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RECENT HAZARDS NEWS *Featured Link(s) (updated Sept. 25, 2012)* § Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, Feb. 7, 2013 – participate in an earthquake drill! § Sept. 25 - Red Cross releases a new smart phone application with tools for information and communication following an earthquake. § July 6 - 8 is Alabama’s new annual state sales tax holiday on severe weather preparedness items. The tax holiday was a recommendation of Governor Bentley’s Tornado Recovery Action Council. § Feb. 6 – 10 declared "Earthquake Awareness Week" in Alabama by proclamation of Governor Bentley (Jan. 30) § SKYWARN Storm Spotting class schedule for spring 2012 through NOAA/NWS (now available as a webinar)

Great Central U.S. ShakeOut February 7, 2013, at 10:15 a.m. is a scheduled earthquake drill called the 2013 Great Central U.S. ShakeOut! This drill was held previously, with great success as people from eleven states participated in the "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" as part of the earthquake drill. Just like fire drills, earthquake drills help us be more familiar with proper actions to take during the event. Click the video to the right to see the earthquake drill that was broadcast for a previous ShakeOut to help inform the public on what to do during an earthquake. Visit the 2013 Great Central U.S. ShakeOut! page to learn more.			………………………..



…………………………		New Madrid Bicentennial Events 2011-2012 is the bicentennial of the large magnitude events in the New Madrid Seismic Zone located in the central U.S. In the winter of 1811-1812, there was a series of large magnitude events around 7.7 magnitude. Click on the video to the left to learn more about recent or planned New Madrid activities, or visit our New Madrid Seismic Zone page to read further. Additional New Madrid Bicentennial events can be found at the below links: § New Madrid Bicentennial webpage § The Great Central US Shakeout § The Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium § 2012 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and National Earthquake Conference



New National Emergency Broadcast System FEMA and the Federal Communications Commission are working together to create a more effective national emergency broadcast system. The first test of this new system took place November 9, 2011, at 1:00 Central Time. Additional future tests may take place. Because this is one way the government can notify citizens of an emergency, it is good to be familiar with the test. Please watch the video (right) or go to the FEMA website for additional information.			………………………..


Other Disasters in the News Check out the links below to read about current hazards and disasters around the world. *Featured Link(s) (updated Sept. 26, 2012)* § Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, Feb. 7, 2013 – participate in an earthquake drill! § Sept. 25 - Red Cross releases a new smart phone application with tools for information and communication following an earthquake. § July 6 - 8 is Alabama’s new annual state sales tax holiday on severe weather preparedness items. The tax holiday was a recommendation of Governor Bentley’s Tornado Recovery Action Council. § Feb. 6 – 10 declared "Earthquake Awareness Week" in Alabama by proclamation of Governor Bentley (Jan. 30) § SKYWARN Storm Spotting class schedule for spring 2012 through NOAA/NWS (now available as a webinar) *Other Disasters in the News* § Alabama Emergency Management Agency – current status and emergency information for Alabama § USGS Emergency Operations Portal – links to information, data, maps, and imagery related to recent disasters § FEMA Federal Declared Disasters – information on federally declared disasters in the US § American Red Cross Disaster Online Newsroom – response updates and resources for recent disasters § National Geographic Natural Disasters – articles, photos, slide shows, video and more on recent disasters § ScienceDaily Natural Disaster News – articles on a variety of natural disasters, hazards, planning, and response *Imagery, Maps, and Map Data for Recent Disasters* § NASA Earth Observatory Natural Hazards – view satellite imagery of recent disasters § USGS Natural Hazards Support System – interactive map showing recent natural disasters around the globe § USGS Hazards Data Distribution System – download imagery and GIS data for recent disasters § ESRI Disaster Response – data and maps related to recent disasters and information on requesting GIS assistance to a disaster; from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) § ESRI Incident Viewer – interactive map showing recent natural disasters around the globe § GIS Corps Recent Response Projects – a not-for-profit group of GIS professionals volunteering for disaster response

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