Emergency Preparedness

Category

Description

Attacks in Public Places

An attack in a public space may involve individuals using firearms to cause mass casualties (active shooter); individuals using a vehicle to cause mass casualties; individuals using homemade bombs to cause mass casualties. Other methods used in mass attacks may include knives, fires, drones or other weapons.

Avalanche

An avalanche is a large amount of snow moving quickly down a mountain, typically on slopes of 30 to 45 degrees. When an avalanche stops, the snow becomes solid like concrete and people are unable to dig out. People caught in avalanches can die from suffocation, trauma or hypothermia.

Biohazard Exposure

Biological agents are organisms or toxins that can kill or disable people, livestock and crops. Biological events can either be accidental or intentional. Both types of events can make you sick.

There are three basic groups of biological agents that could either accidentally or intentionally hurt someone: bacteria, viruses, and toxins. Biological agents can be spread when they get sprayed into the air, with person-to-person contact, when animals are infected and then interact with people, or when food and water are contaminated.

Cybersecurity

Cyberattacks are malicious attempts to access or damage a computer or network system. Cyberattacks can lead to the loss of money or the theft of personal, financial and medical information. These attacks can damage your reputation and safety.

Cybersecurity involves preventing, detecting and responding to those cyberattacks that can have wide-ranging effects on individuals, organizations, the community and the nation.

Drought

Drought is generally defined as a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time(usually a season or more), resulting in a water shortage. Nearly every part of the U.S. experiences periods of reduced rainfall. Planning in advance for a drought can protect us in dry years.

Earthquakes

An earthquake is a sudden, rapid shaking of the ground caused by the shifting of rocks deep underneath the earth’s surface. Earthquakes can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches. While they can happen anywhere without warning, areas at higher risk for earthquakes include Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington and the entire Mississippi River Valley.

Explosions

An explosion can be defined as a sudden, rapid release of energy that produces potentially damaging pressures. Explosions can result from ignition events involving energetic materials, a pressurization event, or a chemical reaction. Explosive devices can be carried in a vehicle or by a person, delivered in a package or concealed on the roadside.

Extreme Heat

Extreme heat is a period of high heat and humidity with temperatures above 90 degrees for at least two to three days. In extreme heat your body works extra hard to maintain a normal temperature, which can lead to death. Extreme heat is responsible for the highest number of annual deaths among all weather-related hazards.

Floods

Flooding is a temporary overflow of water onto land that is normally dry. Floods are the most common disaster in the United States. Failing to evacuate flooded areas or entering flood waters can lead to injury or death.

Floods may result from rain, snow, coastal storms, storm surges and overflows of dams and other water systems and develop slowly or quickly. Flash floods can come with no warning; cause outages, disrupt transportation, damage buildings and create landslides.

Chemicals and Hazardous Materials Incidents

Hazardous materials can include explosives, flammable and combustible substances, poisons and radioactive materials. Chemical agents are poisonous vapors, aerosols, liquids and solids that have toxic effects on people, animals or plants. Emergencies can happen during the production, storage, transportation, use or disposal of hazardous materials. You are at risk when chemicals are used unsafely or released in harmful amounts where you live, work or play.

Signs of a chemical release include difficulty breathing, eye irritation, loss of coordination, nausea or burning in the nose, throat and lungs. The presence of many dead insects or birds may indicate a chemical agent release.

Home Fires

A fire can become life-threatening in just two minutes. There are several elements of fire safety to consider:

Fire is FAST! In less than 30 seconds a small flame can turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house or for it to be engulfed in flames.

Fire is HOT! Heat is more threatening than flames. Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level. Inhaling this super-hot air will scorch your lungs and melt clothes to your skin.

Fire is DARK! Fire starts bright, but quickly produces black smoke and complete darkness.

Fire is DEADLY! Smoke and toxic gases kill more people than flames do. Fire produces poisonous gases that make you disoriented and drowsy.

Household Chemical Emergencies

Nearly every household uses products containing hazardous materials or chemicals. Knowing how to handle these products can reduce the risk of injury.

