How to Identify and Prepare for Disasters in Your Area
Disasters look different depending on where you live. Some areas face wildfires and drought, others deal with hurricanes, flooding, or winter storms. Identifying the hazards most common in your region allows you to prepare intentionally - using local data, hazard maps, and official resources to guide your planning.
Common Hazards and Possible Risks
Common Hazards
Most of us already know what types of natural disasters our communities are prone to, having dealt with them in the past. Experience is the best teacher, no doubt. While this is true, it’s also true that we can always be better prepared by learning more about these threats and how to better prepare ahead of time.
Possible Risks
Is your community susceptible to something you have never personally experienced before and therefore know little about? Educating yourself about the hazards that your community might face can go a long way in protecting your family should the threat materialize.
Researching Local Risks & Hazards
Understanding the Four Levels of Emergency Information
Emergency preparedness works best when you understand how information flows from the ground up. Each level - local, county, state, and federal - plays a different role in identifying hazards, issuing alerts, coordinating response, and helping families prepare. By checking all four, you get a complete picture of the risks in your area and the resources available to you.
- Local information tells you what’s happening closest to home: city‑specific hazards, evacuation routes, and community response plans.
- County agenciescoordinate regional alerts, shelters, and large‑scale responses that support multiple cities.
- State emergency management provides broader hazard assessments, preparedness guidance, and statewide coordination during major disasters.
- Federal tools, like FEMA’s National Risk Index, help you understand how your community fits into the national risk landscape and highlight hazards you may not have considered.
Using all four levels gives your family the clearest, most accurate understanding of the risks around you - and helps you create emergency plans that are grounded in real, location‑specific information. Let's look at each.
Local Level
You can get information on your city’s emergency preparedness plans by doing two types of searches.
Emergency Management Search
Search for: your city's name + emergency management
example: San Diego Emergency Management
Local officials provide the most accurate information about hazards, response plans, and how your community manages disasters. Many cities maintain dedicated emergency preparedness sections on their websites with guidance on planning, preparing, and responding to local risks.
Emergency Preparedness Search
Search for: emergency preparedness for + your city's name
example: emergency preparedness for San Diego
This usually leads directly to your city’s preparedness page, where you can learn about local hazards, evacuation routes, community response plans, and designated emergency shelters.
County Level
You can get information on your county’s emergency preparedness plans by doing two types of searches.
County Emergency Management Search
Search for: your county's name + emergency management
example: San Diego County Emergency Management
Counties often coordinate major parts of disaster response, including regional alerts, evacuation orders, shelter operations, and hazard‑specific guidance. Your county’s emergency management website typically includes information on local hazards, evacuation zones, emergency shelters, and county‑wide response plans that support all cities within the county.
County Preparedness Resources
Search for: emergency preparedness for + your county's name
example: emergency preparedness for San Diego County
This search usually leads to county‑level preparedness pages with practical guidance for residents—such as wildfire readiness, flood zones, severe weather alerts, and community emergency response programs (CERT). County resources help you understand risks that may not be visible at the city level but still affect your area.
State Level
Get information on your state’s emergency preparedness plans by doing two types of searches:
Emergency Preparedness Search
Search for: your state's name + emergency management
example: California Emergency Management
Your state’s emergency management agency provides detailed information on statewide hazards, preparedness guidance, and how the state coordinates disaster response. These pages often include hazard maps, statewide alerts, training resources, and steps families can take to prepare for the risks most common in their region.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
https://www.fema.gov/locations
Enter your state to see the disasters, risks, and hazards most often associated with your area. FEMA also provides clear guidance on how individuals and families can prepare for these threats, along with links to state and federal resources that support readiness and recovery.
Federal Level
FEMA provides a nationwide tool called the National Risk Index, a color‑coded map that shows natural hazard risks across the United States. You can click on any location to see how it ranks across 18 different hazards, along with data on expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
18 Risks Assessed By FEMA
- Avalanche
- Coastal Flooding
- Cold Wave
- Drought
- Earthquake
- Hail
- Heat Wave
- Hurricane
- Ice Storm
- Landslide
- Lightning
- Riverine Flooding
- Strong Wind
- Tornado
- Tsunami
- Volcanic Activity
- Wildfire
- Winter Weather
You can also select any individual hazard to view a national map highlighting which areas are most at risk. This tool gives you a broader understanding of how your community fits into the national risk landscape and helps you identify hazards that may not be obvious at the local level.