Preparedness Materials on MetEd
Posted on: 2014-09-16

 

September is National Preparedness Month and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has information about hazards and how your family, workplace, or community can prepare. A recent poll found that many U.S. households are unprepared for a disaster, with 40% of parents not having an emergency plan and 35% not having even a minimal two-day supply of food and water on hand.

To learn more about natural hazards and make sure your family or community is prepared, check out the free, fun, and informative materials on the MetEd website, including fun interactives to engage kids in packing an emergency preparedness kit and help work on a family plan.

Preparedness Materials for Families

Hurricane Strike!
Designed primarily for middle school students and funded by FEMA and the National Weather Service, this lesson introduces learners to many basic concepts of atmospheric science, climate, and geography, while also building important and possibly life-saving safety and preparedness skills through interactive games and activities. Many of these activities, including assembling a preparedness kit and completing a family plan, can be used for preparing for a range of natural hazards or other emergencies.

Tsunami Strike! Pacific Edition
Tsunami Strike! Caribbean Edition
The Tsunami Strike! modules are scenario-based learning experiences for kids from middle school through high school (approximate ages 13-17). Through the stories, learners follow not only the unfolding events and how the characters respond, they also observe how warning scientists analyze and communicate tsunami threats. Short lessons provide interactive instruction focused on the history, science, and safety of tsunamis, including what students can do to be prepared at home or at school. The safety pieces, including building a preparedness kit and developing a family plan, will be relevant for any disaster.

Preparedness for Communities and Emergency Managers

Anticipating Hazardous Weather, 2nd Edition
This 8-hr lesson provides emergency managers and other decision makers with background information about weather, natural hazards, and preparedness. Additional topics include risk communication, human behavior, and effective warning partnerships, as well as a desktop exercise allowing the learner to practice the types of decisions required as hazardous situations unfold.

Community Hurricane Preparedness, 2nd Edition
This course aims to provide emergency managers who face threats from tropical cyclones and hurricanes with basic information about how tropical cyclones form, the hazards they pose, how the National Weather Service forecasts future hurricane behavior, and what tools and guiding principles can help prepare communities. A section on Emergency Management discusses decision-making tools that can help emergency managers in response and evacuation decision-making during hurricane threats.

Community Tsunami Preparedness, 2nd Edition
This 6-7 hr lesson is designed to help emergency managers prepare their communities for tsunamis. Lessons include basic tsunami science, hazards produced by tsunamis, the tsunami warning system, the importance of public education activities, and how to craft good emergency messages and develop tsunami response plans. The lesson also contains links to extensive References and Resources.