HOME SAFETY COUNCIL ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF EXPERT DISASTER PREPAREDNESS GUIDE

Current, Accurate Disaster Preparedness Information from 20 Disaster Preparedness Expert Organizations

The Home Safety Council is pleased to announce the release of Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages, a free-of-charge guide produced by the top 20 disaster preparedness organizations in the United States with a goal of providing current, accurate information on various types of disasters to the public. This version replaces the first edition which was published in May, 1999.

Do you publish, print, have a Web site, or otherwise disseminate disaster preparedness information for the public? Are you looking for a standardized source of information that is current, accurate, in the public domain and represents the knowledge and research from experts? Are you looking for a source of information to distinguish disaster facts from fiction? Visit www.disastereducation.org to download your free copy now.

The guide provides the latest, most up-to-date information and messaging on disaster preparedness and safety in the United States. It includes standardized safety messages on 19 natural, technological, and human-induced hazards as well as general disaster preparedness and safety topics. Following each message are statistics and explanations that reinforce the credibility of the message and also addresses fiction and folklore.

“The National Disaster Education Coalition (NDEC) recognizes that it is important for all agencies and organizations to deliver consistent disaster safety messages,” said Rocky Lopes, NDEC Convener. “Research has shown that when the public receives consistent information, they will prepare and respond appropriately when disaster threatens. That's the purpose of this guide - to enhance consistency, regardless of the source of the message.”

Users of this resource may include emergency managers, homeland security professionals, meteorologists, teachers, disaster and fire educators, public affairs/public relations personnel, managers and officers, media personnel, and/or any other person in the severe-weather, earthquake, disaster, terrorism preparedness education or communications communities. The preparedness and safety information in the guide is intended for dissemination to the general public, and may be tailored as needed. All content is in the public domain. The Home Safety Council provided support for development of the Guide, and Homeland Plans Corporation (HPC) provides in-kind web hosting and design support for National Disaster Education Coalition.

The guide represents the product of the hard work and collaboration of many professionals affiliated with the organizations composing the National Disaster Education Coalition, who represent the expertise and commitment of 20 U.S. government agencies and national not-for-profit organizations, including the Home Safety Council. Representatives of these agencies work together through a consensus process to develop consistent educational information for the public about disaster preparedness, and to disseminate that information throughout their own organizations, their respective constituencies, and to the public at large.

Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages is available from the web site of the National Disaster Education Coalition. Visit http://www.disastereducation.org to review the Guide and to download it. As the Guide is updated and enhanced, the latest version will always be available on this web site. A Notification Form is linked from the page where the revised Guide is posted to allow you to opt-in to be notified when significant changes or updates are made to the Guide.

Read Talking About Disaster Guide