, Tornado, Tsunami, Volcano, Wild Fire, and Winter Storm.
I’m going to go over a few of these categories with you:
Chemical Emergencies – this is probably one of the most important to learn about because you probably have several hazardous chemicals in your house right now. Here you’ll find a list of household items that can be hazardous, as well as, how to deal with a chemical emergency if one should occur.
Dam Failure – Did you know there are more than 80,000 dams in United States? I know I sure didn’t. So the possibility of having to go through a dam failure emergency is more wide spread then you would think.
Earthquake – now this is one I expected to see on the list. If you live in an area prone to earthquakes make sure you check this section to make sure you are knowledgeable and prepared if there was an earthquake where you live.
Fire – this one was another no brainer for the list. A fire could happen anywhere, to anyone, at any time. I think this section is a must read for everyone – be prepared, know what to do if you’re faced with fire, and it might just save your life.
Flood – I think this is one of those disasters that most people don’t think about, but honestly a flood could happen just about anywhere if it rained enough, or if a dam broke. Here you will learn flood terminology, what you can do during a flood, and what you can do after a flood. There is also a great link to a flood risk map that shows the entire United States, and what the risk of flood is there at the moment.
Hazardous Material – this ties into the chemical emergency section but on a larger scale. In this section think about factories producing chemicals, chemicals that are being shipped via the highway, or mail, and what disaster could occur if something went wrong.
Heat – this is another one that we don’t give much thought to, but heat can definitely kill you. Especially now that we’re in the summer months here, this section is definitely one that you need to check out. You can learn about treatments for heat induced ailments, as well as, what constitutes a heat emergency.
Hurricane – I think hurricanes are probably one of the natural disasters that a lot of people are prepared for, but what if you’ve just moved to a hurricane prone city or want to teach your kids about hurricane safety. Check out this section to learn about hurricane terminology, links to storm weather reports, and what the different categories assigned to hurricanes mean.
Landslide – another disaster that we don’t think about much, but could happen anywhere. There are many different causes of landslides that you’ll learn about here.
Nuclear Power Plant Emergency – living near several power plants, has definitely made me aware of the possibility of something going wrong there. If you live near a nuclear power plant you should check this section out as it has some great tips for limiting your exposure to radiation should something go wrong.
As you can see, you’ll find a lot of universal need to know information about disasters that could happen anywhere. Check this site out today!
http://www.fema.gov/hazard/types.shtm
~Amanda
