EMERGENCY RESPONSE RESOURCES

This page provides information and recommendations for emergency responders about the safety and health hazards associated with responding to natural disasters including tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, and wild fires.

NIOSH Emergency Response Disaster Site Management
A comprehensive Site Safety Plan is paramount to ensuring responder safety and health in a disaster situation. This link includes general information on Disaster Site Management (work plan essentials, site safety, and team leader checklists) as well as information on potential hazards and recommendations.

Natural Disaster/ Extreme Weather Topics

Safety Management

Protecting Emergency Responders Safety Management in Disaster and Terrorism Response
NIOSH and RAND produced four reports in a series. The first three reports provide recommendations and the need for research, training and other strategic approaches to help protect emergency responders in terrorist attacks. The fourth report is a technical source for incident commander guidelines for emergency response immediately following large structural collapse events. Each individual report can be accessed using the following links:

• Volume 1 Protecting Emergency Responders: Lessons Learned from Terrorist Attacks
• Volume 2 Protecting Emergency Responders, Volume 2: Community Views of Safety and Health Risks and Personal Protection Needs
• Protecting Emergency Responders, Volume 3: Safety Management in Disaster and Terrorism Response (DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2004-144)
• Personal Protective Equipment Guidelines for Structural Collapse Events, Rand Volume 4

EPA Natural Disasters and Weather Emergencies
This web page from the Environmental Protection Agency contains information on planning and preparing, as well as response and recovery, after hurricanes, flooding, drought, extreme heat, tornados, snow and ice, volcanoes, and wildfires.