Disaster 101: Your guide to extreme weather preparation, relief and recovery

Your guide to extreme weather preparation, relief, and recovery

How to prepare for a disaster

Your guide to finding accurate information, emergency kits, evacuations, protecting your home, and more if you’re at risk of a wildfire, flood, or other disaster.

How disaster relief and response work

Your guide to the agencies and programs responsible for emergency services and disaster aid, how to return home and clean up safely, navigate FEMA aid, and more after a wildfire, flood, or other disaster.

What you should know about disaster recovery

Your guide to this months- or years-long process, from rebuilding your home, to taking care of your mental health, avoiding scams to finding community support after you experience a wildfire, flood, or other disaster.

No matter where you live, extreme weather can hit your area and change your life. Whether it’s a hurricane, winter storm, flash flood, tornado, wildfire, or heat wave, disasters can damage or destroy your home and property, cause lengthy power outages, and stall civic services. Grist created a comprehensive guide to help you stay ready and informed before, during, and after these traumatic and chaotic events, as well as where to find and build support in your community. We list the most accurate weather updates and emergency alerts, explain the roles different agencies play in disaster aid, and provide details on your rights.

Grist gathered need-to-know information from government websites, trusted nonprofits and community organizations, and news media. It’s all fact-checked and will be updated periodically. Have something to add? Reach out: community@grist.org.

What exactly is a natural disaster?

Here are the types of extreme weather you may face — from tornadoes to floods to snow storms — and the officials who determine how severe it is and how financial assistance is distributed.

How to access food before, during, and after a disaster

Use this guide to find out more about keeping food safe, getting fresh, hot meals in a time of crisis, and learning how to navigate food programs.

How to find housing and rebuild your home after a disaster

A guide for renters and homeowners on knowing your rights, as well as how to handle FEMA aid and insurance claims, avoid contractor scams, and rebuild in a way that protects your home.

Know your rights as an immigrant before, during, and after disasters

Here are trusted, reliable resources to use during extreme weather or natural disasters for non-English speakers and undocumented immigrants.

Conozca sus derechos como inmigrante antes, durante y después de un desastre

A continuación, hallará fuentes confiables y seguras para usar durante fenómenos climáticos extremos o desastres naturales para personas que no hablan inglés e inmigrantes indocumentados.

Know your voting rights before, during, and after a disaster

If extreme weather disrupts local services or destroys your belongings around election day, here’s how to make sure you can still cast your ballot.

The resources above were made to help you quickly sift through urgent information. They’re easy to load if you have little cell service or download as a PDF for offline reading if a storm knocks out power.

How are disasters and climate linked?

The stories below provide more context on the connection between climate change and disasters, as well as other relevant news and updates.

How climate change is supercharging wildfires

How climate change is supercharging wildfires

The latest science on the link between climate change and natural disasters — and how they may be playing out where you live.

- by Grist
How climate change is worsening flooding and heavy rainfall

How climate change is worsening flooding and heavy rainfall

The latest science on the link between climate change and natural disasters — and how they may be playing out where you live.

- by Grist
How climate change is worsening extreme heat

How climate change is worsening extreme heat

The latest science on the link between climate change and natural disasters — and how they may be playing out where you live.

- by Grist
How climate change may be affecting tornadoes

How climate change may be affecting tornadoes

The latest science on the link between climate change and natural disasters— and how they may be playing out where you live.

- by Grist