Hazardous household chemicals may include:

• Aerosol cans (including hair spray and deodorant)
• Nail polish and nail polish remover
• Cleaning products and furniture polishes
• Pesticides
• Automotive products (like antifreeze or motor oil)
• Miscellaneous items (like batteries, mercury thermometers and florescent light bulbs)
• Flammable products (like kerosene, home heating oil, propane tanks and lighter fluid)
• Workshop or painting supplies (such as paint thinners and turpentine)
• Lawn and garden products (like herbicides and insecticides)

Hurricanes

Hurricanes are dangerous and can cause major damage from storm surge, wind damage, rip currents and flooding. They can happen along any U.S. coast or in any territory in the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. Storm surge historically is the leading cause of hurricane-related deaths in the United States. In parts of the western North Pacific, hurricanes are called typhoons.

Landslides & Debris Flow

A landslide occurs when masses of rock, mud or debris move down a slope. When a wildfire burns a slope, it increases the chance of landslides for several years.

Landslides occur in all U.S. states and territories and can be caused by many factors including earthquakes, storms, volcanic eruptions, fire, and human modifications of land. The most dangerous, life-threatening and deadliest landslides are the ones that occur quickly, often with little notice.

Radiation Emergencies

There are different types of radiation emergencies that vary in how much damage they cause and harm they pose to the public. Some examples of radiation emergencies include: a nuclear detonation (explosion), an accident at a nuclear power plant, a transportation accident involving a shipment of radioactive materials, or an occupational exposure like in a healthcare or research setting.

Pandemic

A pandemic is a disease outbreak that spans several countries and affects a large number of people. Pandemics are most often caused by viruses which can easily spread from person to person.

A new virus can emerge from anywhere and quickly spread around the world. It is hard to predict when or where the next new pandemic will emerge.

Extended power outages may impact the whole community and the economy. A power outage is when the electrical power goes out unexpectedly.

A power outage may:

• Disrupt communications, water and transportation.
• Close retail businesses, grocery stores, gas stations, ATMs, banks and other services.
• Cause food spoilage and water contamination.
• Prevent use of medical devices.

Severe Weather

Severe weather can happen anytime, in any part of the country. Severe weather can include hazardous conditions produced by thunderstorms, including damaging winds, tornadoes, large hail, flooding and flash flooding, and winter storms associated with freezing rain, sleet, snow and strong winds.

Space Weather

The term “space weather” refers to the variable conditions on the sun and in space that can influence the performance of technology we use on Earth.

Space weather can produce electromagnetic fields that induce extreme currents in wires, disrupting power lines, and even causing widespread power outages. Severe space weather also produces solar energetic particles, which can damage satellites used for commercial communications, global positioning, intelligence gathering and weather forecasting.

The sun is the main source of space weather. Sudden bursts of plasma and magnetic field structures from the sun's atmosphere called coronal mass ejections together with sudden bursts of radiation, or solar flares, all cause space weather effects here on Earth.

Tsunamis

A tsunami is a series of enormous ocean waves caused by earthquakes, underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions or asteroids. A tsunami can kill or injure people and damage or destroy buildings and infrastructure as waves come in and go out.

Tsunamis can:

• Travel 20-30 miles per hour with waves 10-100 feet high.
• Cause flooding and disrupt transportation, power, communications and the water supply.
• Happen anywhere along U.S. coasts. Coasts that border the Pacific Ocean or Caribbean have the greatest risk.

Volcanoes

A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s crust that allows molten rock, gases and debris to escape to the surface. During a volcanic eruption, lava and other debris can flow at speeds of up to 100 mph, destroying everything in their path. Volcanic ash can travel hundreds of miles and cause severe health problems.

A volcanic eruption can:

• Contaminate water supplies.
• Damage machinery.
• Reduce visibility through smog and harmful gases that may threaten low-lying areas.
• Make it hard to breathe and irritate the skin, eyes, nose and throat.

Wildfires

Wildfires are unplanned fires that burn in natural areas like forests, grasslands or prairies. These dangerous fires spread quickly and can devastate not only wildlife and natural areas, but also communities.

Winter Weather

Winter storms create a higher risk of car accidents, hypothermia, frostbite, carbon monoxide poisoning, and heart attacks from overexertion. Winter storms including blizzards can bring extreme cold, freezing rain, snow, ice and high winds.

A winter storm can:

• Last a few hours or several days.
• Cut off heat, power and communication services.
• Put older adults, children, sick individuals and pets at greater risk.