Aug. 24, 2012 at 2:00 PM ET
As Isaac makes its way to Florida, and officials urge residents there to prepare, there are several good, go-to resources for getting information about the storm:
Google's impressive crisis map for emergency preparedness gives those in the path of the storm a morphing view of the storm's path, as well as links to public alerts in various areas, Florida disaster recovery centers, evacuation zones and routes, storm surge zones and YouTube videos related to Isaac, including hurricane tips.
Florida's Division of Emergency Management website (linkable from Google's map) and related site, FloridaDisaster.org can also give residents the latest info on the storm.
The National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center is another good site to bookmark. NBC News also has a hurricane tracker here.
There are also mobile apps that you may want to download if you have can. One you may want for sure is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) app, for both iOS and Android.
It includes an interactive checklist for emergency kits, a section to plan emergency meeting locations, information on how to stay safe and recover after a disaster, a map with FEMA Disaster Recovery Center locations and shelters, ways the public "can get involved before and after a disaster," and the FEMA blog.
The American Red Cross website and specifically its Hurricane page are also helpful, as are the Red Cross apps, for iOS and Android.
Facebook is starting to ramp up with various pages related to Isaac, including this one.
On Twitter, you can check these resources for immediate information, with one of the main hashtags for the storm being #Isaac:
- The National Weather Service, @NHC_Atlantic
- Centers for Disease Control Emergency Preparedness and Response, @CDCemergency
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration Satellites, @NOAASatellites
- South Florida Red Cross, @SFLRedCross
- National Weather Service, Key West, "an experimental service to explore Twitter use to extend the reach of NWS information." @NWSKeyWest
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