Natural Disasters

This week, we're taking a look at how pollution travels. Whether it be a plastic bottle riding an ocean current thousands of miles away, or hazardous material working its way up an ecosystem, pollution often has a way of spreading. In this blog from OR&R's Marine Debris Program, learn about how disaster like hurricanes can cause marine debris, and how you can prevent it. Learn more about how pollution travels on our website.

This is the second blog in a week-long series to highlight the importance of disaster preparedness. Follow us this week as we take a look at how NOAA prepares for natural and human-made disasters, and how you can prepare for the 2018 hurricane season. Share your #DisasterPreparedness strategy by commenting on our blog, or replying to our Twitter and Facebook.

This week, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration is highlighting the importance of disaster preparedness. Follow us this week as we take a look at how NOAA prepares for natural and human-made disasters, and how you can prepare for the 2018 hurricane season. Share your #DisasterPreparedness strategy by commenting on our blog, or replying to our Twitter and Facebook.

After nearly six months of ongoing efforts to remove vessels and mitigate pollution in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the end is in site for the Hurricane Maria Emergency Support Function #10 (ESF-10) team.

Although this last hurricane season had only a fifth the loss of life of past seasons — attributed to improved forecasts and warnings — the physical damage was twice that of previous years.

This is the fifth in a 12-part monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s profile is on Disaster Response Center (DRC) Exercise and Communication Coordinator Katie Krushinski.

Are you prepared for a disaster in your home or community? Of course you are, right? You have batteries in your flashlight. You have property insurance. You've identified your best evacuation route. You keep a list of emergency phone numbers handy ... That's all great! But are the batteries fresh? Is your insurance coverage adequate? Have better evacuation routes been created? Have those phone numbers changed?

Hurricane Matthew is the latest storm to wreak havoc on our nation’s shores. Being involved in disaster response, we at NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration know what can go wrong when a hurricane hits the coast—after all, we’ve seen it firsthand ...

A warming climate is opening up new shipping routes—and hence, new avenues for trade—through the Arctic Ocean as summer sea ice shrinks and thins. Developing technologies have also allowed for mega-ships (unprecedented in size) and newer cargoes to begin transiting the ocean. These developments could bring new or greater hazards, including oil spills, for the maritime shipping network worldwide.

Sandy. Katrina. Andrew. These and many other names stand out in our memories for the power of wind and wave—and the accompanying devastation—which these storms have brought to U.S. shores. Atlantic hurricane season officially begins June 1 and ends November 30, but disasters can and do strike unexpectedly.