Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

The annual North Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and ends November 30. This pathfinder offers a selection of materials available at the public library and on the Internet that define the nature and danger of hurricanes and tropical storms. The Internet sites are resources for current advisories, forecasts, storm tracks, checklists of storm preparedness procedures, and places to contact in the event a hurricane or severe weather effects this area.

Emergency Preparation and Recovery

Local resources including fire departments, hospitals, and law enforcement agencies can be found in the Emergency Preparedness Guide For East Baton Rouge Parish

Louisiana Citizen Awareness and Disaster Evacuation Guides

Louisiana State Police Citizen Awareness and Disaster Evacuation Guide

Lousiana State Office of Emergency Preparedness Citizen Awareness and Evacuation Guide

Two similar Citizen awareness guides maintained by the State Police and the Office of Emergency Preparedness.  The LSP site provides detailed evacuation route maps, in addition to the contra-flow schematics and the evacuation route maps that are available at LOEP

East Baton Rouge Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness

3773 Harding Blvd.
Baton Rouge, LA. 70807
Phone 225-389-2100
FAX 225 389-2114
Official website

America Red Cross Louisiana Capital Area Chapter

Provides disaster assistance to victims such as medical care, clothing, food and shelter.  Offers training in first aid and CPR
10201 Mayfair Drive
Baton Rogue, LA 70809
Phone: 225-291-4533
Fax: 225-292-4692
E-mail: vhowell@lcarc.org
Official website

Salvation Army

Provides emergency disaster relief including clothing, food and prescription vouchers.  Thrift store is open to the public.
7361 Airline Highway
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
Phone: 225-355-4483
FAX: 225-355-7393
Official website

Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (LOEP)

State Agency responsible for coordinating disaster response in Louisiana.  Website lists state road closures, information on how to file a flood insurance claim and disaster preparedness tips for person with disabilities.
7667 Independence Blvd.
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Phone: (225) 925-7500
Fax: (225) 925-750
Official website

Recovery and Assistance

LSU's Agricultural center hosts links to helpful Louisiana State offices and charities, and a list, by parish, of FEMA and OHSEP disaster recovery centers
Official website

72 Hours.org

72hours.org
This award-winning website presents step-by-step preparation guides for a number of emergency situations.  Special focus is on planning for unforeseeable gaps between disaster and aid responses

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Official website
Assistance Registration with FEMA
Official Federal agency responsible for disaster response on the national level.  Website has information on the National Flood Insurance Program and a directory of state offices of emergency management.  A Spanish translation of the website is available.

USA.gov Hurricane Recovery

Official website
Interagency portal helpful for finding displaced residents, contacting and locating emergency shelters, charities, and helpful agencies at the Federal, State and local level

NOAA Weather Radio

Official Frequencies List
If you own a weather radio, this website will guide you to NOAA frequencies in use in your area.

Checklists and Storm Tracking Charts
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A list of useful forms to assist in preparations for hurricanes, flooding and other natural disasters. Most of the links are to documents available in the PDF format. To view or print these forms on a computer it is necessary to have the Adobe Reader installed.

Emergency Preparedness Checklist From the East Baton Rouge Office of Emergency Preparedness

OEP Checklist
A general checklist for preparing you and your family for emergency situations.

A South Louisiana Guide to Living With Hurricanes

Guide
Helpful evacuation checklist and planning document with parish specific information on evacuation routes and emergency shelters.

Hurricane Tracking Chart From The Advocate

Hurricane Tracking Charts From AccuWeather.com

Tracking and Forecasting
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Louisiana State University Hurricane Center

Official website of the LSU Hurricane Center
Comprehensive site for hurricane information and advisories, tracking information, current forecasts, lists of assigned storm names and hurricane preparedness tips.  The publications section has a printable hurricane safety activity book for children titled Dax the Hurricane Safety Turtle.

WAVCIS

Official Website of WAVCIS at LSU
WAVCIS, hosted by LSU’s Coastal Studies Institute, presents real-time data on coastal weather and conditions.

US Army Corps of Engineers Hurricane and Emergency Information

Links to tracking stations include a worldwide tropical weather monitoring service run by the University of Hawaii.  Additional linked topics include information about evacuation preparation and routes.

NOAA National Hurricane Center

Official Website for NOAA's National Hurricane Center
Latest official storm bulletins and public advisories available in English and Spanish.  Good source for tracking maps, strike probability maps, satellite imagery and printable blank tracking charts.

National Data Buoy Center

Official Website of the National Data Buoy Center
This site provides real time surface weather conditions from buoys located in the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

The Weather Underground

Official Website of the Weather Underground
Good all around weather information website for current local conditions and forecasts.  Lookups for international weather and tropical storm tracking information.  Education section includes lists of tropical storm names through 2011.  

Historical Data
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National Hurricane Center/Archive

Official Website of the National Hurricane Center Archive
Information from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration on Atlantic hurricanes from 1851 to present.  Includes storm tracking and coordinates maps, wind speeds, and Saffir-Simpson Scale numbers at times of advisories.

National Weather Service Forecast Office: Lake Charles Station

National Weather Service Forecast Office: Lake Charles Station
A brief discussion of late 20th Century hurricanes that have made landfall in Southwest Louisiana.

Weather Underground Hurricane Archive

Weather Underground Hurricane Archive
This section of the Weather Underground site has tracking maps from 1886-2004 and lists of the 30 costliest and deadliest U.S. hurricanes.

Print Resources