NU Online News Service, July 9, 3:03 p.m. EDT
A new disaster news website is available to provide users with the latest news and updates on natural and man-made catastrophes.
The website, Disaster Updates, is ultimately a "disaster information portal," said Dave Miller, website spokesman.
The site provides a series of links to disaster reports and news on earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, wildfires, floods, avalanches and landslides, terrorism, accidents and more.
It also provides disaster resources and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) information.
Links are available to weather resources for hurricanes–including radar and satellite images–and to government resources for information on the BP oil spill, according to Mr. Miller.
"Existing disaster websites were either too specialized or too complex for the average homeowner or businessperson in need of quick, relevant information," Mr. Miller said.
The Disaster Updates website was specifically designed to be a resource for families and businesses reacting to a disaster emergency, he added, noting the website includes links to the FEMA and Small Business Administration (SBA) websites and their online applications for government assistance.
The idea to create the website mainly came from on-the-job experience and from living through disasters, Mr. Miller said.
Mr. Miller said that he and his team would eventually like to do more with the website, including adding blogs and pictures to the site, and potentially making it into a mobile application.
"It is a work in progress," he said. "Right now we're seeing if there is any interest and what parts people like and don't like about it."
The website was designed by a disaster specialist with more than 20 years of disaster relief experience, including work for disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the Northridge earthquake and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Disaster Updates went live last summer as Hurricane Bill approached the East Coast.
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